It’s Topanga’s golden birthday! Mama’s sweet girl turned 5 yesterday. Where in the world does the time go?
It seems like just yesterday I picked out the tiniest pup in the whole place. It was a cosmic moment. Like, “I shall call her Topanga & she will be mine.”
I named her Topanga Starr, letting her drop our last name on her 2nd birthday. Everyone doubted me. “You’ll never get a dog to respond to a three syllable first name!” K.
She has just really flourished. She’s gone from eating all of my underwear to just the occasional pair. We’re still figuring out the leash thing, but I think this is her year to master it.
Happy Birthday, T! Gotta make the snacks for the awful Frozen-themed party you requested.
Time: 30 minutes (prep + cooking) | Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 2-3 slices of whole wheat sourdough bread, cut in chunks
- 1-2 cups of grape tomatoes, rinsed
- 2 oz. of fresh mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp. of fresh basil, chiffonaded
- 2 tbsp. of olive oil
- 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
- S+P, to taste
How to:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Lay out tomatoes on a lined baking sheet
- Sprinkle with S+P + drizzle with a tbsp. of olive oil
- Roast for 6-8 minutes
- Remove from the oven + add bread chunks to the sheet, sprinkle with S+P + drizzle with other tbsp. of olive oil
- Put back in the oven + roast another 5-7 minutes or until the bread is just slightly browned
- Meanwhile, heat vinegar in a sauce pan over medium heat, bring to a simmer + turn down to low-med, letting it reduce for about 7-8 minutes
- In a bowl, combine bread + tomatoes + mozzarella + basil + S+P
- Drizzle each bowl with some of the balsamic vinegar reduction
- Don’t share just eat all of this yourself it is better that way trust me
Emerging Adult Eats 
Yum I just love these flavours I was looking through my food posts recently and I realised that fresh basil is one of my most commonly used ingredients! And balsamic crema is the easiest salad dressing ever by itself I’ve been using it for my school lunches almost every day.
Danika
http://www.danikamaia.com
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Anything with fresh basil makes me just melt. I put it in almost everything! The balsamic vinegar is the very best flavor on planet earth. I want to drizzle it on everything. Thanks, Danika!
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Haha, I recently posted a panzanella AND a caprese salad! Yours looks delicious! Happy b’day to your doggie ❤
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I will pass on your message! 😉 Thanks for reading!
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Yay, happy birthday to Topanga! Looks so fresh and yummy. I can’t wait till the summer comes – it’d be so nice and refreshing to eat this outside!
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Just realized it’s baked so never mind, it’s perfect for now! Haha 😉
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Hahahaha even though it’s baked & made totally inside, it tastes like summer. I knew where you were going! 🙂 Thanks, Sun!
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It sounds so delicious!
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