Hiatus, part two; and some pictures

Once again, for the second time this year, I've been away from from this blog for longer than 2 months. That doesn't make for a very good blogger, I suspect. I am still having trouble getting into the rhythm of blogging, and being comfortable enough to share it all so openly on a public platform. I suspect that is also my issue with writing. I can feel that there is a lot in me I want to express, but I sometimes struggle with how best to do it, or get bogged down while beginning to do it. I am going to try to make this blog a more personal blog from now on- with writing vignettes and other random postings about things I find interesting. It is after all about expressing myself- not to show anyone else, but see what I can do and achieve with this space, at least for myself.

I struggle with being organized and disciplined. Therefore, it is hardly surprising to me, that I cannot remember some of these recipes. Most are simple enough that a picture can inspire me enough to recreate, I hope. Here is a photolog of my food adventures only through pictures in the last couple months.


Tomato pesto goat cheese pizza

Beignets

Pasta with a tomato corn salsa

Pizza topped with arugula pesto, tomatoes and mozzarella

I typically don't care much for arugula in my salad, but I love arugula pesto. It's strong and has a bit of a kick to it. I thought it would go excellently well with pizza, and it was!

Arugula pesto
pizza dough
1 tomato
5 slices of chunky mozzarella cheese

Top the pizza dough with arugula pesto, and place the tomatoes all over. Top with generous slices of mozzarella cheese. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 F.







Arugula pesto recipe(modified from Martha Schulman's fabulous recipe in the Times)
2 cups fresh arugula
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp walnuts
1/3 cup-1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Drop the garlic in the food processor and finely chop the garlic. Scrape the sides of the food processor, and add the walnuts and grind until the walnuts are finely blended in with the garlic. Finally add the arugula, and drip in the olive oil to form your desired consistency.

Caramelized Onion Pizza with Taleggio cheese

It's Pizza time! Making pizzas are fun because you can be creative, and really the world is your oyster when it comes to toppings. I like to keep toppings simple- usually not more than 2 ingredients as a rule. I discovered Taleggio cheese on a ski tip to Tahoe with a huge group of people, and I really began to appreciate cheese as an ingredient on its own. Yes yes, I'm a late bloomer when it comes to cheese. I'm going to try experimenting more with types of cheese from now on though. Ok, so this is one of two pizzas I'm going to post separately.

Pizza dough- I happen to love Pizza dough at Whole foods. I normally try making my own, but their dough is so good, I've given up on making my own.

Pizza dough
2 medium onions
taleggio cheese to top


Roast onions in olive oil until they are light brown in color. They should be slightly sweet. Add a tinge of salt if you want. Roll the pizza dough into the desired shape. Sprinkle the caramelized onions and finish off with a generous layer of the Taleggio cheese. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 F.