A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

What a gorgeous day it was today here in Pittsburgh! Sunny, almost 80 degrees--the kind of weather J & I love!

We headed out early today to do a little shopping--specifically for a new bike for J. Last summer, we biked the South Side trail most weekends, and each time extended our trip, eventually extending through town and to the North Side. J found an awesome bike on sale at Dick's Sporting Goods. I did a little shopping as well, then we headed for home, anxious to sit on the patio and listen to the ballgame!

Our original plan was to stop at Page's Dairy Mart for some ice cream or a chocolate malt (Best. Ice Cream. EVER!), but after a long week--and one where we did not always have the healthiest of meals--I followed J's lead and decided to pass. I tried to think of what I could make for lunch that would be healthy, good and go well with the gorgeous weather.

Here's what I came up with:

I REALLY try to eat salad. I mean, it is a GREAT way to load up on a lot of veggies at one time. But I get really bored with salads easily. So I try to come up with new things to add to break the monotony. Summer is great for experimenting since the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables is so high that time of year. J picked up a couple containers of strawberries the other day, and we had some really good, crisp Gala apples as well, so I opted to make a great salad with red romaine lettuce, strawberries, apples, a little crumbled Gorgonzola, and chopped walnuts. We only needed a little but of red wine vinaigrette to top it off!

I had also scored some great plum tomatoes at the store, and had some baguette slices left in the freezer, so decided to try something new to me--making bruschetta. I didn't have a recipe to go off of, so I just went with what I was pretty sure was in it off the top of my head...tomatoes, basil and olive oil. I chopped up 2 plum tomatoes into small pieces, then tossed in a bowl with a little olive oil, fresh ground black pepper, and dried basil (I did not have any fresh on hand). For a little twist, I also added a dash of rosemary and thyme as well.

Next, I baked the baguette slices at 350F. I did some plain, and on other slices with a wee bit of Parmesan shreds or crumbled Gorgonzola. Everything turned out delicious!

I can't wait to try the bruschetta using fresh herbs--last year J & I had several herbs growing on the patio, and it was wonderful to be able to grab a handful of fresh herbs to chop and add to recipes!

We had a bottle of pink Catawba wine from a local shop in the fridge, and it was just perfect with this summer lunch!

I wish the ballgame had turned out as well as the lunch did! Chubbs didn't care though, she was just so thrilled to get her first really long nap on the patio!

Happy eating!