Life is certainly . . . well . . . messy.

Which is, of course, one of the many things that makes it interesting and, consequently, worth living.

Now, against the backdrop of that simple truth, picture about a million tomatoes thrown hither and yon by a bunch of crazy, screaming Spaniards on a hot day in August . . .

"La Tomatina" is a food fight festival held on the last Wednesday of August each year in the town of Buñol in the Valencia region of Spain. On the 27th of August, tens of thousands of participants hurled more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes at each other. I'm not making this up. ABC and a bunch of other new agencies have reported on it (and Wikipedia discusses it at length), so it must be true.

You can find more pictures here.

Mmmmm...Brushetta

We made our first batch of salsa and very yummy brushetta this weekend. My hubby, Joe, has a very simple delicious recipe:

Yummy Brushetta

sliced italian or french bread--sliced on a diagonal is pretty
3-4 medium to large fresh tomatoes--any variety will do
2-3 sprigs fresh basil
olive oil--extra virgin is best
asiago cheese--shredded plus extra for garnish
chopped sweet onion--optional, to taste
freshly ground black pepper
fresh parlsey for garnish--optional

Chop tomatoes, basil, and onion. Mix gently and place in bowl to chill while preparing bread.

Drizzle olive oil over bread slices, and top with asiago cheese. Broil just a few minutes until cheese melts. Top with freshly ground pepper. Spoon tomatoes and basil onto bread. Garnish with shredded asiago cheese and a sprig of parsley. Serve while bread is still warm. Makes about 4 servings.

Enjoy. This is a wonderful side for grilled chicken, or steak. It also makes a wonderful meal by itself.

This is a very simple, but delicious recipe. It's one of our favorites!!