"Delish" Brussel Sprouts & Arugula Pizza

I made a yummy dinner tonight that I just HAD to share!

I'm sure you're reading the title of ths blog entry, tilting your head and thinking to yourself, "Huh, brussel sprouts.....delish?" Yes, these fellas are tasty! And they're so simple to prepare.

I made the brussel sprouts that we received from last week's farm share and used this recipe from 101 Cookbooks (a great food blog/site). They turned out SOOOO good, my husband even asked for more. Here's my version:

Take some brussel sprouts, wash and trim them. Cut them in half (lengthwise), put them in a bowl, and drizzle with some olive oil. Add some salt and peper, then toss. Over medium heat, place them flat side down in a pan with olive oil. Cover and cook for about 4-5 minutes. Toss them so that the other side gets a little heat. Turn off the heat and grate some cheese on top. The 101 Cookbook author recommends a parm-type of cheese for warm weather and a gouda or gruyere for colder weather. I opted for a cheese I had in my fridge that I can't for the life of me remember what it's called. But I know it was from Spain, similar to Monchego but a little softer. Serve and eat.

I also made an arugula pizza with some yummy toppings.

I took a pre-made pizza dough and spread garlic scape pesto over it. I had made and froze this pesto early on in spring and was awaiting the perfect time to use it. If you don't have garlic scape pesto, really any pesto will do...just make sure it has some garlic...and if it doesn't then add some garlic to the pizza at some point. Next, cover the pesto with crumbled feta cheese (a 4-6oz. container should do). Slice up some tomatoes (I used paste tomatoes, salt and peppered them) and top over the feta cheese. Now bake for about 10 minutes on 450 degrees. Take out and let it set for a minute or two. Top with about one cup of arugula. Cut and serve.

Enjoy!

Army of Women Kick

Yesterday morning on the Today Show, Dr. Susan Love announced her next thinking-outside-the-box idea on fighting breast cancer - trying to discover how to PREVENT it (Yay, preventative health)!! She has mobilized a group called an Army of Women in which you can support by registering as a volunteer for research. They are looking for ALL women, including "healthy" women who have not had breast cancer. Whether or not you are interested in volunteering, this project is interesting and worth learning about.

This is the video stream from the Today Show's segment and interview by Hoda Kotb (a breast cancer survivor): http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/26971703#26971703

I was particularly touched by a women who spoke of her mother dying of breast cancer 20 something years ago and now wanting to do something to help prevent her young daughter from getting it in the future. It is a bit cliche, but it made me think about how we CAN affect things for future generations. I think having children of my own has truly opened my eyes to this possbility.

I did sign up to be a volunteer. I'm a healthy thirty something woman...for now (who knows what my future holds). Donating a few drops of blood or urine for the sake of preventative breast cancer research is really nothing compared to millions of women fighting this disease on a daily basis.

Going "Brown?"

I thought this was an interesting perspective on the whole "going green" thing. This blogger posted some articlse about going brown versus green. The authors' opinions are that going green seems to be more of an elite, trendy thing to do whereas going brown is more true to the eco-friendly movement. If you're interested in reading more...."Is Brown the New Green"

Farm Food From 9/28 & My First Big Cook

The food we got at last week's share was so pretty that I had to photograph it. My goal every week is to wash all the veggies then store them. This doesn't always happen the way I want it but this last week I was able to do it. We received a lot of greens so my salad spinner got a good workout. Here are the pics:

One kitchen counter covered with veggies

Closer photo of veggies

Sugarloaf Chicory
I had never had this before, delish! It's like endive and is tasty with pears and blue cheese dressing. Yummy.Did you know brussel spouts grow on a stalk?!?! Never knew this until last week. I thought it looked pretty cool....haven't tried them yet though.

I also had my first Big Cook this past weekend. What is a Big Cook? A term coined by my friend and her sister-in-law which means to cook your week's worth of dinners over the weekend, freeing up more time during the weeknights. It's a cool concept but I am far from mastering it. Here's their blogspot to read more about the Big Cook: http://thebigcook.blogspot.com/

So I made two meals over the weekend since I had some other meals in the freezer and one meal cooked by hubby (ROCK ON HUBBY!). I made Chicken Pot Pie Soup (doubled it and froze half) and Pork & Fennel Ragu - both meals made from food from the CSA farms. I also was able to cut up my cooking pumpkin from the farm share last week (which was used for my husband's dinner, "Pumpkin, Sage and Chile Risotto") and roasted my delciata squash to be used at a later date.

I have linked the recipe for the ragu on the sidebar and above. This recipe is off of someone elses blog but it's the same recipe I have that I got from an old Cooking Light magazine. For the Chicken Pot Pie Soup recipe? Well, that one I have in a obscure recipe magazine so if you want it, just request it via a "comment" and then I'll post it later (am I being too lazy...YES!).

By the way, I have to comment here on the delicata squash. This squash is SOOOOO tasty and sweet. I can't wait to use it in a soup or just as a side. I read a interesting recipe to add lime butter to it and just eat it. Also it looks like the Wednesday Chef has a nice delicata puree recipe, too.

I'm off to read a simplified article about the "Bailout" that my hubby sent me. Oy, what a mess! And I suppose I should go eat some lunch. Don't they recommend going to the grocery store full and not on an empty stomach? I guess the same goes for blogging about food (I can't stop writing about it and I'm getting hungry!).

Ciao for now.