Recipes...and randomness..

Well, I did have a new post written in my head the other day. I have this love/hate relationship w/ food during pregnancy. I'm past the "hate" stage...and things are smelling, sounding, and tasting great right now...and probaby will for the next 6 months...which I'm sure will help in me acquiring the "round"shape once again. :) I was going to post some recipes that I've made the past couple of days from fresh garden veggies. But, let me remember which ones I was going to post. Hmm... Did I ever mention I love summer b/c of the food? I should've posted this right away when I had the enthusiasm and the "recipes" on hand...Ok, I think I remember now...

Garden Pizza:

Bread dough for 1 lg. pizza (I make a double batch in my Bosch mixer and freeze the dough--then thaw overnight)

Zuchinni sliced very thinly

Onion, sliced very thinly

Mushrooms, sliced

Mozzarella Cheese

Cherry Tomatoes

~Saute Zuchinni and onion in olive oil till caramelized, sprinkle w/ sea salt and pepper. (garlic would be good too)

~Spread dough out and spread spaghetti sauce in a thin layer

~Sprinkle zuchinni and onion mixture over the dough, then mushrooms, fresh cherry tomatoes, pepperoni, mozzarella, and basil & oregano.

~Bake at 425 till it's as crispy as you prefer. Yum!

On a different note, I love Trader Joe's...I really hope Champaign gets one sometime. (It's a health food store, of sorts, w/ lots of fresh foods, "healthy" snacks, samples!!, herbal teas, organic and foods w/out a 3 pg. ingredient list, great breads and cheeses, etc. Oh, and it's not extremely over priced) Anyway...my Mom gave me this boxed Trader Joe's Organic Vanilla Cakemix. I have had a craving for that cake, for some reason. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to bake it...it's been in my cabinet a long time! Well, I couldn't wait till Madeline's B-day to bake it, so we had it as a special treat on Thursday night. I made it sound very special to the kids, and after the house was tidied up, and supper was in the works, they helped me whip it up--smashing...I mean, cracking the eggs, and all! Then, I suggested they go out and see if any blackberries were ready. They all went out w/ their buckets...I love watching them march outside from my kitchen window. They were busy beavers and happily came back in w/ a full quart of big, black ones. Samuel, being the oldest, proudly presented me w/ the fruit of their labors. William mainly eats all that he picks...his shirt and mouth were definite confirmation. Madeline is generally a good helper...although she eats her share too. So, they helped me make a blackberry sauce to go w/ the cake. I just poured a little water over the berries and cooked them. I added stevia to sweeted it, and thickened it a little. Well, let's just say we ate the whole cake (it was an 8x8), almost in 1 sitting...it was so delicious and "healthy", right?

I think I was going to write down another actual recipe...maybe for the veggie/bean salad I made--who knows. I really should be napping right now. Justin and I are planning to catch a quick date tonight. I'm cracking up that I wrote a whole post about food. We have a busy week planned, so I should sign off and go get organized. :) Happy Week, ya'll! Oh, and remember to pick up one of those cake mixes if you're ever at Trader Joe's...definitely get's a 5 star rating from the Goff Family! :)