You’ll just have to imagine the post title sung dramatically, because I wouldn’t do you the disservice of trying to sing it myself.
We have the most awesome local Whole Foods Market. I won’t go into the breakfast bar with everything from French Toast (with real maple syrup!) to egg sandwiches. I won’t tell you about the wonderful coffee bar. I won’t discuss the looooooong butcher’s counter with everything from bison to filet mignon to the in-house sausage.
No, today it’s all about cheese. And oh, what cheese. There’s both a refrigerated display of the more common items, and a long case of the more unusual things. They make their own in-house fresh mozzarella, and it’s some of the best mozzarella I’ve ever had. The chevre they carry is the best cheese I’ve ever had in scrambled eggs. But today, I have to rave about the way they form some of their mozzarella into miniature cheese balls and marinate them in olive oil and herbs. Of course you can eat them on crackers, toss them on top of pizza or pasta, and so on, but here is:
The Easiest Salad Ever
- Grape or cherry tomatoes
- Marinated mozzarella balls
Rinse the tomatoes well. Drain the tomatoes, and the cheese. Halve everything and toss it together in whatever proportion you like (I try to go heavy on the tomato). Season to taste with a little extra salt.
Travels and stores well, and people will think you put lots of effort into it.
Once you’ve used up the mozzarella balls, save the herbed olive oil in a small container in the fridge. Since it has dairy in it and fresh herbs you won’t want to store it for a long duration, but you can get a little time out of it. Toss potato slices or whole fingerling potatoes in it before roasting (then try other veggies… I might try some other root vegetables such as carrots and parsnips). Drizzle it into a pan before you saute just about any sort of savory dish that requires a little oil. Use it to oil the pan before making scrambled or fried eggs. Whatever you do, don’t waste it—it’s an ingredient unto itself!
