Recipe: Roasted Pear and Feta Salad

Pears are in season and good pears make cheeses great. I splurged on imported sheep's milk feta cheese packed in brine, but all feta cheese including domestic cow's milk feta cheese will taste good in this salad.

3 pears, peeled and sliced
Baby spinach or arugula leaves, washed and dried
4 strawberries, sliced
1 ounce bleu or gorgonzola cheese, crumbled or diced
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled or diced
olive oil
black pepper

1. Place foil in roasting pan, coat it with cooking spray, and roast the peeled, sliced pears at 350 degrees for 22 minutes or until the edges are browned. Meanwhile, pave a plate with the spinach or arugula leaves.
2. Place roasted pears on the plate. Put sliced strawberries on top of pears.
3. Strew cheeses on top of pears and strawberries.
4. Drizzle all with a small amount of olive oil. Grind some black pepper over all of it. Don't omit the pepper.
5. Toss a bit. 1 or 2 servings.

The Piehole Goes Italian: Pizza, and Arugula Salad

The one food I would want on a desert island is pizza and I eat it thrice a week at least. I buy a bag of five or six nine-inch frozen pizza shells, the thin kind, from the Italian grocery, because they're cheaper than at the big grocery store. Also, at the Italian place buy pizza seasoning. Nothing else will make your home pizza taste like real pizza. Penzey's Spices sells Pizza Seasoning too.

To make your pizza crisp and tasty, pour some olive oil on top of the shell and spread it to the edges. Then dust it with pizza spice. Top with whatever, in this case some fresh mushrooms that I'd sauteed slowly in a little butter to get the water out. Tomato is not always necessary. I always put cheese, and make up for the indulgence by eatin' my greens. Absent a real pizza shell, I'll use a wheat tortilla, same way. After it's baked, cool it slightly on a rack, not in the pan, or the bottom gets soggy.

Arugula (aka roquette or rocket) is a very spicy leafy herb that's fast and easy to grow and get hooked on. Get organic arugula seeds from The Cook's Garden; at least that's where I got mine. Plant in sun and ignore (okay, water a bit during drought) and harvest in about four weeks. Wash it and stem it and spin it like any other green.

An All-Arugula Salad is heavenly and needs to be dressed very lightly and simply. A few drops of olive oil; toss. A squeeze of lemon juice. Toss. A mini-pinch of salt. It's ready. A few thin slices of fresh mushroom won't hurt. Tomato, though, would be gilding the lily. I like serving it on a glass plate like I get my salads in Italian restaurants.