Mango, Apple, Mozzarella Salad

You know those days when your fridge and fruit bowl seem well-stocked, but every time you try to make something you find yourself missing a key ingredient? Blame it on poor planning or succumbing to whim after whim at the market, but those days are inevitable. While I may pout briefly when I realize my stir fry is going to lack ginger or my oatmeal cookies are going to have to include raisins instead of chocolate chips, inevitably I perk up when I challenge myself to play Top Chef in my own kitchen. 

The salad below was the product of one of those challenges late last summer. I found myself eager to use a beautiful hunk of mozzarella from our favorite cheese guy and the last few basil leaves that escaped a pesto fate, but there wasn't a tomato to be found in our kitchen. Not to be deterred from a delicious lunch, I threw together a salad so delicious it actually made its way into our regular rotation. After all, you've got to have something to eat with your mozzarella when heirloom tomatoes disappear from the market. 

Mango, Apple, Mozzarella Salad
(serves 2-3 as a side)

One crisp, tart apple (honeycrisp is my favorite, but a green apple is also tasty)
One ripe mango
4 oz high quality mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons sliced or slivered almonds
4 basil leaves cut into chiffonade (this basically just means to cut into very thin strips--if you just tear the basil into little pieces, I won't tell anyone)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced

Cut the apple, mango, and mozzarella into 1/2 inch cubes. Toss together in a bowl. Add the almonds and basil and toss gently. Distribute among 2-3 plates and drizzle the desired amount of balsamic vinegar reduction on top of each. Alternatively, you can toss the salad with the balsamic vinegar reduction, but I prefer little bursts of balsamic flavor to an even coating. Enjoy!

A Wednesday Hodge-Podge

Hello, gentle readers! Can you believe it's September already? I feel like I was just enjoying the springtime--where has the summer gone? We hope all is going well with you and your week. Here is some randomness to perk up your Wednesday:

Another huge congrats to Ashley and Aron on winning our giveaway. I first ran across their blog when Ashley did a guest post on Pretty Mommy, and then was happily surprised to see that Aron left a comment on our giveaway, and then even more happily surprised when Elisabeth told me that they were our winners. Their blog is one of my new faves, for sure. They're super adorable, no?

Here's some stuff from around the interwebs this week:

--Do you want this pitcher? Me, too.

--Beautiful vintage-inspired tops from Etsy seller ForetLA. If the Blue River Bomber Jacket or Sage Blouse just happened to show up on my doorstep, I would have no complaints about that.

--Hand-drawn animals in hand-drawn frames? In bright and quirky colors? Yes, please. Now that Emi has semi-mastered "baaa," it's high time she learn what sound a gnu makes.

--If I were into trinkets, this little gold-plated jackalope would be on my must-have list.

--Me & Arrow has a lookbook that is spot-on this fall. And their fall collection is all leathery and wooly. In a good way, not in an old-people-at-the-beach kind of way (ba-dum-bum-ch!). {via}

Have a wonderful, sunshiney, in-denial-that-you'll-soon-be-too-cold day, everyone!