Tired of eating heavy meals? Try Woodi's Caprese. Woodi Carr, one of my spinning friends, shared his recipe. This salad is from Capri, Italy. It was created at the Trattoria da Vincenzo during the 1950s for customers who wanted a light lunch. Originally, the ingredients included just fresh tomatoes and fresh cow's milk mozzarella. Throughout Italy, it has evolved into a salad which sometimes includes arugula, oregano and extra-virgin olive oil.

When Woodi isn't driving fast cars in Europe and racing yachts in the America's Cup, he regularly works out at the Honolulu Club. Once a retail pharmacist, he now owns a successful business catering to the needs of hemophiliacs. With his science background (cooking is a science, after all) and his love of travel, it is no surprise that he also is a gourmet cook.

In his recipe, he uses fleur de sel, "flower of salt." It is a French salt that can be purchased at gourmet cooking stores, such as Williams-Sonoma or R. Field. Balsamic vinegar gives the salad another dimension. He said you don't have to buy the most expensive brand for this. Woodi starts off with 1 cup good-quality balsamic vinegar around ($10-$15 a bottle) and adds 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and begins to slowly cook it down over medium heat so that it begins to reduce but not boil. As this syrup thickens, the flavors become concentrated. Put this reduced balsamic vinegar in a decorative jar, and you will also have created a great gift for that discerning gourmet. You can use this concentrated vinegar in the recipe below, or just use plain balsamic.

WOODI'S CAPRESE