Nectarine bounty - salsa and pizza

Wow that was some marathon of catch up posts last week.  I finished off quite a few posts that had been almost there for some time.  During that time I didn't make new recipes, as I promised myself.  It meant I revisited some recipes posted on this blog.  Then I was given a couple of paper bags of nectarines on Friday and had to experiment a bit.

Before telling you about the recipes here is a brief rundown of some of the things happening over this time.  Amazing how much can happen in a week or two:

• We had such fierce winds in Melbourne that our cubby hut blew over.
• A bowl of peas started flaming in the old microwave with excellent timing that meant we could get a new one in the New Year sales.
• Sylvia gave dolly a bath.  As you can see from the above photo the water showed just how much she needed a bath but it did take a while for her to dry out.
• I did a 2 hour introductory DSLR course that was free with my new camera.  I still find manual photography a mystery but I like Rachel's manual Project 365.  I also bought a tripod.  Am still unsure I will ever have time to use it.
• Sylvia and I have been doing some craft on birthday cards.  Lots of fun.
• I cleaned out the pantry.  That doesn't happen very often.
• I had some painful dental work.  Never again.  Please!

The nectarines came from trees that grew from stones in compost in the house of a family who doesn't like nectarines.  I was quite excited and made a Corn, Tomato and Peach Salsa from Vegan YumYum to serve with broccoli and hazelnut burgers.  I don't have a bbq so my method was quite different.  The nectarines that I substituted for the corn were on the bitter side but worked in this salsa.  My preference would be for yellow peaches in the salsa.  Definitely one to make again.

After my photography course I found a place in Melbourne Central near the train station that sold a container of pineapple chunks.  This was a perfect snack for me.  Even better was that it meant I had some leftover for pizza.  I made some fast track pizza dough with sweet potato pizza sauce, capsicum, mushrooms, olives, pineapples and cheese. 

With the leftover pizza dough I made nectarine and custard pizza.  Not bad for an ad hoc dessert.  The bitterness of the nectarines needed more sugar but I still enjoyed it.  Which is strange given that if you suggested a sandwich of nectarines and custard I might feel slightly queezy.  There are still nectarines left but I probably wont experiment with too many new recipes.  I wonder if the trees are quite young and that is why they are on the bitter side.  Yet who can resist a gift of fruit!

I am sending the salsa to Ricki's Wellness Weekends.

Previously on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
This time last year: Sylvia's dinner - hit and miss
This time two years ago: Tetris, the Foolish Hedgehog and Brunch
This time three years ago: Mojos Weird Pizza – for the adventurous!
This time four years ago: Mole and the global village

Corn, tomato and peach salsa
Adapted from Vegan YumYum
serves 3-4

2 corn cobs
6-8 large cherry tomatoes, halved
3-4 little peaches (I used nectarines), yellow is best, halved
1-2 tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
1 spring onion, finely sliced
2 tsp lime juice, or more (I used lemon juice)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp chilli paste
1/4 tsp cumin powder
seasoning to taste

Toss corn, tomatoes, peaches, oil and salt in roasting tray and roast at 180 C for about 30 minutes.  If the corn is still not charred, place under grill and turn occasionally until slightly charred (which is what I did).  Meanwhile chop tomatoes and peaches.  When corn is grilled, cut kernels off the cob and mix in a medium bowl with tomatoes, peaches and remaining ingredients.  Set aside for at least 30 minutes if possible.  Keeps up to 24 hours.

Nectarine and custard pizza
I used about one fifth of my favourite fast track pizza dough and made a thick custard with 3 tsp custard powder, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, and 1/3 cup milk brought to the boil.  I spread it on the dough when hot and arranged the nectarine slices of about 6 small nectarines.  I baked it at 210 for about 20 minutes.  The custard was a little thick and the pizza could have done with a little more sugar but was still very good.

On the Stereo:
Music to Watch Girls By: Various Artists