Bacon and Feta Bruschetta

That bread is from the day old bakery section don’t tell anyone

Normally our tomato harvest is wiped out by the heat before our northern friends see their first ripe tomato. This year we’ve had a bumper crop and our grape tomato plants are still producing. We credit a mild (for us) summer with only a smattering of triple-digit days that mostly came in early September — Mother Nature’s way of letting us know we’re not going to get off that easy in the deep South. The pepper jam brings out the sweetness in the tomatoes and lets you slip in a few under ripe tomatoes if need be.

Bacon and Feta Bruschetta

• 1 1/2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
• 2 slices bacon, crumbled
• 2 oz feta, crumbled
• 2 oz fresh mozzarella, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp pepper jam
• 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• salt/pepper to taste
• 1/2 pound day-old crusty white bread such as sourdough, Italian or French baguette
• olive oil for brushing

Slice bread to 1/4-inch slices. Using a pastry brush, brush both sides with olive oil and lay flat on a baking sheet. Bake at 325 until golden, flipping once. This should take about 20 minutes. In the meantime, wash tomatoes and slice in half. Mix with remaining ingredients and season to taste. When bread is done and has cooled enough to handle divide topping among slices.

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