Fresh Fig and Apple Dessert

This autumnal dessert is local eating at its simplest. Fresh figs and apples topped with goat cheese and candied pecans then drizzled with honey.

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I like everything about this--the contrasting textures of apples and pecans with the soft bite of the figs and cheese. I like the sweetness of the honey balancing the tartness of the apples. The crunch balancing the creaminess. It's very satisfying to eat because it hits on so many levels, which is pretty awesome for a dessert because you don't end up eating larger amounts simply to be satiated. Yet this dessert is easy to make--and easy to source locally.


I am all for Pumpkin Everything in the Fall. Really! That video of guinea pigs discussing the merits of pumpkin spice? A perennial favorite. [I miss our composting pigs, they were wonderful pets, although having my 3pack of dogs is enough for me now.] That does not mean I don't appreciate the wonders of other fall flavors. Especially apples. My grateful thanks to John Chapman.

When we started eating from a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm share back in 2006, one of my favorite discoveries was the amazing apples grown in the Shenandoah valley--part of the fruit share at Bull Run Mountain Farm CSA. In Ohio I found more local apple varieties to delight my senses in the fruit share of Mile Creek Farm CSA. And now in Minnesota there are yet more varieties being created over at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (I'd like to think my daughter's tuition $ will contribute to the making of the next Honeycrisp). We are having fun exploring our new home via the local produce we find on our expeditions.

Garlic Scape and Goat Cheese Omelette

This vegetarian omelette is stuffed with garlic scapes, parsley, and creamy goat cheese for a fresh Spring flavor using what's growing right now.

Yes, the tomatoes are local--from my friend's CSA. The pancakes? From the freezer section of the grocery store. 

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Time for a reality check. I find eating locally and seasonally hardest right around now. Loads of produce is in its active growing phase, but there's precious little produce ready to harvest. I've exhausted the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve in the corner of my cold basement. There's a continually replenished supply of empty canning jars coming out of the dishwasher and hanging around the counter, awaiting transport downstairs. I'm starting to see space in the fruit and vegetable freezer, yet I'm sick of using the frozen produce I put up last year.

I want fresh. I want vibrant. I want green!

Enter this simple meal. Since we get local eggs year round from the farmer's market, an omelette is a great Go To entree no matter the time of day. It's a simple matter of popping out to the garden to pick some parsley and a garlic scape which adds a bit of crunch, color, and flavor to the filling. I finished it off with a bit of creamy goat cheese because--magical markdown stickers, yo.

What's a garlic scape, you ask? I'm glad to enlighten--it's the flowering portion of a head of garlic. Happily for all involved (as someone who's been growing her annual garlic supply for about a decade, I'll be both a producer and a consumer here) we producers and consumers of garlic would rather have a fat garlic bulb than another pretty allium flower in the garden bed. So we cut off the twisty flower stalk and guess what happens? The plant puts its energy into growing a bigger bulb. This is truly a win-win situation--we get mild garlic flavored scapes now, and more garlic to harvest later. Farmers can sell both the scapes and the harvested garlic. How awesome is that?

Asparagus Goat Cheese Muffins #MuffinMonday

A savory dinner muffin bursting with bright lemony asparagus and tangy goat cheese.

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It's funny how, when Spring hits, you feel all fresh and new inside when in a brown reality you're surrounded (barely) by bits of buds and shoots. There's not much green around! The local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share food I'm currently feeding my family is the last of the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve out of my basement plus whatever I've canned and/or frozen during the past year.


That doesn't stop me from craving green things. Grabbing a bag of local spinach out of the freezer to make a Peanut Butter, Spinach, and Banana Smoothie helps, but I need fresh green vegetables in my life, too! This craving for fresh greens is yet another way eating seasonally from the farm share has changed my life.

I've never gardened in one place long enough to even think about growing asparagus until it's too late. It's always in hindsight that I think "you know, if I'd planted an asparagus bed our first year here, we could have harvested some before we moved". I've read that "military spouses plant annuals for themselves, and perennials for those who come after them". That's sure been my experience. I've left strawberry patches, daffodils, and/or mint beds all over the globe, but I've never moved to a home that had an established asparagus bed. Maybe someday.

