RoundAbout San Diego

A couple of weekends ago I cooked pizza on the grill for the first time. We were really pleased with the results and plan to do this often over the summer months. I first saw someone doing this on the Food Network channel a while ago - it might have been Bobby Flay. I bought the dough pre-made from Trader Joe's and pre-cooked some of the filling. Sauteed some sliced asparagus, mushrooms, and shallots. Used half the dough that came in the packet and let it come to room temperature then rolled and stretched it to the desired size and thickness - this was the hard part because just when I thought it was the right size, it shrank! Once I was happy with it, I threw it on a hot grill (we have a gas grill and the temperature was about 400) shut the lid and let it cook for a few minutes.

What I should have done at that point was flip it over and then put the toppings on. What I did was put the toppings on without flipping. After spreading the asparagus, mushrooms, and onions over the top I sliced some creamy blue cheese onto it, put it back on the grill and cooked until the cheese was melted.



The bottom side got a little burnt around the edges which wasn't that bad and didn't take away from the flavor of the toppings. Next time I will flip the dough once it firms up and then put on the toppings.



We had the pizza for happy hour but it could easily have done us for dinner with a side salad.

We had happy hour in front of the fire this afternoon. It's cold outside with heavy dark clouds ready to rain down on us. I made a sweet onion dip from Martha Stewart's site. The recipe uses reduced-fat sour cream and cream cheese but it was still very rich and creamy.

Sweet Onion Dip



1 tablespoon olive oil
2 Vidalia onions (1 pound total), finely chopped
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup reduced-fat sour cream
2 ounces reduced-fat bar cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons white-wine vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped chives
Potato chips, for serving

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onions; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. In a medium bowl, combine onions, sour cream, cream cheese, vinegar, and chives; season with salt and pepper. Chill dip until slightly thickened, about 1 hour; or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. Serve with chips.

I spend a fortune on fresh herbs at the grocery store each month and have attempted to grow my own several times. I fancy myself as a bit of a farmer, growing my own veggies and fruit, having a chicken or two for fresh eggs, living off the land - it's a nice thought but completely unrealistic. I don't have a green thumb and almost everything I plant dies within a few weeks so I wouldn't survive for very long. Here's the story of my 'Garden of Death'.

Take my mint for example. Everyone knows that mint grows like a weed; you can't kill it. But this is the most I've been able to do with my bit of mint



It's never grown enough for me to use it. The leaves get a little bit bigger, turn brown, and fall off.

When Janet (mother-in-law with a green thumb) was last here, she helped me pick out some nice parsley and chives. I still have a few sprigs of parsley left in the pot so I consider that quite successful. But my chives haven't done anything since I snipped a few to put in a frittata a few months back. However, it still has some green on it so I'm holding on, hoping it will grow back.



I've heard that basil lasts for a year at a time and you have to plant new ones each year. Well, my basil lasted for a few months and now looks like this. Again, it's still green but it's not as if I can use the leaves so I'm having to buy little packets at the grocery store again.



The worst case for my non-existent green thumb is the death of our tangerine tree. When we bought the house we had this beautiful, thriving, green tree that produced so many tangerines we couldn't give them away in the end. A few years after moving in it started shedding all it's leaves until there were none left. Now, we pull off a few of the branches here and there when needed for kindling for our fire. Here are the before and after photos



This is how it looks today



Today I bought a mint plant from Trader Joe's. It's full and green, and has big leaves that I'm going to use this week in a couscous recipe. Around the bottom of the plant is some thyme and an unknown herb. Can anyone tell me what I must do to keep it alive?

It's been a somewhat cold and wet season for us here in San Diego so a couple of weeks ago I made this classic minestrone soup from Martha Stewart's site. It's a lovely warm feeling to sit in front of a roaring fire with a hot bowl of soup and some fresh crispy bread for dunking.

Classic Minestrone



2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving (optional)
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 large celery stalk, diced
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary, or 1/4 teaspoon dried
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 can (14.5 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1/4 head Savoy or green cabbage (1/2 pound), cored and thinly sliced
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, plus torn leaves for serving (optional)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan, for serving

In a large pot, heat oil over medium. Add onion, carrots, celery, red-pepper flakes, rosemary, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to turn golden, 5 to 8 minutes. Add tomatoes; cook until some of the liquid evaporates, 1 minute. Add potato, cabbage, cannellini beans, and 7 cups water; bring to a boil. Stir in green beans. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until all the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; stir in garlic, if using, and basil. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan and, if using, torn basil. Drizzle with more oil, if desired.

We froze the leftovers in individual serving size containers which I took to work for lunch later in the week.

I was looking around for something easy to put together for our Saturday happy hour and came across these Cheddar cobwebs on Martha Stewart's site. Very easy to make and so few ingredients you're bound to have them on hand. I made half a recipe and they were gone in seconds. So light, crisp and very savory. They are a bit greasy and I don't know if laying them out on a paper towel would make much of a difference.

Cheddar Cobwebs



1 cup grated yellow cheddar
2 tsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp paprika
Course salt and ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl, toss cheddar with flour, paprika, teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Drop by tablespoons onto parchment-lined baking sheets (6 per sheet); flatten into 3-inch rounds. Bake until golden and bubbling, 10 to 12 minutes. With a thin metal spatula, transfer crisps to a serving plate to cool.