SEASON CHANGE

I'm ready for fall. As much as I love summer, I get antsy as September comes around and I begin to long for cooler weather, mulled cider, harvest picnics, and all the tastes that autumn brings. Still, with the persistent warm weather, everything feels in-between. Alas, my cooking feels that way as well these days.

Yesterday, I made a batch of pizza dough using a much loved recipe from Martha Stewart. I've been meaning to attempt to recreate one of my favorite pizzas: the Bianca Skizza from Gigi Market (I would probably eat this every day if I lived in the Hudson Valley... but my scale is happy I don't!) Yesterday felt like the perfect day to give it a try! Gigi's version has fig jam, pears, goat cheese, arugula, and white truffle oil. I did a spin-off of this version, using what we had at home (and finally using up the last of the pears from last week's farm share!). I added white vermont cheddar, sea salt, and dried lavender and omitted the arugula and white truffle oil. The result was a delicious, sweet and savory pizza. For me, the taste and ingredients captured that sense of changing seasons perfectly!

Before baking 

Pizza for Early Fall

What you need:

1 pound of Basic Pizza Dough (make the whole recipe, freeze the other half and save it for another time!)

2 pears

Fig Jam (I used  Dalmatia Fig Spread but encourage you to make you're own if you're feeling extra adventurous)

Goat cheese (I used a mild, young cheese but would love to try it with an aged chevre like Humbolt Fog or a Rocamadour)

Extra Sharp White Cheddar

Dried lavender buds

Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

...

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil a baking sheet and place a piece of parchment over the top.

2. Stretch and roll dough until it

3. Brush EVOO onto surface of dough

4. Spread a thin layer of fig jam onto surface of dough

5. Cut pears into thin slices. Arrange on top of pizza.

6. Slice thin pieces of cheddar cheese and arrange on top of the pears. Using a spoon, scoop softened goat cheese from container and add a few dollops around the surface of the dough.

7. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste. Sprinkle a few pinches of dried lavender buds on top of the other ingredients.

8. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown in color.

  Serve warm and enjoy!

MUESLI RECIPE

When I was living abroad with a host family in Paris, I ate Muesli for breakfast every morning. I had never had muesli before, and always thought it was a spin-off of granola, which never suited my tastes. Was I wrong! Before I headed out to class in the morning I would sit down at the dining table and eat a bowl of Allos Amaranth Wildberry Muesli with Rice Milk and a bowl of coffee. It was the most nourishing, delicious breakfast I had ever had, and I never got bored of it.

Alas, when I returned to the states, I thought it would be easy to find the same, if not very similar, type of Muesli. I tried all the brands that Whole Foods had, to no avail. Now, two years later, coming to terms with the fact that it would be absurd to pay 13 pounds to have a bag of it shipped here to the states, I've decided to create my own!

Wild Berry Muesli


What you need:

1 cup Amaranth Seeds

3/4 cup Millet

3/4 cup Roasted Almonds, Chopped

1/4 cup Roasted Flax Seeds (I like Trader Joe's Golden Roasted Flax Seeds)

2 cups Rolled Oats (not the instant kind)

4-5 tbsp Raw Agave Syrup (to mix with the oats)
 
2-3 cups of mixed dried berries (I use Trader Joe's Freeze Dried Blueberries and Strawberries, along with Himalania Goji Berries)

Generous Pinch of Cinnamon

1 small shallow pan with a cover

1 large mixing bowl

1 large plastic or glass container for storing

1. Pop the amaranth seeds. Do this by heating the small pan on the stove top until very hot. Then, add approx. 1 tbsp of seeds to the pan. Cover and wait until you start to hear the seeds begin to pop. Then, shake the covered pan over the heat until the popping stops. At this point, not all of the seeds will have popped into tiny white kernels. That's okay though, they're still edible! Transfer to your large mixing bowl and repeat, in batches, until all of the amaranth is popped.

2. Repeat process used for popping amaranth for the millet, working in batches until you've reached your desired amount. For the millet, you don't need to keep the pan covered, instead you can just continuously stir the grain until the popping noises stop. Transfer millet to large mixing bowl.

3. In the same pan, add 1 cup of oats. Drizzle a few tablespoons of agave syrup and stir continuously until oats are browned. Add more or less syrup depending on your taste. Repeat with second cup of oats. Transfer to large mixing bowl with millet and amaranth.

4. Let ingredients cool.

5. When the millet, amaranth, and oat mixture is cooled, add the dried berries, roasted chopped almonds, flax seed, and cinnamon. Stir all ingredients together in the bowl and transfer to your storage containers.

6. Shake and enjoy!

The great thing about this recipe is that you can really add as much of each ingredient as you like, to suit your tastes. You can also add other toasted nuts, seeds, or grains. I personally like this mix of ingredients because the muesli isn't too sweet but gets flavor from the berries, and a bit of extra sweetness from the agave syrup. The result is a crunchy, slightly sweet, slightly tangy cereal. I especially love it with almond milk. Or, try it sprinkled over some Greek yogurt and fresh fruit. A little of this cereal goes a long way in terms of nutrition and it's super filling. Enjoy!