Sheet-Pan Sausage with Peppers

A quick dinner using only one pan. Just the kind of meal I like. We don't eat much meat or sausage, but my hubby loves both so every couple months I treat him to something like this. This recipe serves 2 so scale it up for more people. I serve it with rice. It would go nicely with pasta or just a couple slices of a hearty bread. Use mini peppers and you just have to slice them in half. Recipe is adapted from one in the New York Times.

Persimmon and Apple Pie

Been awhile since I posted. Life in the Johnson household has been up and down, filled with health concerns for both me and my hubby. I've still been cooking, though, and have a backlog of recipes to post. May not get them all up til December. Darn as some will no longer be in season. This pie is good. My neighbor has a persimmon tree and she lives by the mailbox. She stands in wait with a bag full of persimmons. She is an older Asian woman with a gravelly voice. As I pass by while walking Annie, I say hello and she thrusts a bag of persimmons into my hands. I can't say no. So I take them home and we have them on our morning cereal, in salads and in this pie. I'm also toying with making jam. Later this week perhaps. Enjoy the pie!

Fig and Pear Jam

As the weather cools and fall fruits become available, my jam making shifts from peaches and berries to figs, pears, apples, persimmons! Not sure why I am so into making jams. Its soothing, calming and helps me cope with life's challenges. Often you'll find me in the kitchen preparing fruit for jam while watching Perry Mason reruns. That show may have been responsible for my interest in becoming a lawyer. I know for sure it helped me get through law school evidence class. I'd watch and shriek at the TV - objection, objection! This jam recipe is adapted from one by Christine Ferber.

Plum Torte

This is an adaptation of the famous Marian Burros Plum Torte. It is so delicious. I've made it twice already since plums are in season right now in California. We scarf it down in a couple days and lick our fingers and want more. It is super simple, although it did require me to get the hand mixer out so I could cream the sugar and butter. Give it a try, assuming you don't already have the recipe taped to your frig or bookmarked on your device. Feel free to use other fruit instead of plums or along with the plums. I used apricots and plums in one of them. Really tasty. 

Funky Fun Pizza

Got my inspiration for this pizza from Slivers in Berkeley. I really enjoy making pizza with non-traditional toppings. It gives me a creative outlet. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. This one worked! It has corn, peppers, onions, tomatoes and grapes. And lime. I hope you give it a try or perhaps it will help inspire you in a new pizza direction. This pizza is vegetarian. To make it vegan, use vegan cheese.