Grilled Ciabatta Pizza with Chicken and Vegetables

Skip messing with raw dough and use ciabatta bread for this grilled pizza. Topped with grilled chicken, eggplant, peppers and zucchini, this flavorful pizza comes together quickly and keeps your kitchen cool.

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This pizza is an easy one to throw together during the summer. It uses previously grilled zucchini, peppers, eggplant, and chicken. These are combined with feta cheese and mozzarella, then used to top a grilled ciabatta loaf. I topped it with fresh basil for a real summer treat.

It's a common theme, for me, to use what I've got on hand for our meals. During the growing season I am using what I've got from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. During the colder months I'm using whatever I've put up--by freezing, dehydrating, or canning--combined with whatever looks good on sale at the grocery store.

Fresh Chive and Ricotta Muffins #MuffinMonday

Creamy ricotta cheese and fresh chives are the highlight of these savory muffins. Adding potato flakes to the batter, and using bacon grease takes the flavor of this quick bread over the top.

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Growing herbs is supposed to be easy. For the most part, herbs flourish when you harvest them frequently. For basil, it's pretty easy to make a massive batch of pesto and freeze what you don't use. Here's how I make my pesto. But chives have proven to be a problem for me. I take a few pieces at a time but don't use a whole bunch, so the clump tends to get scraggly from under-use.

Chive blossoms are another matter--I covet those and have even asked the neighbors for their blossoms so I can make Chive Blossom Vinegar, Chive Blossom Focaccia, and Chive Blossom Potato Salad with Egg. I'm on a mission to use more of my clump of chives this year, so I got the hankering to make some savory muffins.

Grilled Asparagus and Salmon with Dill Butter

Use the right tools for the job to grill a Father's day meal of Grilled Asparagus and Salmon with Dill Butter.

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Why do Father's Day foods have to be all red meat? Dads may enjoy a nice piece of fish for a change.  A healthier swap--especially with so much flavor--is a welcome addition to a summertime table. Plenty of vegetables never hurt anyone, so sharing the limelight with a fresh seasonal vegetable makes good sense and is good for you as well.

Fresh Strawberry Sundae Ice Cream Pie

This Fresh Strawberry Sundae Ice Cream Pie takes the flavor of a strawberry sundae and makes it easy to serve a small crowd all at once. Great for graduation parties, Memorial day cookouts, or just because local strawberry season should be celebrated.

Ice cream pies are a fun way to make a special dessert and still keep the house cool in the summertime. A few shortcuts (I use store bought everything but the local berries, but you could make each component from scratch) and you've got a sweet treat to eat with very little effort.

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Strawberry season has arrived here in Ohio, and it's the perfect time to appreciate the sweetness of a locally grown berry. Kick off the summer with this pie--you could serve it for a Memorial day cookout, or a graduation celebration, or just because you deserve a treat.

If you're new to making ice cream pies, I've shared a photo-rich How To Make An Ice Cream Pie At Home tutorial. I put my years of experience making ice cream desserts at Baskin Robbins to good use, and shared all the tips and tricks I've picked up along the way. You can find that ice cream pie recipe here.

My son is graduating high school today and family has flown/driven in for the occasion, so there's a lot more of us around than usual to commemorate the event. When you're a military family and move often, you tend to be a pretty self-contained nuclear family unit at school functions because you haven't been part of the community for generations.   

It was nice to fill up a pew at baccalaureate last night, even though I didn't have any tissues in my purse. You need an emergency chocolate or dog biscuit? Need to floss, have a cup of decaf tea, or repair a hem? I've got you covered. I have catheters and ear plugs, but do I have a hankie when I need one? No.

Red Potato Salad with Chive Blossom Vinegar

A recipe for new potatoes bathed in a chive blossom vinegar-mayo dressing and accented with carrots and parsley.

I've got a terrific potato salad today that celebrates the fresh flavors of the season. This perfect picnic side dish has the mild flavor of chive blossom vinegar paired with tender new potatoes. It's a great accompaniment to a cook out, graduation party, Father's day, or just because it's lovely weather outside.

