A Little Folly… and Bruschetta

“An impertinent question I know, but they are the only interesting ones.”

-Jude Morgan, A Little Folly 

So true, Morgan, so true.  I am a loather of small talk- possibly because I fail at it, but I love people who are a little bit awkward…  Who knows why?

I am also a huge fan of Georgian era literature, especially Austen.  I relish the mundane nature of the plot, and I love all of the witty, snarky little comments the characters are always whispering to one another- at which point I usually like to say something out loud like “Aw, snap!”  It is just how I like to nerd out, comparable to how my boys like to play Magic cards and talk about video games; it is not cool, but it is just how I roll.  Reading from the genre is comparable to curling up in  fuzzy blanket in the afternoon and taking a nap while it is raining.  I did not know Jude Morgan until a few days ago, but I LOVED A Little Folly for all the usual reasons and promptly found three more of his novels to take on vacation with me next week.

In this muggy weather, I was craving something cold to go with my musings on manners.  I decided to make some bruschetta with a little roast asparagus twist for dinner.

Cold Ingredients:

Chopped tomatoes (about 3 cups)

One small, finely chopped onion

Chopped fresh basil (to taste- I like a lot, about 1/4 cp.)

1-2 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar (to taste)

1 tbsp. good EVOO

Salt and pepper to taste

For Roasting:

1 bunch asparagus

1 tbsp. EVOO

3-4 garlic cloves

A squeeze of lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Toast for Bruschetta:

Sliced french bread

EVOO or baking spray

Mozzarella cheese to sprinkle on bread at the end of toasting

Directions:

1.  Combine all cold ingredients, mix and set aside

2.  Set the oven to 400 degrees and cover a pan in aluminum foil

3.  Snap asparagus, peel whole garlic and toss in a bowl with all other roasting ingredients

4.  Put the mixture on the aluminum foil covered pan, spreading to create a single layer

5.  Roast for about 25 minutes, stirring every ten minutes or so, or until the tips of the asparagus are browning

6.  While the asparagus is cooling, either spray or drizzle oil on the bread and toast in the over until brown- about ten minutes.

7. The last couple of minutes, sprinkle cheese on the bread

8.  Chop the asparagus and garlic and put in with the other cold ingredients.

Serve the cheese toasts with the bruschetta ingredients on the side or on top.

 Yummy!

Here are the five-star ratings from my boys:

Littlest veggie eater: “Yummy” (doesn’t understand numbers)

Medium Veggie Eater: 3.5 and says “Crunchy”

Biggest Veggie Eater: 4 and says “Refreshing”