This meal was a fabulous end to a fun filled Sunday! We took it upon ourselves to get out of the house and go for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was so a cool 64 degree ride with the wind blowing through our hair. It’s days like this that make me crave summer on a plate!

This meal is so refreshing as it incorporates many summer flavors. The mushrooms are cooked prior to adding them to the pizza by simply browning for a couple of minutes and lastly adding a splash of white wine. This helps bring out the deep and meaty flavors of the mushrooms. I slice the asparagus at an angle after finding the area in the stock to snap them. By trimming them down it allows for a easier cook on the asparagus. The salad helps complete the meal with a delicious mix of blueberries and peaches. I like to add a hint of red onion in the salad as well for a bit of a bite to the salad. Sometimes red onion can be more powerful than what you would like, so I like to soak the red onion slices that I use on my salads. By soaking the red onion it takes the punch down a bit. Now, for the recipes!

ASPARAGUS AND MUSHROOM PIZZA

Ingredients:

• 1 pizza dough
• 1 cluster of asparagus, trimmed and sliced
• 1 (8 oz) container of mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 container of Garlic & Herbs cheese spread (I used Alouette Cheese)
• Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbsp white wine
• Olive oil

Directions:

• Pre heat oven to 450 degrees F and prep pizza dough.
• In a medium pan cook mushrooms on med-high heat until they start to brown; add white wine and reduce for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Once pizza dough is stretched into a circle, pre-bake crust for a couple of minutes or until the crust just starts to brown; remove from oven.
• Top pizza with cheese spread and be sure to spread out evenly.
• Top with half of the mushrooms, then add asparagus and finally the rest of the mushrooms.
• Rub olive oil on crust.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until crust becomes golden brown; remove from oven and immediately top with Parmesan cheese.
• Make salad while pizza cools.

PEACH BERRY SALAD

Ingredients:

• 2 peaches, cut into slices, then in half
• 1/4 cup of blueberries
• A couple of slices of red onion
• A couple of handfuls of mixed greens
• Balsamic vinaigrette

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients together, except the balsamic vinaigrette.
• Toss gently to combine.
• Add balsamic vinaigrette as a self serve.