Slow-Roasted Tomato Pizza and Blueberry Popsicles

Whenever I am in Holland, I love to take advantage of the local farmers market. Perusing each vendor's offerings as you saunter slowly down the brick sidewalk, tasting jams and dips while listening to various street performers; it's the perfect way to spend a lazy summer morning.

It usually goes something like this: First you see some tomatoes. Mmm, 'maters. Pass them by. Then you see some blueberries. Dessert, perhaps? Next, organic basil. Oooh, organics! And wow, half the price in Michigan! Finally, a freshly-baked herb pizza crust. Um, yes. You see where I'm going with this? Voila, dinner!

This pizza we put together was probably better than any pizza I've had from any restaurant ever. That seems like a bold statement. But it's true! Everything about it was incredibly fresh and local: slow-roasted tomatoes and garlic, spring onions, basil, fresh mozzarella (from the store), and a little olive oil. No sauce, only delicious ingredients fighting against the curse of the dreaded red sauce. Dun dun duuuuuuun....

And then (as if we were just going to stop at the pizza, psh) we made popsicles! Found the molds at the local thrift store and brought them home for a dollar. Those blueberries I was talking about from the market? Yep, blueberry popsicles. Don't you just love Holland now??

The popsicles were quite amazing, minus the popsicle molds (apparently they were at the thrift store for a reason). Very creamy and rich--almost like a cheesecake. They were a really nice pairing with such a light and fresh dinner, I would definitely make them again. Maybe add a few more blueberries next time, though. I do love me some fruits.

Ok, here we go. A few of these little summer gem recipes just for you! And a picture of Eleanor.

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic

Fresh tomatoes

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Unpeeled garlic cloves

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Cut tomatoes into a thick, round slice and arrange on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place a handful of unpeeled garlic cloves around the tray, and place in the oven to roast for 3 hours. Take out of oven, peel garlic, and place on pizza.

Blueberry Swirl Popsicles

from Food Everyday

6 ounces (1 cup) fresh blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 cup heavy cream

Add blueberries and 1/4 cup sugar to a small saucepan and heat over high until boiling (I know, this sounded confusing to me too at first, but it will boil eventually). Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often. Crush blueberries against the side of the saucepan with a wooden spoon and continue stirring until it looks like syrup, about three minutes. Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to cool.

Whisk 1/2 cup sugar, yogurt, and cream together in a medium bowl until sugar dissolves. Alternate pouring a little bit of each mixture (blueberry and yogurt) into the molds until full, making about 5-6 layers in each. Using a long skewer, swirl the layers together with an up-and-down motion. Place sticks inside and freeze for 6 hours (or up to 2 weeks).

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Fourth everyone! Thanks for staying with us.  We have been on vacation and will be back soon with lots of delicious recipes. Hope you're having a great holiday!

Memorial Day and some Rhubarb Shortbread

There's really nothing better than waking up late at The Cottage to coffee being brewed, bacon being fried, and sun shining through the windows.

There's also nothing better than heading into town and stopping by the farmers market for some fresh produce, especially when you plan on cooking for most of the weekend. Of course I wish the weather would have been nicer on Saturday and Sunday, but it sure did leave a lot of time for us to slow-cook some ribs and bake these delicious rhubarb shortbread bars I'm about to show you...





I've always loved rhubarb; my mom used to cook with it a lot when I was growing up. Husband loves it too, and since we picked up some with the spinach and asparagus we bought at the market, it seemed fitting to make a rhubarb dessert for the family picnic on Monday. Deb helped us out with the base recipe, and we worked from there. They turned out to be really tasty--they were gone very quickly! I love the idea of using this recipe again with whatever fruit is on hand. Very versatile.




Speaking of Monday, we had a lovely time with Husband's extended family at the picnic, eating and beaching and chatting with everyone. We even got to bring down dear little E to the beach! What a babe. It was a very small taste of the sweet summer that is to come; it was really hard to leave on Monday night. Did you have a nice weekend? I hope yours was just as sweet!




Rhubarb Shortbread
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup for rhubarb
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1 egg
5-10 rhubarb stalks, thinly sliced (depending on how much fruit you want in your bars)

To brown butter: place butter in a small saucepan and heat over medium-low. Stir constantly until butter turns a light brown color and smells nutty, about 4-5 minutes. Watch it carefully; butter browns very quickly and will burn if you're not really watching it. Put the butter in the freezer until it turns back into a solid, about 30 minutes.



While butter is cooling, slice rhubarb and place in a bowl with the 1/4 cup sugar. Mix together to coat, and let sit until butter is done cooling. Strain to get rid of extra sugar/water.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9x13 inch pan. Whisk together the sugar, baking powder, flour, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, fork, or your fingers, mix the solidified butter and the egg into the dry ingredients until all is crumbly. Place 3/4 of the mixture in the pan and press it into the bottom and corners. Add the sliced rhubarb to form another thin layer (next time I might use a little more rhubarb to make it more fruity). Sprinkle the rest of the crumbs evenly on top and bake for 30 minutes, or until the edges are slightly brown and the top is starting to change color.

Cool completely before cutting.

Holland Weekend

Hallo and welkommen to Holland!

Husband and I spent this past weekend at Hope College in Holland, MI for my younger sister's graduation. Luckily we arrived just in time for Holland's annual Tulip Time Festival, and were able to indulge ourselves in some elephant ears and Dutch dancing. It was such a nice little getaway for us; we loved seeing friends and family, hanging around our old stomping grounds, and celebrating my sister's completion of her college career. And the weather was actually nice! We had great fun.



A few pictures to entertain. I promise to actually post those treats I have now been talking about for nearly a month very soon...

(Of course we spent some time at the New Holland Brewery)