Well, as promised, here it is.  I was at the co-op the other day and found some beautiful yellow on-the-vine tomatoes.  I was immediately inspired by their gorgeous golden color.  I knew that I had a fresh batard (a shorter, wider baguette-type bread) from the King Arthur Flour bakery at home and was suddenly craving some bruschetta.

Most bruschettas are made fresh mozzarella, tomatoes (of course), basil and usually balsamic vinegar.  However, I wanted to put my own twist on it and the results were even more delicious than I had expected.  Suffice it to say, there was some serious competition going on to get the last one!  Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 batard or french baguette (I only used half and froze the rest)
• 3 small yellow tomatoes
• 3 roma tomatoes
• 1 lemon
• 1 bunch of fresh basil
• 2-3 T. chopped kalamata olives
• 2 T. shredded parmesan cheese
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Chop up your tomatoes and mix in about a tablespoon of olive oil (more or less depending on how much mixture your tomatoes yielded).  Squeeze in the juice of half of the lemon and stir.

Let sit for about an hour; however no worries if you are making it on the fly and keep on going, it will still taste good!  (NOTE: don’t salt your tomatoes until you are ready to mix in the rest of the ingredients and put on the bread.  It will draw out the moisture and make a soupy mess).  After it has marinated for a bit, add salt, pepper, chopped kalamatas, parmesan and chopped basil (basil is to-taste; so people like lots, other’s not so much).

Slice your bread into palm-sized pieces.  Cut enough so that each piece will hold about 1 heaping tablespoon of the tomato mixture.

Place the bread in a large skillet (think puzzled pieces).  Drizzle with olive oil and salt/pepper and turn them over so the oiled side is now face down.  Crank up the skillet and let it get hot, then back the heat down to medium/low to keep bread from burning.

While they are browning, drizzle face-up side with olive oil to get them ready to flip.

Once both sides are brown, remove the slices to a platter and top with spoonfuls of tomato-ey goodness.

Victory!  Bruschetta is now ready for enjoying.  I will say, these lasted just long enough to get a picture before they were eaten amidst a symphony of groans, licked lips and slapped hands (“That’s mine!”).  It’s a simple dish, you don’t have to slave away in the kitchen and it looks beautiful – that’s a winner in my book!

I hope you give this recipe a shot and if you do, I’d love to hear what you think.  Enjoy the upcoming fall season and be on the lookout for some cooler weather recipes.  After all, I am in the mecca of Autumn up here in Vermont!  Cheers!