Mexican Pizza

When most people think of "mexican pizza" they think of hard things with refried beans on them from Taco Bell.  However delicious those are, I don't think they are particularly pizza-like.  While I was being lazy last semester, making a lot of tostadas, I stumbled upon a truly mexican pizza.

What you'll need:

Large Burrito Tortillas (the bigger the better)
Salsa (the hotter the better)
Fresh Mozzarella or Asadero Cheese
Assortment of Herbs (arugula, cilantro, etc; most groceries sell an "herb mix" which has all kinds of delicious herbs and greens all mixed up)
Any other topping you want (crumbled chorizo???)
Garlic Salt
Black Pepper


To begin you'll need to prep some stuff.  Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees, chop your selected herbs, and thinly slice your cheese.  Depending on the type of tortillas you got and the type of cooking surface your using, you might want to pre-cook the tortillas a little bit so that the sauce doesn't turn your pizza into a soggy mess.  If your using a pizza stone you probably won't need to.  After all your prep stuffs are done, add approximately 1/4 cup of salsa to the center of your tortilla and spread it to the edges.  Place your sliced cheese evenly around the tortilla.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and black pepper and bake until the cheese is bubbly.

When removed, add the herbs, slice your pizza, and serve.

You can also add tons of extra greens and cheese and instead of slicing, fold the pizza in half and eat it like a quesadilla.

You can also make this a desert pizza by substituting the salsa for butter and honey and the herbs for pears (keeping a little arugula for color).

In Which I Learn to Love Swiss Chard

I started reading food blogs about a year ago, when I was considerably less adventurous in my attitudes towards unfamiliar ingredients. Leeks? Had no idea what they were. Thai fish sauce? Sounded sketchy. Jicama? Ji-what? I kept reading about a mysterious vegetable called swiss chard, and I was getting pissed off. Was it just me? Was I the only person ignorant to the existence of swiss chard? What was this thing that so many food-conscious people were eating and why didn't I know about it? It sounded weird, scary, gourmet-esque, and undoubtedly out of my grad school student price range. Finally, after about the 17th mention of swiss chard, I googled it and set off to the grocery store to try it for myself.

I'm happy to report that swiss chard is neither "gourmet," nor expensive. Swiss chard is a leafy green similar to spinach, but with an earthier, heartier flavor. It's incredibly healthy (check this out), it's fairly filling, it tastes really good, and it's versatile. And at the Albertson's closest to me, it costs about $1.99 for a huge bunch.

I frequently sautee up some chard as a side dish, but I've also used it in soups and in stir-frys. Here is an easy step-by-step recipe for my favorite way to prepare swiss chard, something I call, uncreatively, "Sauteed Garlic Swiss Chard."

Here is what you'll need:



1/4 to 1/2 of a bunch of swiss chard (1/4 is enough for one person)
2 or so tbsp of olive oil
some garlic (however much you like. Yeah, I use the preminced garlic. It's easier!)
salt and pepper to your taste

1. Chop up your chard. The first time I prepared chard, I read that you're supposed to fold/roll the leaf and tear roughly with the knife, away from the center stem. This works pretty well, but do whatever feels natural to you. You will want to chop off the end stems and discard them. They are edible, but they're a bit more sour.

2. Heat the oil in a medium-sized pan. Once it is hot, add the garlic.

3. Once the garlic is just the teensiest bit browned, add in the chopped chard. It will seem like it is way too much, but chard shrinks down quite a bit. Make sure you toss the chard well in the pan, so it becomes covered with the oil. Probably use a spatula or a wooden spoon for this.

4. Keep stirring/tossing the chard around the pan until it becomes wilted and wet, about 5 or so minutes. Once this happens, cook it about one minute more, until it is hot and seems pretty thoroughly cooked. It should look, more or less, like this:



5. Sprinkle on some salt and pepper and eat!

You can also try adding ginger, red pepper flakes, basil, dill, or whatever spice you like for more flavor. Throw some onions, leeks, or asparagus in the pan if you want a greater variety of vegetables.




Here I'm eating chard as a companion to baked eggs and tomato salad. It is a good meal.

Spinach-Leek Egg Drop Soup

I kind of combined a few recipes to make this, namely this one and this one. I added the leeks and the spinach, because I really like leeks and because I eat spinach with basically everything. I also think they look pretty in the soup.

Unlike most soup (which I find tends to be most flavorful 1-2 after days initially cooking), this soup tastes the best when eaten immediately.


Spinach-Leek Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients:
2 cans of low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
2 tbsps cornstarch
1 leek, chopped
4-5 handfuls of fresh spinach, torn (2-4 cups)
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
garlic salt to taste
1 tsp ground ginger

You will also need a fork. Conveniently, I used the one I had just whisked my eggs with.

1. Put the broth into a soup pot on medium-high heat. Let it warm up a little.
2. Chop leeks and tear spinach; add to broth.
3.In a small bowl, combine the water and the cornstarch, then add to broth and stir.
4. Add salt and ginger. Stir again.
5. Crack eggs into bowl (or, in my case, a really large measuring cup with a spout. Spout is good for pouring the eggs in) and whisk until blended.
6. Turn off heat. Don't forget to do this!
7. Slowly, very slowly, pour the eggs into the broth (here comes the weird part) through the tines of the fork. This keeps the eggs from meeting the water too fast, and it also seperates them into smaller "ribbons." It should take 2-3 minutes to pour all of the eggs in.
8. Periodically while pouring the eggs, stir the soup in one direction.
9. When all eggs are gone, stir and eat! Optional: more garlic salt

A bonus to this recipe is that it is extremely low in calories. A leek has about 54 calories, baby spinach has 15 calories per 2 cups, and eggs are about 100 calories each, with one yolk being about 54. The brand of broth I used (Albertson's Fat Free) has about 10 calories per can. I'm not good at math or at figuring out servings, but it's pretty clear that this is a healthy soup.

Some people have referred to this soup as "girl food," but the soup is way more filling than it looks, due to the protein in the eggs. I like to eat it with toast.