Roasted Garlic and Veggie Pizza

I know I haven't posted in a while... studying for the bar has been taking up way too much time.  I keep finding time to cook... just not to take pictures or write anything up.  But tonight, I decided to share... mostly because this is the first time I've ever made roasted garlic.  And it was AWESOME.

I roasted the garlic earlier this afternoon so that it had a couple of hours to cool before dinner.  I just left it in its foil pouch until I was starting to make the pizza... then I squeezed its guts out. :)

I made this vegetarian because it's what we wanted tonight... this would be delicious with any combo of veggies/meat you wanted though.  The roasted garlic added a nice flavor to the whole pizza which is completely different than adding fresh or granulated garlic.  I will definitely be doing this again.

The whole apartment ended up smelling like roasted garlic today.  I even caught Jeremy opening the pouch to steal some.  I told him not to, he said he wasn't, and then I saw him chewing and licking his fingers... garlic thief!  Then again, it really is hard to resist... I may or may not have licked my fingers after rubbing it on the pizza (don't worry... I washed them before continuing to make the pie...).

2 of the 3 slices I ate.  Jeremy polished off the other 5...

Recipe:
1 batch of pizza dough (the recipe we used is here but any dough you like will work... even store-bought)
2-3 tbs. cornmeal
1/4 c. pizza sauce
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flake
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tbs. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 small onion, sliced thinly
1/4 green bell pepper, cut into small pieces
1 head of garlic
1 tsp. olive oil

1. To make the roast garlic: preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut the very top off of the garlic head (just to expose the cloves).  Place the garlic on a piece of foil and drizzle with the olive oil.  Wrap the foil around the garlic.  Bake for 45-50 minutes until the garlic is tender and golden.  Set aside to cool.  When cool, squeeze the cloves out of the garlic head.  (Yum.)
2. When ready to make the pizza: preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Put a large pizza stone in the oven to heat with the oven and don't start the next step until the oven is hot -- you want a nice hot stone to put the pizza on.*
3. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza peel.  Using your hands or a rolling pin, stretch/roll the dough into a 18" circle (doesn't have to be perfect).  (Make sure the dough isn't stuck to the peel by giving it a couple of shakes.  If it doesn't move, pick it up and sprinkle more cornmeal down until the dough will slide easily around the peel.  Nothing worse than a beautifully constructed pizza that won't come off the peel...)
4. Rub the roasted garlic onto the dough, spreading it evenly around the dough.  Top with pizza sauce, crushed red pepper flake, oregano, black pepper, and salt.  Continue topping the pizza with mozzarella and parmesan.  Distribute the veggies evenly over the pizza.
5. Carefully transfer the pizza to the pizza stone.  Bake for 15-18 minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly and browned in spots.
6. Remove the pizza from the oven and allow to cool on the peel for about 5 minutes before slicing and enjoying.

*If you don't have a pizza stone or don't want to use one for this, you can add 1-2 tbs. of olive oil to a large baking sheet (enough to lightly coat the sheet).  Then just press the dough into the baking sheet and top as above.  Cooking time will be approximately the same. Pan pizzas are delicious too -- every so often I make it this way just for fun. :)

Cucumber Blueberry Smoothie

Yes, you read that right -- cucumber.  I had a little over half of a cucumber in the fridge that needed to be used... and since I didn't have enough other veggies to make a salad, I was looking for other things to do with it.  I decided to search and see if anyone had put a cucumber into a smoothie (because I kind of wanted a smoothie for breakfast...) and lo and behold, people had!

This smoothie was really light and refreshing.  It did taste like cucumber... but with a sweeter coolness than just a cucumber in a salad.  The blueberries were definitely in the background of this smoothie but they added a great purple color (and a lot of healthy nutrients!).  Overall, I think this was less of a milkshake-y smoothie and more like a health drink.  But still really delicious.  I will certainly be trying cucumber in my smoothies again -- perhaps with some honeydew or apple or something.  :)

One of the things I love best about smoothies is how easy they are.  Just dump things in a blender, blend, drink.  Perfect!  They're really forgiving too... maybe one smoothie will need a little extra liquid to get the right consistency but there are really endless combinations of flavors that you can create just by altering the ratios of ingredients.  I often put some wheat germ or oatmeal into my smoothies to add some extra bulk... but this one was just fruit/veggies, yogurt, milk, and some sweetener.  Lots of people also put some ice or juice in their smoothies (in place of the dairy) so that's a great way to alter the recipe too.

