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.

TMNT - Themed Food Ideas

This post is for Jared. :)  We just threw a TMNT party for my five year old.  I have to admit, these were pretty fun to make.

Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

Ben's mom was in town a couple of weeks ago and she took us out to lunch at Zupas.  I tried their Cauliflower soup for the first time.  I loved the flavor of it!  My only complaint about their soup is that it has no chunks....it's completely smooth.  So when I made this soup that was the main alteration I made...Instead of blending my cauliflower, I left it in small chunks.  This did make for a slightly thinner soup so next time I will add something to thicken it a bit.  This recipe doesn't taste exactly like Zupas but it's really good.  And a great way to use a head of cauliflower at this time of year.

Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

2 tablespoons butter (1/4 stick)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 can (13 3/4 to 14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 head (2 1/2 pounds) cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I omitted.  Unless you are a big fan of Dijon mustard you may want to leave this out.)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup pepper jack cheese (I used Monterey Jack instead because that is what I had.)

In 4-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 1/2 cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

Farmers Market Salsa

Our tomato plants are thriving this year. The tomatoes I'm getting look so nice and pretty! I should have taken a picture. :) I love fresh, homemade salsa - it's a perfect snack that you don't have to feel guilty about eating. This recipe calls for Roma tomatoes but I used my Early Girls and they worked great - probably any medium sized vine tomato would. I also omitted the banana pepper because I couldn't find it at the grocery store.

Farmers Market Salsa

8-10 large vine ripe Roma tomatoes, diced
1 small Walla Walla sweet onion, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded, diced
1 banana pepper seeded (long pale yellow), chopped
1 small green bell pepper, seeded, diced
Juice of two limes
Chopped fresh cilantro to taste (or dried, to taste)
1 tsp of sugar
Kosher Salt to taste
Ground pepper to taste

Mix everything together and enjoy!

For a variation try:
1 chopped, peeled ripe avocado or 1 chopped, peeled ripe nectarine, peach or mango

Avocado Salsa

Another one from www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com. I got a bunch of avocados from a co-op I participate in and needed some new ideas for ways I could use them. Sisters Cafe had just the thing! A healthy and fresh tasting chunky salsa. I loved it! I've made it a couple of times since.

AVOCADO SALSA


Mix in large bowl:
1 package 16oz frozen-thawed-corn (I used 1 can shoepeg corn)
1 can black olives sliced (I omitted)
1 medium sweet bell pepper, diced small
1 small sweet onion, diced small
1-2 cucumbers diced small

Mix seperately:
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 T cider or white vinegar
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix in small bowl and stir into large bowl of diced vegetables, then GENTLY add:2-4 ripe chopped avocados (denpending on the size and your liking)