The Experience of Grilled Pizza

I don't have a recipe for these delicious pizzas  (or vege flatbreads) but I can tell you what I did: 

1) First I made a simple pizza dough using whole wheat flour (for nutritional purposes) but you could use white flour if you so desired. But to make the dough more elastic and stretchy and non-stick I added probably a 1/4 cup olive oil to the dough, and let the dough rise for 1.5 hours in some olive oil. 

2) I used a charcoal grill (and real charcoal) to grill up some veges: eggplant, onion, red pepper, and zuchinee (you can use what ever vegetables you like)

3) after the veges were grilled I took the pizza dough I had prepared (by rolling it out on a floured surface) and threw it on a really hot grill. It is critical that the grill is REALLY HOT. I grilled it on both sides. Took it off the grill to add toppings then put it back on the grill just to melt the cheese. 

4) I sprinkled the pizzas with some fresh chard from my garden. 

5) SAT DOWN and ATE it with a beautiful side salad with lettuce  and nasturiums (an edible flour) from my garden. 

bon appetite!

Garden Booty!

 my purple string beans are growing up stalks of tomatoes

 swiss chard , and a slug trap

A day's Harvest: beets, tomatoes, and swiss chard

I finally got around to taking some pics of my full grown garden. The babies I planted in the spring are now all grown up (AWWWWW).  As of now my garden is quite a jungle. And the slugs are everywhere! But I have devised a slug trap that works pretty well. Put stale beer in cups throughout your garden; the slugs dive in,  get drunk... and die. (not a bad way to go for a slug)

 

Tomato pies

Before: Pies are not cooked 

The finished product: (garnished with a garlic scape)

Lilah copping the tomatoes from Wishingstone Farm

The first step of this recipe (for 1 pie 8 inches feeds 4 hungry people) is going to the farmers market and picking out the best possible tomatoes. I like getting a combination of different heirloom varieties. Even though they cook at different rates it adds to an interesting texture in the end. While you're at the farmers market pick up 2 onions and a hard cheese - I like Gruyere. As usual this recipe is great if the ingredients are great quality. 

After you return from your "pilgrimage to the farmers market" (yes I do consider the farmer's market my Mecca) your ready to get messy in the kitchen. As most of you know my kitchen is tiny so a mess is inevitable; luckily most of the mess ends up in my compost, which gets turned into soil that goes back into my garden. It's a beautiful system when I actually get around to cleaning. 

Now for the recipe: 

The crust. After talking to a couple of people I have come to the conclusion most are afraid of crust either because they fear the fattening (gasp) stick of butter used , or they are afraid that their crust will be a hard dense rock. I say to those people: butter is delicious (it makes things taste good and keeps you full) and don't make the dough too wet otherwise your crust will be the dense rock.

Directions:

Place 1 stick of butter chopped up in 2 of whole wheat flour with a 1/2 teaspoon salt

and break down the butter into the flour with your hands (Note: this is highly therapeutic)

Once the butter is completely invisible and the dough is clumping... add approx. 3-4 tablespoons of ice water. work the water into the dough until you can form a ball. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and put it into the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Note: I never make this recipe the same way twice. Sometimes I don't have whole wheat flour, sometimes I don't add any ice water, sometimes I add a little more flour. 

After 30 minutes roll out the dough on a floured surface till it is somewhere b/w 1/4-1/6 inch and it should be around 12 inches in diameter

The filling: 

caramelize the two onions: put a tablespoon of butter in a sauce pan and add a little sugar. Stir those onion at a medium heat till they are brown and soft. 

grate 3-4 ounces of gruyere cheese

slice up your favorite kalamata olives

1/2 pound sliced tomatoes

Layer: olives, cheese, onions, then tomatoes, then more cheese on the top into the middle area of the uncooked crust and fold the remaining crust over the filling. 

Bake : 30-45 minutes at 375 degrees. 

Where did July go?

Posts that have been delayed due to the lack of rainy days in July:

recipe for tomato pies - (secret ingredient: my best friends!)

the experience of grilling pizza - and yes it is an experience

the fact I grew 1/4 of an inch - its official I am 5'7

family gatherings

Nantucket - a destination vacation /babysitting trip

my babies are all grown up: I have tomatoes!!!

how to get rid of this years #1 garden pest- the SLUG!!!

Delicious summer starter: Eggplant, roast red pepper, feta, and arugula

1) preheat the oven to 400 degrees : 

2) Slice eggplant(s) length wise at a 1/4-1/8 inch thickness. Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt. Put them in the oven! and every 10-15 minutes flip them and check them. You want to cook them till they are brown and super soft so they melt in your mouth. I would estimate 12 minutes each side. No one wants a soggy undercooked eggplant. In the summer simply throw the slices on the grill. 

3) Roast some red pepper(s)- I do it on my stove top burner (yes probably a minor fire hazard but simply hold the red pepper with tongs over an open burner). But once again if a grill is available- by all means grill! cook the peppers until the  skin is blackened. Let the peppers cool in a paper bag and peal the skin off. Slice the red pepper into thin strips and add about at tablespoon of quality balsamic vinegar to the mix. 

4)LAYER!

eggplant- pepper with balsamic- sheep feta-arugula leaf----garnish with salt and olive oil- and in this case garlic scapes. 

Note: eggplants aren't in season right now! I suggest waiting till July/August...to give this recipe a try. 

Sunshine Lentil Soup

This soup is easy and delicious, but organic ingredients make it extra yummy. Hence the name, it is a soup that I usually make on a rainy day when I don't feel like going out since all the ingredients are staples in my kitchen.

1.5 tablespoons canola oil

1 onion 

2 carrots

2 teaspoons of ground cumin 

(saute these four ingredients till the carrots are tender and the onions are translucent)

then add:

1 cup red lentils

1/3 cup rice

stir for 10 seconds then add:

8 cups broth or water 

LET it COOk for 25-30 minutes till the rice is done and lentils are mushy

then squeeze the juice of 1-2 lemons and salt to taste and garnish with some fresh parsley sprigs.

As it is true with most soups - this soup is always better the next day 

The no-carb variation: 

skip the rice!  add 1/2 cup extra lentils - decrease the water or broth to 4 cups instead of 8 and Puree! wah-laa you still have a thick and yummy soup. I also like to add a sauted yellow pepper to the mix for a little extra sweetness. 

Justin's yummy muffin recipe

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Stir wet and dry ingredients in seperate bowls then combine both into one big bowl.

When ingredients are combined add the berries, and spoon into the muffin pan. (The most important things with muffins is not to over-stir the batter just make sure the ingredients are well combined). After all the ingredients are mixed spoon the batter about 1/3 cup per muffin into a greased muffin tin or muffin cups .  After 15-18 minutes you will have 24 delicious muffins waiting to be eaten. 

3 cups all purpose flour (or a mix of whole wheat mix)

1/3 cup flaxseed

4 tbsp wheat germ

1/3 cup bran

2/3 light brown sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

4 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt 3 eggs

1 mashed banana

1 cup lowfat plain yogurt

1/3 canola oil

1/3 cup applesauce

BERRIES - whatever kind you like I do half raspberry and half blueberry 

I like this muffin recipe because unlike some muffins these muffins aren't overly sweet cupcakes... they give you REAL energy and will keep me going till lunch. They are also easy to freeze if you can't eat them all in one sitting.