Bruschetta

With the explosion of cherry tomatoes from our garden and fresh basil that I can't hardly keep up with, I decided some Bruschetta was in order.  I made a batch of this bread to use for the base.  We added small squares of Mozarella cheese after I took this photo which made these just perfect.  This recipe is adapted from one I found at www.simplyrecipes.com.

Bruschetta

1 baguette or other artisan bread
6-7 Roma tomatoes or equivalent amount of cherry tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (and more for spreading)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
10-15 fresh basil leaves
1 tsp Kosher salt (more or less to taste)
fresh ground pepper (a couple of turns)

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degress.
2.  Slice bread into 1/2" thick slices and using a pastry brush, spread olive oil on one side.  Place olive oil side down on a cookie sheet.  When oven is heated, place bread in oven on top rack for 5-10 minutes until golden brown.
3.  Cut tomatoes into small pieces.  Mix with garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil (cut into thin slices), salt and pepper.
4.  When bread is done turn slices over so olive oil side is upright and spread with a generous amount of the tomato mixture.  Top with small cubes of Mozarella cheese if desired.