Winter is getting the best of me, as I ache for the fruit and vege of warmer months. This yearning makes me so weak that sometimes I can’t resist buying that fancy plastic box of exotic-looking cherry tomato varieties, shipped all the way from a hot house in Mexico. Such purchases weigh on my pro-environment conscience as well as on my palate, for while these are prettier and even a hint more tasty than the run-of-the-mill tomatoes that are available in January (that I really don’t think are worth anyone’s time), they are not even close to local, in-season varieties. Still, at times I’ll be weak enough to fake it – convincing myself that one can have a tomato salad on a January evening.

And my, they are pretty to look at. Sigh.

A simple balsamic vinaigrette is perfect to help give these tomatoes some much-needed oomph.

A little basil doesn’t hurt either (also from a Mexican hothouse, for shame.

The entire thing can be prepared in just five minutes.

If you turn up the heat and forget what you know about tomatoes, you may almost be able to convince yourself that it is August. Ahhhhhhhh.

Hot House Tomato Salad

1 12 oz package of assorted cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon dried basil, crushed

1 tablespoon minced shallots

1 tablespoon sugar

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

6-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped