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For the third year in a row, I found myself cooking with an eager and hungry group of kids atop hay bales in the middle of Full Belly Farm.   We were sitting outside with dust in the air, ants skittering around, and hay bits clinging to our ingredients.  It was a far cry from cooking in a sterile commercial kitchen, and to be honest, much better.  We were close to our food.  Most of our ingredients, in fact, were grown within a stone’s throw from our makeshift kitchen.  It was perfect.  Just don’t tell the health department.

After chatting with my friends on Twitter about which recipes to prepare, I settled on making Bruschetta 2 ways.  Both took advantage of ingredients that were either grown at Full Belly Farm, or those that were donated by local artisans and farms from the farmer’s market.

Smashed Tomato and Basil Bruschetta

1 basket cherry tomatoes, or 2 handfuls
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
Small handful fresh basil leaves, chopped.
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 baguette French bread or similar Italian bread
1/4 cup olive oil

1. Squash the tomatoes in a bowl.  You can squeeze them in your hand, but be careful of spraying juice.
2. Make sure there is a top rack in place in your oven. Turn on the oven to 450°F to preheat.
3. While the oven is heating, add the remaining ingredients to the tomatoes.
4. Slice the baguette on a diagonal about 1/2 inch thick slices.
5. Coat one side of each slice with olive oil using a pastry brush. Place on a cooking sheet, olive oil side down. You will want to toast them in the top rack in your oven, so you may need to do these in batches depending on the size of your oven.
6. Once the oven has reached 450°F, place a tray of bread slices in the oven on the top rack. Toast for 5-6 minutes, until the bread just begins to turn golden brown.
7. Alternatively, you can toast the bread without coating it in olive oil first. Toast on a griddle for 1 minute on each side. Rub some garlic onto the bread and drizzle half a teaspoon of olive oil on each slice.
8. Align the bread on a serving platter, olive oil side up.
9. Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon for people to serve themselves over the bread, or place some topping on each slice of bread and serve.
10. If you top each slice with the tomatoes, do it right before serving or the bread may get soggy.

Adapted from Jamie Oliver

Pear, Honey and Quark Bruschetta

Pears
Honey, to taste
Quark
Country bread (currant or walnut raisin)

1. Toast bread slices.
2. Spread each slice of toast with quark.
3. Top with diced or thinly sliced pears.
4. Drizzle honey over the pears, to taste.

Stay tuned for more fun photos from the farm festival…