Quick food

This year was good for my tomatoes and pathetic for my peppers. I'm not usually one to use a lot of my own tomatoes in things generally because I've been pathetic at growing them. This year has been a fluke, though, and I've been doused in cherry tomatoes. Another one of my tomatoes, a type I can't identify because I can't get through the heavy overgrowth of tomato vines, is about to ripen - and it's about 4x bigger than my cherries.
So, I've been eating them. At first I just popped a few in and went on with my life. Everyone in the house stops by the tomato bowl from time to time and eats them (mostly my husband). They tend to stay for maybe two days, and I cycle them out so the older ones are grabbed before the fresher ones. They've always had a nice, juicy pop and I'm ecstatic about how round and blemish free they've generally been. I've only lost a very small percentage to slugs, despite how wet the season has been. I don't think other bugs have been an issue at all, making me believe that the bug-deterrent concept of basil has worked in my favor (I've got 50 of those).

Why do I tell you this?
Well, this is a recipe/food blog and I've got a great little mix that I like taking with me on my long class days. Or, like right now for instance, I'm eating it for breakfast because I've been getting away from traditional breakfast foods more and more as my life goes on (I haven't had cereal in a month or two, apart from some granola in some Greek yogurt).

I had bought some huge heirloom tomatoes for general use, mostly because I want a variety of color and the cherries are a nice red with a green splash on top (they're pretty). I like larger tomatoes for slicing, and I've come to appreciate putting some basil and oregano on them, then topping with mozzarella. This gets messy, though.

So, grab a small bowl (maybe a 2c-type tupperware, which is what I'm currently using because I like the lid).
Stick in a small handful of those glazed nuts you can get from the salad aisle. I love those things so much right now and there are a few varieties. Don't like the sugar? Add a crunchy thing you like: plain nuts, croutons, etc. The point here is to contrast the fruit with something crunchy, like bacon bits, maybe.

I always cut up 2 radishes and put them in there. I know they're crunchy as well, but they lack the snap of nuts. They also add a nice zest to everything, which is great.

Follow this with about a 1/3 cup of tomato, or more. More is better. I also tossed in 2-3 of my cherry tomatoes, giving it a nice contrast between the orange/yellow tomato I bought from the store and the deep red/dark green tomatoes from out front.
 Keep in mind that I'm trying to use this as a deterrent to things like cereal bars, which are jam packed with unnecessary sugar and are not as healthy for you as you think they are. Most people's diets are cram-packed with carbs, anyway, and there are other methods of getting them than a processed oat bar. I digress.
I like my tomato to take up about half of my container. Toss some oregano on there (fresh? Win!) and some basil (I tear up some leaves from the front yard; as I mentioned, I have plenty to do that with and I should make pesto tomorrow.)

I also drizzle, just a little, of some garlic-olive oil I get from Costco. Again, I could make this myself, but if I made every little thing I wouldn't have time for the 18 credits I'm dragging myself through right now. Simple? Yes. Time for it? No. It's just easier to buy.
Again, I support the use of olive oil - it's a good, fresh oil that's got more benefits than downsides, by far - and garlic. People take garlic supplements for a reason. Get on it.


Top that with some mozzarella cheese - or any cheese you like, really. I don't fear cheese. A lot of people want to dislike it for the fat content, but, as we've recently learned, the fat content of food does not increase your chances of getting fat. It does, however, have things to do with clogging up arteries, so an occasional thing of cheese won't really kill you. A bucket of cheeseballs, however, are pushing your luck in a cardiovascular sense.  This is why a lot of doctors are trying to replace heavy fats, like animal fats, with plant ones. It's the amount of energy the food has in it (calories) that causes an issue, as well as how quickly the body breaks it down: simple carbs are bad in general because they break down super easily. This really just makes life too simple for your digestive tract: it needs to work.

Melly's breakfast 

So, theoretically, some olive oil and cheese together on some fruit (tomato) and some nuts (healthy source of plant fats, as well as other nutrients) and some sugar (glaze on the nuts, which is minimal) with some plant life (basil, oregano, radish) is a pretty good meal.
Theoretically.

Put it all together, put on the lid and shake. Then eat. It's crisp and tasty.
Note: no added salt. We get enough of that in the day.

In general, I find it to be delicious and one can add anything one wants. Essentially, this is a salad that doesn't have salad dressing. I've gotten away from dressing, too. Have you seen the crap that goes in there?

Anyway, this takes about 5 minutes to prepare if you're lazy and sluggish, like I am in the morning, and keeps pretty well. It gets juicy after a few hours, but it's still pretty good.