#IceCreamWeek is Coming!

That photo is not a pizza. Nor is it anything involving vegetables. Instead, this is a warning to you. I'd like to announce a radical departure from my usual routine and suggest you consider digging out the stretchy pants. Instead of my typical posting schedule--sharing a vegetable- or fruit-inspired recipe on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I will be sharing 6 recipes [all involving ice cream] over the next week. You could say I've been churning (or no churning--puns totally intended) quite a lot lately.

You know we eat more than just the goodies from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, right? Even though we are walking distance from Graeter's ice cream, I occasionally make ice cream treats at home. In fact, I've wanted to share How to Make an Ice Cream Pie on this blog practically from the start. With my blog's focus--on how to make the most of the produce from your farm share, garden, or farmer's market--I didn't really see how I could include an ice cream pie.

When Kim announced that she and Susan were hosting HashtagIceCreamWeek I knew I had my opportunity. I had a blast participating in HashtagAppetizerWeek, so why not join in the fun? I'm not completely chucking my local produce focus out the window this week--in fact 3 of the 6 recipes I'll be posting use a fruit or vegetable. The others? Well, it's Ice Cream Week and I believe in going big with the flavor--and fat carries flavor, as does chocolate [I'm just guessing here, roll with me].

Six different recipes is a lot of ice cream to crank out [the puns, they keep coming], so it's a good thing that I am training to walk a half marathon next month and shared some of these recipes with my son's marching band and the gals at work. It's hard to share ice cream and take photos, though, so the pies . . . well . . . I had to keep making them to get a decent photo of a slice. I had to. Really.

On Monday I'll share How to Make an Ice Cream Pie at Home. This concept recipe is one I use often, with whatever flavors we're craving at the moment (Chocolate Mint/Grasshopper Pie, Caramel Fudge Pie, and Sea Salt Caramel Pie are big favorites). On Tuesday I'll nod to the vegetable focus of this blog with a Chocolate Beet Milkshake.

I'm sharing a lazy way to use up leftover fruit salad in Lazy Leftover Fruit Salad Ice Cream on Wednesday. Thursday we're getting spicy with Cinnamon Chunk Ice Cream, and on Friday we're turning that ice cream into Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches. We'll round out the #IceCreamWeek recipes with Caramel Toffee Apple Parfaits on Saturday.

In addition to a whole host of bloggers churning out ice cream recipes each day, we've got giveaways, too! Stop in and check it out. I'll return to my regular posting schedule [after a good training walk and a nice long nap] on Monday August 25th with Eggplant Walnut Dip.

This is not ice cream. These are vegetables.

Hatch Chile, Egg & Potato Casserole

Breakfast casserole of eggs spiced with Hatch chiles in a mashed potato crust.

I'll admit years ago I thought all the Hatch Chile Madness was a bunch of hype, but sheer laziness compelled me to try them after we moved here. See, my local grocery store fires up a round roaster in the parking lot each August and sells quarts of freshly roasted Hatch chiles. [Um, if I don't have to do anything more than walk the dog a mile down the road to buy a quart of already roasted chiles . . . why would I expend more energy? Laziness!] Then I found out they taste really good, too.

I must point out that I've not been compensated to rave about these chiles--I bought mine on my own dime because I was curious and lazy. Simon came along for the ride--and because he likes to get a drink halfway through his walks.

Year 1, I used some of the quart of chiles to make a batch of salsa verde along with the tomatillos from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, then gave the rest of the quart to our neighbors. Silly me. Year 2, I bought a quart, made my batch of salsa verde, and froze the rest, sticking them into chili here and there. Year 3, I picked up 2 quarts, made lots of batches of salsa verde, and stuck chiles in a whole host of dishes (listed below).
This year, Year 4, I will be buying 3 quarts. When will it stop?

