Bruschetta With Tomato and Basil

We have a ton of basil growing in our garden right now and I wanted to use it up before it goes to seed. Unfortunatly my tomatoes aren't totally ripe yet, so I had to buy some. I have been searching for some good basil recipes and found a few that I will try out and then post if I like them. I found this recipe on a Rachel Ray 30 minute meals video that I checked out from the library.  You can also find it here. I am not a huge fan of some of Rachels recipes.  Sometimes she adds some interesting stuff to her dishes. I like to keep my meals pretty basic and simple.  I did like this one though. It's a pretty light flavor and a very simple one for sure.  Also, I didn't add all of the basil it called for. I think I only used about 10-15 leaves. I also didn't use fresh garlic, because I didn't have any on hand.  I just rubbed a little with the prepared garlic in a jar and then baked it.

Bruschetta With Tomato and Basil

1/2 baguette or crusty long loaf bread, sliced (12 pieces)

2 large cloves garlic, cracked away from skin

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

3 small plum tomatoes, halved and seeded

20 fresh basil leaves ( I used about 10-15)

Coarse salt

Preheat broiler to high, (if you prefer you can also grill the bread). Place bread slices on a broiler pan. Char bread on each side under hot broiler, keep an eye on it! Rub toasts with cracked garlic and drizzle with oil. Chop seeded tomatoes and place in a small bowl. Pile basil leaves on top of one another and roll into a log. Thinly slice basil into green confetti and loosely combine with tomatoes. Add a drizzle of oil and a little coarse salt to the bowl and gently toss tomatoes and basil to coat. Pile toasts around the bowl of topping. Place a spoon to scoop topping in bowl and serve.