Bruschetta Burgers and a Rainbow Garden Salad

What a week! I think I set a record, for myself-- no cooking dinner for five out of seven nights last week. My poor family! Because of that, I'm craving a lot of vegetables, salads and I've got a lot of blogger recipes to read (this is how I relax and de-stress)-- now that the Class of 2009 has graduated, and I'm wrapping up the school year-- and I'm 17 workdays from my summer vacation.

My tomato plants are starting to produce tomatoes. I am about 2 weeks away from not having to buy"anemic" tomatoes. Next to strawberries, tomatoes are a fruit that I absolutely love. That's why I'm on a bruschetta kick. I keep basil growing in my backyard, for as long as the warm weather allows it to thrive. My version of bruschetta is very traditional-- Roma tomatoes, salt & pepper, finely minced garlic and fresh chopped basil. Sometimes I add balsamic vinegar, sometimes I don't. I brush olive oil on baguette slices and broil them for a minute; then rub a clove of fresh garlic. Heaven!

Italian salsa!

I rarely eat at chain food restaurants. If I do, I'll go to Applebee's and order their burgers. A while back, Tyler Florence created a bruschetta burger for Applebee's, but I don't think it's on the menu anymore (I think I haven't eaten there in over a year). I had a hankering for a grilled burger, and then I decided to create my own burger.

I kept the burger simple-- 80/20 fresh ground beef, salt & pepper. I was looking for ciabatta rolls (this summer, when I have more time, I will make my own), but I settled on fresh francesca rolls. I had slices of provolone cheese in my fridge, that was near the end of it's life (or I would have used mozzarella).

I'm ready for the big bite...

Delicious!

Instead of my delicious (if I do say so myself) oven garlic fries, I opted to make a fresh salad:

While shopping at my local produce stand, I spotted fresh golden beets for 25 cents each! I have a childhood aversion to red beets, because my mother served them from a can. I will eat roasted beets, though my husband loves them most. This time, I roasted them in foil-- for about 20 minutes, until tender. Sometimes, I roast them in balsamic, which I think pairs beautifully with roasted beets.

I bought locally grown salad greens, heirloom small tomatoes and I spotted some feta cheese in my fridge. I made my family favorite balsamic vinaigrette (minus the poppy seeds) that also pairs well with a strawberry spinach salad.

This screams healthy!