Tomato + Avocado + Lemon + Olive Oil + Ciabatta =

delicious!

Last week I was invited to join a friend for brunch at a cafe / restaurant in Fort Greene, Brooklyn called Smooch, a place that truth be told I've been kinda sorta boycotting for about three years only because someone there had the audacity to charge me $4 for a glass of Ocean Spray-esque cranberry juice, (don't say this girl doesn't know how to hold a grudge :). Howsoever, sometimes with the right level of persuasion, it's good to let bygones be bygones and so I found myself there last weekend, enjoying an absolutely delicious brunch / lunch, not once, but twice. On the second day, this was put in front of me: tomato, over avocado, spread out on a ciabatta, with a lemon juice, olive oil dressing. It was delicious -- the kind of simple dish that transports you to another place, the mediterranean maybe ... so fresh and good and good for you...

Today, realizing I had -- quel coincidence -- a tomato and an avocado dying to be eaten I set about recreating it at home. I used peasant bread bought at the farmer's market instead of ciabatta, toasted it, spread the avocado all over it, topped it with slices of tomato, and then fresh lemon juice & olive oil (typically 1 spoon lemon juice to 2 spoons olive oil, but always according to taste), with some freshly ground black pepper and a bit of salt.

What can I say ... it was cry out loud good!