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If you grow chives (simple--it's a perennial clump that you plant once and harvest for years) you'll have chive blossoms. Just like with my beloved garlic scapes, the blossoms are an edible plant part that's often overlooked.  I've already shared a few recipes using them (Chive Blossom Focaccia and Chive Blossom Potato & Egg Salad) but if you've got plenty, please make Chive Blossom Vinegar. It's got a great flavor and really adds to your dishes.

Do you have a vinegar hoarding problem, too? I've already got a bunch of vinegars in my pantry--rice wine, apple cider, balsamic, red wine--and white in the basement for laundry/pickling. Why make another one? Because it's easy, and it's fun. If you had access to enough chive blossoms (anyone want to give me some?) this would make a lovely gift. I was sad last year when the last of my vinegar was used up--mostly in potato salads--and will be glad when this year's batch has finished steeping.

Potatoes in so many forms are a staple for my family.  In the Fall we got a large volume of them from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share and I stored them in the basement. We've got a dry basement, and they lasted in baskets for a few months. So many dinners started with roasted potatoes, and of course on Thanksgiving I made my Make Ahead Irish Mashed Potato Casserole.

In the summer I switch to potato salads. My Confetti Potato Salad is the old family standby, but lately I've been using the chive blossom vinegar with it.  This time I wanted to play up the colors of the new red potatoes so I grabbed some parsley (planted next to my chives) and my mother's day present herb scissors (Amazon affiliate link) and went to town.

Robert Barker considers the backyard his own Edible Foodscape.

For more recipes using herbs, please see my Recipes Using Herbs Collection. Innovative titles are not my strong suit. For more recipes using potatoes, please see my Potato Recipes Collection.  These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

What's Going On at Farm Fresh Feasts-Local Eating Talk, Dog School, and Chive Blossom Vinegar

I'm sharing an unusual-for-me post today. Normally I really try to provide value in my posts, to teach, to inform, to offer ideas for my readers.

Today, I've got nothing. Nothing but photos of what I've been up to lately. Most of these photos were taken by my spouse, like the one above of our front yard bun bun. We have 2 bunnies that have taken to hanging out in the front yard during the day. They like the cover provided by the daffodil leaves, the irises, and of course my Grandpa's sharpening wheel, used on his dairy farm in Wisconsin.

I don't mind the bunnies in the front yard because I'm not growing anything to eat there. As long as they stay out of the edible back yard we'll remain on good terms.  And if, like what happened last September, a bunny strays into the backyard and is caught by Simon and Robert Barker, well, we will provide that bunny with a proper burial. Because it lived.

So, no recipe today. No list of advice. Nothing really useful. Why? Well, for starters I spent my non-working hours last week finishing a slide presentation about local eating. I gave this talk at my local community center.

It was initially terrifying to stand up in front of 25 people and talk about stuff that's near and dear to my heart, but I'm very glad I did it. I learned quite a bit--including some cool graphics from the CSA Sign Up Day site--hey, value added--and I hope everyone got their money's worth. [It was a free class. I'd be happy to do it again.]

In other school news, Robert Barker completed dog school! My spouse returned from deployment in time to observe the last 2 classes and see RB in action. He said Robert looked eager to please but frequently clueless. That about sums it up.

Now, I've shared a recipe for a liver & rice dog food here, homemade without some of the strange stuff that goes into canned liver and rice dog food, but here's a simple way I'm turning some of my grass-fed beef liver into dog snacks.

Please observe this Basset hound successfully avoided multiple piles of dog treats on the floor while running, from a sit/stay, halfway across the store to come when I called him. Pleased as punch with my boy dog, I am.

More Value Added! To make easy liver snacks for dogs, simply thaw and rinse a package of beef liver under running water. Place a thin layer, maybe ½ inch, of water in a large skillet. Add the rinsed beef liver and turn the heat on to medium. Simmer the liver for about 20 minutes, turning once halfway through. Let cool, cut into dog bite sized pieces, and store in a jar in the fridge.

