Cooley Family Farm

I decided that I wanted to try a Mexican Pizza with the tomatillos Kevin brought in for me.

I made my own pizza dough using the recipe I posted with the Asparagus Pizza. But you can use any pizza crust that you like.

1 1/2 tbsp. Chipotle Puree
1 large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1/4 pound tomatillos, husked, and chopped into small pieces
2 cups of cooked corn kernels
3/4 cup cooked black beans, drained
Fine cornmeal for dusting
1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese

Season the tomatillos with salt and pepper and set aside. Heat a medium saute pan over medium heat. Drizzle in just enough olive oil to coat the bottom and add the onions. Cook until tender and starting to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.

I flattened my pizza dough onto some parchment paper on an air bake sheet.

I didn’t have any chipotle puree on hand but I did have some left over chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in my fridge. I decided I could make my own paste out of those. I spread a thin layer of the paste on my pizza dough.

Next put a thin layer of cheese on. Kevin and I have a different taste for cheese. So on my half I put feta, on his half a put a combination of cheddar and montery jack. Next add the corn, onions, tomatillos, black beans, and the remaining cheese.

Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes or until finished.

Overall Kevin and I really liked this pizza, but there are some things I will do differently next time. First… Kevin and I don’t eat a lot of spicy food and we found the chipotle paste to be to hot for us. I will do something more mild for my sauce. Next I really love the black beans on the pizza so I will add more black beans. And the slightly caramelized red onions were very tasty. I don’t think I put on as many as the recipe called for so I will be sure to add more red onion next time. And finally… I will be sure to have some avocado and cilantro on hand to top the pizza with when it comes out of the oven.

-Tracy

Right now we have a good supply of eggplant in the field. I’m not sure when the season for eggplant will end, but this is a great time to get some extra for some wonderful baba ghanoush.

Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil

You can use any of the varieties of eggplant that we have. I picked the above two purples.

Prick the eggplant skin with a fork and roast in a preheated oven at 400ºF for about one hour or until the eggplant is tender. Let the eggplants cool briefly. Cut the eggplant in half and scrape out the pulp.

Puree the pulp in a blender or food processor with the other ingredients until smooth. Taste and season with additional salt and lemon juice, if necessary. Chill a few hours before serving.

We ate this with pita bread as an appetizer. You can also roast a variety of vegetables and serve atop a plate of the dip, drizzle with olive oil, add a couple of black olives if you like and eat it as a main dish with pita bread. Yummy!!

Give it a try!!
Tracy

My sister was just here visiting from California. While she was here she found this recipe for us to make for dinner one evening. Since it called for a little of everything I thought it sounded like a great idea. I so love summer and all the fresh food choices we have!! I knew by the ingredient list that I would like the recipe, but it surpassed my expectations. I loved it and am craving it right now. My batch was pretty big so we had it for leftovers during the next couple of days. It reheated wonderfully.

Calabacitas with Potatoes

Ingredients
Sweet Corn
1 Tbs oil
New Potatoes
Onion
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Tomatoes
Oregano
Salt & Pepper
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

You notice that I didn’t put quantities in the ingredient list. I will give some guidelines here, but the quantities don’t matter a lot. Making things fairly even will work out great. I had some medium sized squash and zucchini, so mine was fairly heavy on that end of things.

But as a guideline this recipe called for about 3 ears of corn, pre-cooked in the microwave, 2 med. potatoes, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 3 squash, and 2 tomatoes.

Start by dicing the potatoes. Heat the skillet with the olive oil (chicken broth can be used instead) and add the potatoes. I put my skillet on medium heat. Stir as needed. While the potatoes are starting to cook dice the onion. Cook the potatoes until they are just tender then add the onion.

Next, dice the squash and zucchini. When the onions are soft (but not brown) add the squash and zucchini to the skillet. Cover the skillet and cook stirring occasionally. Dice the tomatoes. When the squash and zucchini are slightly soft add the tomatoes, oregano, salt & pepper and cook for another minute or so.

Slice the corn off the cob trying to keep some in chunks. I wasn’t able to do this, but it is more for presentation since it still tastes the same! Stir the corn into the mixture.

This can be served as a side dish as is, with cheddar on top or in a flour tortilla with cheese. Kevin liked it best as a side dish. I loved it in a tortilla with cheddar on top.

Other ways to enjoy include using Monterey Jack Cheese, lime juice, sour cream, or cilantro to taste.

Hope you enjoy!
Tracy