pizza from the ground up:

Ever since my first foray into making mozzarella cheese, when I found a recipe for making pizza dough using whey left over from the cheese making process, an idea has rumbled around in my head:

What if I could make a pizza completely from scratch?

Cheese that I made myself.
Sauce that I made myself, from things growing in my own garden.
Homemade dough.
Toppings grown in my own garden, as well.

It's like a life-long dream that I didn't even realize I had until six months ago.

And although I can't believe it:

I did it!!!

The feeling of accomplishment is amazing.
I'm so proud I want to cry.

Is it perfect?
No.

But it's very close!

The cheese has sort of a weird texture as the curds were tiny and wet, and I couldn't get them to stretch properly. It's kind of a cross between a milky ricotta and a melty mozzarella. Which, as it turns out, is absolutely delicious on pizza.

It took forever to cook due to the moisture in the tomatoes, so the border crust was nicely browned before the center was even sort of done. I ended up tenting all but the center in foil, cranking the oven temp to 450 f, and cooking for 30 minutes longer than recommended.

Due to the cooking time and consistency, the cheese was a lovely toasty brown, and so was flipped for the above photo. :-p

But - the bottom line is... It's here. It's here, and I made it, and it's delicious. Delicious! All that cooking time really concentrated the tomato flavor, and the crust is flavorful and crispy (and thoroughly cooked) without being dry.

Pizza Margherita
I. Made. This.

Green Zebra!!

This is a Green Zebra tomato.

I have wanted to try one of these for years, and now I have them growing in my own backyard.

I wasn't sure what to expect upon my first tasting. All of the descriptions I've read describe it as slightly firmer and more tangy than "ordinary" red tomatoes, but I think people just expect that to be the case because it's green.

It is delicious. Sweet and sharp and juicy - it might be the most tomato-y tasting tomato I've ever had the privilege to eat. It's tiny, but there is so much flavor in there!

I used it to make what Matt describes as the best salad he's ever had (thank you thank you). Green leaf lettuce with green zebra tomato and blanched harvester bush beans, dressed in a warm serrano lime vinaigrette.

Served with a left-over baked potato thing I got at some fast food place on Friday.

primal

Are you like me?
Are you an ex-vegetarian who likes her steak served mooing?

Good!

Now that we're on the same page, check this out:

This was our first time grilling steak.

Well-prepared sliced cow is amazing...

Oh, c'mon - look at it!
It's obviously delicious!

The technique we used: Hot coals. Hot grate. Three minutes per side, then flip. Temperature after two flips = 120 degrees = medium rare.

We question the second flip.

Open Letter:

Dear Produce Manager of the Marsh Supermarket on the corner of Lynhurst and Rockville in Indianapolis, Indiana:

Sunday I decided to make a quick stop at your establishment to pick up a few things for grilling and other nibbles. Frankly I have low expectations for your department, as the offerings are usually lackluster, but how bad can you screw up, say, garlic?

Question: Any idea how long garlic has to sit around before it starts sprouting? Care to hazard a guess? Because I'm pretty sure your merchandise moves quicker than the picture above would suggest. Every single head was sprouting or falling apart. I found two that were in one piece with no visible shoots, but they were brown.

For your customers' herbaceous needs, a choice of sage, rosemary, or thyme in little plastic boxes. That's it. You don't even bother to stock parsley. Let alone the dill and mint I was actually looking for. Sure there was half a ton of drenched, decomposing cilantro, but what good is that when you need DILL and MINT. DILL AND MINT! These are not exotic ingredients!

 

I note that you can also get iceberg lettuce or prepackaged cucumbers, also wrapped in plastic. Although I love those little baby cucumbers, so do not stop carrying those.

The onion and potato selection, in it's entirety. Choose from battered, dried up red onions, or battered, dried up white onions (while they last). And of course, a smattering of green potatoes, conveniently wrapped in - you got it - plastic.

 

You should be ashamed of yourself.

As I said, I don't even have high expectations for this particular store, but I didn't expect to be unable to find viable garlic. It's garlic. It's a common ingredient that lasts forever; that's why it's been used to flavor food all over the world throughout the history of mankind.

The complete lack of any fresh seafood what-so-ever, the dairy section that might be a little warm, the overstocking of hostess snack cakes? Fine, whatever. But we are in the middle of farm country. There is no excuse for a vegetable section in a major supermarket to look like that. I don't care if you are contractually obligated to get your avocados from China or something - at least pick good ones.

You should be afraid to show your face in public. 

Embarrassment should be the primary emotion that fills your days. 

I certainly hope you don't brag about your job to anyone, because if you do, they're laughing at you. Your wife's probably cheating on you, just so she can deal with someone competent for part of her life. 

 When we first moved to this city, I went through a period of severe depression related to the perceived lack of quality food and ingredients. Eventually, I gained hope that there were people out there who were interested in good things. That somewhere, if you dug a little bit, there were people out there interested in flavors aside from salt and fat. 

 You, sir, do not cater to those people. The trip to your department has reaffirmed my cynicism, and I suppose I should thank you for lowering my expectations, as they were apparently rising too high. A grocery trip should not end in tears. 

 Sincerely, 

Someone who actually cares

cucumber.

Here is a 12-inch-long cucumber, a gift from another garden.
Any ideas?


... any recipe ideas?

'shrooms

I see that it's been six entries since my last note about pickles.
Clearly this must be remedied.

^
Pickled Mushrooms

Yes - I have pickled mushrooms!
Which, let's face it, is as close to pickled dirt as you can get.

I couldn't find any one recipe that was 100% satisfactory, so I cobbled together common elements from the ones that looked decent, and here's what I came up with:

1 1/2 cups each white wine vinegar and water
2 generous tbs pickling spice
1 tsp coarse salt
1 generous pinch brown sugar (don't go overboard)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
red onion, thinly sliced, enough to provide a few rounds of rings
1 lb button mushrooms, about 1 inch in diameter

Throw everything but the onions and mushrooms in a pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add the (cleaned) mushrooms, simmer 3 minutes. Add onions, simmer additional 7 minutes. Spoon mushrooms and onions into jars, cover with brine, seal, and process 5 minutes in a canning bath if desired.

I desired.

It was my first time canning, and it was amazingly rewarding. I have pickled mushrooms in my pantry now, and I have every assurance that they will not kill me when I eat them!

... I hope.

Food Hamlet Likes:

steak
dairy
pulled pork, but not other pork
canned peas
coffee (<-- on his Wants List. Comes up to my cup every time and shys away. One time I found him with his head submerged in my cup of Cafe au Lait.)
Harry & David's pickled carrots, but not my pickled carrots
polenta
Dorito powder
sushi, but only if it's tuna
mashed potatoes
bbq sauce
brussels sprouts

And almonds.
Apparently.

He stole one from me today, and later tried to bribe me out of one that was already being consumed.

... I don't understand that kid sometimes.