Garden Bounty Bruschetta

a not pretty snap-wear bowl...

I've mentioned before the tastes and smells of summer in Jersey when I made this soup in the middle of winter. Now that summer is (almost) here it's time to go old school on these flavors. For a Mother's Day appetizer I made a bruschetta that stole the show. It's delicious and garlicky to eat and incredibly simple to make...it can even be prepared two days in advance if needed. On a personal note, I preferred 12-24 hours ahead to allow the juices to marinade and come out of the tomatoes a bit. There's nothing to spoil so you could even leave it out at a barbecue this summer without putting it on ice. Sometimes the simple, obvious ideas are the most successful.

 Garden Bruschetta 

(serves 6-8 as an appetizer)

• 5-6 on-the-vine tomatoes, diced 
• 4-5 medium cloves of garlic, grated
• 8-10 leaves of basil, chiffonade 
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/4c grated Parmesan cheese (optional), sprinkle on top or mix it right on in (before salting).
• French loaf, Italian Loaf, Ciabatta bread..etc.   

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice your bread to about 1/2 inch thick slices and place them on a single layer on a baking sheet. I used 6 ciabatta rolls that I cut on the diagonal and used two baking sheets. Drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil over the bread and bake until toasted (about 5-8 minutes but keep a close eye because bread can turn on you in a second---literally).
Dice the tomatoes and place them in a pretty (or not so pretty, whatever, I'm not judging you) bowl. Grate in the garlic --so no one ends up eating big chunks of raw garlic. Stir in the basil, salt, pepper and 2 tbsp olive oil. You're done! 

Go eat and be the star of your show! Drink some wine! The absolute best part of this dish--it can so easily be made in a double batch or more if needed.