Banana Blender Waffles

Easy banana oatmeal waffles using a blender, a bowl, and a bit of time

Weekend breakfasts should be easy and special, I think. Especially on the days we all wake up cranky and retreat to our separate computers corners pre and post breakfast, it's enough to know that we sat and shared a meal. During the week my spouse nukes his oatmeal and is gone before the kids wake to eat leftovers, sandwiches, toast or cereal. Me? I just drink tea unless I'm lucky enough to get beet greens in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. Then I'll make this for brunch.

But on the weekends I like to do a little more. Even if your "weekend" happens on a Tuesday/Wednesday, it's nice to relax and enjoy a less-hurried meal. I'm a fan of waffles for weekend breakfasts for a few reasons. First, waffle batter mixes up easily and improves with a short rest. Second, it's easy to keep waffles warm in the oven while you're making enough for the whole bunch. Third, it's super easy to double the batter, make all the waffles, and freeze some for your kids to eat on weekday mornings.

I've shared a variety of waffles on this blog. I've got waffles using butternut squash, tangerines, zucchini, carrots, and even corn and blueberries. Time for one of my standby, 'always in the kitchen' fruits:  bananas. Ripe bananas freeze beautifully in the packaging nature provides and thaw quickly.

Zucchini Bacon Pizza

Everything's better with bacon? Well, bacon sure makes the August zucchini crop extra tasty on this pizza with fontina cheese, zucchini, and fresh tomato pesto

This summer is not the summer of monster zucchini--not in my garden nor in our farm share.  [It is, however, the summer that I harvested a 42 pound volunteer--meaning I didn't plant that--pumpkin the first week of August! You can see us here on my FB page.] Nope, all of the zucchini and summer squash has been harvested in lovely small tender sizes--perfect for grilling or slicing and using on a pizza. Then again I think everything is perfect for a pizza.

I'm having an interesting summer so far with the produce from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share.  Normally my kids do not readily embrace all of the vegetables, so I shred and tuck them in here and combine there so that I'm serving meals that contain a lot of vegetables but don't have lots of single vegetables dishes, if that makes sense. 

This summer, the kids have realized how tasty a zucchini pancake (or crepe, or fritter) is, so we've been making them often. [Turnip fritters, too--and I've got a beet hanging out in the crisper waiting it's turn to fritter away . . .] They are also eating peppers and onions in their eggs and on pizza. Crazy--is it teenagers, or is it because it's our 9th season eating from the farm share (more than half of their lives, both of them!) and the constant exposure to all the vegetables has worked?

Teriyaki Peppers

Colorful bell peppers coated in a teriyaki-seasoned sauce

Peppers are such a useful garden vegetable.  They can be thrown into meals all day long, from breakfast scrambled eggs to supper spaghetti sauce.   They can be eaten raw as a vehicle to convey dip into the mouth,  or baked as a container for additional filling. They can be frozen [rinse, dry, chop, freeze on a tray like a berry before transferring into a bag/jar] and used in baked dishes year round.

Rarely, though, do peppers shine on their own.  In my continuing quest to add vegetable side dishes to my repertoire I'd like to share these easy Teriyaki Peppers. The sauce can be customized to meat-eating or vegetarian meals, and you can use whatever alliums you want. I used leeks, but I'll make them next with shallots since my garden shallots are abundant.

Tomato Basil Pizza

Slices of fresh ripe tomatoes and fresh basil leaves for an 'in summer only' vegetarian pizza

I learned a trick that has dramatically improved my summer pizzas topped with fresh sliced tomatoes:  just let them hang out for a while. Previous attempts at fresh tomato and basil pizza tended to result in wet tomatoes and dry basil. Not a good combination on a pizza. 

I cracked the fresh herb code [did you know there was a fresh herb code? Now you do] with my Fresh Herb Pizza, so I figured it was time to crack the tomato code.  The Illuminati are not involved. Just time and a bit of salt.

