Pizza Passion

I was talking on the phone with my daughter today, telling her about this fabulous pizza I made the other night and she said, "Mom, you need to put that on your blog!", so here it is. I scored some free pizza dough from our bakery as well as some cipollini onions and chard and wanted to put that all together on a pizza. Then I remembered that we had ordered some grass fed, pasture raised meat from Afton Field Farm in Corvallis. ( On a side note, Tyler Jones, who farms Afton Field Farm (www.aftonfieldfarm.com) with his wife Alicia, was an apprentice with Joel Salatin of the famed Polyface Farm featured in Michael Pollan's book, "Omnivore's Dilemma". I was thrilled to find someone farming in this manner so close to Portland!). In that package was some hot Italian sausage which would go perfectly with the onions and chard. I took a pint of my home canned tomatoes and pureed them in the blender. I put them in a pan, added garlic and Italian herb seasoning and cooked it down until it was saucey, about 1/2 hour. The cippolini onions were caramelized in a pan with olive oil over low heat for about 40 minutes and the sausage browned and crumbled. So, for the assembly: Roll or stretch out the dough, smear with tomato sauce, sprinkle the sausage on, add the onions and chard that has been washed, stemmed and roughly chopped, and top with dollops of fromage blanc (I used Cypress Grove), drizzle with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil and bake in a 450 degree oven until crust browns and cheese softens, about 10-12 minutes. Sprinkle with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and you are ready to dig into to major yumminess! I think the combination of ingredients was part of the delish factor but also attribute a lot to the sausage...man, it was good! I am definitely going to learn how to put photos up because a photo of this pizza would've been great!

Bringin' Home the Greens

Lately, I've been bringing home a lot of greens. I just can't seem to get enough of them in the winter. I decided I would like to do something different from my usual greens sauteed in olive oil (or sesame oil) with garlic, sea salt and pepper and, perhaps, a main dish. My husband and I have been on a cleanse so whatever I came up with had to fit within the parameters of our cleanse. I had so much fun...I just started adding things and the end result was so delicious, I decided to share it with you! By the way, greens are loaded with vitamins, particularly vitamins A and K, and minerals.

Greens with Chickpeas and Tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 Tbls. fresh ginger, minced

2 Tbls. extra virgin olive oil

2 bunches greens (I used red chard but kale and collards would work as well), washed, stems (spines) removed and roughly chopped

1 pint canned tomatoes (home canned if you have them) with juice

1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed. You can also use dried beans that have been cooked.

1 tsp. curry powder, or more to taste

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. red chili flakes

Zest and juice of 1 Page tangerine or other citrus

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic, onions and ginger in olive oil until onions become translucent. Stir in the cumin and curry powder and cook until fragrant. Add greens, cover and steam for about 5-10 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add tomatoes, cover and continue cooking another 5-10 minutes. Add the chickpeas, zest and juice and cook until heated through. Add chili flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice (I used brown rice).

I hope this recipe helps you incorporate more greens in your diet...because they're good for you but mostly because they just taste great!

Cowabunga

Okay, here goes...

My friend, Amanda, and I are preparing to teach a class called "Aphrodisiac Cooking for Valentine's Day". In researching the class, I learned that science has pretty much de-mystified the qualities of age-old aphrodisiacs. Many foods that are considered aphrodisiacs are very nutritious, thus heightening our "powers", if you will, and others just resemble....well, you know. What I realized and what I want to convey to the class is it's not what you serve or how you serve it but the simple act of preparing food for another, (or together) no matter how easy or complex, says I care about you and I want to nourish you!

Here is a simple, delicious recipe you might prepare for that special someone in your life (or just for yourself...you love yourself as well, right?). It contains chocolate which, stimulates our bodies with caffeine, flavonols and a shot of serotonin, to mention a few, so we feel great!

Chicken Chipotle Mole

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 3 boneless, skinless breasts cut into 1" strips

2 Tbls. cumin

2 Tbls. salt

1 1/2 Tbls. black pepper

2 Tbls. olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

3 cups fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with juice

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped fine chipotles in adobo sauce

1/4 cup chopped fine semi-sweet chocolate

3 Tbls. peanut or almond butter

In a medium bowl, combine cumin, salt and pepper. Place chicken in the bowl and toss well to coat. In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the chicken in olive oil until browned on both sides, about 10 minutes. Add onion and continue to saute until onions are golden brown. Add tomatoes, with their juice, broth, chipotles with adobo sauce, chocolate and nut butter. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer, stirring often, until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens slightly. Serve over rice.

This can be a little spicy so if you are sensitive to spice, cut back on the chipotles some. It also makes quite a lot so you can easily cut the recipe in half.

I hope you are all thinking of ways you can cook up something with love!