Dainty Radish Pizza and Tender/Crunchy Pizza Crust (Pizza Night!)

Thinly sliced radishes with feta, goat cheese, and shredded cheeses in a spring radish pizza.

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In the early weeks of Spring, while we're eating out of the tail end of the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve and scraping frost off the bags of vegetables in the freezer, I start to moon over the upcoming Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) season.  I dream about trying old favorites, or new recipes with the vegetables I know I'll be getting, and ponder what might be new on the farm this year. One standby that will be in Spring farm share boxes is the radish.

I knew I was going to put radishes on a pizza long before the CSA season began.  Shoot, I throw so much other CSA produce on pizzas, such as kohlrabi greens, kale, broccoli rabe and sweet potatoes--see my Visual Pizza Recipe Index for ideas--why not radishes? Since I'm the primary radish fan in the house, and I don't want to overwhelm the neighbors with radish gifts, I wanted to try to entice my family in a new way.

One way for me to keep things interesting is to change up the way I prepare a vegetable.  If I'm used to roasting something, why not shred it, like this butternut squash-stuffed Chicken Saltimbocca?  I've already enjoyed slicing radishes on sandwiches, and shredding them in sandwich spread--but when I sliced a mess of pretty Easter egg-colored radishes on my Benriner (link to Alanna's post that had me searching one out for my own) I needed share this, and share this in time for Easter.

I knew that radishes with butter and salt make a lovely sandwich, and that's where I was going with this pizza.  What I didn't expect was how delicate the pizza would look and taste.  It's a very dainty pizza, feminine, if you will, just like Crystal the composting guinea pig's delicate, feminine ankles [you're welcome for my not posting a picture of a dainty pig ankle, but know that I really wanted to]. However it is robust enough for my son (who would happily live on meat forever) to eat all the leftovers.  I think the combination of cheeses put it over the top for him--feta, goat, and shredded Italian blend? I'm in!


For more recipes using radishes, please see my Radish Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.


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Grilled Cheese with Country Ham, Leeks, and Tomato Jam

Sweet and salty, tangy and gooey, this grilled cheese sandwich with country ham, leeks, and tomato jam hits all the right notes.

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You ever make a large quantity of a condiment, and then not know what to do with it? Yeah, that happened to me, too.  I had so many tomatoes that after putting up crushed tomatoes, seasoned and plain tomato sauce, green tomato bacon jam and salsa . . . whew . . . I decided to try making tomato jam.

I got the idea, and the recipe, from Marisa's first cookbook, Food In Jars (link to her eponymous website--hey, did I use that word correctly? Do I get points?).  Tomato jam sounded like something I ought to try, and since I'd nearly filled up my pantry with other tomato products I gave it a go.  It was easy because Marisa's directions are clear and simple to understand, she anticipates my questions and answers them before I think to say 'but, what about . . .'.  I got her book out of my local library.

In a ham sandwich, this tomato jam just sings.  The sweetness of the jam perfectly balances the saltiness of a slice of ham, and you bet I'll be blowing through a jar eating Easter ham leftovers*. But tomato jam with a chicken sandwich? It's not that terrific. Turkey? Um, no thanks. I needed to get creative.

After I used country ham and leeks on a pizza, with asparagus and egg, I was inspired to try that combination of country ham and leeks in a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato jam.  Bingo!  The combination of salty bits of country ham [I like to bite my sandwich neatly, and not have the entire piece of meat pull out from between the bread, so I diced it] and sweet and tangy tomato jam is excellent. Add leeks, cheddar, and a griddle and you're golden.  Serve it alongside creamy tomato soup and you'll have such a sense of accomplishment, a la The Little Red Hen (and no shortage of folks to help you eat it!)--Amazon affiliate link if you're not familiar with the book.


For more recipes using leeks, please see my Recipes Using Leeks Collection. For more recipes for what to do with a glut of tomatoes, please see my Red and Yellow Tomato Recipes Collection. Yes, there is a Green Tomato Recipes Collection. All of these collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.



I'm sharing more recipes on my Pinterest boards, follow me there. If you like a good peek behind the scenes like I do, follow me on Instagram. Need a good read? I'm sharing articles of interest on my Facebook page, follow me there. Want to know How to Use This Blog?

Grilled Goat Cheese, Fresh Fig, Speck and Honey Sandwiches

This grilled cheese sandwich is creamy, sweet, and salty all in one gooey bite. Fresh figs, honey, goat cheese and crispy ham make an irresistible combination. Got fresh figs?

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I'm just a big ol' tease these days.  The other day I teased you with the idea of canning your own tomatoes to make Creamy Tomato Soup, even though tomatoes are just a twinkle in my garden's eye right now.  Today I'm going to tease you with fresh figs.

I had my first fresh figs from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share back in Virginia (link to their FB page).  Our farmers had a giant fig tree and shared the fruits with us lucky subscribers.  If you ever make have an opportunity to eat fresh figs I advise you to grab that opportunity with both hands.  I did, literally [technically one hand was holding a dog leash] and I'm so glad.  You will be too, when you see the variety of recipes I'll be sharing using fresh figs this coming summer (pizzas to chutney?).

For my first of three grilled cheese sandwiches, I'm sharing a Grilled Goat Cheese and Honey sandwich with fresh figs and speck.  Next up will be a Grilled Cheese with Country Ham, Leeks, and Tomato Jam.  Finally I'll share another vegetarian grilled cheese since my first one, My Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwich was getting lonely. This one with Hummus, Guacamole, and Corn Salsa.