Bruschetta, in Honor of Julie and Julia

If you haven't seen Julie and Julia yet, shut down your computer and go now! Not that it's the greatest movie but it exemplifies all that is wonderful about the current food-foodie movement and craze: Julia Child's exuberance (Meryl Streep does it again) and how it saves Julie Powell from depression and lack of purpose. Sharing a meal is an overused metaphor for building relationships, but it is used so often precisely because there are few other group activities that bond people using pleasurable means.

In honor of the meal that leads to Julie's decision to begin the blog of cooking the 524 recipes from Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in 365 days, I made Bruschetta. A simple dish of pan fried bread (at least a day old) topped with fresh chopped tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil, this is clearly a meal developed by peasants using what they had in abundance, but oh so satisfying.

What really makes this meal especially good is frying the bread in olive oil; it just wouldn't be the same toasted because it would lack that crispy crust that holds the juicy tomato topping, so don't skimp because you're dieting! The oil is worth it!

Tomato Basil Bruschetta (the sch is pronounced like "sk")

1-2 large tomatoes, cored and diced
2-3 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
pinch salt
couple grinds of pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
3-4 slices bread, french style works best (depending on size of slices)
olive oil for sauteing

Combine tomato, onions, basil, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil in bowl and mix well. Set aside. Heat oil over medium heat, place slices of bread in pan and allow to sizzle 10 seconds, flip slice to sizzle on other size, and brown on each side until golden. (The bread will absorb the oil, so be forewarned it will appear that you are using quite a bit. Be strong, keep at it and you will be rewarded with deliciously crispy bruschetta!) Repeat until all bread is fried. Serve with topping and enjoy!

Hugs!