Are you loaded up with fresh tomatoes and basil? An oven toasted baguette, glistening with salt & olive oil is the perfect mode of transportation to get these things directly into your mouth.
I buy hummus. That's right. I said it. I buy it. I don't make it. I go to the store with a fist full of quarters, throw them at whoever is standing near the hummus, grab it and run away.
My name's Karen, I'm an avid D.I.Y.er and I buy hummus.
I buy other things too. I buy milk. I buy door mats, pillows, cutlery, clothing and crackers. In fact, I even bought my car.
Because DIYing is pretty much my thing, people always get squinchy faced when I tell them I bought something.
Stranger: You buy gum? Really? But it's so easy to make. I thought you did everything yourself. I'm kind of disillusioned. I always make my own gum.
Me: Yeah. I just buy my gum premade.
Stranger: But it's so easy to make. It doesn't take any time and it's so much better than store bought.
Me: Yeah. I just buy my gum.
Stranger: Why not try making some gum right now?
Me: Because right now I'm going to poke your eyes out with this wooden spoon, which I also didn't make.
Stranger: If you made your own gum you could add all natural sedatives to it. You know. On account of your anger issues.
And so on.
I do some things myself, other things I buy and other things I hire people for. And there's absolutely no logical explanation for why I do some things myself and why I don't.
Hummus? I'll buy it. Soup? I make it. I'll spend time building a pizza oven but there's no way I'm going to make my own pizza. I just buy a frozen one and cook it in my outdoor pizza oven. A girl's gotta save time somewhere.
Just kidding. I make my own pizza. Dough and sauce. You don't? But it's so easy to make. It takes no time at all. I'm really surprised at you. I thought you did everything yourself. Can I offer you a wooden spoon?
I don't understand the reasoning behind why I do some things myself and am happy to pay for other things. Part of it is convenience, part of it is what I actually like to do, part of it is cost and the other part is based completely on random brain activity that even Sheldon Cooper's girlfriend, Amy Farrah Fowler, TV's beloved Blossom, couldn't explain.
Having said that, I make my own baguette crisps. They're $5.99 for a 180 gram box to buy. $3.99 if you buy the store made brand with no salt or olive oil or flavour or satisfaction.
Here's how you do it.
Scroll below for more in depth information. And hilarity.
JUST THE FACTS
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Toasted Baguette Crisps
Baguette Crisps
Ingredients
- 1 baguette try flavored baguettes like onion or garlic.
- ¼ cup olive oil good quality
- sea salt flaked if possible
- 4 sprigs rosemary optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 f. Slice the baguette into ¼ inch pieces.Brush both sides with olive oil.Sprinkle each slice with flaked sea salt.Sprinkle with chopped rosemary if desired.Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Buy the cheapest baguette you can find. Whichever one is the cheapest, buy it. Try the day old rack.
It'll cost you between $1 - $1.99. (and will result in the same amount of crisps as a bag/box for $5.99)
Slice it into ¼" slices and brush them with extra virgin olive oil.
I'll give you $700 if you can find anything other than extra virgin olive oil in the grocery store.
Why do recipes state "extra virgin" olive oil like it's some special thing? It's not. You can get a huge crappy bottle of extra virgin olive oil for like $6.
Having said that, the better the olive oil the stronger and better the flavour.
If you want to waste it on your baguette crisps that is entirely up to you. I certainly did.
Sprinkle with chunky sea salt. I use Maldon.
Give 'er a grind of pepper.
That's right. Giver.
Gently pull a sprig or two off of your artfully placed pot of rosemary.
Chop 'er up.
Sprinkle a little rosemary over all the baguette pieces.
More if you like rosemary, less if you just want a hint of it.
I can't believe I have to explain this to you.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.
Then bake them an hour and a half more.
Swear, laugh, roll your eyes and start again.
After 15 minutes at 375 they should be dried out and lightly browned but all ovens, baking sheets and baguettes aren't created equal so keep an eye on them. Also don't start watching House of Cards.
I flip mine halfway through the baking process so you should do that too if you can be bothered. If not, the world will not end. Not because of your baguette crisps anyway.
Serve them with ... store bought hummus. Double gasp.
Or, top them with tomatoes and basil and salt marinated in ... extra virgin olive oil.
Since the crisps are so crispy let them sit with the tomatoes on them for a few minutes to help soften the crispy crunch of them a tiny bit.
You can also buy flavoured baguettes. The ones I burned until they were soot, were actually from an onion baguette.
Go ahead. Give it a shot. They're so easy to make. And take no time at all.
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Did this today for a last minute drinks party. I happened to have a baguette. What are the chances? Delicious recipe, easy, and a show case for ripe summer tomatoes. Thanks!
Excellent! I picked up a baguette tonight for some. :) ~ karen
I love you. Thanks for making me laugh, inspiring me, and reminding me that everybody needs a chicken, alllll at the same time! That's where my burnt crisps go--in the chicken bucket! Chickens care not a wit about a few burnt edges. Can't wait until I have a few more ripe tomatoes so I can make this. The few cherry tomatoes that i pick each day currently go straight into my o'er-eager pie hole.
