We met my family at Grand Lake last weekend, which is becoming a yearly summer tradition. It’s stupid hot, and stupid fun. Family, boats, pools, and food. Food, food, food. My mom and sister and I talk for weeks in advance about what meals we’ll have and who will bring what and then it’s all “READY, BREAK!” and we start cooking a week in advance.

Mr. Meat and Potatoes always thinks I’m crazy when I’m prepping for the long weekend at the lake. “How can it be this hard?” he wonders, when he sees me flying to the store and around the kitchen for three nights in a row, and when he looks over our over-full and uber-organized kitchen – and then he is grateful that I remembered every detail, like salt and pepper, and pickled jalapenos, and bacon and eggs, and of course, the main attractions. This year we did beef and pork tacos for twenty one night and burgers and dogs with fresh corn and a dizzying array of sides the next.

We also bring loads of snacks and sides for continuous daily munching. My sister made two vats of chex mix, and I made a couple of quick snacks to go with the lunchtime sandwich fixin’s.

I had a bunch of sweet cherry tomatoes, and rather than just bring them plain for popping, which isn’t a bad option in itself, I decided to make a sweet and savory bruschetta, and I started rummaging through the refrigerator for possible ingredients. I wanted to highlight the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes, and I also wanted to use fresh herbs from my pretty little herb garden.

To begin, I cut the tomatoes into small chunks – fourths, or maybe sixths for the larger ones.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/jul/18/217284/

I also had a couple of balls of fresh mozzarella, some fresh garlic, and an onion – not to mention plenty of leaves of fresh basil. It was coming together.

I minced two cloves of garlic, diced the mozzarella and half an onion into small pieces, and cut six leaves of basil into a lacy chiffonade.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/jul/18/217285/

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http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/jul/18/217287/

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All of this into a bowl, and then I poured in two tablespoons of local honey, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, and a tablespoon of olive oil. A pinch of kosher salt, and a bit of cracked pepper, and we were in business.

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http://www.lawrence.com/users/meganstuke/photos/2011/jul/18/217290/

I made this the night before we left, because a little marinating can only make it better.

Honeyed Sweet Tomato Bruschetta

2 cups sweet cherry tomatoes (pretty if some are yellow and some are red, but not necessary)
3/4 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup diced fresh mozzarella cheese
6 large fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Normally I would cut up a baguette and toast it myself for the rounds on which to serve a bruschetta topping, but I was short on time and hey, Hy-Vee offers a fabulous fresh garlic bagel toasts that really makes the effort at home seem silly, so I picked up a clamshell of those beauties and was ready to roll, so to speak.

We’re hot, and brown, and home. Everyone will sleep well for the next few nights, and I’ll be enjoying leftover bruschetta, among other sides, for dinner, which is an excellent side effect of this already fantastic weekend. Here’s to long weekends and hot summers, and especially to cooling off.