Honey-Tomato Bruschetta

You may or may not know that honeybees are in danger-strange things are happening to them and they are abandoning their hives. Last year, about 20 BILLION bee vanished.* "Who cares?" you might say. But think about what bees do-the pollinate the crops that you and I eat. Without bees we can kiss those crops goodbye...

This month's Food & Wine Magazine features several recipes with honey as the star ingredient. One recipe, Honey-Tomato Bruschetta with Ricotta sounded phenomenal and I knew right away that I had to try it...

2 Pints of Cherry Tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 T. Olive Oil
2 T. Clover Honey
2 t. Fresh Thyme Leaves
1 t. Kosher Salt
1/8 t. Pepper
12 Baguette slices, cut at 1/2 thick on a bias
1 C. Ricotta
1 T. Buckwheat or Chestnut Honey
6 Basil Leaves, thinly sliced or torn

1. Preheat oven to 300. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes with the olive oil, honey, thyme, salt & pepper. Pour mixture onto lined baking sheet and bake about 1 hr 25 minutes until the begin to shrivel and brown. Allow to cool.

2. In the broiler, toast the baguette slices until golden brown.

3. Spread ricotta on the bread and top with tomatoes. Lightly drizzle with buckwheat honey and sprinkle with honey.

Notes:

I did not have 2 types of honey. I used regular honey from the grocery store-but I know for sure that if I had different types of honey, this recipe would have been better.

The ricotta was a little bit too bland for me-I would suggest seasoning it with a little salt and pepper, or perhaps mixing a tiny bit of honey in the cheese.

*August Issue, Food & Wine Magazine, pg. 86