These muffins were inspired by a ravioli I make at work. I kept some key elements and turned them into a savory muffin. This would be good with chili, stew, or a Spring/Summer soup like my Finnish Summer Soup with Kale. I tend to think most muffins are enhanced when served warm with butter, but these were pretty nice served to my classmates at room temperature without any butter. We had wine, though, so that possibly made a difference. Who knows?

Red White and Blue Savory Appetizer: Beet, Blueberry and Goat Cheese Rounds

Roasted beets, crumbled goat cheese and fresh blueberries combine in a savory summer appetizer.

I noticed the crisp flags snapping in the warm breeze as I walked Vincent yesterday morning. One block over, the whole street was covered with small flags planted along the edge of the sidewalk. The flags had been up for Memorial day weekend but since taken down.  It's not yet Independence day . . . . aha! Flag day. When we returned home I hung our flag out in front of the house.

I'm sure most people around the world will agree with my sentiment "I love the colors of my country's flag". Now, I'm not narrow-minded enough to think the world loves the flag of my country. I'm referring to people all over the world loving the flags of their countries. With bold crisp colors and simply classic designs, flags are beautiful. Flags are inspirational. Flags are timeless. I am fascinated when a flag seems to reflect the personality of the nation it represents.
Think on that for a while.

In the land of Pinterest it is traditional to serve foods combining the colors of our flag. I am positive Betsy Ross did not intend this sort of craziness, however here we are. I have yet to live in a place where I can get local fresh strawberries and local fresh blueberries simultaneously in early July, and if it ain't a local berry it ain't shOK, a soapbox for another time. I got inspired to try a savory red white and blue appetizer after making these sweet Red, White and Blue Muffins. I wanted to use the colors of my flag in a tasty way and thought of my Beet and Goat Cheese spread. Adding additional goat cheese and some fresh blueberries gives me the look I was going for as well as the fresh flavors I crave.

I spent yesterday sharing my worm bin and love of garlic scapes with the young gardeners in our town's historical society. They got to take home beet greens, but I know beets will soon appear in my Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share in time to make this recipe [and to use those amazing beet greens to make this recipe].

For other recipes using beets, please see my Beet Recipes Collection. For other recipes using blueberries, please see my Blueberry Recipes Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks looking to eat from the farm share. I'm sharing additional vegetable appetizers on my Awesome Veggie Apps and Snacks Pinterest board as well as on my FB page. Want to know how to Use This Blog? Click here.

Pepperoni and Yellow Squash Pizza

Overlapping slices of summer squash and pepperoni atop an herbed goat cheese base crust

I have to say it is AWESOME when I've previously scheduled a post to go up and lo and behold, when I pick up my farm share, the featured vegetable for the post is in the box! This week we got a transitional box between Spring and summer produce, with zucchini, yellow squash, turnips, kale, green beans (perfect timing on the Hot French Potato Salad, too) parsley (some went into this pasta and the rest vanished into a food processor full of garlic scape pesto) and carrots.  Probably radishes too--oh and chard as well--our farmers really rock at filling up the boxes each week.  I made Zucchini Carrot Es-kah-pay (it's a Finding Nemo reference and a bastardization of something in a Giada de Laurentis cookbook-stay tuned) dish that we'll eat in an antipasto platter over the weekend, and if it's good you'll find it here.  Eventually. The rest of the carrots and the radishes will be used to scoop up a green garlic hummus I made out of green garbanzo beans and green garlic--so now that I've dealt with the scapes and the green garlic I'm ready to roast and put up the rest of the garlic harvest. But the turnips are looming over my head . . . last weekend I did a simmered & grilled side dish of cubed turnips, potatoes, kohlrabi and radishes that became a very tasty enchilada filling, so I may want to try that with all turnips.  But enough about my stream-of-consciousness for today--on to the real post.

Some of my best meals occur by opening the fridge and seeing what needs to be used up. A bit of cheese and some pretty vegetables can turn into something surprising. I made this pizza sort of on a whim. Often I obsess over and plot out ingredients combinations . . . which I admit seems really weird . . . but this one was purely a 'it's Friday, what's in the fridge' type of pizza.

