Summering along

Well, I’ve mostly just been really busy with work. I am thankful for the blessing of work at hand. So many people are out of a job… I am not one of them. Other things get put off, though – now I’ve just blinked and we are approaching the end of August and our big trip to Hawaii… less than a week to go! Unfortunately I am suffering from a terrible head cold. I’m all stuffed up and barely able to look at the list of things I need to get done before we leave Monday evening (we’ll stay in Portland overnight and fly to SFO first thing Tuesday morning). Meanwhile, we’re having another heat wave – in the high 90’s yesterday, so that’s not helping my motivation to do much other than sit around and drink (iced) Throat-Coat tea with lemon.

We are eating home-grown tomatoes. Yay! You just can’t beat fresh off the vine. The timing worked out nicely with our basil… it must be some sort of “phoenix” variety, because it had me convinced that it was dead, or at least stunted beyond any hope of harvest. In early July it was tiny, chewed, and partly bolted. Now it’s thriving green plants and we’ve been eating it with the tomatoes. If I get around to it, I want to pick what’s left and freeze a batch of pesto before our vacation.

Bruschetta (serves 2-4)
We devoured a whole pan as our main dish, but this makes a great appetizer or along side a simple grilled entree.

1 medium ciabatta loaf, or other crusty bread
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 c chopped red onion
A handful fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed in a garlic press
Salt and pepper
Mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 400.° Slice the bread into 3/4-inch slices and arrange them on a baking sheet. Brush each slice with olive oil. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, basil, and garlic. Spoon this mixture onto the bread slices. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the mozzarella over all, and bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and browned in places.