Enjoy them in simple preparations to let their luscious flavor shine: in salads or on sandwiches, for example. One of the easiest yet most popular ways to enjoy them is in a Caprese salad.

You can also get creative: Instead of piling the slices of mozzarella and tomato in a stack or spreading them in a fan, make the deconstructed Caprese salad shown in the photo. All you need apart from the standard ingredients (see below) are red and yellow tomatoes (or green, orange or purple—heirloom tomatoes offer a rainbow of options) of different sizes, and both large and small basil leaves.

While you’re at the farmers market, pick up some exotic basil instead of the standard: dark purple opal basil, lemon basil or sweet Thai basil, for example.

CAPRESE SALAD HISTORY

Insalata Caprese (salad in the style of Capri) is a favorite of many people—perhaps all the more precious because one of its four ingredients, tomatoes (combined with basil, mozzarella di bufala and olive oil) are splendid for such a short period of each year.

Basil is indigenous to Italy and mozzarella and olive oil have been made since ancient Roman times (olive oil is actually much older). The other key ingredients arrived much later:

 
However, insalata caprese became popular throughout the Western world after it became a favorite of King Farouk of Egypt, who discovered it during the a vacation to Capri in the 1950s (and probably invented the first insalata caprese sandwich—said to be his favorite way of eating it).

At some point, balsamic vinegar was offered as an addition to the plain olive oil (although fine olive oil as the sole condiment is sufficiently flavorful). Caprese salad is also called insalata tricolore, referring to the three colors of the Italian flag (green, white and red).

CAPRESE SALAD VARIATIONS

Outside of tomato season, radicchio, red bell peppers or sundried tomatoes can be substituted—as well as fruit, such as:

 
Vegans can enjoy a Tofu Caprese Salad, and those who don’t like mozzarella (is there anyone?) can make a Goat Cheese Caprese.

You can also make a Caprese Pasta Salad.
 
So, what’s for lunch?

 
*Source: Consorzio per la Tutela del Formaggio Mozzarella di Bufala Campana. This is the current best historical guess. The history of mozzarella di bufala.

Make an ice cream sandwich with a “popcorn
ball” sandwich. Photo courtesy Popcorn.org.

August 2nd is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day. Sure, ice cream between two cookies or thin slices of cake makes a great sandwich. But try something different this year: Make the “sandwich” part from popcorn balls.

This recipe takes the ingredients for popcorn balls and makes them flat, in a baking pan, so they can be cut into rectangles for the sandwiches.
 
 
RECIPE: POPCORN ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

Ingredients For 12 Sandwiches

†If you can’t find brick-style pints, get a quart. Why do you need a rectangle? To slice the ice cream in a rectangle for the sandwiches. You can experiment with other ice cream flavors, but start with vanilla for a benchmark.
_________________
 
Preparation

1. COMBINE brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, vinegar and salt in a three-quart saucepan.

2. COOK, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Continue to cook until hard ball stage (250°F on a candy thermometer). Pour syrup over popped popcorn; stir to coat.

3. ADD chocolate pieces and nuts; stir just to mix. Pour into two 13 x 9 x 2 inch pans, spreading and packing firmly. Cool.

4. CUT the popcorn mix in each pan into 12 rectangles. Cut each pint of ice cream into 6 slices. Sandwich ice cream between two popcorn rectangles.

5. WRAP each sandwich in plastic and place in freezer until ready to serve.

Find more recipes at Popcorn.org, the website of The Popcorn Board.

If we were in L.A. we’d celebrate National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, August 2nd, at Napoléon’s Macarons.

Or maybe not, since the pâtisserie is giving away* free Maca’Longs today from 2-4 p.m. at the Glendale and Canoga Park locations. Imagine the crowds, and perhaps stay home and make your own ice cream sandwiches.

Maca’Longs are macaron cookie ice cream sandwiches that use the bakery’s macaron expertise to create long, almond meringue-based shells for their made-from-scratch ice cream. (See our original post on Pierre Herme’s version).

The Maca’Long debuts in four flavors: Hazelnut Lemon, Mocha, Raspberry Pistachio and Vanilla Pecan. For this we have just two words: Mmmm, mmmm.

Discover more at NapoleonsMacarons.com.

EAST COAST ICE CREAM SANDWICH NEWS

On the other side of the country, in Manhattan, Ristorante Asellina is serving up Crolatos: homemade gelato sandwiches on split croissants.

While a buttery plain croissant works just fine, see if you can score some almond croissants or chocolate croissants.
  

The Lärabar brand of healthy, gluten free energy bars (now owned by General Mills) has reinvented granola. They call their new product Renola.

The reinvention substitutes nuts for the traditional oats in granola. As a result, Renola is grain free, gluten free, soy-free and dairy-free. It is certified kosher by OU.

