Vietnamese-Style Asparagus Soup with Noodles and Spicy Peanut Paste for Souper (Soup, Salad, & Sammie) Sundays and for #SoupSwapParty

It's no secret that I love soup. I love it so much that I make at least one soup every week and eat the leftovers for lunch, dinner, and sometimes breakfast. I love it so much that I have had my own weekly soup blogging event, Souper Sundays since 2008--adding sandwiches and salads to the mix the following year. So of course I jumped at the opportunity to take part in the #SoupSwapParty, a blogging event hosted by The Book Club Cookbook to launch a fun new soup cookbook, Soup Swap: Comforting Recipes to Make and Share by Kathy Gunst.

Kathy Gunst is a the Resident Chef for NPR's Here and Now and became a soup lover when a long and fierce freezing New England winter had her thinking about, making, and eating soup for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and afternoon pick-me-ups. She and her friend and neighbor Hope started a wintertime Second Sunday Soup Swap Supper where soups were made and swapped and those taking part could go home with a variety of soups to chose from. Although I live in a tropical climate and eat soup year-round, I can get behind any soup-centered function and think that Gunst and I would get along well.
 

Soup Swap has the basic info for hosting your own soup swap party (including some Soup Swap stickers for labeling your soups), more than 60 recipes for soups, toppings, side dishes and accompaniments. Gunst covers the basics of making broths and stocks, and recipes are divided into Vegetable Soups, Chicken & Turkey Soups, Meat Soups, Fish & Seafood Soups & Chowders, Side Dishes, and Garnishes & Toppings. Although I don't know that I'll ever host an actual soup swap, I frequently make and give soup to friends and Gunst offers handy To-Go tips for making her recipes portable for swapping or giving. Although I don't eat meat or poultry, there are plenty of vegetable and fish and seafood recipes that I can enjoy in the book like Asparagus and Leek Soup with Chive Oil, Miso Soup with Tofu and Scallions, Mulligatawny, Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder with Saffron Cream, Provencal-Style Fish Soup with Rouille, and Baby Turnip Soup with Miso Butter and Toasted Hazelnuts, and Cioppino, to name just a few. 

Soup Swap is a paperback with a thick and and touchable textured cover. It lays flat and will stay flat when opened--important when you are busy in the kitchen. The recipes all sound tasty, instructions are clear and step by step, and many of the soups have mouthwatering color photos to look at. The recipes have introductions and there are boxes with soup making tips scattered throughout the book. If you are a soup fan, Soup Swap would be an excellent addition to your cookbook collection or it would make a great gift for a soup-loving friend. 

Chronicle Books

September 13, 2016

After much indecision about which soup to make, I finally chose the Vietnamese-Style Asparagus Soup with Noodles and Spicy Peanut Paste. Gunst says, "The inspiration for this soup comes from Vietnamese phở, a hearty soup of hot chicken stock topped with asparagus and other vegetables, noodles, and a dab of chili paste. A spicy peanut butter-based base slowly releases its assertive flavor and slightly thickens the broth."

I love phở and Vietnamese flavors and a big bowl of noodly goodness and spicy peanut paste sounded perfect. That I can get good local asparagus most of the year here and that this soup is vegan just added to the appeal. 

I did make a couple of very small changes--namely swapping out the mung bean sprouts for peppery radish sprouts and adding some Thai basil. I am not a mung bean sprout fan and usually ask restaurants to leave them off my plate and I love the flavor of Thai basil and had some that needed to be used up. The result was a bowl of wonderfully satisfying and flavorful soup. 

Vietnamese-Style Asparagus Soup with Noodles and Spicy Peanut Paste
Reprinted with permission from Soup Swap by Kathy Gunst
(Makes 8-10 Tasting Portions or 6 Full Servings)

Spicy Peanut Paste:
3 Tbsp freshly grated or minced ginger
1/2 tsp Chinese chili paste or hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup (150g) chunky all-natural peanut butter
1/2 tsp hot chili oil or hot-pepper sauce
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
3 scallions, finely chopped

