Archive for July, 2009

July 21st, 2009

Margherita French Bread Pizza with Garlic Oil

margheritapizza

Do you remember Stouffer’s French Bread Pizzas? I LOVED them as a kid, and even as an adult, if I’m “forced” to buy frozen pizza, I’ll run straight for these little guys. They’re like little bread boats of pizza goodness. And for me, they are the perfect size, especially for an easy lunch, or dinner when the hubby’s away.

I’ve made my own French bread pizzas plenty of times, but always with marinara sauce. While watching The Food Network channel a few weeks ago, however, I tuned into an episode of the Barefoot Contessa, and watched her make this super simple recipe for Garlic Oil. As soon as I saw it, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it—Margherita pizza, which traditionally uses olive oil in lieu of marinara sauce. Garlic infused olive oil would add another dimension to the pizza, I thought. Plus, I absolutely love garlic on pizza. Especially pepperoni and fresh garlic, but that’s another story…

To make things easy on myself, and add a bit of fun, I picked up French bread to use instead of pizza dough. The day was hot, hot, and I didn’t want to spend time in the kitchen kneading and rising dough. To accompany the French bread, I bought Purple Cherokee (I believe) heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. That’s it. That’s all you need for these pizzas. Oh, and pinch of sea salt, and some fresh ground pepper. Okay, I also snuck in some fresh spinach leaves, but that’s optional. Pretty simple, huh?

Ingredients:
Garlic Oil, recipe here
1 loaf of French bread, or 2 small loaves
2-3 heirloom tomatoes, depending on size
1 ball of fresh mozzarella
fresh basil
sea salt
fresh ground pepper
fresh spinach leaves, optional

Guidelines:

Pre-make the garlic oil.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the French bread in half length-wise, and into whatever size portions you want to eat. Brush the cut side of the bread with the garlic oil, and place in the oven on a perforated pizza sheet or pizza stone for a few minutes, or until the bread just begins to toast. Remove from oven.

Top the oil brushed bread with a sprinkle of sea salt. Add slices of fresh mozzarella, the spinach leaves if you’re using, and heirloom tomato. Bake for 5-8 minutes, or until bread is lightly brown and the cheese is melted. *Note: fresh mozzarella doesn’t melt the same way other cheeses do. It will get warm and spread slightly, but it largely keeps it shape.

Remove from oven, sprinkle with fresh slivers of basil and fresh ground pepper.

If you wish, chop some of the garlic in the garlic oil and sprinkle over the top as well.

Posted By: Kelly |  Filed Under: Pizza, Specialty, Vegetarian  |  3 Comments  |  Permalink

July 14th, 2009

Food Alert: Silk Soy Milk

If, like me, you use soy milk in lieu of cow’s milk, you probably purchase, or have purchased, the brand Silk. Silk is the most commonly available soy milk in major supermarkets, especially if you live in a small town. But if you have the option to buy a different brand, now is the time to switch, if you’re still buying Silk. Why? There are several reasons. Take your pick.

1. Silk is owned by the mega corporation Dean Foods. (They also own the organic label Horizon, by the way.) Other commonly known Dean Foods brands include Meadow Gold, Land O Lakes, Mountain High, PET and Mayfield’s in the south, and Garelick Farms in the northeast.

2. If you don’t find mega corporations inherently evil in and of themselves, please know that Silk dropped their organic status on most of their products. I used to buy the original Silk, in the red box, and I don’t know how long I’d been buying it before I noticed the Organic label was switched to Natural. I think I cussed right there in the grocery store. What’s the problem with their Natural soy milk? Products labeled “Natural,” and even products labeled “Made with Organic Ingredients,” do not adhere to the strict standards that organic food is required to. They can still contain pesticides, herbicides, and other nasty things. In the case of Silk, their “natural” soy beans are often processed with hexane, a neurotoxin. Yum, right?

3. If your store does carry the new Silk organic product, in the green carton, you’re probably cheering. But you shouldn’t be. Wanna know where those organic soy beans are now coming from? China. Yep. Silk ended its long relationship with American soy bean growers and started buying soy beans from China because it’s cheaper.

4. If American companies buying foreign imports doesn’t bother you, consider the fact that Chinese “organic” soy beans have failed to meet federal organic standards on several occasions.

If you care about your food, and the workers who produce your food, please consider buying a different brand of soy milk the next time you’re at the store. Organic Valley, for example, is still a small company producing quality products that are safe. They are committed to the organic label, and have a strict non-GMO policy.

For more information visit Organic Consumers.org. and read their article on Silk Soy Milk.

Posted By: Kelly |  Filed Under: Food Alerts  |  4 Comments  |  Permalink

July 7th, 2009

Strawberry Mango Salad with Pomegranate Shallot Vinaigrette

strawberrymangosalad

In the heat of summer, it’s often hard to think about food, much less eat a full meal. There are days when only water and ice cold popsicles sound appetizing. Especially Otter Pops—those non-frozen popsicles you buy in a box and stick in your freezer, and once they are frozen you push the sugar water out of the slinky plastic wrap. Ah! Nothing quite says summer like Otter Pops. When I was growing up, Otter Pops didn’t have characters, and I only remember four flavors. Now Otter Pops are all kinds of cute. :) Anyway, on those kinds of energy-sucking-sticky-with-heat days, I find light lunches and dinners of fresh fruit and veggies are just the ticket. I love salads any time of year, of course, but summer particularly requires refreshing meals, just as winter is rich, warming comfort food time.

Summer is also a great time to find fresh fruit, and if you haven’t yet ventured into combining greens with fruits, nuts, and cheese, you should give it a try! Veggie salads are tasty, but fruit and veggie salads are juicy, delectable, crave-worthy treats. For this salad, I use strawberries, mango, toasted pecans, and chévre, with a pomegranate shallot vinaigrette. The result is a sweet, creamy, crunchy salad with accents of bitter greens and a delicate onion flavor from the shallots.

Ingredients:
strawberries
mango
mesclun (also known as spring greens)
pecans, chopped and toasted
chévre
fresh ground pepper

Dressing Ingredients:
pure pomegranate juice
extra virgin olive oil
shallot
salt and pepper

Guidelines:

For the dressing, combine equal parts pure pomegranate juice and extra virgin olive oil. Finely dice about ½ tsp. shallots for every ¼ cup of dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk well.

For the salad, use the ingredients in whatever amount you like. For my salad, which fed two as a side salad, but could easily feed 3-4, I used about 6 strawberries, quartered, 1 mango, diced, a medium salad bowl filled ¾ full of mesclun (4-5 cups would be my best guess), ¼ cup toasted pecans, and about 1 ounce of chévre, crumbled.

Add all salad ingredients in salad bowl, along with fresh ground pepper, if desired, and pour dressing over top. I refrain from tossing, as the ingredients are delicate.

Posted By: Kelly |  Filed Under: Side Salads  |  9 Comments  |  Permalink