Fresh Garlic and Tomato Toast

Hello! Did you miss me? I have been busy.

Because just saying I have been busy is not enough, I will outline all of the things I have done in the past few weeks (not necessarily in order):

1.) One of the many bug bites on my person from Florida became infected, it got huge and painful, I broke out in hives and had to visit the doctor three(!) times to finally figure out what was wrong. More importantly, I had to go the pharmacy three times to find the correct drug to ease the itching and allow me to sleep through the night. Do not worry I have no pictures of my spotted hiving self.

2.) We went to Florida to watch Derek's baby brother get married.

This is Derek at the rehearsal, not his baby brother...

3.) I had to go shopping to obtain proper wardrobe for said Florida wedding (for me the shopping was a major, awful event).

4.) I went to South Carolina for an incredibly awesome wonderful ground-penetrating radar project where we mapped a beautiful early 19th century kiln. I was able to see the chimney, kiln floor and an auxiliary building by the kiln that had been previously unknown. I had so much fun nerding out with the other archaeologists there and learning about the pottery manufacturing industry in the pre-industrial southeast. Now I am fascinated and reading two books on the area and I want to go back.

While we were away gadding about the country (or the doctors office waiting room) our garden was growing and ripening. We are officially in the season of vegetables and fruit. The season of eating tomatoes at every meal so they do not rot on our counter top. It is a time of planning meals around our garden and CSA (community supported agriculture) box. Trust me I am not complaining. I love tomatoes. I truly miss the July produce the moment the season ends.

We harvested our garden this weekend.

It turns out the garlic can go from this...

To this.

Then you have delicious garlic. In fact, we have more delicious garlic than we could possibly eat. It keeps though.

I made this with some of the garlic.

Pretty! My Italian grandmother would be proud... oh wait, I am not even remotely Italian, I only know how to french braid because of my unruly curly hair. It was the only way to get it under my skiing helmet.

After harvesting garlic, we picked some tomatoes. Then we realized the tomatoes were over ripe and had to be consumed immediately.

I rose to the occasion and invented this dish. I call it "snack for when your tomatoes need to be eaten and you have too much garlic." That seemed like too much so I hope you like my new title. This is pretty ridiculously simple, maybe not warranting a recipe. This is kind of how we are eating these warm summer days.

Fresh Garlic and Tomato Toast

Several slices of fresh artisan bread (we make a whole wheat Italian style loaf)

olive oil

2-4 cloves of fresh garlic (or just any old garlic)

1 small ball (about 4 ounces) fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

1 ripe tomato, sliced

sea salt

1. Toast the sliced bread in a toaster or under the broiler until it is crispy on the outside but not hard.

2. While the bread is toasting finely chop the garlic. Then mix the garlic with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.

3. Brush the bread with the olive oil and garlic mixture. Place a slice of mozzarella on each slice of bread.

4. Sprinkle the slices of tomato with sea salt and place a tomato on each bread slice.