Stank Breath Mater Salad

Introducing: Stank Breath Mater Salad; or if you're fancy: Heirloom cherry tomato and bleu cheese salad with pistachio balsamic pesto dressing. 

I'm baaaaaaaaack in the saddle again! Hate to admit it because I always thought spring was my season, but apparently I'm a just summer kind of girl. Winter and spring just don't get my creative juices flowing. Weirdly, I lose my drive to cook and feel uninspired by food in general in winter. I love being able to go out to my garden, pick out flavors that compliment each other and arrange and prepare them in the kitchen. I imagine it's a pretty weird thing to watch since I rarely follow any sort of recipe and just start grabbing from every direction in the kitchen. Most likely it looks like a primitive idiotic dance...but I'm pretty happy with what the dance yields.

It's latest creation is what I like to call Stank Breath Mater Salad, because it sounds like something my dad would call it. Since my tomatoes are only just beginning to bloom, I had to have some help with grocery store tomatoes. I love intense flavors, so this salad really makes me happy. However, don't eat it by yourself, then go try to socialize! The aftermath isn't pretty for anyone on the receiving end, hence the name. Enjoy!

Stank Breath Mater Salad:

Heirloom cherry tomato and bleu cheese salad with balsamic pistachio pesto dressing

1 7oz container of orange heirloom tomatoes

1/3 cup of crumbled bleu cheese

For the pesto:

1/2 cup fresh basil

2 tbsp fresh lemon balm

1/2 tbsp fresh orange mint

(if you don't have lemon balm or orange mint plants, just use basil)

1/2 cup parm cheese

1/3 cup Wonderful pistachio kernels

1/4 cup olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

Put all pesto ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth. In a medium size bowl, cut tomatoes in half and mix in bleu cheese and pesto.