Mediterranean Pita Pizza

I had it in my head all day last week that I was going out for pizza that night for dinner. I had the specific pizza in mind - mortadella on a perfectly crispy-chewy flatbread topped with arugula. Thoughts of sitting at the bar with a nice martini or glass of red wine were making me type faster at work. Pizza. Wine. Open windows. Crowded restaurant. Formula for a perfect evening in my book.

I gathered my two armloads of bags, put on the walking shoes, and stepped outside to find it was much chillier than it had been earlier in the day. So I pulled a wrap out of my gym bag to start the walk home. I would have to go home first to change into warmer clothes.

You know how some days it seems to take twice as long to get home? It happened that day...and my commute is always the same: a half hour. Being a walking commuter, traffic never influences the time. So it was just my mental traffic jam that made my feet feel like lead. My bags started feeling like sacks of flour. Pizza seemed so far in the horizon I couldn't even see it. Until...

...I realized this scene, minus the crowded restaurant part, could be created at home. I had pita bread, a freezer full of cheese, artichoke hearts, olives, feta, and wine. This could work. Italian restaurant, home-version. So the Mediterranean pita pizzas materialized. Within 20 minutes I was seated, drinking wine, and enjoying a crisp and hearty pizza.

I taught myself a lesson that night: things in life often materialize in different ways than planned and can been just as good if not better. And 3 out of 4 is pretty good.

Mediterranean Pita Pizza
2 servings

There are two secrets in this recipe. The first secret is a quick way to give garlic a semi-roasted flavor and texture. The second secret is to slit the pita bread and stuff it whatever you like for a double-loaded pizza.

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 pita bread
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and chopped
1/4 cup green olives, sliced
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silicon mat.

Mix garlic and olive oil together in a microwave-safe bowl; season with salt and pepper. Microwave in 20 second intervals until garlic is sizzling and fragrant, about 1 minute.

Carefully slice the corner of each pita bread horizontally as pictured above. Spoon some of the garlic-olive oil inside each pita; sprinkle a little mozzarella cheese into the inside. Close pitas.

Brush the remaining garlic-olive oil on the top of each pita bread; top with mozzarella cheese, artichoke hearts, olives, and feta cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven until pita bread is almost crispy and cheeses are melted, about 10 minutes. Turn on the oven's broiler and broil pizzas until cheeses are lightly browned and bubbling, 1 to 3 minutes.

Roasted Mushroom and Carrot Salad

Wasn't this year's Memorial Day weekend one of the best? Here in Seattle, we usually don't expect the weather to be particularly sunny. So we plan accordingly. This year almost all of my friends stayed in town and we all made the decision to just be spontaneous. And it turned out to be a successfully unplanned adventure of a weekend.

This salad was a result of such (un)plans on Monday. Friday through Sunday I had had a sprinkling of social engagements, exercising engagements, grocery store engagements, and shopping engagements. So I indulged in a Monday of staying home and tackling one of those looming projects that I don't even know has been burdening me: going through a stack of at least a dozen magazines. 

My mom and I were talking the other day about how this shouldn't cause annoyance. We have chosen to subscribe to these magazines! And once we do actually start looking through them, we enjoy it. So why not get excited upon seeing them in the mailbox, rather than dread them, when they do bring value to our lives. Well life happens I suppose. We get busy. Mail piles form. Schedules fill.

I really did enjoy going through all of them and now have a small stack of ripped-out recipes to try. It felt even better to put all the magazines in the trunk of my car to sell at Half Priced Books. I now have two cleared out bedside baskets and hopefully the de-cluttering will ease my unknowing looming stress.

Roasted Mushroom and Carrot Salad
Makes 2 servings

This is quite a delightful afternoon salad, especially with a glass of vinho verde. The salad materialized in my mind after sifting through cooking magazine after cooking magazine.

2 cups mushrooms, quartered
2 cups baby carrots, halved
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup cooked Great Northern beans

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper

2 cups baby spinach
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicon mat or parchment paper.

Combine mushrooms and carrots in a large bowl; drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle in 1 teaspoon cumin, thyme, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to evenly coat vegetables. Spread vegetables on the baking sheet.

Roast for 15 minutes; carefully stir. Roast for an additional 10 minutes. Add Great Northern beans to vegetables; stir well. Roast until vegetables are tender and beans are beginning to get a little crisp, 5 to 10 more minutes.

Whisk mustard, vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, dried parsley, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, sugar, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl.

Divide spinach among two serving plates; arrange hard-boiled eggs around edges. Toss roasted vegetables and beans in mustard vinaigrette. Spoon vegetables and beans onto the two serving plates.

Artichoke Hearts and Peas with Parsley Bread Crumbs

The power of suggestion can be strong sometimes, especially when you want it to be. We really do have the power to will a situation into being. It is like Paulo Coelho says in The Alchemist: The universe is kind to those who follow their hearts. That story is a reminder that what we envision for our lives can come true, even our wildest dreams. Or even on a smaller scale...

It was toward the end of the workday one day last week. It was the time of day to start thinking of the dinner menu. I wasn't in the mood for the fallback roasted vegetable topped with an over medium egg. I wanted something different.

