Summer Birthday

My sweet mama turned 86 today!  Five of my six brothers and sisters and I met up at her house to help her celebrate.  We decided to have an Italian-style feast featuring Bruschetta and Crostini, Baked Manicotti, Sea Salt and Rosemary Focaccia, and Garlic Bread.  My sister baked her most delicious 14-Carrot Cake.  I'm still stuffed.

Here's my lovely mom at age 16:

and here she is today:

For this post, I'm going to share the recipe for the Bruschetta and Crostini:

It just tastes of summer, with my favorite combination of tomatoes, basil and garlic.  This recipe comes from Susan Branch's The Summer Book.


Bruschetta y Crostini

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 450-degrees.

2.  For the crostini, slice a baguette into 1/4-inch slices.  Place the slices on a large baking sheet.  Brush the bread with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Toast the bread in the hot oven until golden brown.

3.  Remove the cores and seeds from fresh, summer tomatoes (I usually use about 6).  Dice the tomatoes.

4.  For each cup of diced tomatoes, add the following: 
2 tablespoons slivered, fresh basil, 2 tablespoons minced green onion, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, a pinch of red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well and let sit at room temperature for at least one hour.  Serve on top of the crostini. 

Fresh, easy and yummy.  This is one of my all-time favorite appetizers.

Sweetpea loves her Grandma, too.