Caprese Bruschetta

Everyone loves a good caprese salad, right? I think it's one of the finest pleasures of summer, and love it when those flavors top some nice toasted bread drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. I've made this salad as a bruschetta topping for years, but only as an appetizer. Today we were scrounging for a light lunch (had a late breakfast) and it occurred to me to use up the gobs of yellow and red cherry tomatoes about to die on my counter. Lunch was saved with this bruschetta alongside some carrot and cucumber sticks with hummus. I love summer.

Malia's Caprese Bruschetta

-cherry or grape tomatoes of any color, halved (or chop up a couple full sized tomatoes. Anything goes)

-1 (8 oz) ball of fresh mozzarella cheese, diced

-handful of fresh basil, sliced into ribbons

-good olive oil (today I used a Tuscan Herb infused oil I got from the olive oil store here)

-balsamic vinegar

-salt and pepper

-sliced rustic bread of some sort...sourdough is always good. I was happy to have some Ancient Grains bread from Whole Foods (thanks to my husband for stopping there when we were in St Paul yesterday)

Toss the tomatoes with the basil and season well with salt and pepper. Let this sit for a bit while you work on the bread. Toast the bread on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or so (turning once halfway through) or until nice and crisp. Remove from oven, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt. Drizzle the tomatoes with some olive oil (1-2T or so) and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Stir well and adjust seasonings/oil/vinegar to your liking. Stir in cheese. Eat alone as a salad or serve alongside/on top of the bread. I ate so much of this today the roof of my mouth is raw from the crunchy toast and acidity of the tomatoes. First world problems.