Today, we’re talking about Karma. Well. Also, tomato panzanella but first, karma.
It’s a little word with great significance.
A five letter word without any complication – no double consonants, no silent H – and seems totally harmless.
It’s a five letter word that, if you’re not careful, can really come back to kick you in the behind.
It’s been a long August. I’m not sure what my karmic wrongdoing was to garner such bad luck but the past few weeks have not exactly been filled with sunshine and puppies.
I say this not to complain, but to give you a little bit of background on my past 31 days:
- My cell phone and laptop were simultaneously destroyed in Spilled Glass Of Water 2009 (I sure hope the folks at Apple aren’t reading this after I told the poor tech guy “GEE I HAVE NO IDEA WHY MY COMPUTER WAS WET.”)
- My iPod broke down and though it has since started working again, I had a long week of workouts narrated by the hum of the treadmill conveyor belt. Brutal.
- My oven burned out (yes, apparently that is possible) on August 1. Repairman finally fixed the oven on August 28.
- Promptly burned my arm on a hot oven rack on August 29.
I could go on but those are the highlights of August and I don’t want to bore you with details anymore than I want to relive any of the above. (OMG ESPECIALLY THE VISITS TO THE APPLE STORE).
Now, they say every cloud has a silver lining and I suppose the silver lining to my month of August was that I made a lot of new salads.
I also at a lot more ice cream but that’s a story for another time, another day.
One of the salads that I had the opportunity to try while the oven was on the fritz was one that I’ve been wanting to make since the beginning of this year.
There’s no better a time than a lazy, summer afternoon to throw together a salad hearty enough to stand in as dinner, but light enough, flavored with herbs, olive oil and vinegar, to serve alongside steak, chicken or fish for a bigger meal.
- 12 ounces day-old crusty Italian bread, cut into cubes (about 6 cups)
- 2 medium tomatoes, trimmed and each cut into wedges
- 2 yellow heirloom tomatoes, trimmed and each cut into wedges
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¼ cup capers, drained
- ½ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- Combine bread, tomatoes and capers in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together red wine vinegar, basil, salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper. Slowly drizzle in olive oil to combine. Toss dressing with bread and tomatoes and let sit at room temperature, covered for at least an hour before serving. Serves 6 as an entree, 8-10 as a side dish or appetizer salad.
18 Comments
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Megan
September 2, 2009 at 5:04 pmI bet there’s good stuff coming your way after all of that! Beautiful salad!
Nicole
September 2, 2009 at 1:18 amOMG! You poor thing! I’m so sorry all that happened to you in the month of August – but at least you had the chance to make some great recipes. You are right – every cloud does have a silver lining. Let’s hope September is much better for you. Fall is a good time for change…
Christina
August 31, 2009 at 10:14 pmAww, I’m so sorry about your bad luck. I hope September is luckier for you!
elra
August 31, 2009 at 8:03 pmBut wait, visit to Apple store is always nice, no?
Anyway, sorry that all of those thing happen to you, hope September will be an awesome month for you (and for all of us too).
Laurie
August 31, 2009 at 6:49 pmI’ve been looking for tomato recipes — I have tons of them. This one looks easy & delicious!
Debbie Davis
August 31, 2009 at 5:28 pmI hope September is much better for you! You need some chocolate! Hugs!
Kelly
August 31, 2009 at 3:56 pmJust discovered the blog. I love the natural photography and commentary. The same thing often happens to me. I swear bad things always happens to me in multiples. I also tend to have issues with technology (I’ve also had the water issue though mine involved my iPod and once had a huge photo printer fall on my Macbook. 🙁 ) I’m sure there is a silver lining somewhere though I’m always struggling to find it. The one upside is that you’re statistically speaking you’re not due for more crap for awhile.
lisa (dandysugar)
August 31, 2009 at 3:38 pmAghhhh!! Well, I hope this month is better for you! This salad is a great dinner, perfect for this hot weather we’re having here!! Love those capers.
Kristen
August 31, 2009 at 12:41 pmOh dear… you have had a rough month (& I lol at your tweet about the guy at Apple!)
Hope your September brings you good Karma )
thatShortChick
August 31, 2009 at 11:51 amwow, your august was not all that kind to you. I hope all of your technological devices are working and your arm is healing!
and here’s hoping for a better september!
grace
August 31, 2009 at 11:42 amhang in there, maris! although my entire month wasn’t such a disaster, i did have my days when nothing could ease my frustration. well, nothing except my friends, ben and jerry. 🙂
lovely bread salad, of course—the tomatoes are stunning!
Maria
August 31, 2009 at 11:08 amI hope Sept. is a better month for you:) The salad looks great!
kate
August 31, 2009 at 9:44 amSorry about such a downer month. But in true karma fashion, you can’t be down too long before everything starts to head back up again. Maybe September will be that for you.
Sophie
August 31, 2009 at 6:31 amWhat a lovely salad this!! I love different sort of tomatoes!!
Daryl
August 31, 2009 at 4:01 amI love salads especially different ones and this looks fabulous. The capers really add a touch that say I am going to make this salad
Emily
August 31, 2009 at 3:57 amThat’s some 31 days! At least it happened in summer though when salads are far easier to compose and enjoy. I love this salad. I make the one from the Santa Monica Farmer’s market cookbook so am acquainted with the flavors. Having the bread in there makes this salad a comfort food for me.
Wishing you an outstanding 31 days ahead! 🙂