Lovin' Pizza!

Tom and I love to make homemade pizza as a quick weeknight dinner. It's fairly quick, extremely tasty, and provides us with awesome lunches for the next day.

On Sunday I made two batches of pizza dough that will create four delicious pizzas for us, using the recipe from Baking Illustrated. I wish I used this book more than I do because it is phenomenal.

I love how a bowl full of dough can go from this.....

To this...... In only 1.5 hours!

I let the dough sit for about 10 minutes before either using it.....

....or packing it up into single-pizza sizes to freeze. They're wrapped with plastic wrap and then popped into a freezer bag. It's so helpful for those weeknight - quick dinners. As long as we remember to take it out of the freezer before we go to work. 

Tom thought I was crazy to purchase a package of Vermont Smoked Pepperoni before we left, but I am soooo thankful I did. I love their pepperoni on our pizza. We usually make pizza's with what we have around the kitchen. The normal: onions, garlic, green pepper, basil, pepperoni, and of course - cheese! Mozzarella, Cabot Extra Sharp, Parmesan, and Provolone!

Even after making pizza for the last few years, we have yet to purchase a pizza stone. Guess what will be added to our "New-Apartment Shopping List"? 

It's been quite interesting the last two weeks to be at home so much. I am applying for teaching jobs in the area during the day, and by 5pm I'm whipping up something to eat for dinner. I'm not quite used to having this amount of time off, but it is nice to have a few hours to plan a meal, go shopping for it, and to actually cook it. I know for now I need to enjoy this freedom. So for the moment, I imagine we'll be putting the pizzas aside as I try out some new recipes!

Cheesy Eggplant Parm

A few weeks ago I posed a question on Facebook: "I have an eggplant and don't know what to make with it. Any suggestions?"

People responded immediately with ideas like stuffed eggplant, moussaka, roasted eggplant on pasta, eggplant rollatini, and of course - eggplant Parmesan. 

Last time we made eggplant parm we didn't want to finish it. This time, we had a real winner. It was plate of ooey-gooey-cheesy deliciousness!

Cheesy Eggplant Parmesan

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

1 large eggplant (or 2 smaller), thinly sliced

1 egg, beaten

1-2 cups bread crumbs

1 jar of spaghetti sauce (Bove's Garlic Lovers or San Marzano Tomato Basil were delicious choices)

3 garlic cloves

8 oz package of shredded mozzarella cheese (more for the cheese lovers)

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Dried basil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Set up workstation: sliced eggplant, egg bowl, bread crumb bowl, baking sheet. Dip eggplants in egg and  breadcrumbs before laying on baking sheet.
3. Bake eggplant in oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, flip, and bake another 5 minutes. 
4. Cover the bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with spaghetti sauce. Add a layer of eggplants, followed by half of cheese and all of garlic. Repeat by adding another layer of sauce, eggplant, and remaining cheese. Sprinkle dried basil on top. 
5. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. 

Serve with pasta and enjoy!

Sunday Soup: Spiced Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

This is my last day of "freedom" before all of my college classes begin: Two education classes at UVM, one Special Ed class at CCV, and an Earth science class at CCV. 

Starting tomorrow, Tom and I will need a lot of easy meals. We're both in our busy season and I have a feeling there won't be much time to cook. Below is a quick Sunday soup recipe that doesn't require much work, perfect for all of the other busy people out there. The hardest part is cutting the butternut squash and making sure you have the top of the blender tightly secured before blending. 

This is a perfect winter soup that is full of flavor. Tom doesn't particularly enjoy squash, but did enjoy this dish. I got the recipe from Whole Living's list of 2012 detox, which means that not only does it taste really good, but everything in it is really good for you.

 Spiced Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

Adapted from Whole Living

Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cardamom

Pinch of ground cloves

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 Granny Smith apple

4 cups chopped butternut squash

3 cups water

salt and pepper

1. Heat olive oil in 5-6 quart pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook about 6-8 minutes. Add  spices and cook for about 1 minute. Add carrots, apple, squash, and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil before lowering heat. Simmer, partly covered, for about 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

2. Pour soup into a blender and puree. You will need to divide the soup in half and do this twice. 

Enjoy!

Dinner Recipe: Teriyaki Salmon

Today was my final day of vacation, and I am sad to see it go. I studied for the Praxis (my license exam) and got to see my old roomie and name buddy, Danielle. 

Last night Tom cooked a de-li-cious Teriyaki salmon that he found on allrecipes.com. It wasn't too fishy like salmon can sometimes be. I absolutely recommend that you try this recipe. The marinade made all the difference, and was especially good as a dipping sauce.

