A Caprese Salad with Crispy Sage to celebrate the arrival of the summer tomatoes! And, a divine Linguini with Capers and Bronze Fennel Fronds.

Plus, a bit of This & That.

The Opener

We're currently doing a staycation in Venice at our friends' perfect beachy bungalow while we get our house ready to sell and have been feeling very inspired this week by an incredible meal at Gjelina (the oysters, the crudo, the Heirloom Cucumber Salad, the Crispy Duck Confit!) and the beautiful bounty of the Santa Monica Farmers Market. I can't wait to get back in the kitchen and make both of this week's recipes...I've been missing my pasta and cheese on the cleanse! And I'm also very much looking forward to sharing our Venice and Santa Monica recommendations in a couple of weeks once we've tried a few new places and returned to our old favorites.

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Caprese Salad with Crispy Sage and Garlic

I've always appreciated the simplicity of a Caprese salad, especially when summer arrives and the tomatoes are juicy and sweet. I recently saw a version of this dish with fried sage on @kittycoles Instagram, and I knew I had to try it out. The earthy, minty sage crunch with the tomatoes and creamy fresh mozzarella is delicious. I also love knowing you can experiment with other herbs when you can't get your hands on fresh basil. Here is a loose framework for how to make the salad. Feel free to play around and adjust the quantities according to how hungry or how many people you are feeding. I usually do one ball of fresh mozzarella for two people. And most importantly, this Caprese's success will rely on the quality and flavor of your ingredients!

Caprese Salad with Crispy Sage and Garlic

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Fresh mozzarella, sliced into thick rounds

• Ripe, juicy tomatoes, cut into thick wedges or rounds

• Sage leaves

• Garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

• Sea salt

• Black pepper

Place the tomatoes in a small bowl.

Coat the bottom of a small sauté pan with a generous amount of olive oil. Turn the heat on medium-high, and once hot, carefully drop in the garlic slices. Cook until the garlic starts to soften, about a minute or so. Next, drop in the sage and cook for 10-15 seconds, and it should crisp up quite quickly. Turn the heat off and pour the hot olive oil mixture over the tomatoes. Season with sea salt and some freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes.

When you are ready to serve, place the sliced mozzarella on one side of a serving plate or platter, depending on how many people you have prepared the dish for. Season the cheese with sea salt and black pepper. Scoop the tomatoes, garlic, and sage onto the other side of the plate. Pour the remaining olive oil in the bowl over the cheese and tomatoes on the plate. Serve.

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Linguini with Capers and Bronze Fennel Fronds

Our friend Horace is a walking green thumb. He's a fantastic gardener for hire, a die-hard Italofile, an excellent cocktail maker, and a talented skater. He's been helping us bring our edible garden back to life for the summer and has planted several interesting heirloom vegetables and herbs, including Bronze Fennel. This type of fennel is an herbal variety as opposed to the bulb variety, and is darker in color with soft, wispy leaves and a delicate licorice flavor. We've been experimenting with it over the past few months, adding it to frittatas, salads, and pasta dishes. Here is one of our favorite new ways to use Bronze Fennel. And, don't worry if you can't get your hands on any; you can use regular fennel fronds from bulb fennel for this dish too.