On Sunday Abby put a 12 pound watermelon in the shopping cart. It was the same day our first sun gold tomatoes of the season were ripe. We took it as a sign. We were going to our friends Mike and Karla’s house that night for dinner so we settled on this salad.

I think we could rename it 100 Degree Salad – it is so refreshing you can literally enjoy it when it is 100 degrees outside, like it was on Sunday. The joke of the night was that of all the utensils and gadgets we have in our kitchen, we did not own a melon baller until Karla gave us her spare to make our salad!

I love arugula in this salad instead of basil, which is probably more of a typical pairing. The baby arugula you can find in a bag works, but I prefer arugula with thick leaves and huge peppery taste you get from the farmer’s market. We used Piacci’s fresh mozzarella from Brownsville, Wisconsin, an hour away from my hometown of Sheboygan.  It’s a delicate cheese that doesn’t take over the salad.

This is a true summer salad…no measurements here. It is impossible not to snack while making this, so enjoy seasoning little by little as you go.

Watermelon Caprese Salad
{gluten-free}

watermelon, scooped into balls using a melon baller
sungold tomatoes
arugula, torn into bite-sized pieces
fresh mozzarella
white balsamic (normal balsamic works fine too, aged balsamic works better!)
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Throw all ingredients into a bowl and mix!