Recipe: Grilled Summer Squash Pizza with Goat Cheese

Persian bread pizza

Recently, I came across this post from a dear fellow Hannah with whom I went to college. It won me over instantly, as I love... pizza... and all forms of cheese... and squash. And, as I had just bought a ton of summer squashes, it seemed the perfect timing. 


So, my own variation, determined by my own tastes and available ingredients. I made 3 variations total, one grilled, and two in the oven since our grill was not large enough. Ingredients listed below should make between 2-3 pizzas. I used yogurt with the sauce as well as the cheese to reduce the caloric content, and to make it easier to spread on the bread. 


Grilled/Baked Citrus Summer Squash and Goat Cheese Pizza


-pizza dough, or in my variation; I used Persian bread and then 2 large pieces of Indian naann. 
-8oz of goat cheese
-2 cups of Greek yogurt, nonfat
-juice and zest of 1/2 lime, 1/2 lemon
-fresh basil leaves

-2-3 medium sized yellow squash and zuchini mix
-salt, pepper, ground coriander, paprika, lemon pepper
-olive oil




1- If you are using something that is already baked, like I did, then you will want to cook your squash ahead of time. I sliced the squash quickly using my food processor, and then roasted them in the oven using a non-stick cookie sheet for about 25 minutes at 450 degrees. I put them all in a single layer, drizzled olive oil on them, and then spiced them with salt, lemon pepper, coriander, thyme, and paprika. 


2- Pizza sauce: Again, using my food processor, I mixed the Greek yogurt and goat cheese together until nice and creamy, and easily spreadable. I added a bit of citrus juice and zest to taste. Add in a little lemon pepper and salt. 

My dear friend Angela

3- Heat your grill or oven- prepare it for the pizza! 


4-Spread the cheese/yogurt sauce on the pizza base, and then arrange the basil leaves intermittently. Place the squash circles on concentric, overlapping circles. I believe in doing multiple layers, since food processors get squash quite thin. 


5- Grill/bake until the edges of the squash look a bit crispy, and until it has heated. Enjoy!

I made other variations as well; one with fresh tomato, feta, and avocado. This seemed to be a hit, but in retrospect, put the tomato and avocado on after baking- the nice fresh flavor is diluted with the heat. 


What are some of your summer favorites? 

Wedding: Jody Lent and Rachel Keller

For a season, Jody Lent was in my life everyday.

Jodi and Jody: two dear friends of mine. One scary,
 one even more scary. Who is who depends on the day.

 Our last year of college was spent together a great deal, no one wants to eat at the college cafeteria, and no one wants to eat alone. It was a practical arrangement: we'd take our trips to Wal-Mart and Kroger together, he would often provide ingredients for meals I would cook for both of us.

We'd spend evening sitting on the roof outside my room talking about everything- past, present, future... our weaknesses and our strengths. Both of us were going to live in Chicago post-graduation, so we knew it was a friendship that would last beyond the alma mater.

 When I got married, Jody did one of the kindest things for Jason and I, and moved all of my stuff to our new apartment in Chicago: including carrying it up to the second floor. His gift to us was not letting us pay my share of the u-haul. What a blessing!

Recently Jody was married in Cleveland, to an incredibly cheerful woman named Rachel. Jason and I were both in the wedding, even though when I was asked- I'd never met the bride! It was the sort of thing one does knowing glimpses of the future: of knowing of all of our entwining paths in Chicago.

The wedding weekend was really full: we were staying in Akron, with our good friends the Facklers, at their grandparents house on the lake. It was so beautiful, and definitely was one of the highlights of the summer thus far. I got to feed baby ducks, swim in a beautiful lake, and witness fireworks under the stars. It's almost impossible to see stars in Chicago.

But we were there as witnesses to their wedding. For Jason and I, this wedding was different than most others this summer, for the simple reason that instead it being a culmination of many things we've already witnessed and been a part of, it was the beginning.

Photo by Rob Lent

We didn't know Rachel. But we knew we would. We hadn't seen their lives grow together, leading to engagement and marriage, but we knew we would see the next steps. We hadn't even seen Jody and Rachel interact much, since a great deal of their relationship was long distance until the wedding... but we knew we would.


We know we will.

Recipe: Homemade Hummus from fresh Chickpeas

I love hummus.
There's two really important components to hummus: flavor, and texture. One is immensely easy, the other... that's where the effort comes in.

The main ingredients in hummus are chickpeas, olive oil, and tahini. Variations that I think also are essential include lemon juice, salt, lemon pepper, paprika, cumin, and usually a little ground coriander.

I've made hummus before just using a can of cooked chick peas, and food processing it with the other ingredients. The flavor is good- the texture... not so much.
 Without a high powered blender, it comes out grainy, and very unlike the smooth and delicious hummus that I can buy very, very cheaply around Evanston/Skokie.
I bought uncooked, but shelled garbanzo beans at my local market (favorite place ever)... and proceeded to hull them.

This process was so annoying. It took a very long time.

What I did was to soak them in hot water for about 20 minutes, and then individually take the little hull off of every bean. It was a miserable experience. In hindsight, this would have been much easier after they were cooked. Silly Hannah. 
However, it was key. My hummus turned out excellent. It's not quite perfected, but as that I don't have an immersion blender (yet) it's definitely the best I can get with my amazing food processor.

Step one: Cook the beans, until very tender. Then cool them (or wear heat resistent gloves) and hull them. Place in food processor, and give a good blending.

Step two: Ingredient adding time! I add to taste largely. The olive oil and tahini, as well as lemon juice will also highly influence the consistency of the hummus.
 For olive oil, I use a special, fresh pressed kind of olive oil that I can buy from my other favorite market. They make it themselves, and it tastes amazing. Also very cheap, which sounds incredulous, I know.

The tahini I also get there, it comes with  great recipes on the back of the bottle for hummus and tahini dressing as well.  Here's a picture of my typical hummus spicing.

Lemmon Pepper
Granulated Garlic
Salt
Cumin
Ground Coriander
Paprika
Thyme

The result was a creamy textured, smooth hummus that tasted fantastic. Served to my middle eastern friends it even got the ok! It took a while to get it down, but it's the little tricks to cooking that make all the difference.

I'm back

all from your friendly lost in a city girl

July was such a busy month that I didn't have time to record my journeys here. But I do have catch up to do! Coming soon:

-Recipe: homemade hummus from raw chick peas
-Recipe: grilled and baked summer squash pizza with goat cheese sauce
-Currently reading: updates on those books I've been tackling
-Neat finds: thrift store victories
-Weddings: Cleveland and Columbus
-My life: updates on family, and how the Lord has drawn me into ministry in my church
-The ongoing song challenge
-A fun new thing: interviews! I hope to post interviews with some newly married couples, those about to be, and  the current Miss Cook County, etc.
-health updates
-new skill: sewing! The ongoing learning process.

Stay tuned. It's going to be a great August.