My mother, sister, daughter, and I painted from sunrise until sunset during our Columbus Day watercolor fest. We did take occasional breaks for important things–like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For lunch my sister whipped up this delightful Panzanella salad. It was quick, easy, and delicious. It’s best made with good quality home-grown tomatoes, like these beauties I bought last weekend at the farmer’s market–which were probably the last tomatoes of the season.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this salad:

Ingredients:

2 thick slices of  dense bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (we used honey sunflower artisan bread I bought at Harris Teeter)
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1/4 small red onion, diced
1 cup fresh mozzarella, cubed
1 stalk celery, diced
8 basil leaves, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients into a medium-sized bowl. Stir to combine. Let sit at room temperature until the bread softens. Serve with a glass of peach iced tea. Serves 3-4.