Best Summer Recipes and Cookbook Winner

Wow...great comments!
Thanks to everyone who entered the contest to win The Maine Summers Cookbook.

Here's my high tech choosing method - the Bonus Baby
picks names from a basket!

The winner is Janet!
Janet, please send me an email with your home address and I will send the cookbook right out to you.

My readers have a lot to get done before summer ends and most of it involves eating. I knew I liked you guys.
Elaine, Nancy and Teslaca want to have backyard lobster bakes.
Elle and Medusa need more fried clams (me too).
And John wants me to teach him to make dinner!

There's plenty that I haven't gotten to yet this summer as well, and it mostly has to do with food. Big surprise huh?

Here are five foods just made for August, when summer produce is at its peak. Click on the title and it'll take you right to the recipe.
What are we waiting for?
Enjoy!

1. Tomato Bruschetta

2. Grilled Tomatillo Salsa

3. Zucchini Spice Cake with cream cheese frosting

4. Maine Blueberry Cake

5. Lemonade Pie

Summer Produce-palooza: Bruschetta

Hi.
Guess what I decided to do.

Post everyday for the next week. Big commitment, I know.

But it's nearing the end of summer and there are so many delicious things still to do. And make.

Awhile back, I wrote about how I cannot grow anything. But I am the farmers' market best customer. I'm happy to pay whatever it takes to get this kind of produce.

Let's call it the Summer Produce-palooza and get on with it.

Today we'll be making bruschetta, pronounced with a hard "c" - brusketta. That's the way the Italians say it.

Bruschetta is simply tomatoes on bread, but it's the sum of its parts that makes it so spectacular.
Perfectly ripe tomatoes, fresh basil, garlic and really, really good crusty bread. The type of tomato isn't all that important - Beefsteak, Sungold, Big Boy, Brandywines - whatever. This time of year they are all flavorful. It's fine to use a couple of different kinds too.

You'll need ....

1 loaf of crusty bread, like a scala or ciabatta, sliced 1/2" thick

2 lbs. of summer tomatoes, as described above. Use less if it's just for two of you, more if you need it

fresh basil, 8-10 leaves, chopped

extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Dice tomatoes into pieces approximately 1/2". ( Don't obsess over the size. This is meant to be easy not precise.) Place in a colander set on paper towels or a dishcloth. Let drain for about an hour. Shake colander over sink to drain more of the excess liquid.

Place drained tomatoes in a bowl. Mix in basil, salt and pepper to taste.

Drizzle olive oil on bread slices, about 1 teaspoon on each.

You can either grill the bread slices on your outdoor grill or indoors on a grill pan. Cook until they are slightly crisp and browned. (They could also be toasted if the other two options don't work for you. )
As soon as the bread comes off the grill, rub one side of it with a cut clove of garlic.
Pile tomatoes generously on top.

Bruschetta!
See you tomorrow.