The Desert Where a lot of Vegetables are grown except Tomatoes and Capresi Salad

So the other day a dear friends and neighbors of mine asked me to stop buy. I had just gotten home from the Coachella Valley , Palm Springs to La Quinta then back to Los Angeles after 3 days in the desert  and on top of all that the High was 122 and the low was 92 and raining. Did you know that they grow a lot of different fruits and vegetables out in the desert like table grapes, citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit; onions and leeks; and peppers. The Coachella Valley grows alfalfa, artichokes, avocados, beans, beets, cabbage, carrots, corn, cotton, cucumbers, dandelions (salad greens), eggplant, figs, grains (i.e. barley, oats, rye and wheat; plus rice fields kept wet or moist in the Salton Sea area), hops, kohlrabi, lettuce, mangoes, nectarines and peaches, persimmons, plums and prunes, pomegranate, potatoes, radishes, spinach, strawberries, sugar cane, tomatoes, a variety of herbs and spices, and other vegetable crops.

So by the time I got home I was exhausted. So I asked my friends if it could wait and they said NO! So even though they live 5 houses away, I drove to their home. Which I was happy I did because look what I was lucky enough to score! These beautiful Tomatoes that were born not in the Coachella Valley but in Camarillo, California at Houweling's Tomatoes in  the County of Ventura.   Where they also grow a variety of fruits and vegetables including celery, tomatoes,  blueberries, raspberries strawberries and a lot of other fruits and vegetables just to highlight a few. My friend Scott visited there farm and see what they were up to plus bring back a wealth of tomatoe knowledge and shared some of it with me. Like did you know that in a green house you can grow a variety of tomatoes 52 weeks a year. 

So This week with my abundance of Tomatoes I'm going to share a couple recipes that are quick and easy and include these beautiful tomatoes.

Capresi Salad Ingredients:

3 to 4 Tomatoes thinly sliced of your choice

Fresh Mozerella thinly sliced

Fresh Basil chopped 

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Balsamic Glaze (optional)

    

Slice Tomatoes

   

Next place a varied amount of colors on a plate.

Then cover with Freshly sliced Mozerella cheese and fresh basil and drizzle either olive oil of Balsamic glaze 

Enjoy

Sheila Fretz