With all the ways I can shred, cube, or pulverize summer squash and incorporate it in other dishes, I never think to just celebrate the perfection and beauty of a thin circular slice. I see folks making lovely vegetable terrines and tians--and I loved the movie Ratatouille's signature dish presentation--but I never think that I could create such visually stunning food.

I admit I'm pleasantly surprised how well this pizza was received by the kids, and how well the photos turned out, though I have no clue why the crust got so fat--perhaps it was having fun rising in the kitchen while I was slicing away.  I've got a mind to try similar pizzas this summer. I have a desire to try my hand at making herbed cream cheese and herbed goat cheese since my herb garden [except cilantro, which bolted about 10 days after I planted it] is growing gangbusters.

Fresh Herb Pizza on Tender/Crunchy Pizza Crust

A mix of fresh herbs and a blend of tangy cheeses on roasted garlic oil for a light summer pizza.

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Herbs seem to be one of those feast or famine items for me--either my newly planted cilantro is ready to bolt, or I'm snipping my plants down a little too much for comfort just to get the minimum needed, or I'm overwhelmed with a glut of leaves and have to find something to do before they spoil. [I don't have a dehydrator--yet--it's fresh tomato pesto, garlic scape pesto, or pesto for me.]

Sometimes, when I put basil leaves on a pizza, they seem sort of dry and forlorn after baking.  For this pizza I spread plenty of roasted garlic oil on the crust to try and counteract this issue, and I believe it worked well.  I had both crumbled feta and crumbled goat cheeses in the cheese drawer--an embarrassment of riches if I don't say so myself--so instead of dithering between the two I used some of each.

The result is a pizza that tastes a bit like amped up cheesy garlic bread--fresh flavors, vibrant color, but a familiar taste [even if my daughter wasn't initially sure about the giant pile of green leaves on the pie].

This pizza is made using the Tender/Crispy pizza dough I used on my Dainty Radish Pizza.  The second time I made this dough my results started off pretty rough.  I made a gif showing how I fixed the dough with additional kneading, water, and time:

Grilled Goat Cheese, Fresh Fig, Speck and Honey Sandwiches

This grilled cheese sandwich is creamy, sweet, and salty all in one gooey bite. Fresh figs, honey, goat cheese and crispy ham make an irresistible combination. Got fresh figs?

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I'm just a big ol' tease these days.  The other day I teased you with the idea of canning your own tomatoes to make Creamy Tomato Soup, even though tomatoes are just a twinkle in my garden's eye right now.  Today I'm going to tease you with fresh figs.

I had my first fresh figs from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share back in Virginia (link to their FB page).  Our farmers had a giant fig tree and shared the fruits with us lucky subscribers.  If you ever make have an opportunity to eat fresh figs I advise you to grab that opportunity with both hands.  I did, literally [technically one hand was holding a dog leash] and I'm so glad.  You will be too, when you see the variety of recipes I'll be sharing using fresh figs this coming summer (pizzas to chutney?).

For my first of three grilled cheese sandwiches, I'm sharing a Grilled Goat Cheese and Honey sandwich with fresh figs and speck.  Next up will be a Grilled Cheese with Country Ham, Leeks, and Tomato Jam.  Finally I'll share another vegetarian grilled cheese since my first one, My Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwich was getting lonely. This one with Hummus, Guacamole, and Corn Salsa.

Very Veggie Puff Pastry Pizza Bites

Fresh and preserved veggies top this vegetarian puff pastry pizza bite.

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Welcome to my final recipe for #AppetizerWeek! I've had fun, learned a lot of html and a wee bit of social media-ing, and watched the laundry pile up [and the snow, and the emails] while sharing savory appetizers and wicked cool giveaways alongside a terrific group of bloggers. If you're just tuning in for your usual Farm Fresh Feasts Friday Pizza you will not be disappointed--this is a tasty lil' morsel of artichokes, olives, spinach and caramelized onions topped with goat cheese on a roasted garlic oil-brushed puff pastry base. It's pretty easy to fix for a game day appetizer spread, though I'd offer napkins and plates to eat it from since the puff pastry is deliciously flaky [carefully avoids comparing anyone I know to the pizza].

