Monday, June 29, 2009

In Season-- The Farmer's Wife

Not to be confused with the Farmer's Market... actually, it is to be confused since that's what Hope kept calling one of our in season trips this month. Never mind, please, that it's now almost July. :)

Small town farmer's markets have that quaint feel about them. The kind that makes you gush all neighborly like and puts you in the mood to buy up everyone's friendly produce. Just to imagine all the folks in their gardens gathering the harvest to bring to us; I love it!


Somehow the purse strings did their job and we made it out with only some of the great looking fruits and veggies we saw along with fun items like lavender laundry powder, raw honey, and homemade pizza dough. As promised, here is an idea or two from the easy ways we made good of our loot.
That very night I couldn't resist the dough, so I attempted a deepish dish pizza in a clearanced tart pan I found a while back. We used ingredients from our trip and included sauteed mushrooms, deli-cut pepperoni (cheaper and yummier than the kind you find in the package-- just ask for 1/4 pound sliced thin from the deli counter to last you a couple pies), Italian seasoning, and fresh basil. Friday nights are almost always some version of easy homemade pizza, and now I need to learn how to make this dough myself. Mmmm!
Stretch the dough over the pan, add your sauce and toppings, and bake at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes or so. Then make a little side salad from some of that other fresh stuff.
And for dessert? Easiest chocolate covered strawberries EVER... just dip them in some Nutella; then try to hide the jar from yourself. If you accomplish this, please let me know how in the world you did it.
Lastly... if you're anything like us, we live for picnics in the summer. Many nights I'll throw whatever looks good from the fridge into a basket and off we'll go to meet Joe for a late evening at work, to the park, or sometimes just out to the backyard. With veggies like tomatoes or cucumbers marinated in a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, white vinegar, and Italian seasoning the grabbing is all the easier. Taste tester two year old gives it her smile of approval.
Up next... who knows? But stay tuned and feel free to share any secrets the farmer's wife may have told you!

2 comments:

Rachel@AllergenFreePlease said...

We LOVE the farmer's market in Spring Hill! Another one to try on Saturday mornings is the one in Franklin behind the Factory. It is GREAT! I bet your pizza was AWESOME! YUM!

k.mart said...

Looks great! Any chance we're having that deep dish pizza for dinner tonight? ;)