Veggie & Herb Pizza

I've been on a real fruit and veggie kick this week. Now if you know me, you probably know that I eat a lot of these foods a lot of the time. But this week my husband is out of town, off doing military things, so I've really taken the opportunity to up my raw and cooked veggie intake. Not that he doesn't eat these things...he'll eat basically anything I put in front of him, given, most of the things I put in front of him are quite tasty. But a life without meats would not be a life he would enjoy living.

So anyway, I started the week trying to do only fruits and veggies. It was all spinach, avocados, lentils, onions, tomatoes, bananas, grapes, plain almonds, and more. I'm pretty good at making a green smoothie, so that was a staple. Then when it came to beans and dinnertime foods I used spices to make them taste edible. Basically what I cut out was dairy, meat, and alcohol. That was all going surprisingly well, but I had some chicken breast, milk, and homemade bread in the fridge, and I didn't want to ignore those until they became rotten. Hence, my complete fruit and vegetable binge ended after about 2 days. And honestly, I think that was just the perfect time for that sort of thing. 

I'm not one to do those extreme diets. Actually, I'm very against any fad that tells you to eliminate one or more major food group. If you can't maintain eating patterns like that for a lifetime, then chances are it's a fad diet and you should avoid it. 

But no matter what you do, you can't go wrong with more veggies in your diet. They are just so good for you and the greater variety you get (both in type and color), the better. They've got tons of vitamins and minerals - most of which will not be destroyed during cooking - that help with growth, development, and repair. Your mom told you to eat your veggies after all, didn't she? She was onto something. 

So instead of going and bingeing on meats and cheeses at the end of the week to mourn my brief separation from these foods earlier in the week, I made a pizza covered in summer veggies. And some cheese too.

Ingredients needed for the topping:

• 1 shallot
• 1 zucchini 
• 1 yellow squash
• A handful of bell peppers. I used red, yellow, and orange ones.

I was considering doing a cheese-less pizza here, but then I remembered a time when I actually ordered a cheese-less pizza at a restaurant in Atlanta and I remembered that I didn't like it.

Cheeses I used on this one:

• 1/2 cup shredded asiago 
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

Now keep in mind, those are some very flavorful (read, strong and pungent-smelling) cheeses. Especially the asiago. Adjust to your taste preferences. 

So here's the prep method:

• Toss about 2 tbsp. olive oil into a skillet. I love my iron skillet. I love it so much, in fact, I never put it away. It's always on my stovetop just waiting to make food yummy. So heat that oil, finely chop your shallot, and sauté it for a few minutes.
• In the meantime, slice the rest of your veggies. You don't have to stick to the ones that I did...I think other delightful picks for this za would include mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, and tomatoes. 
• Now add a few herbs of your choosing to the pan. I used a little thyme, allspice, and cayenne pepper. I'd also suggest rosemary, garlic, sage, cumin, black pepper, and basil - in any amount or quantity that you prefer.
• Top it all onto your dough (which should have sauce on it and be sitting on a hot pizza stone). Add veggies, then sprinkle on the cheeses and bake it for about 10 minutes.

My dough was a little bit thick this time, so it took about 12 minutes in my oven. I could tell it was done when the cheese was bubbly and the veggies were slightly charred. 

The only thing I would have done differently next time is add more veggies! I did put a lot on there, but then again, the pizza itself was quite large. I wanted to "play it safe" because I have prepped too many toppings for pizzas in the past and I did not want to have leftovers...after all, my human garbage-disposer husband is out of town. But I regret that now, because I could have easily chopped up all of both types of squash and added another handful of bell peppers and it would have been great. Oh well, we learn these things as we go!

I sprinkled a little red pepper flakes over the top and then drizzled my slice in balsamic vinegar. Very flavorful. Probably even a little too much with the balsamic, but still really good.

And I was such a rebel while eating it too - I ate in front of the TV!! *Gasp!!*