I’ve been meaning to post a bit of a “crostini roundup” for a while: I had so many good ideas for crostini I wanted to experiment with that I finally decided to make a meal out of it.
The cherry basil bruschetta came from a great new cookbook I’m raving about: the Oh She Glows cookbook by Canadian blogger Angela Liddon. Although I’m not a vegan, this book offers so many great sounding recipes and delicious ways to explore vegan cuisine. The bruschetta consists of 1 cup of fresh cherries (pitted and halved), 3 cups of hulled strawberries, 1/4 cup each of julienned basil and mint, 3 tablespoons of finely diced red onion, and 4 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar. Mix, marinate briefly, and pile on lightly oiled, toasted rounds of bread.
I had made the roasted grape, blue cheese and honey-drizzled crostini many moons ago for a book club gathering I hosted. It’s pretty simple to do: just roast some green or red grapes at about 400F in your oven till they’re warm and plump. Pile them on some olive oil-brushed and oven-toasted slices of baguette, followed by a crumble of your favourite blue cheese. Pop them back in the oven for a couple minutes to soften and warm the cheese, and then drizzle with honey before serving.
The bacon, leek and goat cheese comes courtesy of popular blogger The Pioneer Woman. Head over here for the irresistible recipe to this one.
Finally, I will be bringing you a recipe for the cherry chia jam on Purple House Cafe very soon!
Enjoy!
Roasted grapes? Hmmm, sounds interresting. This would definately be a Renee type of meal, although I know I’d eat too many! I have Angela’s cookbook too, have had many great successes. The cheese dip with the cashews….I think I ate the entire dish!
That nacho dip, you mean? We devoured that too! I’m only now just kind of getting into vegan food, and the possibilities are truly endless. I find it really fascinating how you can take something like cashews and make cheese or cream out of them!