This past Sunday marked the ripe arrival of my first batch of tomatoes from my small backyard garden (yes, I planted late). Juicy, sweet and ready to be eaten, these toms just needed a quick dice and the trusty addition of some good olive oil, 6 year aged balsamic vinegar, some pilfered basil from Kate and Rick's way-lusher-than-mine basil patch (thanks you two!), and oodles of fresh ground black pepper. The three things that took this tomato salad to a higher place however, were a beautiful ball of fresh Mozzarella di Bufala (creamy, tangy, soft marinate-able, water buffalo milk goodness), some homemade herbed croutons made with a piece of stale bread I had loitering in the fridge, and a chilled bottle of what is surely my favorite Rose this season, the Cuilleron Syrah. Yum.

So, if you're looking for an easy, no-fuss, fresh and light Sunday salad then this is definitely the way to go. There sure is an ample supply of delicious tomatoes to be had this time of year and I can't think of a tastier way to enjoy them. Funny part is that I used to think fresh tomatoes were the grossest thing imaginable and would run in disgust from a tomato salad. Ha! What a silly kid - glad I got over that!