A Tiffin For All Seasons

Dear fellow parents of school aged children who abhor the mindless, non-traceable, and unsustainable, processed food-like substances being served at cafeterias in public schools around the country,

 I would like to take this moment to shamelessly plug a product I've had the opportunity to test drive, yet gain absolutely no monetary compensation for endorsing.  I have no affiliation with Amazon, or the company that manufactures these containers.  I found these sturdy leak-proof, food grade, BPA free, dishwasher safe, stainless steel-lined lunch "tiffins" shown above to be the bomb! 

They hold ample amounts of food and keep the temperature even for about 4 hours. I was able to pack a salad in one of the compartments and turkey meatloaf and gravy over mashed potatoes in another for a nutritious homemade lunch for my kids.  Click the picture to go to Amazon where I found them on sale.

Panzanella with Mozzarella Fresca & UP Certified Southern Hemisphere Olio Nuovo Extra Virgin Olive Oil

It sounds fancy, but panzanella is the epitome of honest, straight forward comfort food with a nod towards thrift.  Literally panzanella means "bread salad". In Italy, traditionally, it was a way to use stale or leftover bread.  It's almost always a summer affair, as the star of the show are the plump vine ripened tomatoes that get slathered in peppery, throat catching, emerald green olive oil...

"BUT WAIT!", you say, "There's no dazzlingly fresh (olio nuovo) Northern Hemisphere extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over such a salad."  And you are correct, as this will not be the case until the Northern Hemisphere crushes its first olives in approximately 3 months from now.  By that time local, in-season heirloom tomatoes are just about, if not totally gone until next year!!!

Hold up, don't start hyperventilating into that paper bag just yet! Your panzanella can still be epic.  There's a whole other hemisphere that produces fresh nutrient laden extra virgin olive oil counter to the Norther Hemisphere.  The extra virgin olive oil coming from the Southern Hemisphere, countries such as Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Uruguay, etc.is the freshest olive oil that you can get your hands on right now.  The trick is making sure it is fresh; that means it's from the most recent harvest which happened anywhere between March and June of 2014. So, go forth and find a UP Certified Freshly Made Southern Hemisphere extra virgin olive oil.  Anything but the freshest extra virgin olive oil here would be sacrilegious... Tuscany, eat your heart out.

Salad

1 sweet or sour baguette  (torn in to pieces)
2 pounds sweet, perfectly juicy heirloom tomatoes, diced 1"
1/2 cup pitted olives, your choice on variety
1/2 cup torn basil leaves
1/4 cup torn flat leaf parsley leaves
8 oz. mozzarella fresca (you guessed it... torn)
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino
 2 tablespoons freshest UP Certified Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the planet

Dressing
1/3 cup freshest UP Certified Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the planet
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves super finely minced
fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

Directions
Preheat the grill or your broiler.  Toss the torn bread with fresh UP EVOO, and either grill it until nicely browned on the edges and crisp, or place on a sheet pan and broil until well toasted.

Arrange the bread on a nice serving platter or in a large bowl. 

Make the dressing by thoroughly whisking all the ingredients together well in a large bowl.  Add the cut tomatoes and gently toss with the dressing.  Spoon the tomatoes and the dressing lovingly over the top of the toasted bread.

Scatter the mozzarella, olives, parsley, and basil leaves over the top of the tomatoes.  Just before serving top with grated Pecorino and fresh ground pepper to taste.  Serve immediately while the bread still has a bit of crunch.  

Serves 6-8