Fresh and Easy Flat Bread Pizza

 

 

California is an agricultural hub and particulary here on the Central Coast, we are really lucky to have access to fresh, local produce. For me, a short drive down to Moss Landing once a week takes us through fields of fresh brussels sprouts and artichokes, along the foggy coastline and ends at one of my favorite produce markets.

 

Here you can also view the marina, go kayaking, shop for shells or visit excellent restaurants.

 

But my purpose in making the trip each week is to get amazing, seasonal, local produce at an unbelievable bargain.

 

This week, I picked up peppers, onions, mushrooms and squash. I admit, it's been a challenge to switch to buying seasonal vegetables, as I have to then find a recipe to use them in, rather than shopping to complete my planned recipe. But I'm adapting.

 

This week's culinary creation came via inspiration from a recipe I saw in Sunset magazine. I'm blogging from memory of something I saw while sitting in the dentist's office (probably trying to distract myself  from the impending procedure. I hate dental work, don't you?)

 

Fresh, thinly sliced veggies are layered on to a large lavash bread, then baked at high heat for a short amount of time. I admit I was skeptical at first that the lavash would hold up, instead expecting a soggy mess. But it did hold up. I recommend slicing your veggies very thinly to avoid too much liquid escaping and ruining your meal.

 

 

 

The result is a very fresh pizza, with vegetables that are barely cooked but very delicious. The crust is very crisp and would make an excellent appetizer, although we ate them as a meal. If you are adverse to nearly-raw onion, I would omit them.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 lavash or other flat bread per person

1 yellow squash or green zucchini, thinly sliced

1 bell pepper, sliced

1/2 onion, sliced into half moons

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

3 mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup of herbed goat cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup good-quality grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste.

chopped tomatoes and arugula for garnish

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place your lavash bread on an inverted cookie sheet and brush with oil. Sprinkle garlic over the top and layer the squash, pepper, mushrooms and onion over it. Crumble the goat cheese evenly, and top with parmesan. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, slide onto a cutting board and top with chopped tomatoes and arugula. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

I hope you enjoy them, we have made them three days in a row because they are that delicious and easy!



"You're So Cheesy" Potato Squash Bake

I'll let you in on a little secret: I'm not that great at planning meals. I'm really not. For every post you get here, there are 5 other meals that we had, slung from the hip and none too exciting. But generally, here is how I come up with my recipes: I take whatever vegetable I bought at the store, whatever was on sale or looked particularly appetizing (or here, my friend gave us a gallon bag of fresh yellow squash) and I begin to Google recipes that contain that ingredient. I go through about 10 recipes for inspiration and then get into the kitchen and whip up my own ideas.

I should have called this bake "the great disappearing act" because as soon as it was out of the oven, it was gone!

Ingredients:
2 yellow squash, cut into thin circles
1 onion, halved and cut into half moons
about 5 small yellow potatoes, thinly sliced
Italian seasoning
2 big handfuls of shredded cheese of your choice
salt and pepper to taste

Oil a pie pan and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then layer your potatoes around the bottom of the pie pan, overlapping. Then layer on the squash, followed by the onion and sprinkle with seasoning, salt and pepper, and one handful of cheese.

Repeat the layering one more time: Potatoes, squash, onion, seasoning, cheese.

Cook, covered for 30 minutes. Then remove cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Top with sliced green onion and serve with a nice big salad!

Veggie Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

I'm not a huge fan of veggie sausages but I recently found that Trader Joe's makes a mean italian version that is pretty darn tasty. If you don't prefer to use veggie sausages, you can always substitute zucchini instead.

You will need:

2 acorn squash, halved

1 onion, chopped

2 ribs of celery, chopped

2 sausages, sliced into half moons

1 large apple, chopped

butter or alternative

salt and pepper to taste

Saute the ingredients (except the acorn squash) in a bit of olive oil, until the onion is soft. Brush the tops and insides of the acorn squash with olive oil and then fill them with the apple/veggie mix. Top each with a small pat of butter.

Bake at 375 for an 75 minutes, or until the squash is soft.