summer yummy . . .

. . . bruchetta!!! My favorite . . . chilled and served on little toasted slices of stick bread. Oh my! I can hardly wait for it 'settle' so I can gorge . . .

3 diced ripe tomatoes
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh basil
3 cloves grated fresh garlic (I stuck an extra one in . . . garlic freak that I am)
salt and pepper to taste.
grated Locatelli
balsamic vinegar

Make it early in the day, stash in a covered glass bowl in the fridge, stirring occasionally. Serve over rounds of stick bread drizzled with olive oil and broiled until brown. Sprinkle finished rounds with grated Locatelli and a dribble of balsamic vinegar. Very, very good. I promise.

And now for my dork entry of the day. I figured since I was already sweaty from the gym and it was early in the day and cooler, it would be a good time to flush those pesky downspouts. The first six went well. I was a little shocked how much came out of a couple of them but hey, they had had all winter to collect their goodies. But, then comes #7. I climb up the ladder, insert the hose and scrabble back down to round the corner and see if it is flowing. Nothing. So down on my hands and knees I insert one rubber gloved hand up the spout and start pulling out gobs of icky rotten stuff. Meanwhile because that spout is so packed, the gutter is now overflowing all over the place. Digging farther up the spout, I figure if I actually jam the hose down the spout it might loosen some of the clog. Wishful thinking on my part. Back to digging. Having hit the curve in the piping I have to actually flatten myself out on the ground to get my arm up there. And don't you know, as soon as I get my arm in almost up to my shoulder, the water pressure frees the clog and in one fell swoosh, out comes the clog. So there I am with a clean downspout but covered in water and leaves and other nasty little objects I would prefer not to inspect. Nuff said.