Farmer's Market

I wanted to post some pictures of the Farmer's Market that I go to. I think I'll do this periodically, just so you can see how wonderful it is :) Next time, I'll try to get some fruits :)

Garden Fresh Pizza

One of my neighbors has a lot of vegetables that she grows in her garden. Yesterday, she left a basket with 2 Japanese eggplants (aubergines), a bunch of tomatoes, a cucumber, and 2 green bell peppers. I knew I wanted to use the aubergine as soon as possible, and I still had some squash blossom to use. So, this pizza was born. Pretty simple, but it is delicious!

Garden Fresh Pizza
1/2 Japanese Eggplant
4 squash blossoms
1/4 cup broccoli
1 pizza dough
1/3 cup mozzarella cheese
1/8 cup crumbed goat cheese
1/4 cup pizza sauce

How to prepare the Japanese eggplant
You have to salt eggplant to get rid of the bitterness. However, Japanese eggplants are a little different, and it works better if you soak them in salted water after you slice them up. Slice them in thin circles, then dump them in the salted water, and allow the water to turn kind of a brownish color. Shouldn't take more than 5 minutes for these little guys.


Build your pizza: sauce, cheeses, veggies. Cook according to your dough directions, and enjoy!
**I decided to tear up my squash blossoms to get a better distribution over the pizza.

Herbed Goat Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Herbed Goat Cheese Stuffed Squash Blossoms
4 oz of goat cheese (soft)
An herb of your choice - I used fresh thyme
4 squash blossoms

Get Stuffed!
Prep your herb, whether it is removing it from the stem then chopping it or whatever you must do! You want it to be pretty small so that you don't get a huge bite of it.
Mix in the goat cheese and combine thoroughly.
Slit the blossom down one side so that it is easy to get the cheese into.

Stuff your blossoms with the cheese mixture.
Then, while lightly squeezing the blossom, roll the flower around the cheese so that it holds together tightly.


Cooking
Heat up olive oil in a pan that you can just cover the blossoms about half way. Fry them on one side and then flip, until the cheese is melted and soft. Pat off excess oil and let cool for a moment, then enjoy!

**this makes 2 servings!

Gnocchi al Pesto e Pomodoro

Gnocchi with Pesto and Fresh Tomato
Pesto
Gnocchi
Fresh tomato
Lemon juice
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Speckled Green Potatoes!
Sorry I didn't document the making of my pesto! However, you can use any pesto recipe you want for this. I used pistachios, basil, garlic, parmesan cheese, and olive oil. Right before you use it, hit it with some lemon juice. Simple, and delicious! Or... you could just buy it :)

Gnocchi are little potato dumplings, in an essence. I love them, and I have not eaten them since i was in Florence, Italy and had the most amazing gnocchi pesto ever. They only take a few minutes to cook in boiling water, they just float to the top.

Once the gnocchi is finished cooking, drain it and cool down your cooking pot.
Put the gnocchi back in, and then mix it with enough pesto to just coat the gnocchi. Add in chopped tomatoes, and you can add some parmesan cheese if you want. :) But, most importantly, ENJOY!

New Mexico Pizza

New Mexico Pizza!
Pizza dough (again, if you're willing to make it, go ahead!)
Salsa - I used Trader Joe's Peach salsa. It's very sweet, and I thought it would be most delicious.
Cheese - I used mozarella because that is what I had, but I think that monterey jack or pepper jack would be the best.
Olives
Hatch green chiles
Chicken (of course, optional)

Minor construction:
Get your dough out and then add as much salsa as you think you need to get a good layer going.
Next, add the cheese and olives!
Spread out the chiles all over the pizza. I used an entire one of the tiny cans. I love the stuff.
Sprinkle your chicken around in tiny pieces on top, and pop it into the oven according to your directions!


Viola!