People from Manitoba have an innate tendency to talk about the weather. It probably comes from living in a province that ranges 70°C on an average year. We get frigid weather to super sweaty and everything in between, so we talk about it. All of the time. I try to avoid doing it here, because all of you are in different climes and probably aren’t that interested, but just bear with me, I do have a point.

It is officially HOT! We topped out at 32° C today, and around these parts when it gets hot it also gets humid. It’s muggy and sweaty and my hair has reached epic proportions of enormity, but still, it’s way better this way than the 40° below it will be in January.

It’s the type of hot where, on the seven minute walk to the farmer’s market, you’ll sweat from your elbow pits and the backs of your knees. Being as fair as I am, days like this are the ones where I feel the tingle of sunburn creeping in under my layer of sunscreen.

When it’s this warm out, all additional effort required to get things done is questioned and debated over. Is it worth it to go to the farmer’s market? Of course it is, there’s treasure abounding in the market this time of year. Will it take too much energy to walk? Well, the walk isn’t that long, but it will be hot. It just seems a waste to start the car for that short a distance. I planned on baking something today, do I want to heat up the oven? No.

But you know what? Despite summer bringing sunburn, giant hair, and avoidance of activity, it also brings something glorious. Tomatoes. This is a way to highlight their tomato-y glory with very little effort and good results.

Summer Tomatoes with Feta and Balsamic

Ingredients

2 ripe tomatoes

a chunk of feta cheese, about 1.5 inches square, or ~2 Tbsp

1 Tbsp of reduced balsamic vinegar

black pepper, freshly cracked

Directions
  • Slice your tomatoes, about a quarter of an inch to half an inch thick, perpindicular to their radial symmetry (or, latitudinally rather than longitudinally).

  • Arrange the tomato slices on a plate, overlapping slightly on the edges, in a single layer.

  • Crumble the feta cheese over top of the tomatoes, making sure to distribute it evenly. It’s no fun to have all of the tasty cheese only on the middle tomatoes.

  • Drizzle the tomatoes and feta with the reduced balsamic vinegar, once again, paying attention to even distribution.

  • If it doesn’t take too much energy to do on these hot summer days, crack some black pepper over top.
  • Savor!

And there you go, in five minutes, hopefully with little to no sweat being shed, a gorgeously tasty way to use up the tomatoes of summer.

Now, should I get the oven preheated for that baking I wanted to do? Nah, maybe it’ll be a little cooler tomorrow, tomorrow will be the day for baking.