Soup:
4 oz (115g) angel-hair rice noodles
1 Tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
1 tsp toasted Asian sesame oil
1/2 cup (80g) julienned peeled fresh ginger
5 scallions, cut on the diagonal into 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) pieces
2 lbs (910g) asparagus, ends trimmed, peeled & cut on the diagonal into 1 1/2-inch (4 cm) pieces
6 cups (1.4L) vegetable stock, homemade or good low-sodium broth
1/2 cup (30g) packed, coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
(I added fresh Thai basil leaves)
1 cup mung bean sprouts (I used radish sprouts)
coarsely chopped salted peanuts for garnish (optional) 

To Make Peanut Paste: In a medium bowl, combine the grated ginger, chili paste, and peanut butter, stirring to create a smooth paste. Add the chili oil, soy sauce, sesame oil, and scallions; stir until smooth. The paste will be quite thick and should have a good, spicy kick. The paste can be made several hours ahead; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To Make the Soup: Fill a large bowl with ice water and set aside. Bring a large stockpot of water to a boil over medium heat. Add the rice noodles to the stockpot and cook for 3 minutes, or until tender. Immediately transfer the noodles  to a colander to drain and cool them under very cold running water to stop the cooking. Transfer the noodles to the bowl of ice water and separate them to prevent them from clumping. (If you are good with chopsticks, use them to do this.) Set aside.

In a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat, warm the peanut oil and sesame oil. Add the julienned ginger and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Add the scallions and cook for about 20 seconds. Add the asparagus and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, The vegetables should be al dente, not completely cooked or soft. Set aside. (The recipe can be made ahead up to this point. Store the noodles and about 1/4 cup of the ice water in a separate container and store the sauteed asparagus in plastic wrap. Store all the elements in the refrigerator until ready to assemble. Bring the peanut paste and asparagus mixture to room temperature before finishing off the soup.) 

In a large stockpot over medium heat, bring the vegetable stock to a rolling boil. Turn the heat to low and keep hot. 

To Assemble: Ladle the simmering stock into serving bowls (about 1 cup per serving for 6 servings). Whisk in about 1 Tbsp of the peanut paste. Drain the noodles well and divide them equally among the bowls of broth. Top each serving with a scoop of the asparagus-ginger mixture and sprinkle with a handful of cilantro, (Thai basil), and the sprouts. Serve with the remaining cilantro, spicy peanut paste, and peanuts, if desired, on the side and let guests add what they like. 

To-Go Tips: Transport the vegetable stock in the soup pot. Pack the noodles, peanut paste, and each of the toppings in separate containers. At the party, reheat, the soup and continue as directed. Set out all the toppings so that guests can choose what they want to add.

Notes/Results: And what a great bowl of soup this is! So much flavor in the Spicy Peanut Paste (I would probably lick this paste off of a stick) along with the ginger and fresh herbs. The paste stirs into the broth nicely and I liked mine with an extra scoop of the paste on top. It seems like a long recipe, but once you chop and prep your ingredients, this one goes together surprisingly quickly and easily. It's not authentic phở, but it is really delicious and if you love East Asian flavors and ingredients, you will love it. It's a vegan soup as written and if you use GF tamari instead of soy sauce, it can be gluten-free as well. I loved the asparagus, but you could work other veggies in--green beans, mushrooms, Asian greens, etc. in if you can't get good asparagus and it would be delicious. I will happily make this again.
 

Besides receiving a complimentary copy of Soup Swap: Comforting Recipes to Make and Share to review from Chronicle Books, we participants were lucky enough to get some excellent cooking tools to help with our soup prep from Chef’s Choice and Zeroll. 

We received the Chef’sChoice® ProntoPro™ Diamond Hone® Knife Sharpener, the fastest manual sharpener available for sharpening both 15 degree and 20 degree knife edges and

the Zeroll® 8720 4-ounce Stainless Steel Ladle which features a deep bowl, perfect for serving piping hot soup, as well as the Zeroll® #8711 Stainless Steel Slotted Serving Spoon to help stir and portion your soup. 

Thank you to the publisher, Kathy Gunst and these wonderful vendors--all of these tools will be well-used and loved at my house! Thanks to The Book Club Cookbook for putting together this fun event! (Note: No monetary compensation was received for this review or post and my thoughts and opinions are my own.) 

Stop by the #SoupSwapParty Page to check out all of the tasty soups that were made and hear what the other bloggers thought about the book!

Speaking of soup... we have some good friends in the Souper Sundays kitchen who shared some marvelous dishes last week--let's have a look! 

