Lavender and Basil Whole Wheat Bruschetta with Heirloom Tomatoes ~

Entertaining is one of my favorite things ever! I LOVE to cook for others and when it's a special occasion, it's even better! Lots of little extra special touches just make the time so wonderful with friends. Some things I try to always do: have fresh pressed cloth napkins, plenty of beverage choices with the appropriate stemware, nice silverware, lighting ~ candles, and most especially, fresh ingredients for that extra special meal... these things make the event homey and comfortable. Shoes come off and we lounge around the deck on a perfect spring evening with twinkle lights and candles glowing.

I like to have a couple light appetizers to start off, and I decided on this easy bruschetta recipe to kick off the evening. With fresh lavender and basil from my garden {YEAH! success!}, this bruschetta is really unusual and received rave reviews! Let me know what you think!

Ingredients ~

1 loaf french whole wheat baguette
olive oil
sea salt
cracked pepper
2 cups seeded, chopped heirloom baby tomatoes
2 T. fresh chopped basil
2 T. fresh chopped lavender
1 shallot, minced
3 T. extra olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle slices of (1/2" thick) bread with olive oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper.
Bake for about 10 minutes.

Remove from oven.

Mix chopped tomato and and the rest of the ingredients in a medium bowl. Spoon on the warm bread and serve with a nice Pinot Noir or Pinot Grigio --white or red will work with these herbs! Enjoy