Mom's Tomato and Basil Salad

Something enigmatic happens after 9 months of carrying a baby and then bearing the pain of labor. Mothers become super human! Seriously. Since I became a mother, I have been able to understand martian language (a.k.a. baby babble), remove ANY stain with the tips of my magical fingers, read minds (a.k.a. knowing what trouble lurked in the quiet sounds of a kid-centered house), reach a child in peril faster than a speeding bullet and COOK!

In college, I use to imagine that I could cook. Only then, cooking consisted of "gourmet" grilled cheese sandwiches, and by gourmet I mean adding a slice of tomato. But then, I became a mother, and just like that, Spider man and I were not so different. For him, he acquired spider senses, for me it was cooking senses. All I could do was think about what I would make for breakfast, and immediately after I ate, I would start thinking about lunch. Things just started to make culinary sense. I swore to myself that despite the crying children, the cranky husband, the loads of laundry, the playdates, the lack of free time and the fact that I had no cooking background what-so-ever, I could stand in the kitchen with Giada and, at the very least, be her sous chef. I had the "motherhood power." This was all probably some sort of bizarre, post-pregnancy, fantasy that could have benefited from a psycho analysis, but if you are a mom reading this, you know what I mean.

Now, I don't know if this happened to my mom, or if she was one of the lucky ones that popped out with a culinary thumb, but she has some serious skills in the kitchen. You should see what she can do with a head of cauliflower! I only wish I will someday be as good a cook as she. I can guarantee that much of what I will share with you will be influenced by my mom.

There really is not much frill to this salad. What makes it so great, is how well all the flavors work together. There aren't really too many ingredients, but its how they come together that makes it so fabulous!

Mom's Tomato and Basil Salad

1 box of grape (or cherry) tomatoes

handful of basil chopped

1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Mix up all ingredients