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog shared these Chilled Tomato Soup Shooters and said, "Bring on the party with these delicious tomato soup shooters! Served at room temperature or chilled, these shooters are the great way to get any party or meal started and they are one of the best tomato soups ever! With just 5 ingredients, preparation is a breeze! The recipe meets my criteria for health, ease, convenience and taste. It's made from real food, is naturally gluten free, and vegan."

I think these Tomato & Basil Bruschetta that I made this week at Kahakai Kitchen would be great with Judee's shooters above! These little open-face sandwiches are simple, delicious, and a great way to use up the last of the summer's bounty.

Also taking part in the #soupswapparty festivities is Debra of Eliot's Eats who made the Italian Sausage-Zucchini Soup from the book. She said, "Since I have loads of zucchini and still have fresh herbs growing, I decided to try “Hope’s Italian Sausage-Zucchini Soup.”  This is truly a heirloom recipe..." ... This soup is adaptable to what you have on hand.   Use your choice of turkey or pork (or even chicken) sausage and canned or homemade chicken stock. The choice of herbs is yours as well."

Joyce from Kitchen Flavours shared Jacques Pepin's Chicken Jardinieri. She said, "This chicken stew is delicious. We love it. The chicken is tender and tasty, the veggies are soft and the soup slurpingly good. Great with white rice, but I've got to plan my bread baking earlier the next time (and read the instructions properly!), so that we could enjoy the crusty bread in time, with this stew!"

It was a two-soup week for me as I made Jacques Pepin's simple but delicious Garlic Soup with Croutons here at Kahakai Kitchen. This soup has 12 cloves of garlic, but with the leeks and potatoes, they mellow into a comforting and silky bowl of well-flavored soup. The crispy croutons on top add the perfect texture! 

 

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor popped in with BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches and says, "Behold my sandwich made with Jackfruit.  Don't you think it looks like pork?  It has a very similar texture to meat, and well....pork in particular. If you are a vegetarian (or a vegan ) and abhor the texture of meat, even TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) then you won't like this.  But if you routinely add a TVP, or like that texture, you may like this."

 
Finally Kim of Stirring the Pot shared Jacques Pepin's Onion Soup Lyonnaise (French Onion Soup) and said, "Now if you love French Onion Soup then hear me when I say this recipe is total and complete perfection. In fact, it's easily one of my favorite recipes I've made since blogging almost 8 years ago! Why? Well, the French Onion Soup we've all come to know and love is so delicious because it is topped with that crusty bread and melted cheese. That crusty bread and melted cheese is easily the pièce de résistance.  Now, how do we improve on that? By adding more cheese and bread, of course!"

 
A big thank you to everyone who joined in this week!

Souper Sundays is back with a new format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.)

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you.

On your entry post (on your blog):

• please mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post.
• you are welcome to add the wonderful Souper Sundays logo (created by Ivy at Kopiaste) to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "Beulah's House of Prayer" by Cynthia A. Graham, Served with Jacques Pépin's Garlic Soup with Croutons

Happy Aloha Friday! I'm happy to be hosting a TLC Book Tour stop today for Beulah's House of Prayer by Cynthia A. Graham. Accompanying this Depression-era story with its touch of magic is a bowl of Jacques Pépin's simple but delicious Garlic Soup with Croutons, inspired by my reading. 

 

Publisher's Blurb:

Some storms bring destruction. Others bring salvation.
 
In 1934 the tiny town of Barmy, Oklahoma, is in desperate need of a miracle. The cows are hungry, the rain won’t fall, most of Main Street is boarded up. Young aspiring trapeze artist Sugar Watson is dumped unceremoniously into this bleak setting with little money and only one thing on her mind—escape. Beulah Clinton, a Holy Ghost preacher, has dedicated herself to helping the distressed in this ragged little wasteland, and Sugar soon finds herself thrown in with Marigold Lawford, the simple-minded widow of the richest man in town, and Homer Guppy, a boy trouble follows like dust after a wind.
 
Despite Sugar’s immediate distaste of Barmy, Beulah’s patience, Marigold’s kindness, and Homer’s unconditional love make her reconsider the meaning of home.
 
On Black Sunday, the worst dust storm in history brings with it a choice: Sugar must decide whether or not to return home, leaving the hospitality—and love—of Barmy’s inhabitants. A stunning Depression-era literary novel with a touch of magical realism, Beulah’s House of Prayer captivates until the very end.

