Tomato and Soppresata Salad

Balance. I'm an constantly seeking it, but somehow it eludes me. Every once in a while I catch it, but never hold on. I am a passionate person who seeks and craves change but needs routine and structure. So I tend to run after the change full force, forgetting to slow down and re-visit the things proven to make me happy. Eventually I stop running and realize how much I miss the routine. Ah, the joys of growing older, the increased insight is awesome and so often the thing you need most is right in front of you.

One of my favorite routines is going to Bill's Imported Foods on Lake St. and Lyndale Ave in Minneapolis. Just going through each of the aisles, looking at strange and familiar foods, planning our next meal or snack is a calming, restorative routine. Often our eyes are bigger than what we'll actually ever eat and we end up with exotic syrups, preserves and fabulous halva that will go bad before the perfect meal was formed. One of the things we always use up and can always be found in the brown paper bag that leaves the store with us is Soppresata sausage. Go ahead, re-visit some of our old posts, I'll bet it's in half our recipes. Huge fans of cured meats- nitrates and all- Bill's is where we find our staples. Soppresata is an Italian-style cured sausage. It comes as a link about 1.5" round and 10" long. We prefer the one labeled "hot". It's not really, it's just spicier and more flavorful than the other option. Sometimes we cut thin slices to serve with cheese, but the real miracle is it's versatility. Chopped finely, it provides the perfect amount of saltiness, bite and extra flavor to nearly everything.

This recipe makes use of all the extra tomatoes and basil you're going to have to pick tonight before the deep freeze. It's incredibly simple and a fabulous side dish to place next to your favorite entree tonight. You're basically going to core, de-seed and chop a couple tomatoes, add diced basil (sweet, lemon, thai, whatever you like), some good quality olive oil, a splash of a nice balsamic and thin slices of the Soppresata I just told you about. Salt and black pepper finish it off. Simple, fresh, delicious way to say good bye to summer.