When I was little, I hated tomatoes, especially cooked tomatoes. I could choke down a fresh tomato but if it was soft and warm, it was a no-go. As an adult, however, they are one of my favorite ingredients. Seriously, there are only one hundred ways to use a tomato, and cooking them only intensifies their sweet, dramatic flavor. You can stew em’, grill em’, roast em’, sun dry em’, and fry em’, to name just the obvious ones. That last one is what I decided to do for this delightful toast. I really wanted oven roasted tomatoes, but I didn’t want to wait that long for my meal the first time I made these, so I decided that frying them would have to do. And, you know what? They were perfect that way. I feel like everyone is against frying things in a pan these days, but I think you have to indulge yourself in classic ways of making things delicious every now and then. Otherwise, what’s the point? Of eating, that is.

I’ve already talked about my love of goat cheese, so I won’t bore you any further on that front. I love goat cheese. There. That’s the gist of it.

There is something so satisfying about creating a simple, tasty bite that has everything you could want in one tiny, handheld package. Crunchy, sweat, salty and creamy all come together with these pieces of toasted ciabatta bread spread with a thick layer of creamy and tangy goat cheese and topped with a sweet fried tomato. Add a hit of salt and pepper at the end, and it’s the perfect appetizer, breakfast, or side dish. I can only imagine how good this would be with an over easy egg on top.

My next post will be on the Lemon Basil Pasta Salad in the picture above. Look for it!

Ingredients // serves 4

Ciabatta bread
One medium tomato, big enough to get 16 thin slices
Creamy goat cheese
Salt
Pepper

Recipe //

Slice 8, 1/2 inch slices of ciabatta bread and toast them either in a toaster or under a broiler. Watch very closely if you are using broiler so they don’t burn.

Slice the tomato into 16 thin slices and fry in butter (I used vegan butter) on both sides over medium/high heat. 3-4 minutes per side, just until the tomato starts to brown but does not break down so much that you can’t flip them with a fork.

When the bread is toasted, spread a generous amount of goat cheese on each slice. Top each slice with two pieces of fried tomato and season with salt and pepper.

Value food and cheer and song

MUSIC MOMENT >>

Brandi Carlile has long been one of my favorite artists. She’s gritty and real, and I wish I could sing just like her. This song is one of my favorites to sing along to in the car where no one can hear me and I can sing as loudly and badly as I want.
Artist // Brandi Carlile
Song // Looking Out

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMx6LTAWxdo&w=560&h=315]