One thing I can take-a-way from my first year of vegetable gardening is that I love vegetables! Perhaps it stems (pardon the pun) from growing and eating my own produce and having to come up with different recipes to utilize my overbounding harvest. Whatever the reason, I love vegetables AND I want to start eating more and more of them every single day.
Last night, hubby and I came up with a new pizza recipe. We decided to make our Friday night pizza using eggplant, picked fresh from my garden. I made the same pizza dough I always have. Hubby, however, lined the bottom of the pizza dough with a smattering of finely sliced tomatoes from my garden. On top of that he layered thinly sliced, raw eggplant (that had been laced with salt and strained to release some of the veggie’s water). All topped off with fresh slices of mozzarella, Parmesean cheese, my roasted red peppers and lots of olive oil and fresh parsley (also from my garden). This was the (delicious) result:

I still have a few tomatoes (especially plum tomatoes, still green) ripening on the vine, as well as 3 or 4 more eggplants to go this end-of-season to pick. My green peppers are just coming in now! I’m hoping the weather holds up. We still get 80sF during the day BUT at night it’s been dropping down to the 50s and high 40s (gulp!) I may have to harvest my remaining tomatoes early and let them ripen inside a cardboard box.
I started watching this fantastic cooking show, starring Jamie Oliver and his plethora of solely veggie recipes, entitled ‘Ultimate Veg‘ on PBS. Jamie travels the globe seeking out vegetable recipes and rightly so. When prepared properly and creatively, vegetables rock! Click here to see some of Jamie’s ‘veggie creations’. It just may inspire you to not only watch his show BUT also buy his book (I get it free from the library) and start cooking up some mighty fine vegetable delights. Mind you, Jamie (nor I) are vegetarians. We just love vegetables!

Here are some other photos of mine depicting some of the vegetable meals I conjured up this summer. I got a chance to jar my roasted red peppers and my caponata (eggplant appetizer) for the winter, as well as make up a dish of baba-ganoush (eggplant dip, just perfect on toasted pita bread). I even made a dinner solely on a fried rice recipe complete with all my little chopped up veggies. I froze ten plastic containers filled to the brim with de-skinned San Marzano tomatoes and a basil leaf. Enjoy:















The pizza looks amazing- I really enjoy seeing your cooking photos – Nice job! Frugal and delicious – growing your own leaves room in the budget for good quality ad on ingredients!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Like a nice bottle of wine! LOL!
LikeLike
The blue Zones cookbook is also fantastic for veg inspiration!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ll give it a look. Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You had a very healthy, productive, successful summer! It looks yummy! Congratulations!
LikeLike
Hi Maggie. We had a wonderful summer. Thank the Lord. It went very well. Thanks for your comment.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Cindi, I am so happy you have had such great vegetables production. With your garden plots having fence Around them -covering them with old sheets or plastic sheeting at night and placing gallon milk jugs with boiling water place in the enclosure but not touching the plants or vegetables can extend their growing season and ripening on the vines. Use clothes pins or plastic grippers to secure on the fence or tie the ends to the bottom corners. I have made a cold frame That can be used both in early spring and late fall to get a longer growing season. Sincerely, Lara
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the tips. I’m one week the night time temps will go down to the upper 30s. I’m gonna ripen the remaining tomatoes in a cardboard box.
LikeLike
OMG 30’s is crazy for September !Don’t forget to transplant your herbs for an indoor kitchen garden. I have my basil, chive, and Mint transplanted . Try to root some of them for new plants. How to is on YouTube.
LikeLike
Lara, I’m just going to transplant my basil indoors. I already have pots set aside for them, as well as a stand by the kitchen sliding glass doors. Everything else, does into the freezer (rosemary, oregano, parley)
LikeLike
One thing I have learned this past eight weeks about vegetables is all are not good for my Health. All of my health issues have been eliminated. The chronic inflammation, joint pain, constant hunger, depression, high blood pressure, all gone! Sincerely, Lara
LikeLiked by 1 person
Geeze, Lara, you suffered from all of that? So far, for me, I haven’t met a vegetable I haven’t liked. Except fresh beets. Way too rough on my intestines. YIKES!
I am sensitive to white flour, thus no white bread etc. etc. I get joint pains from that! UGH!
Everybody is different. We all have to find our special paths.
Thanks, as always, for your informative comments. I appreciate them!
LikeLike