Simple is just the way to go sometimes.

Like when you’ve spent the last few weeks in meetings with loan officers and real estate agents and all those other folks who are helping you realize a dream of buying a home. It’s too bad we can’t do all of this over dinner, which I’m sure would be better received than the hollow white lights of an office we should have left hours ago. Yes, we would all be happier if we met over dinner.

But because we can’t, I’ll have to compromise with simple dinners that can be made between meetings and work. Spring and summer are the best seasons for these types of speedy dishes mainly because of all the produce at your fingertips. And because everything tastes better in the summer, you can have bruschetta three nights in a row without risking taste-bud fatigue – which is one of the worst kinds of fatigue, in my opinion.

This magic bruschetta, as I’ve been calling it lately, seemed to pave the way for other areas of my life to behave with simplicity. The meetings waned; the paperwork finally done. I found a home. We completed the first day of Escrow yesterday, just in time for my 28th birthday today (this getting older part still hasn’t hit met yet). We get a three day weekend next week, and then I take off for Hawaii. I’ll knock on wood to be safe, but I don’t think that things can get any simpler (and more exciting!) than that.

And aside from being thisclose to owning a slice of the world, the forces at work gave me the best gift of all: my sanity has returned.

Or maybe that’s the result of all the really, really good wine I’ve been drinking lately.

In any case, both reds and whites pair well with this simple bruschetta – one so laden with garlic that it seems to set your mouth on fire. It’s a simple dinner, but that doesn’t mean it’s a simplistic one. (Click on “Read the rest of this entry” for recipe.)

GARLIC LOVERS’ TOMATO BRUSCHETTA
Yield: 2 to 3 servings

• French bread, cut into 1-inch slices
• Olive oil
• 1-1/4 cups Roma tomatoes, seeded and medium diced (about 3 to 4 tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup onion, small dice
• 6 basil leaves, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush bread slices with olive oil and place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until bread is crispy and edges are browned. Set aside.
2. Combine tomatoes, onion, basil and garlic in a bowl and mix well. Toss with olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Serve on toast slices as a main course or snack.

– Cynthia Furey

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 1:00 am and is filed under Appetizers, Fruit/Vegetables, In the kitchen, Side dishes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.