I believe in offering choices for everyone I'm feeding [unless you're my kid and want cake or cookies for breakfast. Then there is no choice but cookies "No"].  I usually fix pizza for my family on Friday night, and frequently I make two pies so everyone has a choice.  Since I shared Pickled Pepper and Pepperoni Puff Pastry Pinwheel Pizza Palooza yesterday, I thought I'd conclude my contributions to #AppetizerWeek with a vegetarian choice--Very Veggie Puff Pastry Pizza Bites.

I've tried to spend a bit of each post talking about my food philosophy and today is no exception.  Today I want to talk about pantries.  Much of the toppings for my weekly pizzas are what I consider to be pantry staples:  a jar of artichoke hearts, a jar of olives, pickled peppers and cheese in the fridge.   I've got pepperoni and leftover cooked meats in the freezer.  Picking up one or two items (especially on sale or marked down) with each shopping trip means that over time I end up with a well-stocked pantry (but without the crazy cash outlay).  Buying in bulk can save money--if you have make the space for it.  Because I want the seasonal Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share vegetables to feed my family year round, I've got an extra little freezer (doubles as a microwave stand) to store the farm vegetables that don't live in the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve. In addition, each year I expand my canning repertoire to put up the ever-increasing volume of tomatoes that we require.

I didn't go from zero (grasshopper) to 60 (ant) in a season--I've been evolving my ability to squirrel away food in season over the past dozen or so years.  [I've probably mixed up a bunch of animal/insect metaphors there, oops.] If I get a bunch of onions on sale, for example, I'll caramelize them in my crock pot (link to recipe below) and freeze them in ½ cup portions so I can bring them out when I get a hankering.  Too many leeks?  Slice them, wash them, and freeze them, to add to dishes. Peppers piling up? Chop and freeze them on trays, or roast and chop them before freezing--then add to soups, stews, and spaghetti sauce.  This means that I've always got ingredients on hand to make a variety of pizzas, like this one.

Visit all the other Appetizer Week blogs for more delicious ideas:

• Lasagna Dip by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Spinach Squares by Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker
• Ultimate Stuffed 'Shrooms by Cooking in Stilettos
• Feta Chicken Wontons by Makobi Scribe
• Roasted Red Pepper Guacamole by Clarks Condensed
• Parmesan and Garlic Boneless Chicken Wings by From Gate to Plate
• Greek Salad Skewers by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cajun Bacon Nuts by Life Off the Clock
• Jalapeno Poppers by Organized Island
• Mini Loaded Twice Baked Potato by Mom's Test Kitchen
• Chicken & Cheese Taquitos by Try Anything Once Culinary
• Very Veggie Puff Pastry Pizza Bites by Farm Fresh Feasts
• BBQ Chicken Nachosby Lemons for Lulu
• Apricot Blue Cheese Bitesby Food Lust People Love
• Low-Carb Kickin' Bacon Avocado Deviled Eggsby Yours and Mine Are Ours
• Sweet Onion Galette by Call Me PMc
• Buffalo Chicken Sliders by The NY Melrose Family
• Sticky Asian Chicken Wings by Flavor Mosaic
• Chicken Parmesan Sliders by Home Cooking Memories

Prosciutto, Goat Cheese and Fig Jam on an Eggnog/Butternut Crust (Pizza Night!)

An eggnog/butternut squash pizza crust topped with prosciutto, goat cheese, and fig jam

I wish I had some sort of clever little story about how this pizza came to be.  The plain fact is that my son found half gallons of eggnog for 50 cents after Christmas last year and I figured I'd get one and play around with it.  I also had the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve staring at me balefully, wanting to be included in everything.  So, since I had my 'shred a butternut squash' epiphany, I decided I'd put some in pizza crusts.  That worked out just fine, so I cast a wider net.  I figured the color of the butternut squash would only enhance an eggnog crust (whereas beets or kale in an eggnog crust would be . . . . just wrong).  I knew the eggnog would make a slightly sweet crust, and I love sweet and salty blends, so perhaps this is the right time to try my favorite combo:  prosciutto, goat cheese, and fig jam. [That combo comes directly from a George Foreman grill cookbook--put that in a panini and smash it and you are in for a real treat.]  

