Asparagus and Potato Pizza with Pesto and Caramelized Onions

Ingredients:

For the flatbread crust:

1/4 cup white wine

3/4 cup warm water

1 package yeast

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil + more for garlic spread and asparagus spears

3 cups all-purpose flour

For the toppings:

2 red potatoes

1 bunch or 8 ounces asparagus spears, trimmed, each spear cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 2- to 3-inch pieces (you may have some leftover)

1 1/3 cups grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese (about 6 ounces), shredded

1 small red onion sliced in rings or diced into pieces

1/2 cup pesto

3 cloves of garlic, pressed

2 tablespoons Italian seasoning

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

To Make Crust:

• Combine the wine, water, and yeast in a large bowl and stir until dissolved. Add the honey, salt, and the olive oil and mix thoroughly.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt. Slowly pour in the wine mixture into the flour while stirring (either by hand or mixer). If you are using a mixer, mix for 1-2 minutes before switching to the dough hook and mixing for an additional 3 minutes (adding more water or wine if too dry). If mixing by hand, mix in bowl to combine before turning out onto a floured surface and kneading for an additional 6-8 minutes. Do this until you have a smooth, firm dough.
• Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a towel. Set aside to rise in the warmest part of the kitchen for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, cut the risen dough into 2 equal pieces (or 1 big one!) and knead each portion into a round. Cover again and let rise for 15 minutes. The dough is now ready to be used.

To Prepare Toppings:

• Asparagus spears: Trim ends and cut each spear in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 2- to 3-inch pieces. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
• Red Potatoes: Place potatoes in small saucepan. Add enough water to cover and add an extra inch of water. Sprinkle with salt. Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool. Cut into thin slices.
• Red Onion: Cut onions into crescent-shaped slices. Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the fat shimmers, stir in the onions until coated with oil. Add a pinch of salt, then stir periodically, allowing the onions to darken. Remove from heat and set aside.  

To Assemble Pizza:

• Preheat the oven to 360 to 365 degrees F.
• Sprinkle a rimless baking sheet or pizza stone with cornmeal. Roll and stretch dough into a long strip (1 large, or 2 smaller) and transfer to sheet/stone. Mix 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil with pressed garlic and brush garlic oil over the dough.
• Place in oven and pre-bake empty crust for 4 minutes.
• Brush pesto over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the crust. Spread carmelized red onions and potato slices evenly over the pizza. Add a thin layer of cheese and drizzle more pesto over the cheese. Scatter asparagus over pizza, top with parmesan cheese and lightly sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
• Bake pizza until lightly browned and asparagus is tender, around 10-12 minutes. Cool for 2-3 minutes before cutting pizza into pieces and serving.

INFORMATION FROM OUR SPONSORS

SULLIVAN UNIVERSITY

We are pleased to announce that Sullivan University is a returning sponsor of the Lexington Farmers' Market and will be providing many more seasonal cooking demonstrations at our Saturday markets.  More information will follow as it becomes available and please take time to thank the representatives of Sullivan University when you see them at the market.

GOOD FOODS MARKET AND CAFÉ  

Upcoming Events:

Cinco de Mayo Buffet

Enjoy Cinco de Mayo with Good Foods Café's authentic Mexican buffet entrées! Enjoy huaraches, enchiladas verdes, pollo enchilado, and tilapia empanizada. Sides include arroz rojo, nopales a la Mexicana, papas con rajas, ezquites, piña colada beets, and tinga.

When: Thursday, May 5

Hot Buffet: 11 am - 8 pm; $7.99/lb.

Where: Good Foods Market & Café

455 Southland Drive, Lexington, KY 40503

RECYCLE YOUR ELECTRONICS: Representatives from Global Environmental Services will be on hand to provide information about electronics recycling as well as collect equipment from the community. Please call GES for details - 502-570-8545. *For every recyclable donated, receive 1 raffle ticket to be entered to win a personal computer from GES!

Good Foods Co-op is a locally owned and operated cooperative business where everyone is welcome to shop at either of our locations - Good Foods Market & Café on Southland Drive or Good Foods Chapter 2 inside the downtown Lexington Public Library. Good Foods has served the Lexington community since 1972. Good Foods Market & Café, 455 Southland Drive, Lexington, KY 40503, (859) 278-1813, www.goodfoods.coop

THE FAYETTE ALLIANCE

The Fayette Alliance is Lexington's ONLY land-use advocacy organization that regularly educates and lobbies local government for a sustainable growth model that benefits all of us.

We believe that preserving our signature Bluegrass landscape, creating a dynamic and equitable cityscape through infill redevelopment, and improving our natural waterways by fixing our sanitary sewer and stormwater systems are key components to achieving our economic and environmental promise here in Lexington-Fayette County.

We are an alliance of citizens from the entire community, including stakeholders from the agricultural, neighborhood, and infill sectors. We are a united voice for responsible growth, and only weigh-in on those land-use issues that have countywide implications. Together we can chart our future, and positively impact local zoning decisions-the very building blocks of our community.

If you want a better quality of life for all of us, please join The Fayette Alliance today for free.  Visit www.fayettealliance.com for more information.

