From the Garden to the Plate

Here's the bounty from the garden. There's lots more coming, but this is the first of it. Cherry Tomatoes, Heirloom Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Serrano Peppers, Jalapenos, Banana Peppers (the red curled one is a very ripe banana pepper.

Here's our original creation...(not sure what to call this kind of pizza)

Stem and quarter the tomatoes. Put on a baking sheet along with the peppers. Drizzle with olive oil and salt. But under the broiler until the tomatoes and peppers are charred. You can do this on the grill if you use charcoal (its better that way but I don't have charcoal right now). When you pull out the tomatoes the skin pulls right off with some tongs. Put the peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. This will create steam in the bowl and allow you to be able to peel the skin of the peppers off easily. After about 10 minutes uncover the peppers. Run each pepper under cold tap water and pull off the skin. You should also be able to pull off the stem and cap to open up the pepper. Run your finger in the pepper to get the seeds out. If you like some heat, leave in the membrane. If you like less heat, pull it out. Its very easy after they've been roasted and steamed. Now you have roasted tomatoes and peppers. finely chop them up and put them in a bowl. Add 1 small can of kernel corn (drained). Skin, seed, and dice a cucumber. Add one cup of diced pineapple. Add 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro. Add 1/2 medium sweet onion diced. Add one tablespoon of minced garlic. Add one tablespoon of red wine vinegar and the juice of one lime. Let it sit for about 30 minutes in the fridge.

Strain the excess liquid. Add one 6oz. can of tomato paste. Add a teaspoon of Chili Powder (or more if you like)...stir and mix well. This will create the pizza sauce. Add diced (cooked) chicken breast. Sprinkle with Mexican Oregano. Add as much cheese as you want. We used a plain Pilsbury pizza crust. Add olive oil to the crust before you add the sauce, chicken and cheese. Bake according to the instructions.

Here's the finished product. All this cost us was one pizza crust, a 25 cent can of tomato paste, and a 50 cent can of corn. We used leftover onion, pineapple, and chicken. Everything else came from the garden.