This crust is a marvel.  It's pillowy and soft thanks to the dairy, yet it bakes up firm enough to stand up like a regular slice of pizza.  It's very slightly sweet.  [If you're wanting a dessert pizza crust using eggnog, add a tablespoon or two of sugar to the crust, and sweet toppings.] My topping combo totally works with this crust--perhaps even better than on a plain crust.  It is delicious and if you find yourself with some butternut squash (leftover roasted mashed would also work fine) and a spare half cup of eggnog, give this a try. It's a StrangeButGood combination!

I've revamped my Visual Recipe Index! For more ideas on what to do with your butternut squash, click here.

Grapes, Goat cheese and Red Onion with Fennel Focaccia

Sweet purple grapes, fresh red onion, and tangy goat cheese on a chewy light fennel focaccia.

After sharing a pair of peach pizzas last Friday, and a raspberry pizza the Friday before, I thought I should move back to vegetable pizzas for my Friday Night Pizza Night posts.  After all, I've got a sweet potato dough and a roasted pumpkin dough that I want to share with you.

However, I don't want this focaccia to drop off my radar.

I had a very productive period making and poorly photographing--but not writing up headnotes for--a pile of tasty recipes, and I thought I'd get them all written up over the summer.

Didn't happen.

I don't want everything to slip through the cracks, or rather fall off the stacks of recipe notes on my work table or dissolve into rows of scrolled-past photos in my ever-expanding photo library.  I don't want to start posting every day, either.  Three days a week is working for me (is it working for you?  too much? I should do a survey sometime.  After I've gotten all those blogs written up I'll ponder it).

I'm going to share a third fruity Friday Night Pizza Night (that's a link to my board of the same name on Pinterest) and then switch over to vegetables next week.  The chicken, peach, Hatch chile, spinach, red onion BBQ pizza will have to wait until next summer, as will the cantaloupe and prosciutto.  Something to look forward to, my spouse always says.

This focaccia uses fennel seeds in the dough.  I bought a bag of them because Alyssa's Skinny Italian Wedding Soup With Kale recipe over at Everyday Maven sounded good, and I figured the seeds could be useful to have on hand.  I'm glad I did--I now use fennel seeds in sourdough bread, Italian sausage, and spaghetti sauce.  Fennel seeds (for me at least) are versatile and not a seldom-used spice around here (I'm talking about you, sumac-for-fattoush and dill-seed-for-pickles).

This is not my first focaccia rodeo, though apparently all of the focaccias I've been making, photographing (and not writing up blog posts about) have yet to grace the screen.  So I'm going to refer you to my Arugula Pesto Focaccia with Artichokes, Feta, Goat Cheese and Green Olives if you want a thorough write up about what to do with your focaccia dough to turn it into focaccia, or why you should listen to my spouse and try focaccia.

Chicken/Blueberry/Hummus vs Pepper/Peppadew Pizza (Pizza Night)

Last Friday Night Pizza Night, I shared with you a poem I wrote to my pizza stone.

You probably thought I was a bit addled.  Correct!

In the interest of adding value to the post, I also shared my Roasted Garlic and Herb pizza dough, a dough that I think is not a copycat but better than Trader Joes Garlic Herb Pizza dough.

I promised this week that I'd share what I'd done with that dough, and I provided you with a teaser photo:

The pizza on the left has hummus, chicken, blueberries, goat cheese and red onion.  The pizza on the right has colorful bell peppers and Peppadew peppers.  Totally not clear to me if I need to put a ® or ™ symbol with that, so there they are if necessary.

I thought I would choose one to share today.

I try to balance meat-including pizzas with suitable-for-vegetarian pizzas, but to be perfectly frank, I've been kinda distracted lately.  My spouse is embarking on his Asian/Greater Middle East adventure du jour  d'année, my kids each had a concert to perform, and we were fortunate to have both grandmas and my dad in attendance which means I've had company for 4+ days.  So instead of writing up all about a pizza, with links all around, I've just realized that Friday's blog post should go live in 6 hours and I've not written spit!  This is not my usual M.O.. (should there be a 2 punctuation marks there?) Normally I write it all out in longhand, research where I want to link to, type it up, and days/weeks/months later, the night before it goes live, I double check everything and hit publish.  And I'm drinking tea while I write, not hard cider while I type.