INFORMATION FROM OUR SPONSOR WUKY

WUKY was founded in 1941 as the radio voice of the University of Kentucky. Our mission then-as now-was to bring information and enlightenment to the people of central Kentucky. Back then we even hauled radios to remote areas so people could hear our programs. Today we're pioneering the use of digital technology to bring multiple streams of great non-commercial programming to this region. Whether you're a Lexington resident or a visitor, please take a moment this weekend to tune your radio to WUKY at 91.3FM, and, when you get home, stream our signal on line at www.wuky.org. There you'll enjoy NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Car Talk and Fresh Air all supplemented by award-winning WUKY news. On weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 2 to 5 p.m., you'll hear a unique blend of music that we call "Adult Rock", featuring a wide variety of artists from Talking Heads to Norah Jones to Lucinda Williams. In addition, our weekend schedule includes everything from A Prairie Home Companion to the big bands, the Grateful Dead Hour, and Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. WUKY 91.3FM truly has something for everyone. We are able to accomplish all this only because of community support. Income from this and other special events, underwriting by area businesses, and contributions from individual donors account for over two-thirds of our budget so please pledge now and thank you so much for supporting WUKY.

2011 NEWS FLASH AND SPECIAL EVENTS

NEWS FLASH...

Farm to School program brings locally grown produce to the lunchroom

By Mary Meehan - mmeehan1@herald-leader.com

Cups of bright green lettuce dot the cafeteria tables of Lansdowne Elementary School.

First-graders eat the crunchy, locally grown treat with their fingers; a few discover that a strip of lettuce can make a nice goatee.

But, that bit of improvisation aside, the idea of introducing kids not only to healthy food, but healthy food grown close to where they live, is at the heart of the Farm to School program, which offered first-grade students a taste test last week.

Even in a state as rural as Kentucky, a lot of students have no exposure to agricultural life, said Dr. Jayaram Srinivasan, chief resident in the preventive medicine department at the University of Kentucky and an advocate of the program.

"A lot of these kids don't even know where their food comes from," he said.

Farm to School is a cooperative effort among a number of local groups, including the UK College of Public Health, the Lexington- Fayette County Health Department and Lexington Farmers Market.

The program at Lansdowne is a pilot for a program that Srinivasan hopes will be offered eventually in all Fayette County public schools. The goal is to not only let kids understand where food comes from and why eating healthy food is important, but also to connect local farmers to the school system so that fresh, locally grown produce can become a standard part of a school menu.

Taste tests, like the one conducted last week, are merged with classroom lessons about food groups and making healthy choices.

Jennifer Rodabaugh's first-grade class has planted peas that they will harvest in the fall. She said she's been pleasantly surprised at how the kids have taken in the lessons they've learned in class about healthy eating.

"I'll hear them say things (to each other) like, 'You didn't get a vegetable today' or 'You didn't get a dairy, you got a juice instead'."

Madi Knapp, 7, said the program introduced her to turnips in an earlier taste test. She was surprised to learn that she liked them. Now, she said, she and her mom are thinking about planting a garden this spring.

She also learned that plants need a lot of care.

"If you want to grow good food you have to take care of them like a person," she said.

Not every student was sold on the idea of trying something new. The plate of first-grader Faith Osburn, 7, was void of anything green. She wouldn't even try the lettuce. She said she knew she wouldn't like it.

Instead she was happily snacking on a chicken patty in the shape of a smiley face. Her friend Faith Hubbard, 7, however, was thrilled with the green stuff.

"I love lettuce," she said. "I go crazy for it."

Gayle Tomkinson, who operates Berries on Bryan Station Farm, supplied the lettuce. During lunch she walked from table to table with a home-made display showing tiny lettuce seeds and different varieties of lettuce. "We grow more produce than we can sell," she said.

The Farm to School program already had benefitted her family's agricultural effort. Bryan Station High School now has a standing order for lettuce twice a week.

Srinivasan said the effort has been all volunteer. The group recently applied for a grant to continue to spread the word about healthy, locally grown food.

Lansdowne principal Leah Winkler is on board.

"The kids are getting familiar with agriculture and food," she said. "That is exciting."

Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2011/04/26/1718979/farm-to-school-program-brings.html#ixzz1KkAb62oQ

________________________________________________________________

OF NOTE...

Between June 17 and November 20, 2010, Faith Feeds collected approximately 37,500 pounds of fresh food.  The food was donated to 14 emergency food agencies, faith ministries and others that feed the poor and hungry.  Forty (40) volunteers gave of their time and energy to make all this possible. Words cannot express the gratitude of the Faith Feed organizers.

PARKING is always FREE at all of our markets if you know where to look! All street parking is free on Saturdays as well as the parking garage on Main Street and there are also several pay lots in the area.

LexTran will be running a special trolley service on April 30th that will allow people to get from Chevy Chase to the Farmers Market and vice versa. The hours will be from 10-1, and the intervals will be 20 minutes, arriving at each end of the loop every 10 minutes. The route is as follows:

• Regular Main-Vine street route with these deviations...
• Old Vine to Woodland
• Right on Woodland
• Left on Maxwell/High Street to Euclid Avenue
• Right on Euclid to Ashland
• Right on Ashland Avenue
• Left on Main Street to Jefferson
• Right on Jefferson to 2nd
• Left on 2nd Street
• Follow Regular Route to Old Vine at Woodland

Finally, if you have ever lost items at any of our markets and they have not been returned, please check with Jeff, the executive director, during market hours or by phone at (859) 608-2655.