Nonna Pia and Tuscan Bread Salad

While this salad did not come from Nonna Pia (I will share recipes that did soon), it does remind me of my time living in beautiful Firenze (Florence, Italy).  I was lucky enough to have spent a year and a half of my life there, living in my boyfriends father's apartment in the old town of Firenze.

I am having some issues with photo formatting, just tilt your head to the left :)

It was such an amazing experience.  This was my first trip overseas.  I was in awe at one of the world's most beautiful cities, and still am today.  The day we landed we were greeted at the airport by my boyfriend's cousin and Nonna.  Neither of them spoke English especially not Nonna Pia.  All they wanted to do was ask us a million questions and tell us stories, none of which we understood a word of.  We piled into the Fiat 500, crammed in the back with our luggage and the two of them in the front constantly talking to us we began to drive towards our apartment.  My first experience of Italian roads was overwhelming.  The Nonna and cousin were talking and pointing out landmarks all in Italian.  The cousin was taking her hands of the wheel to talk then suddenly grabbing the wheel to swerve through the traffic.  During the 15 minute car trip Nonna was passing necessities over to us.  Olive oil for cooking, Olive oil for dipping - not to be mixed up.  Sponges for washing the dishes.  Bread to dip in the good Olive oil.  Salt, tomatoes.  The pile of groceries was building up and my head was absolutely spinning out of control. 
We finally arrived at the apartment, it was January and freezing cold.  It felt like a scene out of the Flinstones.  The building was 400 years old and the terracotta floors were original.  The bathroom did not even have a window in it, just a hole straight outside.  I was so jet lagged that the floor was coming up at me and I couldn't actually walk in a straight line. 
We very soon settled in to what was to become home.  In a city of immense beauty and culture my memories are vivid and numerous.  During our stay we went over to Nonna's house for lunch once per week.  These lunches taught me a lot about Italian food and language.

Tuscan Bread Salad
5-6 Chopped tomatoes (can be any variety; I prefer a mixture)
Ciabatta Bread Roll
2x anchovies
spoonful of capers
fennel seeds
Garlic clove crushed
olive oil
red wine vinegar
basil leaves

Chop the Ciabatta roll into cubes sprinkle with olive oil and fennel seeds and crushed garlic, some S & P.  Place in a hot over to make croutons.
Meanwhile chop tomatoes into bite size pieces, also fine chop anchovies and capers.  Sprinkle with 1:1 ratio of olive oil and red wine vinegar, about 100ml of each.  Mix well and set aside.
When the croutons are done, add them whilst hot to the tomato mixture and mix well.
Add fine chopped basil leaves, season and leave to sit for about 30 mins to allow the croutons to soak up the dressing.
Serve.