As I continue to figure out what to do with my huge gobs of zucchini...I would like to share some happier news. My landlords, who do a lot of gardening (they grow most of their own produce for the entire year) just decided to go into the honey trade (as a hobby!). Their son already does honey as a business...anyway, my landlord came over today and gave me the biggest jar of honey I have ever seen. It looks good and I can't wait to try it. Maybe I will make ice cream with it! Anyway, while he was delivering the honey, my landlord asked if I wanted corn (apparently not wanting the honey wasn't an option-good thing I wanted it!). So I said "well we'll have our own corn...in a month or 3." He laughed and brought over corn. Yay! It's not zucchini... I see roasted corn and tomato salsa in my future with pork tacos...and grilled corn with, yes, a side of baby zucchini, and boiled potatoes on grill night (steak for Price and chicken for me). I love corn, and potatoes, and tomatoes, and, yes, even zucchini.
As we went down to the garden today (2 cucumbers and 5 sun golds later) we saw the first blooms on our winter squash (variety as yet undetermined, we bought a mixed pack of 4 types and we see 4 types of leaves but without the actual squash I still don't know which plant is which)...Anyway. We should be set on produce for a long time. I am just glad we can get some things at the farmer's market to go with what we are growing (carrots, lettuce, berries, etc) Not to mention the yummy goat cheese that is for sale at one the local farmer's markets on Saturday...I love cheese.
Anyway, we used some of our zucchini tonight. We had pizza with homemade sauce and fresh mozzarella, the way pizza is supposed to be. Everyone probably has their own toppings they want for pizza, and I'll probably post a different pizza later, but this is what we had tonight. Enjoy!
Homemade Zucchini and Pepperoni Pizza
Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pizza crust, extra thick, Pillsbury
1 8 oz can Hunt's unseasoned tomato sauce
1 tbsp garlic paste for sauce (from a tube)
1 tsp garlic paste for cheese (from a tube)
1 tsp pesto (from a tube)
1/2 c. whole milk ricotta
4 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
1/4 c. small turkey pepperoni
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh oregano
1 sprig fresh parsley
1 sprig fresh basil
3 tbsp olive oil
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Brush with 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Spread out the pizza crust on the cookie sheet. Poke all over with a fork (it will rise better, trust me). Brush with remaining olive oil. Gently tear the thyme and oregano and sprinkle over the crust. Bake in oven for 4 minutes. In a small bowl, mix the tomato sauce, tbsp of garlic, and half the basil and parsley (gently torn). Set aside. In another small bowl, mix the ricotta, remaining garlic paste, pesto, and the other half of the basil and parsley. Put sauce on pizza. Spread out zucchini, then gently smoosh globs of the ricotta mixture on top. Spread the mozzarella out where the sauce shows through the ricotta. Add the pepperoni. Bake an additional 5-8 minutes.
Remember, this is pizza! While I strongly suggest preparing the crust as directed with the olive oil and baking before topping, the herbs used can vary based off toppings. Also, dried italian seasoning works well....Otherwise, customize as desired. Versatile food (like pizza) should be fun. So have fun!
