Tomatoes 1: Completely Local Salsa and Caprese

Fresh tomatoes are back. These jewels are the only thing that cheers me up about the approachment of summer’s inevitable conclusion. Especially with the first half of summer’s continual deluge of rain. However sitting down with a fresh caprese salad last night – even inside, since it was, no surprise, raining – at least helped me feel like I am participating in summer in some way. Alongside last night’s caprese (argula instead of basil and fresh local mozz, both from the farmer’s market), I also made some completely local salsa by chopping up corn, green onions, tomatoes, and cilantro. For the heat and a touch of acid I added two spoonfuls of the hot pepper relish I canned last summer from farm share habaneros and jalapenos. I used corn that was steamed and leftover from lunch, but fresh and uncooked would have worked as well. It was everything summer should taste like. And, aside from the vinegar in the relish and the salt, completely local.