Paperback: 224 pages

Publisher: Brick Mantel Books (July 12, 2016)

My Review:

Having read and loved both of Cynthia Graham's historical mysteries with Sheriff Hick Blackburn, I was excited to jump on the tour for her newest book. Although retaining the historical fiction and economically struggling small town setting of her other books, Beulah's House of Prayer departs from the mystery genre and instead is a short literary novel with a bit of magical realism skillfully woven in. It amazes me the amount of story and character-building that Graham accomplishes in a relatively short (200-ish) number of pages. Although I leave her books wanting more, I never leave feeling short-changed by the story told and the characters I meet. 

Barmy is a dusty, down-trodden place but there is hope and yes, magic contained in the towns and its citizens that give it a beauty that transcends its dusty appearance. Our story is primarily told by the daughter of Sugar Watson, who ends up in Barmy at the age of fifteen and wants to get out. Offered food and shelter in a ramshackle house by Beulah Clinton, an evangelical preacher, Sugar meets Marigold Lawford, left on the streets by the greedy son of her dead husband. Marigold's lack of backbone and innate goodness frustrate Sugar, who looks at everyone she meets in terms of what they can do for her and how they can help get her out of Barmy. Sugar finds herself attracted to Homer Guppy, the town's trouble-making teen and who the town looks at with a mix of fear, caution, and sympathy because of the frequent beatings he receives at the hands of his alcoholic father. Marigold is drawn to the local Sheriff, Joe Brownfield, but feels it would betray her dead husband to care for Joe. This ragtag group with their various quirks and flaws quickly worked their way into my heart while Beulah remained mysterious--a sort-of all-knowing, all-seeing guide, not afraid to offer her strong opinions, prayers and bible verses. 

There are times that magical realism can sway to the 'too much woo-woo' side, and take over a story. In Beulah's House of Prayer, it creeps its way in and it is just the right amount, adding a unique and special touch to this book. Although my anticipation built as the pages turned and the story began rushing to its climax, I wanted to stay with these characters and was sad to see it end. An overall charming and wonderful read--highly recommended!

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Author Notes: Cynthia A. Graham is the winner of several writing awards, including a Gold IPPY and a Midwest Book Award for Beneath Still Waters, and her short stories have appeared in both university and national literary publications. She attained a B.A. in English from the Pierre Laclede Honors College at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. Cynthia is a member of the Historical Novel Society, the St. Louis Writers’ Guild, the Missouri Writers’ Guild, and Sisters in Crime. She is the author of two works of historical mystery: Beneath Still Waters and Behind Every Door. Beulah’s House of Prayer is her first foray in the land of magical realism. Connect with Cynthia via her website or Twitter. 

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Food Inspiration:

Since we are in an economically depressed Dust Bowl town, there are not a lot of tempting food descriptions in Beulah's House of Prayer. There are mentions of coke and donuts, ice cream, canned beans, cornbread and soda crackers, a cinnamon candy stick, holiday dishes of turkey, chicken, green beans, sweet potatoes and pecan pie, cornmeal mush, a box of candy, and cotton candy. Still, at Beulah's house; "There was always a pot of coffee on the stove and there was always soup or beans for the downtrodden." Beulah was always in the process of making soup or baking bread to feed those who came to her door, so I thought a simple soup would be a good pairing.

There is a mention of vegetables in Beulah's soup and although there may not have been garlic, leeks and potatoes, that's what I was craving this week so I decided to make Jacques Pépin's Garlic Soup. Its comforting, nourishing and served with fried bread croutons on top (always a bonus!) as a nod to the bread Beulah baked.  

I did a vegan version and my changes to Pépin's are noted in red below. 

Garlic Soup
Adapted from Jacques Pépin via The New York Times
(Serves 6)

4 Tbsp olive oil 
2 medium-size leeks, trimmed of damaged or fibrous leaves, sliced & washed
12 to 15 cloves garlic, peeled, stems and any damaged parts removed & discarded
7 cups chicken stock (I used veggie 'non-chicken' stock)
2 lbs potatoes, peeled & cut into 1-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
1 tsp salt or to taste
4 slices firm-textured white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes for croutons
2 Tbsp unsalted butter (I used vegan butter)
(I added freshly ground black pepper and chopped parsley to garnish)

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy pot and, when hot, add the leeks and garlic. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes until the vegetables begin to soften, then add the stock, potatoes and salt, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and boil gently for 30 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, make the croutons: Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. When hot, saute the bread cubes, stirring almost continuously, until they are browned evenly on all sides.

