Tomato Toast + Basil Cream Cheese

I am not of the mind-set that food has to be complicated in order to be good. Quite the opposite, actually. More often than not, I'll find that some of my very favorite meals turn out to be something so simple and easy to put together.

Also, you don't need fancy cooking skills to make something restaurant quality. I mean, how many trendy coffee shops charge $4 for fancy toast? But then you get the toast and it's AMAZING. And you contemplate spending another $4 to get more.

This post is about toast. Because everyone should know, if they don't already, that they can make the best toast ever! This one is very much inspired by my mom. My dad has a massive garden; he's a real pro gardener. And every summer his garden produces about one million tomatoes.

Okay, not a million. But a lot.

And you can find my mom putting together a tomato sandwich for lunch for quite some time after that. It's simple, but so amazing, because the tomatoes have so much flavor. Currently we have quite a few amazing tomatoes around the ABM office from our CSA box. Perfect opportunity to throw together an easy but impressive savory breakfast.

You don't need skills to make fancy cream cheese. Just chop up 5-6 leaves of fresh basil and mince 1 or 2 cloves of garlic.

Stir those ingredients in with 8 ounces of softened cream cheese and you're in business. You can store any unused cream cheese in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for up to a week. This is great on bagels or to spread on sandwiches too. The flavors become more pronounced over time, so go easy on the garlic unless you know you love it. :)

What kind of toast person are you? Do you own a toaster or toaster oven? Or are you an under-the-oven-broiler kind of toaster? Whatever your method, toast a few thick slices of your favorite bread (I used sourdough) and spread on the cream cheese.

Top with thick slices of tomatoes and a little salt and pepper. I ate a version of this for lunch the other day as well. It's good any time of day really. So if tomatoes are in season where you live, buy some and make some tomato toast this week. xo. Emma

Credits // Author: Emma Chapman, Photography: Sarah Rhodes. Photos edited with The Folk Collection.