Tomato Salad: A Taste of Summer

I live on tomato salad in the glory days of summer tomatoes. I eat it almost everyday and never get tired of it because I know in just a few weeks, it will be a distant memory and I will be very sad thinking about it in January when the snow is falling.

My favorite way, pictured below:

• Mixed fresh tomatoes.  A couple different kinds are ideal.  This perfect salad had sweet sunspot orange cherry tomatoes from our garden and a more acidic beefsteak type from the CSA.  The mixed tomatoes give it the variation in taste to let the tomatoes shine through. 
• Fresh basil. Plenty.  Picked right before making.  It tends to get bitter the longer it sits, in my opinion.
• Coarse sea salt.  The coarse salt gives it a crunch.
• Olive oil.  Regular or extra virgin.
• A crusty bread for dipping (optional).  The best part is dipping the bread in the tomato juice and oil remainders in the bottom of the bowl. I am usually a classy girl and just drink it without the bread.

Some variations:

• Onion. I usually omit the basil if I use onion because it's too much going on. I like the KISS principle with this salad.
• Olives, either kalamata or italian green or both
• Omitting any of the ingredients that you don't have.  Last night's dinner was a huge beefsteak tomato with salt and olive oil.