Soy Sesame Marinated Cucumbers

Tangy, sweet and spicy flavors hit your mouth when you bite into these cool and crunchy cukes

I'm on a mission to add more side dishes to my recipe index (the one on the right, with the drop down menus) this summer. While I have included cucumbers in a host of recipes (see the Visual Recipe Index) I didn't have a stand alone cucumber recipe until this one.

I don't grow cucumbers, but in addition to the cukes from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share I'm fortunate to work with generous gardeners who share their bounty. When I was at work last week I picked up a few beauties--then I needed to find a use for them!

While I was thumbing through The Party Party Party Cookbook put out by the Potomac Curling Club (for my Fritter recipe), I saw a recipe for Jim Macpherson's Cucumber Salad. The flavors looked like something my family would like, so I whipped up a batch. Good! Then I tweaked the recipe a little but (cutting the Tabasco, swapping honey for sugar, and finishing with a garnish of sesame seeds) and decided it was blog-worthy. 

I brought this to a picnic last week. The entree was catered by a BBQ place. These cool, crunchy cucumbers fit in nicely with the usual sides. They were easy to transport--I just brought the marinated cucumbers in a mason jar, dumped it into a bowl, then added the sesame seeds.

Macerated Peach Yogurt Muffins

Sugared peaches and yogurt combined in a sweet muffin for summer flavor any time of year

I love the flavors of summer. Kristi from She Eats asked on her FB page what fresh item I'm most looking forward to this summer, and my answer was tomatoes. That's a no-brainer for me, primarily because my second favorite summer flavor, peaches, can be captured and frozen for later use.

True, my Fresh Tomato Pesto is one easy way to capture the flavor of ripe summer tomatoes, but I can't match that texture and wouldn't use it in a tomato sandwich. I love a good tomato sandwich more than anything else, and now that our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share is providing us with ripe tomatoes I am indulging often.

While I do like to bite into a juicy peach (one not packed with listeria bacteria and shipped 'a fur piece') I'm not married to the texture. I'm happy to have fresh summer peach flavor in whatever form I can put it up. Since we don't have any local peaches this year due to the extreme cold temperatures of late winter, I'm glad I put up the peaches I gleaned from a friend's tree last year.

Most of the peaches were put up using Carla of Chocolate Moosey's Peach Pie Filling recipe, but some I just chopped, mixed with a bit of sugar, and froze.  This method makes it easy to thaw and use in a variety of sweet treats like these muffins. Even though it sounds like medieval torture, macerating just means 'softening by steeping in liquid' so that's the term I used here.

While you have fresh peaches may I offer my Fresh Peaches and Cream Muffins? If you've got macerated peaches, though, and want muffins--do try these. Thanks!

Cantaloupe Prosciutto Pizza

Sweet juicy cantaloupe with salty crispy prosciutto and gooey cheese in a simple summer pizza

My family are not big melon fans. Yes, we like watermelon--and what was looking like a watermelon-shaped zucchini is resolving into a tall pumpkin-shaped squash (I'll throw a photo of my garden up on my FB page)--but honeydew, muskmelon, and bitter melon are not high on the list of 'must eat' summer fruits.

Cantaloupe used to be on this list until I wrapped a piece of prosciutto around a slice from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share.  Wow.  The combination of dry and salty with the wet and sweet melon? Amazing. Try it, please, if you eat meat.

Last summer with just the 3 of us [while my spouse was on his all expense paid trip to exotic locales] we were having trouble eating whole melons. The composting pigs offered their services at cantaloupe disposal loudly and frequently, but I wanted to try my hand at a cantaloupe pizza. For no particular reason I'd picked up one of those rolled prosciutto and mozzarella logs at Aldi [and then paid for it during check out, no shenanigans implied] and I decided to try slices on a cantaloupe pizza.

I kept this pizza ridiculously simple, with just those two items as toppings, because I was simultaneously canning, as you can see from this kitchen scene above. With that much going on just slicing and dumping the stuff on an olive oil-brushed dough is pretty easy.

