Herb Garden Round 2

Nov 8, 2011 by Gina Mueller

My first herb garden was infested by a small bug a month after being planted (sad face).

Moving on to round 2…

6 lessons learned from my first herb garden

1. Dont skimp on the dirt, buy nice soil made to hold in moisture for indoor plants
2. Look for bugs on the herb at the store before you bring it into your home
3. After finding bugs on a plant IMMEDIATELY dig up that plant.  Do not wait until it infests the rest of your plants
4. Spraying soapy water on a bug infested plant does nothing.
5. Spraying with vinegar makes the plant brown and the bugs stay
6. Admit your loss and completely start over

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Pesto Vegetable Pizza

Aug 30, 2011 by Gina Mueller

This was my first time making and eating fresh pesto, I did not realize I was missing out on something oh so glorious all these years!  If you have never tried fresh pesto get a hold of some!  The recipe is another one of Pioneer Woman‘s  with a few of my own twists.

I am utterly obsessed with goat cheese and am always searching through recipes and menus for a way to incorporate it into my meal.  So naturally when I came across this recipe I had to make it right away. I would categorize this as a girl pizza however, my boyfriend happened to be in town that weekend.  To my disappointment he was not as excited about the pizza as I was.  He claimed goat cheese was gross and he didn’t like zucchini or squash. I cut the vegetables super thin and only put goat cheese on half the pizza per his request however, he didnt seem to mind the goat cheese or vegetables as he reached for slice two and three while saying it tasted like something you would get at a fancy restaurant.  Success!

Pizza Crust Ingredients

• ½ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
• ¾ cups Warm Water
• 2 cups All-purpose Flour
• ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

• 1 Zucchini
• 1  Summer Squash
• Olive Oil For Brushing
• 1  Red Bell Pepper
• 1 tomato
• 12 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella
• 4 ounces, weight Goat Cheese
• Extra Basil Leaves, For Garnish
• Grated Or Shaved Parmesan Cheese, for Sprinkling

Sprinkle yeast over 3/4 cups hot water and let it stand for a few minutes.

Combine flour and salt in a mixer on low speed.   Drizzle in olive oil until combined and then pour the yeast/water mixture in until the dough is nice and sticky.

Coat dough in olive oil and place in a separate bowl.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set aside for  1 to 2 hours.  Or make it a night or 2 before and put it in the fridge like I did.

• 1 cup Fresh Basil Leaves
• 1/2 cup Spinach
• ½ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 cloves Garlic
• Dash of Salt and Pepper
• ⅓ cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Beautiful fresh pesto leaves from my new herb garden.  Picture of the window sill herb garden to come soon!

 Add basil leaves, 1/2 cup Parmesan, spinach, salt and pepper to a food processor. Blend, then drizzle in olive oil. Continue blending until everything is mixed together.

Pound and roll out dough on a floured surface, then place on a greased pan.  With a spatula, spread out pesto on dough leaving an edge for crust.

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