Imagine my surprise when I realize that I don't have a pre-written pizza post at 8 pm on Thursday night!  I do, however, have great kids--one's walking the dog, the other is cleaning up from dinner, so I can grab my photos and dump out the contents of my brain so that you've got a pizza inspiration. Some day I'll share about the lovely man at the fancy cheese counter who gave me a sample of Peppadew peppers, thereby inspiring me to actually purchase some Peppadew peppers to have on hand for this pizza. Another time I'll share about the inspiration for this pizza, Heather's Strange But Good flatbread.  But after I finish typing this, since I've been up visiting until midnight for several nights in a row, stick a fork in me--I'm done.

If you have a hankering for pizza and do eat meat, grab some blueberries, hummus, goat cheese, chicken and red onion and make the pizza on the right.  If you're not into meat (these days), grab some bell peppers and Peppadews (Peppadews?  is that even a word?) and make the one on the left.  As always, please check out my Pizza Primer for really well-thought out not off-the-cuff-hard-cider-influenced pizza making instructions. Guess what? My folks' flight is now delayed, they are heading back here to spend the night, so perhaps Mom will proofread--she's great at that--and this post will be better tomorrow after an update.

Arugula Pesto Focaccia with Artichokes, Feta, Goat Cheese and Green Olives (Pizza Night!)

Foh-KAH-chee-ah.  Foke-ah-CHEE-ah.  No matter how my spouse chooses to pronounce it, you need to try this.  Now. It's that good.  And if you've got arugula going to town in the garden?  More better.

I'd noticed that every time I was out of town on a Friday night (for sled hockey tournaments) my spouse would order a focaccia pizza.  The leftovers I'd have after my return were pretty tasty, so I was eager to try it out myself.  I consulted my personal pizza resource, The Best Pizza Is Made at Home , for inspiration on the crust as well as baking directions.  I had some arugula pesto, made using the recipe out of Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables, so I decided to try that.  If you don't have asiago cheese, try Bryn's easy arugula pesto recipe instead, or the arugula pesto of your choice.
I was comfortable jumping into a flavored dough but needed to try the method on a barely-topped bread first, just to make sure I set myself up for success.  The last spectacular pizza failure, seen on my Facebook page, of my deep dish spinach pie on eggnog crust is still too fresh in my mind.  Such a great idea in theory, so bad in execution . . . ah well.  That's why I call it recipe development.  If at first you don't succeed . . .

Making focaccia this way calls for a 12 inch round deep dish pizza pan.  I don't have one.  Since I never know what size kitchen we'll be living in at our next house, I try not to collect single-purpose items (hello, asparagus steamer, I'm talking 'bout you!).  I do have a 12 inch cast iron skillet though.  That's what I used for this focaccia, and I recommend using one if you also have one.  The resulting bread was thicker than my usual pizza crust, crisp on the bottom like my cornbread, delightfully chewy on the inside, and topped with a flavorful combination suggested by my spouse from items we had on hand in the fridge/freezer.  The toppings added to the flavor of the base, but didn't overpower it.  I've said in my Pizza Primer that less is more, and it sure is true here.  You really don't want to glop on heavy toppings or sauces here.  At least, not the first time you make it.

Who knows what I'll do next time, though clever blog readers may think I've already done it with this Salmon, Goat Cheese, and Arugula Pesto pizza--though that is baked and topped differently, and even a bit different ratio of flours for the dough.  All good, though, and yes you are quite bright!

Salmon and Goat Cheese on Arugula Pesto Pizza (Pizza Night!)

While I think I'm doing OK on putting farm fresh veggies from my CSA farm share on a pizza, I need to work on my fish-on-pizza skills.  Tonight's pizza was inspired by the leftover 4 ounces of baked salmon filet in the fridge.  Why such a strange amount?  My spouse wanted to eat this dip, and I had a massive piece of salmon and wanted to play with a strange but good maple teriyaki salmon sushi that will appear in a few weeks.
I have been seeing drool-worthy photos of salads on so many of the food blogs I follow, so when I grabbed the bag of arugula pesto cubes out of the freezer I was thinking of Spring, of a dark green peppery arugula salad under my flakes of salmon.  I've seen salads with bacon and bourbon, salads with chickpeas and salmon, and salads with salmon, cucumber, and mushroom. There are a lot of talented food bloggers out there who take amazing photos of salads that are making me drool!

