Views From My Kitchen

Mini sweet peppers ready to go under the broiler.

After broiling -- they charred more than they should have,, especially the very small red peppers. That will teach me to multitask while something is under a hot broiler.

I placed them in a bowl after roasting under the broiler

and covered them with a towel to let them sweat for a few minutes. Then I removed skin and slit them open to remove stem and seeds.

I whisked up a vinaigrette of red wine vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, chopped shallot, capers and chopped fresh basil.

The salad -- fresh mozzarella and the roasted mini sweet peppers topped with the caper-basil vinaigrette.

I had the beautiful lemons and tangerines so I squeezed juice from both, added some tequila, chipotle powder and Mexican oregano to marinate boneless skinless chicken breasts.

A very simple dinner starting with the salad and then French green beans steamed to crisp-tender, grilled marinated chicken and a shared baked potato.

Today's Lunch - Caprese Salad

I made a Caprese salad for lunch today. Fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, cracked black pepper and good-quality olive oil. What could be more delicious and simple? Just slice tomatoes from your garden or local farmer's market, top each with a slice of fresh mozzarella (be sure it is fresh mozzarella, not those rubbery balls we all used years ago to make lasagna), top with fresh basil (I like to chiffonade the basil, some like to put whole basil leaves on top of each tomato), sprinkle with good-quality olive olive and freshly ground black pepper.

Notes: The presentation of this dish is spectacular and the taste amazing when you use a variety of colored and different shaped Heirloom tomatoes: red, orange, yellow, green, striped, pink, purple.