To store these treats I like to use a wide mouth pint jar closed with these plastic storage caps (Amazon affiliate link), and put one jar in the freezer and one in the fridge. Our dogs go crazy for these treats, which is a Good Thing as there are somehow 9 more liver packages in my newly-defrosted meat freezer. And 3 tongues. From one cow. Not sure how the math works out.


Finally, I'll close this post with the only thing I actually accomplished in the kitchen this weekend, other than coaching my son on How to Make a Pasty. [See, when you're on clear liquids for 2 days prior to your colonoscopy, you're not really into cooking. Or writing about food. Or editing photos of food. Or anything of the sort. Hence my silence. I'm all done, though, so it's back to usual for me. Tonight for dinner I made red wine beef stew and chive blossom muffins.]


I harvested my chive blossoms and I'm making Chive Blossom Vinegar. You can, too! I shared how on Instagram. You can see that image here.

The day after I added the vinegar to the blossoms. How pretty is this? Not done yet though.

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This post is linked up with Meghan's Week in Review!

Grilled Greens Salad with Couscous

A concept recipe for using Spring farm share greens in a hearty main dish salad. Grill greens, a protein, and some other vegetables, then toss with a grain and some cheese for a simple salad supper.

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This time of year I'm often out grilling in my driveway. My neighbor comes over to see what I'm grilling, and I check in to see what he's grilling. Since I started throwing the farm share on the grill, my grill plan starts with vegetables. There's nothing like the flavor of meat cooked over flame . . . but don't forget about the effect that fire has on vegetables!

Today's recipe is another concept recipe for using whatever cooking greens appear in your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. I've used Napa cabbage, Bok choy, and pak choi in this type of recipe, but I am sure that Romaine and radicchio would also work. I know that grilling radicchio won't fly with my kids so I'll save that for another salad.

Inside the house, make a pot of couscous or another quick cooking grain (Trader Joes has some terrific 10 minute farro and barley bags, or if you've got more time how about wild rice, or jasmine rice, or bulgur wheat--there are endless possibilities). Once the grain is about done, head out to the grill.

You're simply going to take your greens, slice them in half, brush with cooking oil, and give them a few minutes on a medium grill. Easy.  While you're at it, grab some additional vegetables (peppers, onions, radishes, peas, and/or green beans) and give them the same treatment. Add a protein. I raided my freezer and grabbed a package of smoked sausage which added additional flavor.

Once all of the vegetables and protein are finished on the grill, chop them into small pieces and toss everything together with your grain. I do this in a large bowl. I drizzle a bit of olive oil over top, and toss again. Add a little drizzle of acid (half a lemon squeezed over the bowl, or a splash of balsamic vinegar) and toss again. A bit of cheese, another toss. Finally some salt and pepper--and the big bowl is ready to dig in.

It's a relaxed meal because there are no hard and fast rules of what needs to go into it, and you taste as you go. My kids like the chunks of meat, my spouse likes the filling-ness of the grain, and I like that leftovers can be served cold or at room temperature.

Grilled Mozzarella Stick Pizza with Pickled Peppers

This pizza has mozzarella sticks and pickled peppers for a gooey cheesy pie with a bit of a kick. Throw a few handy toppings on a pizza, then throw it on the grill for a fast, easy, and cheesy meal.

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I don't wish to give the impression that everything I make is healthy. What is "healthy" anyway? Different people define it in different ways, and I'm sure not about to tell you how you should define healthy. I'm here to offer choices in how you can eat the foods produced in your local area, and if that means putting them on a pizza--I'm all for that.

My family loves to eat pizzas and watch a movie on Friday nights. Most of the time I make the pizza, as I can fire up the grill, stretch out the dough, make the pizzas, and be finished within 30 minutes. And I'm slow in the kitchen! No need to call for delivery if I've got all the supplies at home. Unless, of course, my kitchen has been taken over with the 4 hour installation of a new dishwasher, as happened recently. I shared the photo on my Instagram feed, in lieu of an 'as it happens' pizza photo/video. In that circumstance I called for delivery and tossed the boxes in the oven. When the dishwasher was finally set up, we sat down to pizza.

