Tomato Cucumber Bread Salad

Here's another great idea for those ripe summer tomatoes and cucumbers fresh from the garden.  This super easy recipe combines a juicy tomato, crisp cucumber, red onion, basil, olive oil and red wine vinegar together in a delicious salad that is made even more delicious by the addition of some day-old bread.  In Italy, this is called "panzanella" and it seems like every recipe I found has a different combination of vegetables and a different dressing, so I used what I had.

Tomato Cucumber Bread Salad
For one big salad (as a meal) or two small salads (as a side)
1 medium ripe tomato
1 smallish cucumber
a little red onion
a few basil leaves, shredded
olive oil
red wine vinegar (it would also be good with balsamic vinegar)
salt & pepper to taste
day old bread, cut into bite sized pieces and left out while the salad marinades in the fridge

The bread you use should be good bread, not sandwich bread.  I have made this twice.  The first time I used an old baguette, the second time I used some of my rosemary focacccia I had in the freezer.

Dice the tomato, slice cucumber and onion (I used about an eighth of a medium red onion) and shred basil and combine in a bowl.  Add a few Tablespoons of olive oil and a few teaspoons of red wine vinegar and some salt and pepper if you like.  Taste it, then adjust flavors as necessary.  Let sit in fridge for an hour or so to meld flavors.

To serve, dish vegetables on a plate, top with bread cubes, then drizzle with additional dressing.  Let sit for a few minutes so the bread can soak up some of the dressing.

Summer Bruschetta

I have been waiting since May for my single tomato plant to start producing.  I have a self-confessed "black thumb",  but this year I wanted to try a topsy turvy with a tomato plant by my front door.  I have often heard that they don't always work, but surprisingly, mine has grown really well.  Last week, my patience was rewarded.

Believe it or not, this round tomato actually came off of a Roma tomato plant.  Mutant tomato, I guess. Now tomatoes have never been a vegetable (fruit?) that I like to eat on their own.  I love them cooked in most any shape and form, but raw tomatoes?  No, thank you.  Unless I make Bruschetta.  I know in Italy, Bruschetta is just bread, but I call my delicious tomato mixture I eat on bread Bruschetta because I can.  What better way to enjoy a fresh tomato?  Chop it up, add a chopped up garlic clove, a little chopped onion, a few shredded basil leaves, maybe some olive oil and some salt and pepper.  Eat it on some crusty bread, grilled if you like, and it tastes like summer.

 Like much of my cooking,  I don't use an exact recipe, but here's the general idea:

Summer Tomato Bruschetta
1 chopped ripe tomato
1 minced garlic clove
2 T. minced onion
a few basil leaves, shredded
a little olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all up and put in the fridge to marinate for an hour or so (if you can wait that long) and serve on fresh crusty bread.  I like to brush the bread with a little olive oil and either grill it or place it under the broiler for a minute so it gets warm and chewy.

Now that recipe is just my portion :).  If you are planning on sharing with someone else, you should make more.  The middle bread in the above picture has a little basil pesto under the tomato mixture.  Either way, it's pretty amazing.  Eat it by itself for a light meal or pair it with a salad or some pasta.

Homemade Tomato Basil Soup

The colder weather is here.  One of my favorite things about fall and winter is being able to enjoy all the delicious soup and stew recipes I have collected. One of my new favorites is a homemade tomato soup that actually has a lot more vegetables in in than just tomatoes.  I am not usually a fan of tomato soup, but a while back, I tried someones tomato basil soup and fell in love.  I immediately went home and started searching for a version I could make myself.  
Once again, the food network website pulled through for me, providing a relatively simple and very delicious recipe that my family loves.  This recipe calls for canned diced tomatoes, but I have also made it with fresh and frozen tomatoes, all with great results.  If I use canned tomatoes, I use the fire roasted for a little extra flavor.  The original recipe called for a lot more olive oil and some butter, but why add extra fat to a healthy soup? 

Not as red as traditional tomato soup, but don't let the color fool you, this is delicious!

Tomato Basil Soup (This makes enough to feed the four of us with no leftovers)

2 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes (or the fresh/frozen equivalent)

3 T. extra virgin olive oil

Salt and  pepper

2 stalks celery, diced (with leaves)

2 small carrots, diced

2  onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced (I use the jarred stuff)

2 cups chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup chopped basil leaves (I used my frozen stash from this post) 

1/2 cup heavy cream, optional (I used low fat evaporated milk)

Preheat oven to 450. Strain the chopped canned tomatoes, reserving the juices, and spread onto a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, to taste, drizzle with 2 T. of the olive oil and roast until caramelized, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat remaining olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the roasted chopped canned tomatoes, reserved tomato juices, chicken broth and bay leaf. Simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf.  Add basil and cream, if using. Puree with a hand held immersion blender until smooth.

I think this recipe would also be great if you added some peppers (red, green, yellow, or orange), a potato or a little cauliflower as well.  As I do with all my recipes, I will continue to experiment with this one. 

I usually serve it with a plain old grilled cheese sandwich or garlic toast.   Enjoy!