With warm temps and sunshine, the hoophouse spinach is beginning to grow more quickly. We invited Dan’s mom to join us for lunch and to give the new stove a workout. Dan picked about half a pound of spinach destined for pizza and salad. I sautéed some spinach with garlic and olive oil, spread it on the dough and added feta cheese and thinly sliced red onions. (It was pretty tasty even though I forgot to salt the 
spinach while cooking it, which makes a huge difference.)
Garden sourced toppings included my roasted tomato sauce, home-grown garlic, and pesto from my basil. The final pizza was caramelized onion with blue cheese and walnuts.
The new range performed like a champ. The convection feature makes a big difference. The crust was tender tasty, and lightly charred on the bottom, the toppings cooked, the cheese browned. It was so good, someone couldn’t wait to taste it!
The spinach in the salad was sweet and tender. I am so happy to be eating from the garden again!
See what other gardeners are enjoying on Daphne’s fabulous urban gardening blog, Daphne’s Dandelions.
March 12, 2012 at 8:05 am
Those pizza’s look really, really good. A new stove you say….hmmmmm…food for thought.
March 12, 2012 at 7:17 pm
A new stove was not on my list, but today I am loving it! The convection feature is great.
March 12, 2012 at 8:25 am
Those pizzas sound heavenly! That was a really good spinach harvest for this time of the year!
March 12, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Robin, it pales in comparison to your gorgeous harvest of kale and collards!
March 12, 2012 at 9:14 am
I would not have been able to wait either. :D Gorgeous pizzas and even more tempting knowing they are chock full of your garden’s bounty and goodness.
March 12, 2012 at 7:16 pm
Somehow, eating something we grow here is incredibly satisfying, every time. I suspect you feel the same. The experience adds to the flavor.
March 12, 2012 at 9:21 am
Harvest Monday in my RSS reader is a good sign spring is here!
March 12, 2012 at 7:14 pm
It was amazing today, sure felt like late April, yay!
March 12, 2012 at 9:35 am
What a treat, yep sure looking forward to eating from the garden again.
March 12, 2012 at 7:14 pm
Isn’t it great to stroll out there and see what’s for dinner?
March 12, 2012 at 10:27 am
i like this! :P
March 12, 2012 at 7:13 pm
:-)
March 12, 2012 at 11:31 am
Your pizza looks heavenly! Love your hoop house; isn’t it amazing what a thin sheet of plastic can do?
March 12, 2012 at 7:13 pm
Indeed. Someday I’ll have an even bigger hoop, with room on one end for a table for 2
March 12, 2012 at 1:06 pm
Spinach is so good this time of year! We cut some from the cold frame this week and added to a casserole and it was fantastic!
March 12, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Awesome. Best use of plastic ever.
March 12, 2012 at 2:22 pm
It all looks so yummy!! I’ve never had a spinach pizza before but this makes me want to try one! Yum! Maybe when my spinach pops up, I’ll give it a try. Thanks.
Lynn
March 12, 2012 at 7:11 pm
Try it and swoon. See below for another method, too.
March 12, 2012 at 5:01 pm
Oh, Ali, I have some serious range/oven envy. What a beauty. That spinach pizza with feta looks delicious. I’ll have to try it (although I would have to use chard.)
March 12, 2012 at 7:09 pm
Lou, Chard is equally delicious. It is also delicious this way. Brush the crist with oil seasoned with garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook the chard with a bit more garlic. Stir in some ricotta cheese and spread on the pizza. Top with a little mozzarella or parm.
March 12, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Yum! Do you deliver those pizzas? ;) My spinach is taking off too and now I may be inspired to make pizza.
March 12, 2012 at 7:11 pm
What’s not to love about pizza and spinach! Let me know how it turns out, and enjoy.
March 12, 2012 at 5:34 pm
That pizza looks sooooooo good. It looks like the new range passed with flying colors.
March 12, 2012 at 7:10 pm
Yep. Tonight I had 4 burners going, with plenty of room.
March 12, 2012 at 7:13 pm
Yum! Those look amazing. We are swimming in spinach too, it’s a good thing! Lately I’ve been so lazy I just chop it and throw it on the pizza raw (just over the sauce, and under the cheese. Works pretty good!
I’m intrigued by the convection (what model oven did you get?). I don’t have a lot of experience with it but people really seem to like them.
March 12, 2012 at 9:40 pm
The range is a Capital Precision, 305 (30″ 5 burner) all gas with convection. Way out of my price range without purchasing the floor model. In some ways it is overkill, but it is nice to have the continuous grates, easy moving racks and well insulated oven.
I’d used convection years ago in commercial ovens, and once it started appearing in home ovens knew I’d look for it. The fan heats more evenly and somehow makes things crisper on the outside without being dry.