August 13, 2007 | Mama Smith

it's alive!

Matthew has been swearing he’s “so close” for months and months now. We are all excited (and thankful) that yesterday, he officially launched his new website, Squared Eye Design, for the web business he’s been running now for the past three months.

You can find it here.

Take a look. It is his best site yet. Well, maaaybe better than minismith.com, but only by a smidge. Yes, it was the longest, most stressed over project he has worked on. But if you’re going to be the best, your own site better show it.

It’s been amazing to see Matthew flourish in this new role of business owner. He has come alive in new ways and is becoming a pretty kick-ass businessman right before my very eyes. Charismatic, professional, charming, and devoted all in one fail swoop.

I am one proud wife. Ready for the website to be over and done with and launched already, yes. Ready to not hear cursing from the office late into the night, yes. Ready to not have to pretend to understand how amazing it was that he got a one inch dashed line to move to the other side of the screen (I so cannot fully appreciate the work that goes into web design), yes. But even more so, simply proud of all the hard work and detailed devotion that Matthew has poured into this project, that will be casting a vision for his business for years to come. And be putting bread on our table.

Speaking of bread, I could eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner in the summertime. I have had bruschetta on the brain. And making batch after batch, after slurping down ever last bit of juice from the bowl. We need a tomato garden to feed this nasty habit next summer. A very loose recipe I’ve tweaked over the years…

The Addiction-forming Bruschetta

1-2 lbs of tomatoes (roma are the best)
2 cloves of garlic pressed
1-2 TBSP olive oil
1ish TBSP balsamic vinegar
3-4 TBSP fresh slivered basil
Sea salt & pepper to taste
Shaved or slivered parmesan (not grated, this will create a dirty, messy look…but if you don’t care about looks, by all means, grated is fine)

Toss it all together and let it sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes if not more to let all the flavors meld. While it’s “melding”, toast some sliced, crustry french bread in the oven for a few minutes. Then pull the tomato mixture out of the fridge, the bread from the oven and down the entire bowl all to yourself.

Oh wait, that’s what I would do. You can share if you choose to.

If you’re using it as an appetizer for guests, just put a bowl of bruschetta on a platter and surround it with the toasted bread. Or get really fancy and top the bread slices with a scoop of the bruschetta and a few extra slivers of basil and parmesan.