Savory French Toast Breakfast

This is a nice brunch dish, and could also make a light lunch. Just soak thickly sliced sourdough bread in an egg, milk/sour cream/yogurt, cayenne pepper mixture. Then lightly fry, as you would french toast. Top with heirloom tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil and arugula. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar & olive oil.

Basil Gazpacho

I made this a few weeks ago and, like most of what I've made lately, I took pictures but didn't have time to post. I think gazpacho is the ideal late summer dish. You get to take advantage of sweet, juicy, cheap tomatoes, and you don't even have to turn on the stove!

You'll need (serves 2-3):

about 2lbs ripe tomatoes, cored but not peeled or seeded

1 cucumber, peeled

1 large clove garlic

1 jalapeno

1t Worcestershire sauce

1t tabasco

1t red wine vinegar

1T olive oil

salt & pepper

basil for garnish

In a blender, combine all ingredients except for basil. Blend well. Refrigerate at least an hour. Serve garnished with basil.

Warm Caprese Sandwich

Although the weather staunchly refuses to admit that summer is near, I am starting to long for summer staples like fresh heirloom tomatoes, herbs and salads. I wanted a caprese salad today, and had all the ingredients ready, but the blustery wind made me crave a warm lunch. Here's what I put together. It was really good, both in flavor and texture-- the rich creamy mozzarella was offset nicely by the tangy, sweet tomatoes, and the radishes add a satisfying crunch.

You'll need:

1 handful cherry tomatoes

1t olive oil

1/2t salt

dried herbs, optional (I used herbed cooking salt)

1t balsamic vinegar

1 handful fresh basil leaves

4 slices fresh mozzarella

2 radishes

bread-- I used a "baguette piece", basically a small baguette roll, from the Cheeseboard

Cut tomatoes in half and cook in a small skillet over medium heat, along with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs/spices, for about 5 minutes, until wilted and mushy. Their liquid should start to thicken. In the meantime, cut basil into chiffonade and thinly slice radishes. When tomatoes are cooked, turn heat to high and add balsamic vinegar to deglaze. Cook 30 seconds until thick. Turn off heat and add basil.

Heat bread in oven, then slice in half.

Layer cheese and radishes.

Top with tomato mixture. Serve open-face.