Sweet and Spicy: Pepperoni Pizza with Basil and Honey

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are mine. And, as usual, I will only write about products that I really love! 

You guys. I just made the best pizza. I know, I know, we all think we make the best pizza, but this really is the tops. I mean, just look at it! The golden, chewy, whole wheat crust, saucy sauce, basil pesto, loads of mozzarella - fresh and shredded, thinly sliced jalapeno pepper, heaps of pepperoni, fresh basil leaves that I grew myself, and a good drizzle of honey. If you like your pizza with a bit of heat and sweet, then this recipe is for you. It's the second installment for my partnership with Grimm's Fine Foods this summer, and I'm so pleased I get to bring you the very best ideas on how to use their excellent products. They are always gluten, lactose and soy free, with no MSG added and contain no fillers or sketchy bi-products. And, they are made in Canada!

Go Green: Pesto Three Ways

Pesto is one of the most versatile sauces you can make in your kitchen, and with the plethora of lovely green leafy things hitting your garden and farmer's market right now, you don't have to limit yourself to making it with the usual basil, pine nuts, Parmesan and olive oil.  My recent article over at Culinaire Magazine (pg . 24-25) is all about pesto and ways to switch it up.  Like with arugula and pumpkin seeds!  Slather it on roasted asparagus and hot damn you've got a good thing going. 

Curried Cauliflower & Lentil Soup with Winter Pesto

"What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness."

~ John Steinbeck

Indeed, Mr. Steinbeck.  By all accounts I deserve a very sweet summer, given the extended cold snap that made me grimace and curse and contemplate moving to warmer climes.  It was the kind of cold that chills straight to the bone, that freezes exposed flesh in a few minutes, that stalls cars and builds character.  March definitely came roaring in like an angry Lion, but apparently on the weekend temperatures will be hovering around zero (zero!!!) which means the shedding of layers and bad attitudes is about to begin.  Just goes to show if we wait long enough, there is a reprieve to the suffering; that light will triumph over darkness and hot damn I can put away the lady longjohns for another year.  

Grilled Turkey & Mushroom Pesto Burgers

 

Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post, but you know I wouldn't tell you about 

something unless I thought it was completely and utterly fabulous.

Summer may be winding down (I don't believe it either) but grilling season sure isn't.  I'm so pleased to have partnered up with Mushrooms Canada and Turkey Farmers of Canada on their e-cookbook Get Your Grill On With Turkey & Mushrooms.  Inside are 20 recipes from really great Canadian food bloggers and I'm thrilled to be among them, sharing my Grilled Turkey & Mushroom Pesto Burgers.  You may remember the incredible Thai Turkey Salad Rolls with Enoki Mushrooms and Peanut Sauce I created earlier this summer to help kick off this great campaign.  Happily you can find this burger recipe there too!  It's got great built-in mushroom and pesto flavour and it's been a huge favourite all summer around here.  Grill On! 

For this and other delicious recipes you can download the free e-book from the Tasty Turkey facebook page here or the Mushrooms Canada facebook page here.