Turnip Fritters

Shredded turnips tossed with pancake ingredients and frittered on the stovetop--a hot weather way to enjoy  a cool season crop

I've been getting a lot of turnips in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. Our farmers started this cool weather crop early in the spring to provide variety in the beginning weeks of the season, and their hard work paid off handsomely with some amazing vegetables.

I frittered away last weekend. Literally. I got the idea in my head [during a shower, where all vegetable shredding ideas seem to originate] that I wanted to try grated turnips in my zucchini crepes recipe. I made them for breakfast and served the fritters alongside scrambled eggs. Big hit. I made them again for dinner, combined with fresh corn kernels, to serve under carnitas. Score.

Then I realized I was out of turnips . . . double plus ultra score, using up all the turnips well before the next farm share pick up day!

While it was cooler out I'd experimented with a variety of baked turnip recipes [I'll probably have them up on the blog for the fall turnip season] but I'm throwing this stovetop turnip recipe out now in case you happen to have a turnip or two hanging out in your crisper awaiting inspiration.

When it's warm out--I'm thinking these fritters are the way to go. I like to eat a variety of temperatures and textures [in addition to colors] in the summer, and a warm turnip fritter pairs nicely with some cool plain Greek yogurt. It's a good base for meats, or part of a mixed plate of pickled vegetables and hummus.

Summer Squash in Spaghetti Sauce Side Dish

Summer squash simmered with spaghetti sauce and a hunk of parmesan rind--easy, simple, summer side dish and another Fast from the Farm Share idea

In my house, having the dinner table filled with an assortment of side dishes is a rare occurrence saved for Big Meal Events like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter. I love vegetable side dishes, though, so their absence on the table is entirely due to the hassle factor of preparing multiple courses and having everything ready simultaneously.

In reality, prepping a few more vegetable side dishes doesn't take that much work. It's more my perception of the effort involved, I think, or perhaps the extra dishes that I'll end up washing. I mean, when going to eat at family-style restaurants [I'm thinking Frankenmuth, Michigan and Lancaster, Pennsylvania] I'm presented with an array of 'heat-and-hold' or 'served cold' sides. Granted, there's probably a Hobart in the kitchen and multiple folks chopping and stirring . . .

My friend Felicia's mom was terrific at setting an everyday meal with a bunch of homegrown vegetable sides. I have fond memories of staying for dinner after an afternoon of studying and being treated to such delicious food--especially a stewed tomato and zucchini dish that, wow, more than 20 years later still has the power to make me drool.

I channeled those flavors in this side dish--simmered tomatoes, summer squash, and parmesan cheese. This side dish can hang out on a low burner for a good while, ready to grace the table when you're done with everything else. With only 3 ingredients (plus salt, pepper, and oil) it's easy to throw together.  I made it by grilling the squash then combining with the spaghetti sauce on the stove, but sautéing the squash then adding the spaghetti sauce would also work great.  Heck, if you felt like cranking up the oven you could roast the squash then toss it with the spaghetti sauce and bake it in the oven. Easy.

Sweet & Spicy Peach, Chicken, Hatch Chile and Spinach Pizza

Fresh peaches and freshly roasted Hatch chile peppers paired with spinach, mozzarella, and chicken on a BBQ-sauced buttermilk pizza crust.

There are no guarantees in life, and that's OK.

We have two peach trees in our backyard (they belong to my daughter) but that's not a guarantee we'll be eating homegrown peaches this summer.  Just like official orchards here in southwestern Ohio, the extreme cold temperatures of late winter were too much for the delicate buds. No flower buds means no flowers, and no flowers means no local peaches.  That's just how it is sometimes.

