Balsamic Bruschetta

Because of the great weather we've been having, our herbs are growing so quick. My mom decided we should put our abundance of herbs to good use by whipping up some fresh bruschetta using the basil from our garden. We chose to use an easy, light recipe, which turned out awesome.

Ingredients:

• 8 roma tomatoes (diced)
• 1/3 cup fresh basil (chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese (optional)
• French bread (toasted & sliced)

Directions:

• In a bowl, toss together the tomatoes, basil, and garlic. 
• Mix in the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. 
• Serve on toasted bread slices.
• Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top of slices if desired.

These are the perfect summertime snack or appetizer because bruschetta is quick, easy and small portioned. The only thing I will change next time will be using fresh tomatoes from the garden (hopefully they will be ripe by then!)

Garden Update: Sunflowers!

I am sunflower crazy! A couple months ago I planted one single seed and now they consume my life. These little guys are so pretty, and watching them bloom is one of my favorite past times. Let me take you back to one of my first seeds...

I planted a single seed and within weeks this sprout formed.

After offering plenty of sunlight and never letting the soil dry, the flower bloomed. This, of course, took another couple weeks. I think these plants do best in direct sunlight (they are SUNflowers after all). I kept one outside in a sunny area and another on a sunny windowsill. The one outside grew faster and bigger than the flower inside. 

Healthy, colorful sunflower almost at full bloom.

On another sunflower note: My mom planted a few sunflowers last year and as the winter came, they dried out. She sprinkled around what was left of their seeds in hopes of new blooms this year. Just as I had planted my single seed, we noticed similar sprouts coming from the pot nearby.

Sunflower sprouts from last year's seeds.

It wasn't until a few weeks later that these blooms really spread.

More blooms than I can count!

Under each big bloom are several smaller blooms waiting to break through. I now have more sunflowers than I know what to do with and I couldn't be happier.