making it with what you got

we only have one shelf in the fridge and pantry each here at the bonny doon.

so i dont have tons of ingredients to choose from all the time. we're keeping it simple. it's nice.

here was a surprisingly delicious meal, the highlight being the last of our week's arugula and spinach from the CSA. yes a box of veggies is delivered to our house each thursday for us to share! it's amazing.

-1 box annie's mac and cheese (white cheddar)
-lots of arugula and a little spinach
-onion
-garlic
-fresh oregano
-oil
-cashews

saute chopped onion and sliced garlic in oil in a cast iron pan. add the spinach, arugula and oregano, and give it just enough time to wilt. season w/ salt/pepper.

plop a serving of mac/n/cheese on the plate
add a big dallop of the greens
sprinkle some crushed toasted cashews on top.

caleb loved it. it's pretty and delicious! one of those quick but yum meals when you dont have time or much in the fridge.

What I did with my farmer's market broccoli today

Broccoli Slaw
Adapted a bit from a Smitten Kitchen recipe


1 heads of broccoli, broken into bits
1/4 cup thinly sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 c. red onion, finely chopped

Dressing-- whisk together
1/4 cup mayonnaise )
1ish tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
milk to thin

Sage Pesto

A friend of mine (Jaci White) recommended to me that I try to make pesto out of sage. I adjusted this recipe and tried it today and all I can say is YUM! we're planning on using it this week with pasta and sliced sausage.

3/4 c. fresh sage leaves
1/4 c. fresh wide leaf parsley leaves
1/4 c. toasted pine nuts
a few tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. olive oil (or more)
3 cloves garlic
kosher salt to taste

puree in food processor or blender

What to do with radish tops?

Radishes are everywhere at the Farmer's Market right now. Last week I picked up a bunch for $1. I've always felt sad composting the beautiful greens-- and last Sat. decided to give Clotilde's recipe for Radish Leaf Pesto a go. It had (obviously) quite a different taste than regular basil pesto-- but we totally enjoyed it. It made a huge serving and with the help of a few guests ate it all up with chips. Definitely making it again-- yummy and incredibly economical.

Rhubarb (or any fruit) Crisp

This is the recipe I used for Wednesday's rhubarb crisp. The part for the topping is my aunt's. You can pretty much adapt it to any kind of fruit you want. It is easy peasey. Which is why I love it.

For the fruit part, I used 5c. of chopped up rhubarb for a 9x13 pan, but you can use however much you have or need in order to fit the dish.

Mix the dry ingredients (sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon) and then mix them into the fruit.

I used 1/3c. of sugar and 1T of flour per cup of rhubarb. If you use another kind of fruit, adjust according to the sweetness of the fruit. I also sprinkled a little salt and a little cinnamon into the mix. A little lemon zest is nice too, if you have it. Dump the fruit mixture into your pan.

For the "crisp" part, I used 1 stick of butter, 1 cup of sugar, and 2 cups of flour for a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle a little salt in there too, if you remember (which I didn't). Cut the butter into the dry ingredients. So long as you keep these proportions, you can make as much or as little of this as you want, according to the size of your dish. Usually I like to have about 1/4" or so of topping spread over the whole thing.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then continue baking at 350 for 25-45 minutes, until the fruit is soft and the juice looks like it's getting good and thick.

At the end, I stick it under broil for a few minutes, just to make the topping brown and crisp up a bit.

Happy crisp making!

Pizza

Daphne: This recipe looks more daunting than it is ... it is one of the quickest, easiest things I make. And it never disappoints!

Makes two 12-inch pizzas.

This recipe requires a pizza stone and a peel. You can shape the second dough round while the first pizza bakes, but don't add toppings until just before baking (or you can freeze the second dough round after you let it rise). You can let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator if you like; place the dough balls on a floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap coated with nonstick cooking spray. If using mozzarella packed in brine, pat the cheese cubes dry before placing them on the pizza.

INGREDIENTS

Dough
1 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 cup water (8 ounces), room temperature
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces), plus extra for dusting work surface and peel
1 cup cake flour (4 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
2 teaspoons sugar

Topping
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 small clove garlic , minced or pressed through a garlic press (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Table salt
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese (see note above), cut into 1-inch chunks
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
* Any other ingredients you might like (we're fans of mushrooms, eggplant or avocado - just make sure you add the avocado AFTER the pizza has been cooked).

INSTRUCTIONS

1. FOR THE CRUST: Adjust oven rack to lowest position, set pizza stone on oven rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. In liquid measuring cup, whisk yeast into water to dissolve. In food processor fitted with metal blade, process flours, salt, and sugar until combined, about 5 seconds. With machine running, slowly add liquid through feed tube; continue to process until dough forms satiny, sticky ball that clears sides of work bowl, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. (If after 1 minute dough is sticky and clings to blade, add 1 to 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour and continue processing. If dough appears dry and crumbly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water and process until dough forms ball.) Divide dough in half and shape into smooth, tight balls. Place on floured counter or baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 inches apart; cover loosely with plastic wrap coated with nonstick cooking spray and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

2. FOR THE TOPPING: In clean bowl of food processor, process tomatoes until crushed, two or three 1-second pulses. Transfer tomatoes to fine-mesh strainer set over bowl and let drain at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to release liquids. Just before shaping pizza rounds, combine drained tomatoes, sugar, garlic (if using), 1 tablespoon basil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in bowl.

3. TO SHAPE AND COOK THE PIZZAS: When dough balls have doubled in size, dust dough liberally with flour and transfer balls to well-floured work surface. Press one ball into 8-inch disk. Using flattened palms, gently stretch disk into 12-inch circle, working along outer edge and giving disk quarter turns. Lightly flour pizza peel; lift edges of dough round to brush off any excess flour, then transfer dough to peel. Spread thin layer of tomato topping (about 1/2 cup) over dough with rubber spatula, leaving 1/2-inch border around edge. Slide onto stone and bake until crust begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove pizza from oven with peel, close oven door, and top pizza with half of cheese chunks, spaced evenly apart. Return pizza to stone and continue cooking until cheese is just melted, 4 to 5 minutes more. Transfer to cutting board; sprinkle with half of remaining basil, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and pinch salt. Slice and serve immediately. Repeat step 3 to shape, top, and bake second pizza.

requesting annemarie's pizza recipe

or anyone else who has a good recipe!

i want to make pizza. or calzones.