Please make this and let me know if it's really wonderful (looks amazing)

That was the subject line of an email sent to me by my mother. I can always count on getting at least one email from her a month asking to make a new dish that she found. She sent me this recipe for cauliflower pizza right around the time the CSA started, and I knew I had to save it until cauliflower was available at the market. I used that recipe to make the crust but added my own toppings - mozzarella cheese and mushrooms.

Cauliflower pizza is popular on Pinterest, and it seemed easy enough...but was it? Here's how it turned out, fresh from the oven:

Looks pretty good right? Here's another close up:

And now, here's one slice:

So, did it taste like pizza? Yes and no. The crust didn't really crisp and was on the mushy side. That's probably chef error (didn't read the recipe all the way and forgot to parbake the crust first). It tasted good and had all the flavors of pizza (tomato, cheese, and basil), but it was just kind of a big ball of cauliflower, tomato sauce, cheese, and mushroom glop. Overall, the cauliflower pizza wasn't so pretty, but it still tasted good. I would definitely try this recipe again, but first I would read the recipe all the way through before I start cooking. 

The Kale That Never Ends!

Three weeks ago, I picked some kale from the farmer's market, assuming it would get eaten quickly. Somehow, the kale has seemed to multiply in the refrigerator! It's been used in three dishes and has had a starring role in each, unlike the fennel that played a supporting role when it was used three times. Without further ado, here's how the kale has played out since it came home with me three weeks ago:

Delicata and Kale Salad

Delicate and Kale close up!

When I saw the delicata squash at the farmer's market, I had NO idea what to do with it. Another woman who was picking up her produce casually mentioned that it tastes great roasted in a kale salad. Of course, there was kale that week, so I picked up some kale and planned to make the dish my fellow CSA-er had raved about. That's how this bunch of kale made it in my shopping bag in the first place. Here's the recipe I used for Delicata Squash Salad with Kale and Cannellini Beans. I was shocked at how much my husband loved this salad. His idea of salad is a piece of steak with a carrot garnish! The salad was warm, hearty, and filling - all words that are not normally used to describe a salad! It was both sweet and salty, and it was perfectly for a cold fall night. Definitely something I would make again!

A little blurry, but you get the idea!

Broccoli and Kale Soup

Meal #2 was a mistake! I wanted to make The Joy of Cooking's cream of broccoli soup, but unfortunately the two stalks of broccoli did not weigh enough. I substituted some kale (which was really more like half a bunch!), and proceeded with the recipe. The kale didn't affect the taste of the soup at all, and it pureed very nicely with the immersion blender. The soup was a perfect consistency without the cream, so it was left out. It was great with a (store-bought) thick slice of asiago bread.

Kale and Arugula Flatbread

The last time I went to visit my parents, my mom gave me a jar of olive and walnut spread because she didn't want it. I wasn't entirely sure if I would be able to put it to use - the spread has a very strong olive taste that is not the least bit subtle. I wanted to find a way to use a lot of it at once, not because it was bad but because it is a random thing to have in the kitchen! I didn't want it to expire before I could use it all. I came up with this flatbread pizza:

It's very simple to make, using store bough pizza dough. There's no real "recipe" since you can use as much or as little of each ingredient as you prefer. I like a lot of cheese and a lot of greens.

1. Preheat oven, following directions for the pizza dough. Prepare pizza dough as directed, as well.
2. Saute greens in olive oil until wilted, with minimal salt and pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool, 5-10 minutes, until warm to the touch.
3. Coat rolled pizza dough with olive and walnut spread, as the base for the flatbread pizza, in place of tomato sauce. Amount of spread is a personal preference depending on how much you like (or dislike) olives!
4. Place wilted greens onto pizza, covering in a single layer (again, how much greens you use is personal preference)
5. Grate tallegio (or substitute with gouda or fontina) over pizza. Bake as directed.
6. Drizzle honey over flatbread. Allow to cool and serve with a chilled glass of white wine!

And in case you were curious, here's the olive and walnut spread I used:

Zucchini Pizza

Remember a couple of weeks ago there were zucchini in the CSA? Way back when, during Week 11? Things have been really busy, so this post is a bit overdue. Zucchini pizza was a quick and easy way to use up the rest of the zucchini. Just preheat the oven to 350 degrees, slice the zucchini in thin rounds, bake for 15 minutes. Top with sauce and cheese and bake until cheese is melty and gooey. Yum!