I'm sorry to be down. As I'm writing this, it is Wee Oliver Picklepants' Last Day. A year ago when I made this pizza I didn't even know he existed. Then my deployed spouse went on the internet and found Oliver and his Traveling Companion, Vincent. My spouse asked me to adopt the dogs and I did, falling in love with those nice middle aged gentlemen long before he returned and met them. I was particularly smitten with Oliver, a runty 10 lb one eyed wiener dog mix.  An avid outdoorsman, Oliver holds the title of being the only dog in the house to successfully catch a squirrel [technically, most of the squirrel got away, but Oliver was darn proud of the tufted tail tip that was left behind]. Such an active lifestyle was too much for Oliver's back, though, and his pain got to be unmanageable. We will miss him--his sweet disposition and outsized personality changed our minds about little dogs.

Despite my sadness about peaches and pups, I am glad we have options when it comes to buying fruit. The fruit farmer at the farmer's market down the road is bringing in peaches from South Carolina to sell alongside their summer berries. While it isn't as good for their bottom line, it does keep their customers happy and I'd rather buy my out-of-state peaches at the farmer's market than the grocery store, you know? For my 3rd peach pizza recipe (following Peach, Basil and Brie pizza and Peach and Pepperoni Pizza) I decided to get gourmet and throw a bunch of stuff together.

Biting into this pizza was amazing. Even before that point, though, just seeing the colors made me happy. The warm colors of the peaches were set off by the greens of the spinach from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share and accented by fresh mozzarella and red onion. I know that you eat with your eyes first, but the flavor has to back it up and this pizza delivers. The sweetness of the fresh peach chunks paired with spicy roasted Hatch chiles and creamy mozzarella is complemented by the BBQ sauce base. Give it a try--it's really good.

Easy Cheesy Vegetable Rice Enchiladas

Another Fast from the Farm Share meal, combining shredded summer squash, peppers, onions and rice for a vegetarian enchilada that is wonderfully satisfying

If it looks like I'm not going to be able to use the vegetables from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share in a timely manner--I get busy.  Well, my freezer gets busy. For summer squash, and zucchini, I shred and freeze in 2 cup portions. [I've found once thawed and squeezed dry that the bulk of shredded squash is reduced by half, so if I want a cup I freeze double.] For peppers and leeks I chop into small pieces and freeze on a tray before transferring to a bag for storage. This way I've got vegetables handy year round and I reduce the amount of wasted food that our farmers grow. Yes, I do require an additional freezer--it also serves as a microwave stand so everything fits in my little old kitchen.

While I am capable making my own Slow Roasted Tomato Enchilada Sauce, when I want to get dinner in the oven quickly it's nice to grab a can of prepared sauce, some prepped vegetables, and just get going. I had my daughter cooking the tortillas and my son shredding the cheese while I made the filling. These assembled very quickly. Adding cooked rice to the vegetable mixture gives a nice "chew" factor, which I am sure isn't really a thing, but no matter.  These are delicious.

Blueberry Beet Honey Oat Muffins

Blueberries and roasted beets are sweetened with honey in a multigrain muffin

Blueberry muffins are one of the most iconic types of muffins.  [You won't find any icons on this blog, other than my teeny tiny social media icons next to the print button at the bottom of this post.] I was shocked to realize that of the 26 muffin recipes I've posted on this blog, only one of them contains blueberries.

It also contains beets, and it's a pretty sweet muffin what with the white chocolate chips and all (Red, White and Blue Muffins recipe here). I wanted to share a less 'treat' muffin.

 I've got beets from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, and adding some roasted beets to the party in the blender [not to be confused with this party in a blender] accentuates the color of the blueberries without overwhelming the flavor.

Why do I use a blender? My son is not a big "whole blueberries in baked goods" fan, so for these muffins, just like these Sweet Corn and Blueberry Waffles, I use my blender.  We all get the goodness of blueberries without anyone biting into an undesired big fat berry.

