Chew on This | Faux Caprese Salad

Rabbits. You've got to love their fuzzy cotton tails and silky ears. Their twitching whiskers and happy hops.

Or not.

Two ornery rabbits have had a field day in our garden. Most of our beautiful peas have been chewed down to nubs. I am not happy. I've considered a midnight stakeout to catch them in the act of thieving, but thought better of it for various reasons. 1 - I don't have night vision glasses so it would be difficult to actually see those buggers in action. 2 - I don't much want to stay up until the wee hours of the night to 'catch' rabbits eating my garden. And finally, 3 - what in the world would I do if I actually caught a rabbit? Probably get some carrots and lettuce out of the refrigerator and feed it a proper meal.

What has worked in the past, and what I had forgotten to do so far this year, is placing dog hair around the raised beds. Sounds weird but the wonderful lady that grooms our pup told me about this two years ago and it worked like a charm. 

If you have a dog, or know someone who does, give it a good brushing and take the excess hair to spread around the outside edges of your garden. Soak it with some water to keep it from flying and there you go. You'll surely have to replace it often as it will fly away in a strong wind, but it should do the trick keeping those rascals at a distance. Hopefully.

I tried it last night and I still have a few pea plants left - yahoo! Never mind I've trimmed my pup almost bald to keep the garden growing. She probably appreciates how cool she looks feels in the heat of our summer days...

So, after talking dog hair, how about some delicious Faux Caprese Salad?? Huh? Huh? 

I think caprese salad looks so gorgeous. Bright, shockingly bright colors that lure you in. But forget about the tomatoes. If you know me even a tiny bit, you know that I only eat tomatoes in salsa. And only rarely in pasta sauce. So, I decided that caprese salad needed an overhaul - all the same components, sans tomatoes, and now starring roasted red bell peppers!

Rabbits would probably go gaga for it.

Cares

Here's our recipe:

Faux Caprese Salad

(serves 2-4)

4-6 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced

6-8 fresh basil leaves

1-2 large red bell peppers, cored and seeded, sliced into large strips

1-2 T olive oil, plus more for dressing salad

1 clove finely minced garlic

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a small baking sheet with foil.

In a small bowl, combine your tablespoon(s) of olive oil with your garlic. Season with a bit of salt and pepper and stir. Toss your red pepper pieces in this mixture and coat completely. Place your red pepper pieces onto the baking sheet and place into the oven to roast. Allow the pepper to roast until soft and slightly charred, about 20-25 minutes.

When the peppers are done, allow to cool slightly and then you can start assembling your salad. Mozzarella slice, red pepper slice, basil leaf, repeat. Top with a bit more olive oil and salt and pepper. Now go enjoy!