All Around Eggs

Eggs are delicious in their own right-poached, scrambled, baked and cooked.  Eggs act as leavening and thickening ingredients.  Eggs add color to foods.  Eggs are an "ideal" protein source, containing all nine essential fatty acids.  Eggs are good all around.

In our home, we eat eggs as a dinner entree once a week. Ricotta Frittata is a favorite dish of mine.  We enjoy eggs poached and layered on top of salads and noodles.  I've baked eggs in potatoes and portobella mushrooms.  We love eggs baked on ratatouille.     This Egg and Ricotta Pizza has become another favorite of mine.  Here's how I make it:

Egg and Ricotta Pizza

(Makes 2-7 inch pizzas)  (3 servings)

Crust
Mix flours, salt and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer with dough hook attached:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Dash salt
1 1/4 teaspoon rapid dry yeast

Heat yogurt to 125 F.  Add to dry ingredients in mixing bowl and beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.
1/2 cup Greek yogurt

Add oil and water to bowl and beat at low speed for 2 minutes.
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup warm water

Gradually add additional flour until dough leaves the side of the bowl.
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour

Place dough in greased bowl.  (I use an olive oil spray).  Cover and let rise until double, about 50 minutes.  

Punch dough down.  Divide in half.  Place dough in 2-7 inch greased pizza pans.  Punch dough over bottom of pans and up the sides.  Crinkle dough sides. 

Pesto
Mix pesto ingredients in mini food processor
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon ground walnuts
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup packed spinach

Put 1/2 of pesto on top of each crust and distribute evenly.

Topping
Mix ricotta and egg whites.  With brush, spread over top of pesto in each pan.
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 egg whites

Top each pizza with slices of yellow squash, red pepper, cheese and 1 egg yolk each.
1/2 small yellow squash, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red pepper, diced
3 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, shredded
2 egg yolks

Bake at 425 F for 12 minutes.

Here's the pizzas I made last fall: 

When buying eggs:

• Refrigerate.
• Store in the carton
• Eggs can be stored for up to a month, but the best quality is during the first week.

Egyptians believed their god created eggs from the sun and the moon.

Keep your head to the sun!  (The picture below was shot by my husband when we visited WVU Farm today)