When the soup mixture is cooked, push the mixture through a food mill or puree in a food processor. To puree in a food processor, strain the soup first through a fine sieve, Place the solids in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth, then combine with the reserved liquid. (If too much of the liquid is processed with the solids, the mixture becomes foamy, yielding a soup with a frothy texture like baby food.) (Note: I strained the soup and put the solids in my high-speed blender with a little of the broth, then stirred the purée back into the broth so the soup was not frothy and remained smooth and velvety.)

Stir the butter into the hot soup and serve with the croutons.
 

Notes/Results: This is a velvety and rich soup with a delicious garlic flavor. It might seem like a lot of garlic but the flavor is mellow, not sharp and biting and it balances nicely with the sweetness of the leeks. I am always a fan of crispy warm croutons on top of soup and here they add great texture to the smooth puréed soup. It is similar to Pépin's Potato Leek Soup that I have made before, but I think I like this one a little better due to the garlicky flavor. I wanted to make this soup vegan and dairy free so I used a vegan mock-chicken stock and a vegan butter substitute. You could leave out the butter but it does add to the richness. This hit the spot on a rainy night. I would happily make it again.
  

I'm linking this Jacques Pépin soup up at this week's I Heart Cooking Clubs Monthly Featured Chef Event post. Normally I include a roundup of my favorite recipes for the featured chef but Jacques Pépin has so many great recipes, I will just include a link to my recap post with my Top 10 favorites from when we cooked with him last year. You can see what Jacques Pépin recipes everyone made this week by clicking on the picture links on the post.
 

It's a rare two-soup week so I am linking this one up to this week's Souper Sundays post here at Kahakai Kitchen. If you aren't familiar, Souper Sundays is my weekly soup tribute that includes sandwiches, and salads and is open to anyone and everyone who wants to share a soup, salad, or sandwich post that week. You can see the details for joining in on the current weekly post or here--we would love to have you!

I'm also linking up this review and recipe to the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.

Note: A review copy of "Beulah's House of Prayer" was provided to me by the publisher and TLC Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review and as always my thoughts and opinions are my own.

You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.

 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "The Perfect Girl" by Gilly Macmillan, Served with Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

Today's TLC Book Tour stop is for the psychological thriller/drama The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan. Along with my review is a recipe for a simple Tomato & Basil Bruschetta, inspired by the book. 

 

Publisher's Blurb:

Zoe Maisey is a seventeen-year-old musical prodigy with a genius IQ. Three years ago, she was involved in a tragic incident that left three classmates dead. She served her time, and now her mother, Maria, is resolved to keep that devastating fact tucked far away from their new beginning, hiding the past even from her new husband and demanding Zoe do the same.

Tonight Zoe is giving a recital that Maria has been planning for months. It needs to be the performance of her life. But instead, by the end of the evening, Maria is dead.

In the aftermath, everyone—police, family, Zoe’s former solicitor, and Zoe herself—tries to piece together what happened. But as Zoe knows all too well, the truth is rarely straightforward, and the closer we are to someone, the less we may see.

Unfolding over a span of twenty-four hours through three compelling narratives, The Perfect Girl is gripping, surprising, and emotionally complex—a richly layered look at loyalty, second chances, and the way secrets unravel us all.

Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (September 6, 2016)

My Review:

So many secrets in one small family! The Perfect Girl takes place over slightly less than twenty-four hours, but that is plenty of time for a past life to be discovered, a death to occur, and drama and secrets galore to run rampant. For all of the intrigue, I found the book to be a bit of a slow start for me as the story unfolds with a Sunday night piano recital that gets interrupted as someone from Zoe Maisey's past disrupts the concert she is giving with her stepbrother Lucas. From there it only gets worse as what is revealed threatens the "Second Chance Life" Zoe's mother Maria has crafted for them. Three years ago, when she was fourteen, Zoe was behind the wheel of an accident that killed the other teens in the car and she spent time in a detention center for her crimes. That old life is something Maria desperately wants to keep hidden--and there are even more secrets that her new husband Chris and Lucas may be keeping, not to mention what Maria's sister/Zoe's aunt Tessa is keeping quiet about.

