One of my favorite late summer treats is a fresh tomato right out of the garden. Add in a little fresh mozzarella cheese, and some fresh basil, and you have the ultimate combination. I think the formal name for it is a Caprese Salad, but I call them tomato stacks.

I like to stack them all together for a mid to late summer version of an appetizer or salad. It can even be a mid afternoon snack. I simply slice up a tomato or two, layer in some fresh mozzarella, and and add a few basil leaves to top it all off.

The combination is fabulous!

I can’t get enough fresh tomatoes this time of year. They taste like sunshine straight from the garden. My tomatoes are dwindling down to the last few, so I’m enjoying them while I can!

Image (c) L Gerlach

My garden is dwindling down to some fall squash and pumpkins. I’m down to the last few tomatoes, this is a shot of one of the last yellow tomatoes. I picked it yesterday and added it to my salad for lunch today.

I still have one or two tomatoes left to pick, a couple Roma tomatoes, and maybe one or two more yellow tomatoes. I’ve been drying the Roma tomatoes in the dehydrator, and I’ve also froze some tomatoes for vegetable soup and chili this winter, and made a little salsa, yum!

I’m planning to use the dried tomatoes on salads and pizza this winter, when I’m missing their fresh from the garden sunny flavor.

I love making salsa fresh from the garden during the summer. The flavors of the fresh tomatoes, onions, spices, and peppers are fabulous!

My brother in law makes the best salsa ever, so I talked him into sharing his super secret fresh from the garden salsa recipe. This is not an exact recipe, just chop, mix and taste, then adjust it to fit your own taste buds. I’m a big salsa fan, and I love garlic, so I tend to use quite a bit of both. If you’re not a fan, cut them back a little, or even leave the cilantro out entirely.

Fresh From The Garden Salsa

3-4 medium tomatoes

1 bell pepper

1 banana pepper

2 hot peppers (Jalapeno, Pueblo, Habanera, your choice and heat)

1-2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

3-4 cloves of garlic

cilantro (optional)

1 small onion

Give everything a coarse chop, then feed it all together into a food processor. Refrigerate the salsa when you’re done to let all the flavors blend together. This salsa is actually even better after a couple hours when the flavors are all melded together.

Serve with corn chips.

I’m warning you ahead of time, this salsa is very addicting! Once you start eating it, you might have a hard time stopping! Definitely worth the effort of chopping and mixing up a batch, especially with fresh from the garden ingredients.