Hello, and welcome back!
That was me welcoming myself back to this blog after a six-month hiatus. I'm not sure what happened. I think the doughnut video took a lot out of me, and I needed a break from recording and documenting my cooking and baking. And a break I took!
But now, cooking and baking season is upon us once again (HALLELUJAH), and I can feel the inspiration beginning to stir after months of hibernation. While most people I know experience the winter doldrums, I'm the opposite. Endless strings of hot sunny days make me listless and moody; but when the weather turns crisp in September, I'm a new woman, awake and hungry for life.
So I'm dipping my toes back into the blogosphere with a look into our recent weekend trip to Lake City, Minnesota. We packed a lot into our two days on Lake Pepin; it was a good reminder that Minnesota is full of natural beauty, small-town treasures, and weekend road trip destinations. I hope this post inspires you to explore your own state—at the very least, maybe it'll inspire you to cook a simple dinner out of beans, bread, tomatoes, and cheese.
Without further ado, I'll leave you with a recipe and a short video I made of our trip. Here's to crusty bread, small-town cafes, and in-state vacations. Enjoy!
Cheesy Bean Toast
:: feeds two ::
1. Heat a tablespoon of butter or 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat in a pot.
2. Dice three large tomatoes and dump them in the pot. Toss in some salt and get them cooking.
3. Smash two or three cloves of garlic. Once the tomatoes have broken down a bit, throw in garlic. Continue cooking and stirring for a few minutes before adding a can of white beans. Toss in a bit more salt.
4. While the tomatoes and beans happily bubble away, cut the baguette in half, and cut those halves the long way. Spread mayo on each of the four baguette slice. Hit 'em with some salt and pepper.
5. Put the baguette slices under the broiler for a few minutes to get them nice and toasty. (If you're using a take-and-bake baguette like we were, bake your baguette before slicing it up; then once the mayo's on board, pop it under the broiler to finish.)
6. When the bread is almost ready and the tomatoes and beans have had plenty of time to form a lasting friendship, top them with slices of fresh mozzarella and place the lid over the pot to melt the cheese.
7. Top your crusty bread slices with the cheesy saucy beans, some black pepper, and a bit of olive oil.
8. That's it, you did it! This step is for eating.
Comments