Inspiration was inevitable because I work for a food website. But I wanted something fresh that would help me branch out a little. And low and behold, after only a few minutes of scanning, I came across a dish with artichoke hearts, peas, and tomatoes. It was quite visually appealing and got the culinary juices flowing. Sometimes a nudge is all we need. And I am not speaking of the 'nudging' that goes on in Words with Friends, although I have been guilty of nudging a friend or three to take their turn dangit.

 I knew my freezer held artichoke hearts, bread crumbs, and chicken sausage. I always have a partially cut-up onion. Kale, peas, and parsley were the only components to buy and would 'green-up' the dish. My coworker and friend A and I are always discussing how we forget how good sauteed bread crumbs are sprinkled over pasta or vegetables. The Brutus salad at Steelhead Diner has the best gremolata made with pine nuts sauteed with crushed croutons. So I decided to make a variation of that with garlic, bread crumbs, olive oil, fresh parsley, and lemon zest for the topping.

Whether we are looking for dinner inspiration, a new apartment, or a new perspective on life, sometimes all we have to do is type it into the search bar.

Artichoke Hearts and Peas with Parsley Bread Crumbs
Makes 2 servings

This does seem like a gigantic list of ingredients and steps, but it is ready pretty quickly. You can always make the bread crumb mixture ahead of time. It keeps well in the refrigerator. The sausage can also be cooked ahead as well. The result is definitely worth it for a nice light weeknight dinner or in a small portion as the first course for a dinner party.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
salt and black pepper
2 cups frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 chicken sausages, sliced

1 large lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 cup frozen peas

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over low heat; saute onion, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and slightly caramelized, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir artichoke hearts, basil, and thyme into onions. Saute, stirring often, until artichoke hearts are completely cooked and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat; saute sliced chicken sausage until browned, about 10 minutes. Add sausage to artichoke hearts. Pour half the lemon zest, all the lemon juice, and the peas into artichoke mixture and immediately cover; simmer on low.

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a third skillet over medium-low heat; saute garlic and bread crumbs until fragrant and bread crumbs are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and pour bread crumb mixture into a small bowl; fold in parsley and remaining lemon zest.

Transfer artichoke mixture to two plates; sprinkle with bread crumb mixture.

Mango Coconut Compote

The first time visiting Hawaii, we stayed at a place that served coconut syrup at the breakfast buffet. In addition to the tropical landscape, endless pineapples, and a Mai Tai option at ever corner, the coconut syrup was one of the most memorable aspects of the trip. That was four years ago.

I actually never sat down to figure out how to make it until the other day in the midst of making this compote for Saturday pancakes. I had the realization that the creaminess in the coconut syrup was probably from coconut oil. So at the last minute, I stirred in a spoonful. It made all the difference.

It is always a risky move to stir something into a self-concocted recipe...right at the end. I had committed a good 20 minutes to this compote and was so relieved when the the coconut oil made it even better. It rounded out the sweetness. Let this be a lesson in life. Round things out at the end by taking a calculated risk from time to time. It might just be worth it.

Mango Coconut Compote
Makes about 1/3 cup

3 mandarin oranges, peeled
1/2 cup frozen chopped mangoes
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Place oranges in a blender; blend until completely pureed. Transfer orange juice to a small saucepan; add mangoes, water, vanilla extract, and honey. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until reduced to a syrup consistency, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in shredded coconut and coconut oil.

Cheesy Eggs with Tortilla Chips

Thanks to having the best job in the world, I was inspired to make this dish two nights in a row this week. My colleagues threw a breakfast party last week that featured migas, which was new to me. We received an email in the morning to join the party in the cafe. Not knowing what migas were, my cube-mates and I followed the seductive aromas up the stairs.

If you could bottle the sensations of weekend brunch, this would have been an exact replica. Coffee brewing, onions and red peppers sauteing, eggs and cheese scrambling, orange juice pouring...and the low lull of conversation weaving through the warm, humid air.

A colleague was crunching and folding tortilla chips into a huge skillet of scrambled eggs and I was enlightened. How has this never crossed my mind? Basically crossing breakfast burritos with tacos with tamales creates a salty skillet of perfection.

We were driving home from a weekend at the cabin on Sunday and little by little I realized all the ingredients for migas were in my kitchen. What a great way to spend Sunday evening after a relaxing, sunny weekend in the mountains. Migas and beer for dinner is pretty much heaven on a plate.

Cheesy Eggs with Tortilla Chips
2 servings

Basically sauteing any variety of vegetable with onions will do the trick. Wrapping a corn tortilla around the cheesy, veggie-inspired eggs is even more of a treat. Serve a green salad alongside for a complete meal.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 red peppers, thinly sliced
2 cup chopped cauliflower
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and black pepper
1 cup tortilla chips, roughly crushed
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet; saute onion, red peppers, and cauliflower until tender and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper. Fold tortilla chips into vegetable mixture; keep over low heat, stirring occasionally.

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a separate small skillet over medium heat. Whisk eggs and milk together in a small bowl; pour into the hot oil. Cook egg mixture, stirring very gently, until scrambled, about 5 minutes.

Fold scrambled eggs and Cheddar cheese into vegetable mixture until cheese melts.