Farmer's Market Pizza

I've had this picture hanging around for a few weeks now.  On one of my trips to the Broad Ripple Farmer's Market, I hit the jackpot of fresh produce, particularly with the corn and squash blossoms.  Indiana is known for corn, but it really does taste so much better here.  I found myself eating the corn kernels without even cooking them.  They were so sweet and tender.

I decided that I wanted to make something to combine the squash blossoms and the corn, and I came up with a Squash Blossom pizza.  They pictures I took didn't turn out so great, but trust me, it tasted heavenly.  Here's how I made my pizza.

Ingredients:

Prepared pizza dough or crust (I got the pre-made dough from Trader Joe's)

olive oil

dried basil

dried oregano

dried parsley

red pepper flakes

1 ear of sweet corn

6 squash blossoms, stem, stamen and rough portion removed

prosciutto

Italian cheese blend

Directions:

Form your dough into a pizza, and preheat the oven to the direction's temperature.  Place your pizza dough onto a baking sheet if it is not already baked.  Pour a little (maybe a tablespoon or two) olive oil onto your dough.  Spread it out.  I used a pastry brush to evenly distribute the olive oil.  Then sprinkle the spices onto the crust of the pizza.  Use as much or as little as you like...everybody's taste are different.  Sprinkle a little bit of cheese, then add as much prosciutto as you like.  Sprinkle on about an ears worth of corn.  Top your pizza with the squash blossoms and lots of cheese.  Place in the oven and bake according to package directions.  I like to take my pizza off the baking sheet once the dough is stable so that the bottom can get crisp as well.  I finally like to turn on the broiler in the last few minutes so that the top of the cheese gets bubbly and brown.  If you do this, be sure to watch it carefully.

That's all!  It hit the spot and was not a typical pizza.... just my type of thing.  Scott and I gobbled it right up!

Here are some more pictures from the Broad Ripple Farmer's Market.  Now you can see why I keep talking about it!

Source

Spaghetti

Hi there!  Sorry for the absence; our internet has been down, but I am happy to report that it is finally back!  It made for a boring week, but I had a lot of time to read.  I got through "The Pioneer Woman" in two days, and I have been meticulously combing through her cookbook with the rest of my time.  I'm bound and determined to make those cinnamon rolls that she keeps talking about.

Saturday, I went to the farmer's market, and I spotted a big box of Roma tomatoes, and I knew that I had to have them.  The trouble was that another lady wanted them too, and she spotted them first.  Luckily her mom talked her out of them; I really did have better plans for them anyways.  So I grabbed them, a spaghetti squash, and a cabbage.

The second I got home, I got to work.  Here's how I made my spaghetti sauce:

Spaghetti Sauce

Source: Me :)

Ingredients:

20 or so Roma tomatoes

1/2 to 3/4 cup red wine

2-3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes*

3/4 teaspoon dried basil - you can use fresh too*

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano*

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse your newly purchased tomatoes and cut an X into the end opposite the stem.  As you are doing this, get a large pot of water boiling.  Drop the tomatoes in, and let them boil for a minute.  While they are boiling, grab a large bowl, fill it with ice and water, and set it close to the tomatoes.  When your timer sounds, put the hot tomatoes into the ice bath.  This will make the skin super easy to peel off.  

Continue to boil the tomatoes in shifts until all of your tomatoes have been boiled for the minutes.  Drain out the water and grab a trash can.  Peel the skins off of the tomatoes... warning this is about to get messy!  Then take a sharp knife and cut off the stems.  Cut the tomatoes vertically and discard the squishy insides, seeds and any core that remains.  And that's the tricky part!  It's really not tricky, just kind of time consuming and you'll be up to your elbows in tomato juice, but it's good for your skin...I think.

In the same pot that you boiled the tomatoes in, add the olive oil and onions.  Let them cook until they begin to soften, about five minutes.  Add the garlic, and cook for 2 minutes longer.  Then take the onions, garlic and tomatoes, and put them in a blender.  I hate chunky tomato sauce, so I blend it to a pulp, but it you enjoy your sauce with a little more texture, pulse it until you have the consistency that you enjoy.

Pour the newly formed sauce back into the pot, add the red wine, sugar and all the seasoning.  Let it simmer for a long time... like two hours.  Your sauce may look thin at first, but it will thicken beautifully; the longer it simmers, the thicker your sauce will be and the sweeter and more full flavored it will become.

You can easily add meatballs or brown some ground beef to make a meat sauce.  I know this takes quite a bit of time, but it really just tastes better than canned tomato sauce.  It's easy work, and your taste buds will thank you!!

*Feel free to change the amount or even the spices themselves. If you don't even like a hint of spice, leave out the red pepper flakes.  Do whatever sounds good to you!*

Happy Monday!

Spider-Man & Patio Gardening

Happy Fourth of July!   Scott gets two (full) days off this month, and today happened to be one of those days.  I was super excited that he got one so early in the month, but the poor fellow has a long time ahead now. Today, we went to see The Amazing Spider-Man.  It was pretty great, and it was equally great to have a movie theater close by.  The movie was nice for me because I didn't know the history of Spider Man, and this movie helped to sort through some of those ideas.  Plus, Emma Stone is a wonderful actress.  She's so versatile, and she wasn't just an accessary to Spider Man.  (I can't remember the guy's name, but he did a great job too.)  I liked this one much better than the Toby McGuire ones.

After our movie, we had a wonderful dinner with some new friends and their parents.  I can't tell you how much of a blessing it is to already have someone to call if I need something.  We had fried chicken, corn, this delicious cole slaw with cranberries, and I brought a lemon - lime tart.  (You can find the recipe here.)  We had a great time!  It was really nice to talk about new things and to get caught up on the old as well.  (They're from our hometown too!)  We had a really nice day together.

On to a separate note, Scott has to work early tomorrow, so he went to bed (a few hours ago.)  And so here I am... blogging in the dark. :)  I will say, our house is way cleaner than it's ever been, and for that, I am quite proud.  I have recently made myself familiar with the home improvement stores and my local Target.  You can see some of my handy work below.

 

I hung some boxes from our balcony too.  I don't know if they're super secure so I'm just waiting for them to plummet onto someone's car below.  I'll keep you posted about how that turns out. :)  But for now, friends, I need some ideas.  What are some of your favorite things to do (that are quiet!!)?  I need book suggestions or hobbies or else I'm going to be going to bed at eight too!

I'd love to hear your ideas!  Please share, and have a wonderful rest of your holiday!