Marinated Tomatoes

Living in Chicago's South Side Suburbia, we lack one essential piece to the white picket dream: a yard. Instead, we have a section of blacktop that used to be a dog run and car storage.

 Now, through a process of cleaning and planning we have a decent patio with herb garden.

It's a great place to sit, eat, relax, grill, play - you name it. The most exciting part for me has been the various aromas coming from our plants as you walk the fence perimeter. The smell of basil, thyme, cilantro, and oregano permeate their own sections of the air. What has surprised me the most is the acute smeller my five year old has. I can break open a mint or cilantro leaf and he can tell me exactly what it is. It's amazing.

With having an array of fresh herbs at my disposal, I've been taking full advantage of it. We're huge tomato fans in my family so I decided to marinate some cherry tomatoes and MAN were they delicious. Throw 'em on a salad, a Boboli, some crackers - whatever you'd like. These will be full of flavor and add depth to whatever you're eating.

Whatcha need:

12 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
few tablespoons evoo
tablespoon or so red wine vinegar (can you tell I eyeball things alot?)
salt
pepper
and let's not forget... the herrrrbbsss

6 large leaves sweet basil

1.5 inch bunch spicy globe basil

3 three inch sprigs oregano

2 three inch sprigs thyme

Dice up all the herbs and toss everything in a bowl. Let it sit for about half an hour and ba da bing!  Throw in some mozzarella if you want a pseudo-caprese salad, pair with spinach and feta, or the always great Boboli. And don't ditch that marinade! It makes a great salad dressing.

Happy eating! ; D