tomato salad

Bruschetta With Tomatoes & Beans

~ sweetlifestyle
Bruschetta With Tomatoes & Beans
Bruschetta With Tomatoes & Beans

Bruschetta technically refers to grilled bread that is brushed with olive oil, garlic, and salt…but, in North America, we refer to it as the combination of the bread topped with fresh chopped tomatoes and basil! It’s an appetizer that tastes best with in-season tomatoes and fresh basil.

Recently, I decided to add some beans to the chopped tomato mixture, because I wanted to add protein, and it was delicious. As part of a blogger collaboration on recipes featuring beans, I’m sharing my Bruschetta with Tomatoes & Beans. It’s TOOTally simple and fresh! And, our theme is #ispilledthebeans. Starting January 26th, you can look for that hashtag and my post on Instagram, where you’ll be able to see the other fun recipes my blogger friends are sharing. Follow this link to the 10 easy & delicious bean recipes. Continue reading →

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Panzanella Salad – So Fresh and Filling!

~ sweetlifestyle
Panzanella Salad
Panzanella Salad

Have you ever made panzanella, a tomato salad with croutons? Panzanella (a classic Tuscan salad from Italy) is one of my favorite salads because it’s made with fresh ingredients and includes bread built into it in the form of homemade croutons. Classic panzanella includes tomatoes, stale bread, olive oil, and vinegar.

Panzanella is definitely a salad that tastes best with the freshest ingredients, which means that this salad is a go-to in the late summer when tomatoes are in season. Having said that, I still like to make it all year and I like to make it when I have leftover baguette bread that has started to harden. Nothing tastes better than homemade croutons made with the best olive oil you can find.

Panzanella Salad
Panzanella Salad

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5 Of My Favorite Tomato Dishes

~ sweetlifestyle ~ 2 Comments

img_0738I love tomatoes!  And, it’s still tomato season in Ontario.   Maybe, like me, you have a few too many in your fridge if you were tempted by the tomato baskets at the grocery store and at farmer’s markets.  It’s been hot and dry this season, making conditions perfect for growing beautiful tomatoes.  So, I thought I would share a few recipe ideas and links in hopes of inspiring you to try something new.

But, first, let’s take a look at why tomatoes deserve our attention:

  • Although they have a ‘season’, tomatoes are available year-round (thanks to hot-houses) so they are affordable and you can try different recipes all year long.
  • There are so many varieties of tomatoes that come in different shapes, colors, and sizes (roma, plum, heirloom, beefsteak, grape, cherry, etc. ) making it easy to mix things up and keep dishes colorful.
  • Tomatoes are good for you: they are 95 % water, contain Vitamin C, and are low in calories.
  • Tomatoes make a great snack, especially the smaller ones that can easily be packed into a lunch or for eating on the go.
  • There are so many ways to use tomatoes: in sauces, in quick salads, and in cooked dishes.  My family does not can or jar tomatoes, but I know that many families have the tradition of spending a fun day making tomato sauce to be stored and used  all year long.
  • Finally, tomatoes are easy to serve.  They are often my fall-back dish. You can slice them, drizzle them with oil, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, add some basil, and you have a salad in minutes.

img_0314While I was researching this post, I came across this fun fact:  An Ontario Member of Parliament, Mike Colle, proposed a bill to make July 15th Tomato Day and to make the tomato the official vegetable of Ontario.  The current status of the bill is: First Reading Carried, so stay tuned!

Here are a few of my favorite tomato dishes in photos.  There are so many obvious dishes that I haven’t put in here like caprese salad, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, pizza, and green salads.  Because the point of this post was to get you thinking about some different tomato uses, I’ve linked recipes rather than including them in full.

Quinoa Tabouli: Being Lebanese, I grew up eating tabouli as the main salad at family meals.  My mom makes it 3-4 times a week, and it makes sense to have a quinoa version. Here’s one you can try from Epicurious. Continue reading →

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