How does your garden grow

The thing I love about summer (and it's a short list that includes my birthday and freckles...that's about it) is that grocery stores quite literally grow all around you.  I love that I can drive just about any direction, give it a minute, and boom - there's a produce stand.  It's nice to all of a sudden have the luxuries of a metropolis!  This year, after having two summers full of two small children keeping us constantly busy, we finally were able to get a garden together.  Joe put together some raised beds and even though we're a little late in the season, we got some plants instead of seeds, and should see some squash, zucchini, eggplant, okra, banana peppers, and bell peppers in the next few weeks.  I've already got a few peppers coming in and it's a pretty proud feeling.  I'd compare it to the pride of having children...but that might be a little dramatic.  Still, it's pretty awesome.

Today I decided to make something that really celebrates summer veggies: Zucchini Crusted Pizza.  It's one of my favorite recipes from a cookbook I've known all my life.

The Moosewood Cookbook is one I highly recommend to any and every one.  It's healthy, vegetarian (there are some meat dishes in here too...but mostly vegetarian), 70's goodness.  My parents relied heavily on this cookbook through my childhood.  Yeah, I was raised by hippies.  Or hippie wannabes anyway. 

I used the recipe from Moosewood to make my pizza crust and then I used the summer veggies I'd stocked up on from the farmer's market and some squash from my in law's garden.  So this is a pizza you can make according to what you like.  Don't live your life in a box, man.  Was that convincing hippie speak?  Nailed it.  Mom and Dad are gonna be so proud.

(For my version of this pizza, I used baby tomatoes, summer squash, fresh basil, oregano, garlic, and mozzarella)

Zucchini Crusted Pizza (adapted from The Moosewood Cookbook)

For the crust:
-2 cups grated zucchini
-2 eggs, beaten (ok to omit one or both yolks)
-1/4 cup flour
-1 cup mozzarella
-2 tbs olive oil

Topping suggestions:
-1 large tomato, sliced or 20 baby tomatoes sliced in half
-1 thinly sliced summer squash
-fresh olives
-1 red bell pepper, sliced
-sauteed mushrooms
-2 to 3 cloves of garlic

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Generously oil a baking sheet or pizza pan with olive oil and sprinkle with flour or cornmeal.

Combine zucchini, eggs, and flour in a bowl and mix well.

Spread on to the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown.  About halfway through baking, brush with olive oil.  Remove from oven.  When it has  cooled for about 10 minutes, use a spatula to loosen the crust from the pan, so it won't break later.

Top with mozzarella and your favorite pizza items and bake at 400 degrees until heated through.

Note: I like to mix all of my veggies in a bowl together, with a light drizzle of olive oil, garlic powder, salt, basil and oregano, and then pour them on top of the mozzarella covered crust.  That's just me.

Those hippies were really on to something, weren't they?  Summer rules.  Foodwise, anyway.