Bruschetta and an Italian Salad

Yesterday was a much better day once I got back to focusing on the present, taking care of my house and obligations, and cooking happily in my kitchen.  I guess it's easier not to have huge expectations for a Monday!

Birthday dinner appetizer recipe - as promised!  This is actually enough to make it a meal.  And the bonus is yesterday's lunch recipe with the leftovers.  I hope you like it.  I'm guessing a little on the measurements, so if you notice that something needs to be tweaked, please let me know.  Thanks!

Bruschetta (Vegan, serves 2 with some leftover)

¼ cup yellow bell pepper, diced very small

¼ cup red onion, diced very small

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 green onions, chopped very small

½ pint cherry tomatoes- preferably both yellow and red, diced larger

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

¼ cup good olive oil (cold pressed)

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp fresh pepper

1 tsp Italian Seasonings (usually basil, oregano, and parsley)

Fresh Italian bread, 4 slices (baked or toasted if you like)

Reserve about 1 TB of the olive oil.  Gently mix all toppings but bread in a small bowl and let marinate in the olive oil for at least 15 minutes.

Drizzle remaining olive oil evenly over the bread, then spoon mixture onto the bread evenly.  Enjoy!

(See below for what I did with the leftovers!)

Italian Veggie Salad (Vegan, Dinner salad size.  If serving for appetizer, put some of the salad in a container for tomorrow before you toss with the dressing.)

½ yellow bell pepper, diced

½ cucumber, sliced into thin half moons

½ large tomato, diced

¼ red onion, diced

¼ cup fresh basil

¼ cup green onions, sliced

1/8 cup sliced walnuts

1 TB sundried tomatoes, chopped small (optional - I always have a bag in the fridge)

3 cups red romaine lettuce, torn

Dressing:

3-4 TB Garlic Expressions (or your favorite Italian dressing)

Splash red wine

Touch of salt, if needed

sprinkle of garlic powder

Fresh pepper

Reserve a small amount of basil and green onions for the garnish.  Mix all other veggies in a large bowl with salad tongs.  5 minutes before serving, pour dressing and red wine over the salad and continue to toss with salad tongs.

Serve on the plates and top with garnish of fresh basil and green onions.

If you have fresh parmesan available and you like cheese, it’s a really nice complement to this.

Got leftovers from the bruschetta and bread?  I had salad leftover, too (did not pour the dressing over the whole salad once I saw that there was too much for an appetizer!)

Fabulous Bruschetta No-Cheese sandwich (Vegan, makes two sandwiches)

2 slices tofutti soy cheese (trust me, it’s good!)

Remaining Bruschetta (Hopefully enough for two sandwiches – ok if it’s not heavy)

4 slices Italian Bread

Earth Balance Buttery spread (non-dairy)

Just like you’re making a grilled cheese! 

Begin heating the pan to medium with a tiny scoop of Earth Balance Spread.

Spread more Earth Balance butter over one side of each piece of bread.  Flip over.  Fold the “cheese” in half and put horizontally across each piece of bread.  Top the bottom bread with the bruschetta spread.  Assemble the sandwich and place into the pan.  Again, make sure there is “cheese” below and above the bruschetta spread.  Cover the pan.

Check if bread is turning brown after about 4 minutes.  If yes, flip over and remove cover.  If no, keep a close eye on it and flip when brown.  Cook about another 2 minutes after flipping, again making sure that it turns brown but does not burn.

Cut diagonally and serve with salad or your favorite sandwich accompaniment!

Improvisations:  If you want real cheese and still have that fresh parmesan from last night, my husband says it’s a very tasty treat to use that cheese instead.  We also heated up some spaghetti sauce from the night before for him to dip his sandwich into – if you have some jarred sauce and you like to have a dipper, you might enjoy that, too! 

*An Ayurvedic Tip:  I heated the sauce in the hot pan after removing the sandwich – it only took a minute.  I NEVER use the microwave.  According to Ayurvedic philosophy, it actually changes the molecules of your food and mutates them into something else.  I cook like a grandma - stove and oven only- and it's much more delicious!  No more mushy microwave food!