We had a side of salad which took up more than half our plates. I have fallen in love with salads all thanks to one thing: toasted almonds. Our friend Ara made a salad with them back in October and I was hooked. Prior to almonds I suffered as I ate salads. Now I can't get enough!

What are your favorite salad toppings? 

Sunday Soup: Tomato Basil Parmesan

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I headed home for the day and it was great to catch up with the family. We ate an early meal for us (2:00 instead of 5:00) which was great because I needed those extra hours for digestion. I was full well before I could finish my plate and still didn't pass up apple-pie dessert. 

The week off from school was wonderful and it gave me many opportunities to try out new recipes over the vacation. Pinterest had my eye once again, this time a Tomato Basil Parmesan soup recipe from 365 Days of Slow Cooking. 

I used skim milk instead of half and half, but did add a little bit of heavy cream (I was too lazy to run out to the store for the half and half).The soup was delicious but probably would have been amazing had I used fresh basil. 

It's back to school for me tomorrow for another two weeks before I'm finished with the rest of the semester. Yikes!

P.S. Wilson turned two years old on Thanksgiving! 

Besides getting three new awesome toys, he got a photo shoot in his too-small Santa Suit. 

I think it's hilarious to watch him try to squirm his way out of it. 

Fall Farmer's Market

I woke up to this  morning to the sounds of the heat turning on in our apartment and geese flying overhead outside. Geese this time of the year means one thing: winter is on the way. I was even more assured of this when I checked my phone and saw that it was a chilly 33 degrees outside. 

After Tom woke up we made our way down to the farmer's market. This is one of the last weeks it will be outside before winter. There were tons of fruit and veggies, including apples and apple cider.

We picked up some corn, peppers, and beans (we didn't get any in our CSA this week) and made our way to the flower lady. She's had gorgeous bouquets all summer and I've eyed them every week. Today they were so colorful and pretty! Tom must have thought so too because he insisted that I pick out a bouquet so he could buy it for me. What a guy!  

CSA: Week 10 Preview: Chard and Bacon Pasta

Two posts in one day?! Only because I had such a delicious dinner that I wanted to make sure I could share it with all of you.

I picked up our10th CSA this morning. I normally put the greens away and wait a few days before using them in a dish.

Since I'm tired of "forgetting" to use them I set out to search for a chard recipe for dinner tonight.

And I discovered a winner! The following recipe is so good that it really could be on Sarducci's menu. You don't know what Sarducci's is? Please make plans to eat there next time you're in Montpelier....

Chard and Bacon Pasta
Adapted from Epicurious

1/2 box of Penne
6 oz Vermont Smoke and Cure bacon, cut into 1/2" slices
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
6 cups of chard, stemmed, and chopped
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Parmesan cheese (grated) or Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano cheese mix
Salt and Pepper

1. Prepare the pasta according to packaging directions. Collect 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta and set aside. Return the pasta to the pan and cover to keep warm.

2. Cook the bacon in a large pot until it starts to crisp. Remove the bacon and place onto paper towels to collect the grease. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease from the pan.

3. In the bacon-pan, saute the onions over medium heat until softened. Add the garlic and cook for one minute before adding the chard, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook for one minute and add the pasta-water. Continue to cook for a few minutes until the chard is wilted. Add the balsamic vinegar, pasta, and olive oil, and mix thoroughly  Remove from heat. Sprinkle with bacon and grated cheese.

Enjoy!

CSA: Weeks 6 and 7

Summer is in full swing which means we're starting to get the REALLY good veggies! I've been quite happy with the type of veggies we've gotten over the last two weeks, but we discovered that we've needed more than the CSA has been giving us. I found myself going to the farm stand at work or to Montpelier's farmer's market on Saturdays to get extra veggies. It seems odd to be going out for extra veggies instead of extra desserts!. I'ts been really neat to see new, random veggies, like purple carrots and purple peppers.

Last week's CSA included Mesclun mix, red Norland potatoes, colorful (purple!) carrots, (purple!) sweet peppers, pearl onions, turnips, parsley, kale, eggplant, and tomatoes.

We've made a lot of dishes over the last two weeks. While they were good, none have looked appealing enough to take a photo. There's been baked haddock with peppers, onions, and tomatoes, as well as kale chips (which are super easy to make). We used the eggplant on Saturday night to make eggplant Parmesan with fresh basil. A safety dish that's always delicious is oven roasted potatoes. Last night I threw in the carrots, onions, and parsley to jazz up the dish. 

