Snackies: Bruschetta, er ah . . . I mean Italian Salsa

You know what today was? That’s right, the first day of school! And no one can ever celebrate the first day of school without watching this famous Staples Commercial.

I know, a bunch of you are saying “Um. My kids went back to school a month ago, what in the world are you talking about? What part of the backwoods are you living in, Angie Pangie?”

It’s true, I know. We went on vacation three weeks ago and the kids in Indiana were already in school when we got there. But, here in Michigan, they passed a law that says you can’t go back to school before Labor Day. So, every year all the kids in Michigan go back to school the day after Labor Day. The kids love it, and frankly, I don’t mind them being home for all of August. I do have to admit though, it is awfully nice and quiet here now that they are (all three) gone.

This morning I saw them all off to school without much trouble and I came home to clean out my closet (it was my hiding place on the really hairy days this summer – and I needed to get rid of all the empty bon-bon containers.) After I cleaned out the closet, I noticed something really strange. Today, when I picked up the trail of dirty socks off the living room floor they didn’t magically reappear when I turned around and looked the other way. I shut my eyes really tightly, but they just wouldn’t play.

Since Hubby and I were a little lonesome for the kids and bored since the socks refused to reappear and entertain us, we decided to hang out and have lunch together.

And, because everyone has been bringing me tomatoes from their gardens, I had an a wonderful assortment of tomatoes to use up. I decided to make some Italian salsa for us to munch on as an appetizer. Now, a lot of my friends and family would call this “bruschetta” and to be fair, most of the time, I refer to it the same way.

Technically speaking though, bruschetta is a toasted garlic-rubbed bread; not the the tomato stuff on top. I do like to make toasted bread, but a lot of time when I made this salsa I usually just serve it with garlicky crackers.

This is a simple and ultra yummy appetizer. It’s better after you let it rest in the fridge for a while, but you can make it and eat it right away, too. Make sure you tote some gum because it packs a for-real garlic punch. No foolin’ there. Use up some of your fresh tomatoes today (or hit the local farmer’s market), you’ll be glad you tried this one!

**I just noticed that the pictures that I took for this post are corrupt! I am so bummed out!! Well, I’m going to go ahead and post the recipe and maybe tomorrow I’ll make a fresh batch of salsa and take some new photos.**

Italian Salsa

1 1/2 cups of finely chopped and seeded tomatoes
1 tablespoon of fresh minced basil, or 2 tsp. of dried basil
2-3 cloves of fresh minced garlic
1 or 2 pieces of marinated sun-dried tomatoes, diced
2-3 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated

Use a very sharp knife to dice the tomatoes into small pieces. Make sure you aren’t just squashing the tomatoes, you want them to be cut into small squares – not pulvirized. And, yes, I know this from experience.

You can use a garlic press for the garlic, or just chop it extra tiny. It’s served raw, and you don’t want any huge stray pieces in there!

If you use the sun-dried tomatoes you’ll be please with the wonderful deep flavor and the gorgeous appearance your salsa will have. They are a bit pricey, but a jar will last a long time.

Gently mix together the tomatoes, basil, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and salt in a small bowl. Drizzle the olive oil and vinegar over the top. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days.

Serve with garlic crisps or on bruschetta.

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