Peach, basil and mozzarella salad

I absolutely love the simplicity of this salad. Every bite has a different contrast of sweet and tart mellowed out by the mozzarella or livened up by the sharpness of the greens or the saltiness of the Parma ham. Oh and the peaches! They are the pure embodiment of Summer, don't you think? We were lucky enough to have stumbled upon a roadside peach orchard. The orchard was beautiful with branches heavy with ripe fruit and filled with peach perfume. I told the older women at the farm stand as we were paying that we should have weighed my boys before they entered the orchard and to tack on another pound to my total. They just could not help themselves. There is nothing more endearing than to see your kids faces covered in sticky peach juice, if only we could all enjoy a peach like that. 

Its the middle of August and I'm clinging on to these summer days, savoring the last bits of summer vacation with my kids. Soon there will be homework, week night soccer practices and an entirely different pace to life......for now I'll revel in these last few weeks. 

XO

Lisa  

Peach, basil and mozzarella  

Ingredients  

5 ripe peaches

20 thin slices of Parma ham

6 oz of greens

2 large balls of mozzarella  

basil leaves

olive oil

white wine vinegar  

Preparation

Dress the greens with a splash of olive oil and white wine vinegar, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat the leaves. Slice the peaches in half, pull out the pits and slice each half into three. Arrange dressed greens on to 4 plates, distribute the peaches among the plates, tear the mozzarella balls into large chunks and divide evenly between the plates. Divide the Parma ham and scatter torn basil leaves on top of each plate.