If I were making an arugula salad topped with salmon, creamy goat cheese and cracked pepper would pair very nicely with it.  Red onion would also, but while I had that idea pre-baking frenzy, I didn't write it down.

Often I make up to 3 different pizzas on Friday nights, then post the 'behind the scenes' photos on my FB page, and if I don't write the ideas for each one down before I start cooking, I end up forgetting bits and pieces in the hustle.

So here's a pizza for you to play with--starting with an arugula pesto crust, topped with more arugula pesto, goat cheese and my favorite shredded blend, briefly baked, topped with salmon flakes and then returned to the oven to heat through.  Try it yourself and tell me how you'd tweak it!

Roasted Beet, Caramelized Onion, and Goat Cheese Pizza (Pizza Night!)

Last Friday I had a whole lot to say before I got to the pizza recipe.  Today I'm keeping it short and sweet.  Which do you prefer?

It wasn't enough to do one (or three) beet pizzas.  No, I have more beet tricks up my <hopelessly stained> sleeve.  I suspected, from this appetizer, that I'd like the combination of roasted beets and goat cheese on a pizza.  I hoped that the addition of caramelized onions would punch it up a bit.

I was not disappointed.  Neither was my spouse.  The kids . . . didn't volunteer to try this one.

This is a pretty pizza, all neon-pink beet juice bleeding onto the white goat cheese.  Could be cute for a Valentine's day pink-themed meal, if you don't want to go all beet-crusty on your loved ones.  I'll try it again when my arugula (rocket) is ready just to see how that looks/tastes.  Meantime, the garlic oil was still a nice base for the beets.

Caramelized Onion, Fresh Pear, Goat Cheese and Sausage Pizza (Pizza Night!)

I love fruit and cheese plates.  So does my daughter--I still remember when as a kindergartener she ordered one as an appetizer.  So much for encouraging independence!  The bill!
The pairing of fresh pears and goat cheese is classic, and I had so much fun making this pear pizza, but you know there was another half of the pig pear left when I finished.  Since I'd had a hard time deciding between a sweet and a savory base for that pizza, I made the combination again and this time did it savory using a mess of caramelized onions that I'd made in the crock pot.  I also brought in my trusty guest photographer to make artistic 'action' shots.  Because it's Friday Night Pizza Night!

Even though both pizzas had the same type of dough base, and 2 of the same toppings, the results were completely different.  And delicious.  I threw a bit of sausage (from part of a leftover breakfast sausage patty) onto this, but you could leave it off if you desire.  I've loved fruit on savory pizzas since I lived in Germany, and now I'm looking around to see what else I could put on a pizza.  Grapes on a chicken pizza fennel focaccia?  Apples, bacon and cheddar? Peaches and pepperoni? What do you think? Check out my Visual Pizza Recipe Index for all of the pizza doughs, fruit pizzas, meat pizzas, and vegetarian pizzas I share each week on the blog.

Fresh Pear, Fig Jam, and Goat Cheese Pizza (Pizza night!)

When I saw the pig-shaped pear (or is that a pear-shaped pig?) I wanted to put it on a pizza.
The pear, I mean.
And pears go great with goat cheese--so another layer of flavor was there.

What I couldn't decide was what else would go on the pizza.  I love goat cheese and fig jam, but I wanted to try something more savory like caramelized onions with the pear.  I was mulling this over when I went on my near-daily milk run, and asked the cheese monger at my local grocery store for advice.  She echoed my fig jam thoughts.

So I did what any good food blogger, even a very new food blogger, would do.  I made a bunch of pizzas and took separate photos of each so that I can pull multiple Farm Fresh Feasts Friday Night Pizza Night posts out of one meal!  Tonight's pizza is the fresh pear, fig jam, and goat cheese version.

I had help on this undertaking.  My kid decided to help out with photography so I didn't have to keep washing my hands in between steps.  She was taking "action" shots of the pizza.  Some of them I really really like.  I took the ones at the end that are less artistic but do let you see the entire pizza.

Action shot-pears, goat cheese, and jam.