Thanks Amy! I lo... or rather, I'm fond of you too! ~ karen
Oh, Lordy, girlfriend!!! I laugh till it hurts reading each and every post! You are priceless. I have been away a while and it is so good to be back with you and the gang! Have a baguette in the freezer right now. Gonna go make some crisps!!
Hilarious and informative, as usual. A question: how do you calculate your nutritionals? Please and thank you. Also, how about a post on salts?
Hi Suzanne! The calorie count is done automatically by a program. It takes all of the ingredients, adds them up and divides by the servings. :) ~ karen!
Thank you.
Oh Lordy - this is quite the information packed comment section! Youse guys are hilarious! I have made my own hummus - twice I think. I’m planning on doing it again soon. I used canned beans and painstakingly removed all husks. That part was satisfying because of the slide/pop out of the husk part. However - it took for-ev-er !! The hummus was excellent, I ate it with baby carrots until my hands turned orange, but somewhere along the way (divorce) I lost the food processor. It’s been 7 years, I think, and I haven’t made it since, however, I recently purchased more garbanzo beans, so they are at the ready to try again!! That is the plan. I think I will leave the tahini out, because…I bought tahini way back when, especially for this, and I’ll bet it’s still in the fridge somewhere, lurking. I’ll find it when I go out and buy a new fridge. (This one is chugging along at 29 years old!! Wow!) I don’t make my own refrigerators anymore - I buy them. 😂😂 Love you lots, Karen!!
I happily use Costco olive oil for most of my cooking. When it really matters I will drizzle Debbie Travis’s olive oil (one of many good ones but at least I can trust hers) and it’s delish. However, I know I may be in a minority in this but, Rosemary (and her evil cousin Lavender) both smell and taste like I imagine what I refer to as “Old Lady Punsi”. My Mom is Hungarian and that’s what I call it. I’ll skip that herb. But otherwise, great idea for the cheap bread.
SO I don't know where I found this out but virgin/extra virgin olive oil is actually determined by how long the olives go between being picked and being pressed. Extra virgin means pretty much immediately, and that's why it has a stronger taste than virgin. (For example, when making your own mayo (BECAUSE PEOPLE DO THAT)), you do NOT want to use extra virgin because it will taste completely like olive oil.
Karen. You said 'chop up your rosemary' and then you just CHOPPED IT UP into LITTLE TINY PIECES that don't all STICK TOGETHER! How did you do that?!? Did you actually take an hour to chop them into teeny perfect bits? Or do you secretly have minions to do your chopping? Tell us your secret, enquiring minds want to know!
But wait Karen! there's so much more!!!! Cube before toasting and you've got croutons, smash them after toasting and you have seasoned breadcrumbs, toast them plain and you have Melba toast. We never have stale bread since I always turn it into something else. Bread pudding anyone? And we hardly ever buy crackers since seasoned toasts are so yummy and great with cheese. Well, except Triscuits, those things are addictive.
I make my own hummus! I don't use tahini though - don't like it. My sister is a bit of a show off & uses dried chick peas to make her own falafel. I use canned beans. And I don't make my own pizza. I get my bf to do that. :)
This was a read aloud to hubby piece and we were both laughing out loud! BTW - I would have loved the first batch. Yummy!
Let me tell you what someone served me the other day. Bread crisps, like this, but she cooked them in a cast iron skillet with minced garlic. So we'll call them garlic bread crisps. Delicious, but not the point of the story. To serve on TOP of the garlic bread crisps, she made zucchini butter. This means, she cooked shredded zucchini in olive oil and butter until it was fall apart soft. It was AMAZING. And you can totally make it yourself. After you grow the zucchini. Try it. It takes no time at all.
I do make my own hummus, but I prefer a specific name brand. Probably because I live in a small town and tahini paste is practically unheard of. EVOO we have by the truck loads but no tahini paste.
That should be your next how-to Karen! Make your own tahini paste!
Sarah in Illinois, I can't believe you don't make your own Tahini! It's so easy. You literally throw your sesame seeds in the blender to form a paste then gradually add your oil, a neutral oil, has to be said, or what ever oil you like actually! Blend to desired consistency. add salt. Done! The ONLY problem is having to buy store bought sesame seeds, although I can't believe you don't have a Sesame plant in your garden?! You may have to actually buy the seeds from the store...horrors! ;)
Hi Karen
Love ur site, and will be making these this weekend! Yum!
About the sponges - I use these and highly recommend them. And no, it's not yucky to remove as might be imagined. And yes, I have successfully been intimate while on my cycle, and no, he didn't know, and no, it made no difference to my experience either. And no, I'm not an old hooker either, just wanted to pitch in my 2 cents worth :-)
I nearly fainted with the Diva Cup so I don't like my chances with make up sponges smashed up there, but I'll give it a shot. ~ karen!
OK...I usually enjoy reading the comments and I'm not really prudish but...you know how you can't un-see something?..well you can't un-read something either..barf....lol..What were we originally talking about?? Oh yeah..love the baguettes & I buy my hummus too Karen...