Heirloom Tomato Stack
Phew. What a week! I know I fell off of the radar for a while. A week ago today, my parents sent me a video of their house showing no less than four feet of snow. With blue skies and the flexibility in my schedule to pack the kids in the car with our “snow clothes crate” and go enjoy a few days in the snow – I jumped on it (ha!). Unfortunately I was also sick as dog. No voice, totally congested, achy…YUCK! I warned my mom and dad that I was SICK. They didn’t care. And neither did I. I just knew I had to do it because it would be my only chance this season to play in the snow with the girls. So, I picked up Pixie from school, loaded up the car and off we went! The girls were so stinkin’ excited.
A few hours later, the girls ripped themselves out of the car as quick as they could and dove face first into the snow. Snow bibs? Who needs ’em! Gloves? Naw! They played for about an hour and when the jeans were too wet and the fingers bright red, we retired inside for some cozy clothes and movies.
The next morning my mom had to head back to Los Angeles to work so my dad gave her a ride down the mountain to the main center in their community. As he was walking her to her car to make sure she could get out….he fell. On black ice. HARD. He came back up to the house limping and barely able to sit down in a chair. CRAP. (Side note- it occurred to me that had I still been nursing, a Boppy would make a wonderful “donut” to cushion one’s bruised tailbone)
Like a good daughter, I went into caretaker mode. Icing his back, getting him medication, duct taping his ass to the couch. Yep, I was still sick and now my dad was hurt. As the day progressed I got GREAT news and not so great news. The “not so great” news was that the girls were starting to show signs of sickness. The GREAT news was that the hubby was able to take a day off from work and drive up to play in the snow with us for a few hours. I was so so SO excited that he would be able to have a snow day with the girls. He showed up a little after lunch and after giving the girls a dose of medication, we went sledding, made snow angels, built a snowman and enjoyed some great winter fun. After dinner, we spent some time in the jacuzzi trying to get everyone feeling better and then the hubby was gone.
Wednesday no one was feeling any better and I had to head home. The girls and I needed to see the doctor as well as get ready for my sister-in-law’s bridal shower (that I was of course hosting at my house) and my dad could not be left alone the way he was feeling. I packed up the circus and brought it back home. We saw the doctor only to find out the girls had double ear infections and pink eye and I had a sinus infection and advanced bronchitis. Double crap. $100 later at Walgreens… I headed home to unpack and try to take care of all of us plus get ready for a bridal shower. I made it all happen people. Everything got done literally with seconds to spare (Seriously. Seconds! I was in the shower at 11:58 and the party started at noon sharp.). The shower was beautiful and everything turned out wonderfully. If I didn’t have my sister-in-law, mother-in-law and my mom helping me, it would have been a freaking disaster.
So, here I am, still sick, trying but failing to ignore the growing laundry pile, thumbing my nose at the house cleaning and bills (poo on you both!), finally sitting at my computer on a Monday afternoon trying to write a blog post.
This delicious stack of delicious tomatoes needs to be devoured immediately. As I’m writing this I had a fab idea…You could add burrata cheese with some crostini to go with this and it would knock it out of the ballpark. It’s a home run without it though peeps. Make it.
Oh yeah – if you don’t like goat cheese, you can substitute gorgonzola or blue cheese – even feta would be great!
Ingredients:
1 log (4 ounces) soft goat cheese, softened
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
3/4 tsp salt
4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
2 medium heirloom tomatoes in assorted colors, cored and thinly sliced crosswise into 4 rounds
1 red onion sliced into rings
1 avocado in slices
Directions
Combine olive oil, vinegar, and mustard, and whisk to blend. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Set aside. To assemble stacks, place 1 tomato slice on a plate. Top with an eighth of the cheese, then a ring of red onion, two slices avocado, and a slice of tomato. Repeat. Drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon vinaigrette. Sprinkle with chopped basil.
Ally
April 27, 2012
Wow those are amazing Jess. I will make them this weekend. . . Mmmmm