This pizza came about because my daughter and I went shopping when we were hungry. We bought a giant box of mozzarella sticks. I do not believe there were hundreds of sticks but at one point it seemed like it.  If mozzarella is good on a pizza, why not a mozzarella stick?

Potato, Tatsoi, and Caramelized Onion Enchiladas

Creamy mashed potatoes and tender tatsoi greens, flavored with caramelized onions and salsa verde, fill these vegetarian enchiladas. Topped with plenty more salsa verde and cheese, it's a filling meal.

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You can make this dish ahead, freeze it, and thaw it to bake later. I did--just to see if it worked and report back here.


In the months after the fresh farm share vegetables are long gone, when there's at best one pie pumpkin left in the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve, I turn to my freezer stash to keep us fed. I frequently freeze components of meals like pesto, caramelized onions, pizza dough, or grilled vegetables. I'll thaw and use these components later in the year, one of the ways I feed my family local foods throughout the year while living in a place with winter.

Freezing entire meals, though? Not my usual style. However, I had plenty of filling and tortillas and only 3 eaters while my spouse was deployed, so I figured instead of loads of leftovers I'd try freezing a pan of these to eat later.  It worked. You can do this, too.

Black Raspberry & Goat Cheese Crostini

This sweet and savory appetizer combines black raspberries with goat cheese and a vinaigrette, served on a red leaf lettuce-topped round of hearty bread, and sprinkled with pistachios for crunch.

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I need other women in my life. Women nurture me (and I hope I nurture them in return) via online interactions and in person. While I love my spouse and my kids, the support I get from my friends bolsters me in other, very necessary, ways.


So to my female readers of all ages: keep supportive friends in your life. Call to deliver birthday greetings to your college buddy when she turns 85. Have lunch with your sidekick who's moving back home after a job/relationship didn't work out. Chat online with your alter ego who needs a listening ear and some motivation. Take a walk with your pal who's having trouble figuring out the chemistry homework.

This appetizer is one that I brought to a gathering of women who nourish me: my book group. We meet once a month and discuss a wide variety of books as well as an even wider variety of other topics. Unlike other groups I've been in, there's not typically a food component to our meetings. If no one feels like hosting, we meet at a local coffee shop. No pressure to produce an elaborate spread--we just want to get together.

A typical Spring farm share box--plenty of greens and cool weather crops.

I liked the taste of the Black Raspberry, Goat Cheese and Pistachio Salad I made with the Spring Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share lettuces, and decided I wanted to use that combination in a handheld appetizer. My daughter harvested plenty of black raspberries from our patch so I didn't need to skimp. The pistachios provided a nice crunchy contrast to the creamy goat cheese, and the pink color was perfect for a ladies' gathering.

For more recipes using raspberries, please see my Raspberry Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

I'm sharing more recipes on my Pinterest boards, follow me there. If you like a good peek behind the scenes like I do, follow me on Instagram. Need a good read? I'm sharing articles of interest on my Facebook page, follow me there. Want to know How to Use This Blog?

Black Raspberry & Goat Cheese Crostini (makes a platter of appetizers)

Ingredients

• ½ cup goat cheese (I sliced off a log, but you could pack in some crumbles)
• ½ cup black raspberries (use red if that's what you've got)
• 1 Tablespoon salad dressing (any sweet vinaigrette type will do)
• freshly ground pepper
• a bit of butter, maybe 2 Tablespoons total
• hearty bread sliced thinly into individual rounds (a baguette works well)
• red leaf lettuce
• chopped salted pistachios

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, combine goat cheese and raspberries until raspberries are mashed.
2. Mix in salad dressing and a couple of grinds of fresh pepper. Set aside.
3. Toast the bread if you like. I did not, but if you are--preheat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lay the bread in a rimmed baking sheet to toast for 5 minutes on one side.
4. To serve, spread a bit of butter onto rounds of bread. Top with a piece of lettuce, a teaspoon or two of raspberry mixture, a hit of freshly ground pepper, and a sprinkle of pistachios.

