garden-fresh bruschetta, a healthy alternative to pizza

john — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:10:23 +0000

Bruschetta is one of those comfort foods that is simple to make, healthy and oh so tasty. Historically, bruschetta is just grilled bread flavored with garlic and olive oil with a pinch of salt. Regional and modern variations add toppings. Like any recipe, the better your ingredients the better your result. And what better ingredients than fresh produce directly from your own garden or local farm stand.

The pictured bruschetta at left modifies the basic recipe by adding blanched kale and black olives. Later this week, when we harvest our first eggplant, we will saute thin slices in olive oil and garlic. Regardless of what topping you choose, the one common ingredient to all bruschetta, and the most important, is the bread. Use a hearty, crusty bread such as Trader Joe’s Tuscan Pane.

mediaOrganic’s Garden Fresch Bruschetta

ingredients

slices of your favorite hearty bread
garden fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
onion, diced
fresh basil, chopped
salt
olive oil
garlic clove, whole
grated parmagiano reggiano
a hot grill, stovetop grill pan or panini press

To make the topping mix the tomato, onion, basil, salt and olive oil together in a bowl and let sit while you prepare the bread. Lightly brush the bread slices on both sides with olive oil and grill until nicely toasted with grill marks on both sides. Rub the garlic clove on one side of each toast slice. Top with your tomato mixture and sprinkle the grated cheese over the top.

blackberries starting to ripen

john — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 11:57:56 +0000

This one was absolutely perfect! Unfortunately, the drought has taken it’s toll on the blackberries. I did finally extend my irrigation system to the blackberry bed but only after I noticed their suffering. By that time half of my berries had dried up and half of the surviving berries were misshapen…so I will relish those few perfect berries I am blessed with this year.

Mr. Tomatohead

john — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:50:41 +0000

My wife decided to have a little fun with this one. He as mozzarella eyes Click on the thumbnail to get the full photo.

yes, it can get too hot for tomatoes

john — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:46:39 +0000

This year I’ve learned that even in my Boston-area northern location there are spots that can get too hot. Witness my sunburned tomatoes. These were planted in front of a very large south facing panel of glass with a reflective UV coating on it. What started out as a great location in the Spring turned into a lousy location with the peak Summer sun. Plenty of water wasn’t enough to prevent this. No wonder my watermelons did so well in this bed two years ago, and peppers the year before that.

a nice pair of melons

john — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 11:28:13 +0000

The watermelons are coming along nicely. They are about the size of a large grapefruit and growing rapidly. All told there are seven of them.

Tomato Tomahto

john — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:37:49 +0000

The tomatoes are beginning to ripen fast and furiously. It started with a trickle, first tomato harvested on June 30th. This week things have picked up a lot. Ironically, the rest of the family is in Florida this week so I’ve got these all to myself. Tomato, basil, mozzarella with a pinch of salt, pepper and drizzle of olive oil = heaven.

Grapes update

john — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:43:20 +0000

Sometimes you make some good decisions. You may not know that they’re good at the time, but they turn out well in the end. Witness my Reliance grapes. This is season two and they seem to be living large. Lots of sun, some nice sandy loam, regular moisture and voila! This fall I will cut back these bad boys to one vertical each. I’ve read that grapes fruit on second year wood so next year should produce more bunches of grapes. This year we only got the one pictured here, but it was more than I had expected.

Watermelons on the vine

john — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 20:29:27 +0000

Watermelons appear to be right on schedule. I found lots of male blossoms and multiple female blossoms and several baby melons are now growing. Sure wish I knew what variety I planted. Weather has been good for melons this week, mid-80s with moderate to high humidity and thunderstorms every three days or so. Rain barrels are full, life is good.

grapes update

john — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:18:05 +0000

My Reliance grapes were planted last year so this is their second growing season. As you can see, I am training the vines up the side of the trellis. In the fall I will cut them back hard, leaving only the one vertical as my main stem. Right now, I just want them to grow good strong root systems. The south facing location appears to be a winner.

melon update

john — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:10:32 +0000

Just a few photos of our water and musk melons. Both are just waiting for the weather to get into the 80s. We’ve had a few warm days but mostly it’s been cooler and a little rainy. You can see the musk melons already have blossoms. Last year at this time most of my watermelons had been nipped off by either bunnies or cutworms. This year I made sure to put row covers over them until they were large enough to survive a few nips here and there.

mediaOrganic » Fruits