I'm glad to announce my 27th muffin recipe, and second beet+blueberry muffin in a row, Blueberry Beet Honey Oat Muffins.  I use honey, not sugar, in this recipe, which makes me think about how "real sugar" is now a valued item in soft drinks, yet perversely still taboo in "healthy" recipes. Whatever. While they are lightly sweet on their own, these muffins also taste delicious served warm with lemon curd.
These soaked oatmeal muffins require at least an hour long pre-preparation soak, but you can always prep a container of oatmeal and buttermilk days ahead and store in your fridge like I've shown here.

Fresh Tomato Pesto with Mushroom, Olive, Artichoke and Feta Pizza (Pizza Night!)

Sautéed mushrooms, olives, artichoke hearts with feta and fontina over fresh tomato pesto

Those of you who subscribe to my blog via email or somehow grab the RSS feed [thank you!] were treated to an unwitting peek behind the scenes one week ago when the rough draft version of this post went live without my awareness.

When I was plotting out the pizza posts for July I’d tentatively scheduled this one for the first Friday. Then I thought of fireworks, changed my mind, finished up the Pepperoni and Yellow Squash pizza and scheduled it for the same day. I didn’t notice that I still had the draft of this pizza scheduled for later the same day, and didn’t even check that the pizza had posted properly when I first woke up. Nope, I went about my July 4th—packing and traveling to visit family, not even checking email until late afternoon when I was surprised to see the draft was live and sent out in my RSS feed.  Oops!

I wanted to get this pizza up because it uses Fresh Tomato Pesto and I think you should try your hand at making this tasty concoction at least once during tomato season. Even though the tomatoes in my garden are as green as the squash plants that have taken over, the nights are warm (for ripening) and we got our first tomato in the farm share this week. [I’m making a BLT out of it, not this pesto.  I have my priorities for the first tomato of the summer.]

Fresh Tomato Pesto is easy to make, stores well in the freezer, and can be used as a dip for chips or vegetables, a pasta sauce, or on pizzas. I’ve been sharing a lot of meat pizzas lately [just updated my Visual Pizza Recipe Index] and it’s past time for a vegetarian one.

Colorful Greek Chicken Salad Plate

Greek yogurt seasoned with herbs, vegetables, chicken and cheese served alongside a colorful bed of vegetables, hummus, and pita chips for a simple summer salad plate

Eating my colors makes me happy. Combining tasty food with colorful piles of vegetables is a terrific way to eat a variety of colors. I wouldn't normally say that chicken salad is a colorful dish, but when you serve it with gorgeous vegetables, well, even on a white plate this would still be a riot of color.

I've been throwing together some easy summer mixed plates using a variety of cool and warm ingredients lately.  For a glimpse, head to my FB page to check out this photo.

Surimi Chirashi Sushi with Summer Vegetables

A filling main dish salad of surimi and summer vegetables tossed with sushi-seasoned rice

When it's hot out, my body craves lighter food. Eating seasonally, the kitchen pendulum swings [yeah, there's a pendulum swinging in my kitchen. that's why it's a mess all the time!] from hearty chili, stew, or casseroles over to simply seasoned piles of pretty vegetables.  Making a chirashi sushi is one way to keep it cool in the hot weather. Chirashi sushi means scattered sushi, which means I get to be lazy all the flavors without all the fuss of rolling your own.

I love to roll my own sushi, don't get me wrong. The other day I made a bunch of pretty, and tasty, Egg, Kohlrabi and Carrot rolls. Taking a page from Fusian we put panko over top and the flavor/texture contrast was really neat.

When I've got kohlrabi or cucumber I will make up a big bowl of chirashi sushi. If I've got salmon I'll add that, or Spam, Surimi, or just scrambled eggs rolled up in an omelette. My friend Lasar introduced me not only to chirashi sushi but also to the furikake my son and I sprinkle on top. [My spouse and daughter don't care for furikake, so I list it as optional below.]

This keeps for a couple of days and can be reheated gently in the microwave. I store the cucumbers/kohlrabi separate because I like them cool and crunchy.