Strawberry Vanilla Muffins {Muffin Monday}

A tender muffin enriched with vanilla yogurt and local strawberries, sweetened with a touch of vanilla sugar on top.

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"Military spouses plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them."

 Author Unknown

From Intrepid Gardener to Constant Gardener to Humble Gardener

I am learning that, just because I think a location is ideal for a strawberry patch, it doesn't mean Mother Nature agrees with me.

When we moved to Ohio, bought a house(!), planted blueberry bushes and peach trees and raspberry canes and a strawberry patch in our small back yard, the only fruit I'd had experience growing was strawberries. We planted a strawberry patch on the side of the rented townhouse in Virginia. We planted a strawberry patch in the front of the duplex on base in northern Japan. I figured I knew from strawberries. I was wrong.

My strawberry patch, on the North side of the house, isn't happy. I've amended the soil each year with compost, shredded leaves, coffee grounds, and aged manure. I don't think it's poor soil. I think it's location. Interestingly, this year what appear to be raspberry canes--they look identical to the ones across the yard in the Official Raspberry Patch--have appeared amidst the few struggling strawberries.

Fish Taco Naan Pizza

A fast and easy fresh tasting pizza this simple naan crust is topped with mahi mahi, sautéed Napa cabbage, avocados, watermelon radishes, and crumbled queso.

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If you're cooking, you will organically move to a healthier diet . . . and support farmers--Michael Pollan, last night during his talk at the University of Dayton. I'm paraphrasing the end a bit.

I'm sure I sound like a broken record at times, or maybe a scratched disc, but if you're going to the trouble of cooking you may as well cook more than you'll eat during that sitting and plan to repurpose the leftovers into a new meal. It's a great way to plan to use the produce from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. When the Spring weather is so conducive to being outside--someone I know calls it "productivity poison"--meals that you can throw together from previously prepared ingredients are just the best.

This pizza is one example, and a terrific way to enjoy long-storing farm share ingredients. As a matter of fact, since my photos are date stamped, I know I made this pizza 3 weeks after I picked up the last farm share of the Fall season. Cabbages and radishes store for many weeks in the crisper, and can be used into the winter for fresh crunch in your meals.

When I say many weeks, I will be honest. I polished off THE LAST WATERMELON RADISH OF 2015 on April 17th, 2016. We're talking 4 months in my crisper. Four months!

Low Carb Swiss Chard and Sausage with Burrata

A low carb meal of sausage sautéed with Swiss chard and topped with creamy burrata cheese.

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It's good to have some simple cooking concepts in your back pocket for when you don't have a particular plan in mind for dinner, but you've got ingredients courtesy of you Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. This is another simple cooking concept.

Mentally [or print it out and physically] file it alongside Fast Greens and Pasta, a Concept Recipe and Fried Rice with Greens and Chicken. These are 3 different ways to get a bunch of cooking greens out of your refrigerator and into your belly. And my family liked them all.

Fish Tacos with Bok Choy and Peppers

Flakes of seasoned fish nestled against sautéed bok choy and peppers in a warm tortilla, topped with avocado slices and crumbled queso. Use the farm share in unexpected ways with these tacos.

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One of the ways I use less familiar produce in our farm share boxes is to tuck it in alongside other, more familiar to my family, foods. This tip the first one of my Five Tips to Feed Your Family From the Farm Share. When I picked up some marked down pre-seasoned mahi mahi, I thought it would go nicely with the dark purple bok choy from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share in a fish taco.

A typical late Fall farm share box.

Bok choy is a pretty terrific workhorse in a typical cool season [late Spring or Fall, like the photo above shows] farm share box. The mild flavor of this dark leafy green is great in Asian-inspired meals (like this Fried Rice with Greens and Chicken), it's quick in a pasta dish (like this Fast & Easy Greens & Pasta concept recipe), and can usually be substituted for spinach or Swiss chard just about anywhere.