inspired dinner {life}

I always come back from a vacation inspired to make changes in my life. Big or little, I want somehow my day to day life to reflect to ease I find when we're living at a more relaxed pace. I still think about breakfasts we had in Germany or Greece and wonder why I have yet to incorporate them into our morning routines. Evening cooking is easier, and last week I found it simple enough to look to Charleston when bringing one of our weeknight night dinners to the table.

I can't think why I don't make bruschetta for dinner more often. Callum loves it, and if we add some other components, as we did here, it becomes satisfying enough for a full meal. This night, making dinner flowed organically for me. While slicing the tomatoes, I saw that we had baby potatoes, so I quickly steamed them and added a dollop of sour cream. We had several chunks of cheese, including a gamble I took on something called Norwegian Ski Cheese (??), and a salami. That, with the potatoes and bruschetta seemed like the making of a pretty good dinner.

It was the first week of Daylight Savings and since our living room is at its best in the late afternoon and early evening, we carried our platters and plates to the front of the house to eat off our laps for a change from the dining table. I thought that I'd have bruschetta left for lunches the next day, but no such luck.

Lauren's Simple Bruschetta

1 small baguete, sliced

1/2 white onion, diced

3 cloves garlic minced

1 small jar sliced ripe olives

diced assorted tomatoes (I used whatever I have on hand)

vinegar (choose your poison, balsalmic, red wine, whatev)

parmesean cheese

olive oil

parsley, basil, or any other herb you might have on hand

Preheat oven to 350.

Drop a couple of glugs of olive oil into a saute pan and add the onion and saute until translucent.

Add one clove of garlic and saute briefly before adding tomatoes and black olives.

Splash with vinegar and keep warm in pan.

Slice one baguette (I used whole wheat), and brush both sides of each slice with a mix of olive oil and garlic.

Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and add a dollop of tomato mixture to each slice.

Sprinkle some grated parm on top of each slice of bread.

Toast in the oven until just warmed up and cheese has slightly melted.

Sprinkle with herb of choice and serve

5-7 minutes.

Enjoy!

Obviously, this is just a starting point, and there are endless variations, but this, at its most basic, is a good place to start.

spring garden {life}

Neel's garden is coming to life.

He's worked hard all winter; I don't think there was a weekend, or even a day that he didn't spend some time out there, toiling in the earth. Planning and planting.

It's exciting to see the fruits of his labor, quite literally, come to life.

Sometimes the results are subtle.

Like here.

As the Japanese Maple slowly comes to bud.

And sometimes they're quite vibrant. Like here with this anenome (I'm so glad he's planted more of these!).

And here, with this spreading carpet of Evening Primrose. We saw a house in Charleston called the Primrose House, and it was painted just that shade of yellow!

Dandelions are not allowed.

If you are in the yard for any time at all, a dog will accompany you.

Everywhere you look, spring is bumping up against winter. It seems more acute this year, since really, we had no winter. The camellias bloom in winter here, brightening our dark days of January and February right into March. The red bud, in bloom down the path, is early, coming into bud as the earth warms up more quickly this season. It's making for a spectacular display of color, no question.

Neel will fill you in on all of his doings at some point (more guest posts!). He has the seeds started in the sun room and all sorts of plans. But the surprises are already starting to pop up. Sweet strawberries on the way.