Long live the tomato! It’s a wonderful fruit which offers many health benefits including better heart health, better skin texture, cancer fighting agents, better sleep, and less chance of depression (my beloved gobbles up a tomato every morning and he has skin like a child and a curiously happy disposition – hmmm, coincidence?). So when this month’s food challenge for Cooks in the Kitchen was the tomato, I was “in” and ready to throw down my recipe. It’s easy, fast, and quite tasty. Let’s go…

Here is what you will need:

(note – this recipe feeds two but easily modifies to accommodate more people)

• 3 tomatoes (any kind – I chose heirloom for their variety of color and nice taste)
• mozzarella cheese (I chose a bucket of small rounds which you can get at most stores)
• 1 batch of basil
• 2 bread bowls (I chose sourdough, but they could be any kind of bread bowls)
• olive oil to taste
• 3 tbsp butter
• salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

• cut a “lid” out of each bread bowl and pull out the majority of bread filling; butter the entire inside of the bowl and lid and place them on a baking sheet; set aside
• dice up the tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and put into one mixing bowl; combine ingredients with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste; set aside so tastes can meld together

• put baking sheet with buttered bread bowls and lids under the broiler until the bread is slightly golden then remove from broiler
• add tomato, mozzarella, and basil mixture to each bowl
• add the bread lid at an angle for some decorative flair
• Serve and enjoy!

Warning: This dish may cause some serious good health and big smiles!