The story is told from the points of view of Zoe, Tessa, Tessa's depressed and alcoholic husband Richard, and Sam--Zoe's attorney from her past and Tessa's present-day lover.  The book's slow start began to take off and the tension mounts as the story plays out and snippets of what happened with Zoe when she was fourteen are woven in. Zoe is an interesting character--a gifted child prodigy with definite issues--although I found myself sympathetic to her, I also didn't trust her at times. Actually I found most of the characters that way--everyone is hiding something and there is a fairly creepy vibe coming off this entire dysfunctional family. Not that it's a bad thing as it kept me turning the pages to find out what happened to Maria and just what was going to happen to the rest of them.

The Perfect Girl is my first Gilly Macmillan book, although I have had What She Knew downloaded on Kindle for a while. I will definitely read it now. The Perfect Girl is for you if you like suspenseful psychological thrillers and dark family dramas.

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Author Notes: Gilly Macmillan is the Edgar Nominated and New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew. She grew up in Swindon, Wiltshire and lived in Northern California in her late teens. She worked at The Burlington Magazine and the Hayward Gallery before starting a family. Since then she’s worked as a part-time lecturer in photography, and now writes full-time. She resides in Bristol, England.
 
Find out more about Gilly at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

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Food Inspiration:

Since most of the action takes place in a bit less than 24 hours, there is not much time for food in The Perfect Girl. The main food discussed is the bruschetta that Zoe's mother Maria wants to make for her husband and stepson, after the scene at the piano recital and Zoe thinks that one of her caseworkers at the detention center would call it "a classic example of displacement activity" to avoid dealing with the problem at hand. Maria also volunteers to whip up some chicken Parmigiana for the same reason. There are also brief mentions of olives, fish and chips, toasted sandwiches, instant coffee, vats of chili con carne and baked potatoes, lasagna, mashed banana and an orange puree for Baby Grace.  

Bruschetta seemed the best pairing for the book, especially as there are good, ripe tomatoes and fresh basil around as summer moves to a close. I decided on a simple tomato and basil bruschetta, it really doesn't need much of a recipe, just good fresh ingredients, to make it taste amazing. 

Tomato & Basil Bruschetta
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Serves 3-4)

1/2 baguette or 1 demi-baguette, sliced into 10-12 slices
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and cracked
2-3 Roma tomatoes, halved
large handful of fresh basil leaves
coarse sea salt and fresh ground black pepper (I used Rolling Rock Farm's Darby's Garlic Festival sea salt)

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Brush bread slices lightly with olive oil. When pan is hot, grill bread slices until toasted with grill marks on each side (about 2-3 minutes er side). Rub toasts with cracked garlic cloves on one side. 

Squeeze the seeds from the tomato halves and discard. Chop tomatoes into small pieces. Chiffonade basil by placing leaves on top of one another, rolling them into a tight log, and then thinly slicing. Gently combine basil with tomatoes, adding a drizzle of olive oil, coarse sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper to the bowl and gently tossing the tomato/basil mixture to coat. 

Place topping in a small bowl and pile toasts pile toasts around the bowl. Serve room temperature and enjoy!

Notes/Results:  Delicious! I sometimes forget how good bruschetta can be with the right ingredients. I liked the little extra punch of garlic from the garlic salt and the sweetness of the ripe Roma tomatoes. I am not a fan of balsamic vinegar on my bruschetta as I think it has a tendency to overpower the other ingredients, so I left it out of the mix here. These made a great lunchtime pairing with leftover Simple Chickpea & Artichoke Heart Soup.

Since Bruschetta are like little open-faced sandwiches, I am linking them up to this week's Souper Sundays post here at Kahakai Kitchen. If you aren't familiar, Souper Sundays is my weekly soup tribute that includes sandwiches, and salads and is open to anyone and everyone who wants to share a soup, salad, or sandwich post that week. You can see the details for joining in on the current weekly post or here--we would love to have you!

I'm also linking up this review and recipe to the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.

Note: A review copy of "The Perfect Girl" was provided to me by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review and as always my thoughts and opinions are my own.

You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.