My most favorite thing to make this time of year is bruschetta. Actually, I could eat it all year round. Tom's become the master bruschetta maker: He chops up a tomato, adds some garlic, olive oil, and basil, then adds it to the top of fresh bread. Next he adds Mozzarella cheese before putting it in the oven to broil. He went a little overboard with the garlic last Wednesday.There's no way either of us were getting close enough for a kiss after that meal!

CSA: Week 5 Recap and a Weekend at Camp

Last week's CSA looked mighty delicious: purple viking potatoes, carrots, mixed beets, fennel, lacinato kale, cucumbers, a bag of baby arugula, cauliflower, and beefsteak tomatoes. That's what I expect from a summer CSA!

We spent the weekend up at beautiful Lake Carmi in Franklin, Vermont. Tom's family has a camp and they spend two weeks up there each July. We packed the veggies with us, hoping to cook up some tasty meals, but were only successful in using half of the veggies (I blame it on the Burst-o-berry pie and s'mores)

Beautiful Lake Carmi

No fire is complete with S'mores

Tom is somewhere under there

For dinner on our second night at camp we wrapped the carrots with butter in tin foil and grilled them. Yum. On the third night we boiled the potatoes and they went along with the chicken from the BBQ. The cukes were good on their own, and the tomatoes were used in an English muffin egg and cheese sandwich.

Monday night I was home alone and decided to use the kale in a risotto recipe that I found here. I liked it, but burnt my tongue so half my taste buds were out of commission. Make sure you blow on the risotto before testing it for al-dente! The recipe makes a lot for one person so it's probably better to wait until you have a partner or two to try it with you. 

CSA: Week 3 Recap

This last CSA week was loaded with fresh fruits and veggies and it didn't help that we decided to go berry picking on Sunday. We came home with 7 lbs of blueberries and a carton of raspberries. Yuuuummmmmm.

This week's CSA consisted of: mesclun greens, peas, baby pearl onions, Zucchini, garlic scapes, kale (I had never tried it before!), green tomatoes, red beets, and frozen squash puree. 

Thursday night we made homemade pizza with the onion and kale from our CSA. While the pizza was baking Tom was busy making a batch of mint-oreo ice cream to enjoy while watching Harry Potter. We've been having a marathon over the last few weeks in order to get ready for the last movie. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to watch the 6th and part one of the 7th, so we won't be at the midnight showing tonight. 

Licking the ice cream maker's bowl clean!

As I mentioned in my last post, we used many of our veggies in our Thanksgiving feast. Sunday, after our berry picking, Tom cooked up a batch of Greek salad, with turkey of course! We also got to use up some parsley and cherry tomatoes. 

Tuesday night came and so did the weekly scramble-to-use-up-our-veggies-before-the-next-delivery-meal. I roasted my second batch of beets, and sauteed the kale and summer squash with the onion and scapes. 

This week's CSA is very exciting, and includes basil and heirloom tomatoes! 

Now some questions for the readers....

1. Since we don't have a garden I'm curious about yours. How is it doing? Have you been able to harvest anything yet?

2. Is anyone heading to see Harry this weekend? I doubt we'll get the chance as we're heading to a wedding - but next weekend! I'm excited to see it but I'm pretty sure I'm going to cry when it's over. It's been great  growing up with Harry. 

Thanksgiving in July

Saturday night we hosted a Thanksgiving-in-Summer feast at our tiny apartment! The idea came about last weekend when I pulled a turkey out of the freezer that I had gotten for free at work last fall. It sat in the fridge all week, and come Saturday morning we realized it had been thawed a few times previously. Not wanting to make anyone sick, we decided to bag the full turkey idea and picked up a few turkey breasts at Hannaford. After a morning stop to the Montpelier's Farmer's Market we had ourselves some fixings for a feast.

Our menu included:

Appetizers

• Pete's Greens' cherry tomatoes, Pete's Greens' basil, and Maplebrook mozzarella salad. 
• Cabot cheddar cheeses and crackers

Entree

• Sage-Roasted Turkey Breasts (with Pete's Greens sage from our CSA)
• Marshmallow Sweet Potato
• Stuffing 
• Cheesy Zucchini and Summer Squash with Garlic and Parsley, using all Pete's Greens vegetables and herbs from our CSA
• Red Hen Waitsfield Common Bread

Dessert:

• Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream (made by Tom)
• Blueberry and Raspberry Pie (made by me)

Needless to say, we were stuffed after dinner. But seriously, who can pass up homemade pie and ice cream?