Francesca cooks . . . slaving over a hot Second Life stove can be a real challenge!

I love to cook, so I thought in addition to writing about virtual worlds and the nature of reality . . . I have to eat. So why not share? Eventually, the cooking bits will turn into separate, categorized posts, but the first one goes here for now.

Watermelon and Heirloom Tomato Salad: Outstanding as a side dish, or a light main dish.

Watermelon and Heirloom Tomato Salad

• Watermelon, cut in chunks
• Tomatoes (MUST have flavor — see notes below)
• Goat cheese, simple, crumbled
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Sweet basil
• Cashews, roasted, unsalted
• (Base quantities on the other things you plan to serve. If this is a side dish, a couple of slices of tomato and four small chunks of watermelon per person).

Arrange sliced tomatoes and watermelon on plate. I like a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on the tomatoes only. Be very light with the oil. Crumble goat cheese over the watermelon and tomatoes. Sprinkle on a few cashews. Then add basil. The little baby leaves are best for this — add three or four. If the basil leaves are large, cut them into smaller pieces.

**** It’s really imperative that the tomatoes have good flavor. I’ve had good luck with yellow heirloom tomatoes this summer. Campari tomatoes are typically pretty good. I have used small grape tomatoes in a pinch. And, if you cannot get good tomatoes, this salad with just the watermelon is still great.

The olive oil came from the Ornellaia vineyards in the Bolgheri region of Tuscany. Ornellaia makes extraordinary wine. I heartily recommend their Serra Nuove. The olive oil . . . well, you have to visit the winery in Tuscany. An excuse to return :-).