Busy Girl Recipes: Crispy Tomato and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

This is the best bruschetta for toast and goat cheese loving husbands. I've made it many ways with varied toppings, but this one has been declared greatest of all time. I usually prefer regular French or Sourdough bread for the best tasting bruschetta, but this recipe goes very well with whole wheat French bread. Pour on the olive oil and you can't go wrong.

This would not have been possible without Laura's tomatoes from The Urban Homestead. I didn't grow tomatoes this year so I've been enjoying hers! She is such a wonderful friend to have traded veggies with me, even though I only had one cucumber to give out at the time. I did use fresh basil from my garden, which is doing very well and inspiring many pesto recipes.

If you are looking for a great place to get goat cheese, Harley Farms in Pescadero has some amazing cheeses. I love goat cheese, especially since it has much less lactose than cows milk cheese. If you ever get out to the West Coast or are a Californian looking for a fun day trip, go to Pescadero. It's a tiny town right on the coast, about 20 miles south of Half Moon Bay--pumpkin growing country! There's an awesome restaurant called Duarte's, where they make the most delicious olallieberry pie. You won't miss it, as there are only two restaurants in the whole town, which is on one street. There's also a general store, a post office, a fire station, and a single stop light. Behind all of this is Harley Farms, where you can spend a good hour watching the baby goats play and tasting the amazing selection of goat cheese and olive oils. They also make ceramics and goat milk lotions, and they sell fresh eggs.

Ingredients:

6 slices whole wheat French bread loaf
extra virgin olive oil
minced garlic
3-4 roma tomatoes, sliced
3 sprigs fresh basil
goat cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay slices of bread on nonstick baking sheet. Using an olive oil pourer or a spoon, pour olive oil over each slice of bread. No drizzling here, just pour it on carefully so that it drenches the bread, but doesn't spill over the slice. The bread will soak it all up during cooking.

2. Spread minced garlic on each slice--as much as desired. I put about a 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic on each bread slice. Lay down tomato slices to cover bread, and then coat tomatoes with olive oil either by drizzling with a spoon or spraying.

3. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until tomato slices are roasted. Timing will depend on how thick your slices are. Remove from oven.

4. Add teaspoon size dollops of goat cheese onto the bruschetta or slices if you have a log. Bake for five more minutes in the oven. Cheese will be gooey and creamy. Remove from oven and add torn basil. Serve with your favorite wine.