This recipe made 3 servings of smoothie.  Jeremy and I each had one and there is one sitting in the fridge (although he'll probably drink that as a second breakfast...).  I'm usually ok on one glass of smoothie to hold me until lunch.  Jeremy, not so much.  But these are a great way to get a healthy start to the day and get going on the fruit and veggie servings.

 

Recipe:
1 c. seeded and peeled cucumber, diced
1 c. frozen blueberries
1/2 c. plain greek yogurt
1 c. skim milk
1-2 tbs. agave syrup (depending on how sweet you want your smoothie)
pinch of salt (optional, just to enhance the flavors)

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Enjoy. :)

Spicy Black Bean and Brown Rice Soup with Tortilla Strips

I haven't had a lot of time to post.  Between getting settled in Rochester, unpacking, and studying for the bar, it's been a bit busy.  I've been cooking... but it was mostly stuff I've already posted on here.  I'm hoping to get to the Public Market soon to restock on veggies.  But for tonight, I was making do with what I had left in the fridge.  (And trying to use up the brown rice I had made a few nights ago for a stir fry.)  This was a great soup.

Luckily it wasn't too hot here today.  This is certainly not a soup that I'd want to eat when it's too warm out. But it was delicious and comforting.  It's a bit spicy as written so if you don't like heat cut back on the chipotles and the cayenne (I'd cut the cayenne first... I love the smokey flavor that chipotles impart.).

I cooked the black beans just before making the soup (starting from dry beans) but you could certainly substitute canned if you prefer.  Two can would be enough... just drain and rinse them before adding them to the soup.

We have plenty of leftovers of soup but I used all of the tortilla strips I made.  They added a wonderful crunch to the soup -- it wouldn't have been as good without them.  If you don't want to make your own, you could use tortilla chips instead.  The lime was also a really great addition -- it needed a little acid to really bring out the flavor.

The red color of this soup was awesome.  (You could certainly adjust any/all of the spices to fit your taste... or to fit what you have on hand.) If you wanted it vegetarian, you could certainly use vegetable stock or water... it would still be delicious.  Definitely a very easy, tasty soup.

Recipe:
Soup:
2 tbs. olive oil
6 c. chicken stock
2 carrots, sliced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 small onions, diced (about 3/4 c.)
2 stalks celery, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes (I use no salt added)
1 tbs. chipotles in adobo, minced (you can add more if you want it spicier)
3 c. cooked black beans
3 c. cooked brown rice
1 tbs. chili powder
2 tbs. ground cumin
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tbs. parsley flakes
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
lime wedges, for garnish (I used 1/4 lime per person)
tortilla strips, for garnish (recipe below)

1.  Heat a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add olive oil.  Add carrots, bell pepper, celery, onions, and garlic.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper.  Saute the veggies for 5-7 minutes until they begin to soften.  Add the tomatoes and chipotles in adobo.  Stir to combine.  Use your spoon to crush the tomatoes into smaller pieces.
2. Add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley flakes, oregano, paprika, and cayenne.  Stir to combine.  Add the chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat to maintain a simmer.  Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the veggies reach desired tenderness.
3. Add the beans and rice and stir to combine.  Adjust salt and pepper (and other spices...) as desired.  Once the beans and rice are heated through, ladle the soup into bowls.  Squeeze the lime into the soup just before eating.  Top with a handful of tortilla strips.  Enjoy!


Tortilla Strips:
3 corn tortillas (taco size)
1/2 tsp. salt
vegetable cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 425.  If desired, line a baking sheet with foil (easier cleanup/extra protection against sticking).
2. Slice the tortillas in half.  Then slice into thin strips.  Arrange on the baking sheet to avoid overlapping (it doesn't have to be perfect...).
3. Spray the tortillas with cooking spray to lightly coat.  Sprinkle with salt.
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes until slightly browned and crispy.  Give the pan a shake every few minutes to mix the tortillas around.