It’s also crunchy and complex, with 6g protein per serving.

A blend of non-GMO fruits, nuts, seeds and spices, Renola debuts in three flavors:

 
They are purchased in 1.25-ounce single serve packets. We received samples from the manufacturer and are pleased to report: the Berry and Cinnamon Nut flavors are superb.

And Cocoa Coconut? The sample we received was a disappointment, with marginal cocoa flavor and a bit of coconut too dessicated to be enjoyable.

But that doesn’t diminish the excitement of the other two flavors. They are wonderful, and thus, our Top Pick Of The Week.
 
WAYS TO ENJOY RENOLA

Renola is currently available at select Target stores nationwide, as well as a variety of grocery chains including Kroger, Meijer, Ahold, Safeway and Shaws, with others to come. The suggested retail price is $1.79 per package.

For more information about Lärabar and Renola, visit Larabar.com.

What’s missing from these bowls of cereal?
Check the list below! Photo courtesy
Kellogg’s.

So Kellogg’s, America’s cereal powerhouse, created a pop-up restaurant, Recharge Bar, to educate families about the power of protein and grains found in a serving of dry breakfast cereal and one cup of skim milk. It popped up in our neighborhood at the end of June.

Visitors were treated to a menu of “cereal, milk, fruit and more” recipes developed by Christina Tosi, owner of Momofuku Milk Bar in Brooklyn, New York. The idea is, if you rethink breakfast cereal, you can invent more tasty options, good-for-you options to enjoy not just for breakfast, but for snacks and other meals. (We’re part of the contingent that can happily have a bowl of cereal for dinner.)

Beyond cereal, milk and fruit, Tosi added some “flavor boosts,” including nut butter, nuts, spices, herbs, and even fresh-ground coffee. Her menu:

 
Inspired? The next time you open your kitchen cupboards, scan the shelves to see what might belong in tomorrow’s bowl of cereal. Lemon zest? Nutella? Stone fruit?

Learn more at Kellogg’s microsite, Cereal And Milk.
 
BEYOND MILK

Not everyone loves cow’s milk. Consider replacing it with almond milk, soy milk or yogurt. Don’t restrict yourself to the plain flavors, either. Chocolate lover? Try chocolate almond or soy milk.

Go global with kefir, which originated in the North Caucasus Mountains of Russia lassi from India, yogurt-like drinks.

Or, try Christina Tosi’s “Cereal Milk.”

This recipe is served at Momofuku Milk Bar, where it is served as a beverage and used in recipes like panna cotta. The restaurant says that “it tastes like the milk at the bottom of a bowl of Corn Flakes.”

To us, it tastes like whole milk infused with a substantial amount of malted milk. It’s heady stuff. Frankly, we’d rather have plain milk with our cereal. But for the many fans, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients For 2-1/2 Cups/4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 300°F.

2. SPREAD the Corn Flakes on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly toasted. Cool completely. Toasting the cornflakes before steeping them deepens the flavor of the milk.

3. TRANSFER the cooled cornflakes to a large pitcher. Pour the milk into the pitcher and stir vigorously. Let steep for 20 minutes at room temperature.

No fresh fruit? Use dried. Raisins are popular, but we think dried cherries are even better. Add some pistachios and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Photo courtesy Cherry Marketing Institute.

5. WHISK the brown sugar and salt into the milk until fully dissolved. Taste the Cereal Milk. If you want it a little sweeter, add a little more brown sugar. If you want a more mellow flavor, add a splash of fresh milk and a pinch of salt.

6. USE immediately or store in a covered pitcher or jar, refrigerated, for up to 1 week.
  

Got corn?

Fresh-picked local corn has just appeared in our area. We celebrated by eating some of it raw (try it, it’s delicious), boiling some, and grilling some for this corn salad from QVC chef David Venable.

David says, “I love to have a side dish that can be thrown on the grill so that it carries the smoky, char-broiled flavor into the rest of the meal.

“This grilled corn salad is a perfect balance of bright, fresh flavors and smoky-sweet corn. Prepare your other ingredients first, so that you can tend to the grill without distraction.”

Serve it as a side salad with anything. No matter how much you make, it will disappear quickly.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT a barbecue or indoor grill to medium.

2. CAREFULLY PEEL back the corn husks leaving them attached at the bottom. Remove the silk. Rewrap the corn in the husks and secure with string. Completely submerge the corn in cold water for 15-20 minutes; drain.

3. GRILL the corn for 20-25 minutes, or until tender, turning often. Allow it to cool and then remove the husks completely.

4. PREPARE the salad: Cut the corn from each cob and place it in a medium-size mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and fold to combine.

Find more of David Venable’s recipes at QVC.com.