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.

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

Guac.

There's a Chinese philosophy related to Feng Shui and the principle of yin/yang which dictates that it is best to eat cold foods in winter and hot foods in summer. It's all about balancing bodily energies with the energy of nature.

Aside from the romantic notion of drinking tea in the Sahara, I completely disagree with this.

For example:

Guacamole

Can you imagine eating that with a foot of snow on the ground?
I think not.

Point proven.

It's a perfect summer dish, and here is my ingredient list for a portion of one:

1 avocado (I've noticed they seem puny this year. You might want to up the count to 2.)
Chopped fresh chiles (I like Serrano, but in the above pic I used home-grown jalapeno)
1 clove of garlic, minced
Cilantro, chopped, however much you want (a few tbs for me, thanks)
Juice of one lime
Pinch of salt

Basically you just mash everything together, and there you have it.
Guacamole!

Good with plain chips.

Extra good with cheesey nachos -




And, because I came across it while looking through pics, here is a three-year-old picture of Hamlet:

Longest Day 2010.

Happy Summer!!!

This being Summer Solstice, it is the official start of the season, and the longest day of the year. Thereby making it the best day of the year.

As per usual, we had gazpacho for our annual Longest Day dinner. This year we served it with grilled bread (with garlic and olive oil), grilled chicken breast (rubbed with a spicy mesquite seasoning), and prosecco (which was a happy find, as I planned on coming home with ordinary champagne).

You know, every year I go online looking for the definitive gazpacho recipe, thinking there is one and I've forgotten it. Every year I remember that there isn't one. It's a chilled veggie soup with a million interpretations. Just stay away from anything that actually calls for "tomato juice" as an ingredient, because the whole point is that it's a raw, fresh soup.

Also!

This was our first time ever grilling skinless, boneless chicken breasts, and they were fantastic! Perfectly done, moist, tender... Not sure how we managed that. I think a lot of the credit has to go to Searing First, Cooking Thoroughly Second.

The night was super enjoyable, though HOT, and we stayed outside watching fireflies until after 10:00, listening to Pink Martini on the stereo.

Even the cat joined in, staying outside for what is probably his latest supervised night out ever.

He really wanted some of my bread. Like, really wanted some of my bread. Everytime I picked it up, he practically tripped over himself trying to paw it out of my hand. Poor confused kitty....

Lovely Longest Day.

Necessity's a Mother.

It may come as a surprise to some people, but when I was young I was considered a picky eater.

I'm not sure why. I think it may have had something to do with being a ballerina since age three, thereby being peripherally raised in a culture where eating was discouraged. And/Or being stuck in an eight-year peanut-butter-&-jelly rut during my elementary/middle school years.

Nowadays, I'll eat anything not related to cognitive, digestive, or reproductive functioning. Although I might eat fois gras if it was put it front of me. And hot dogs in natural casings are awesome. Has anyone had a brain sandwich? I hear there's some fest around here that specializes in them...

I'm getting off track.

My point is that if I weren't now an adventurous eater, I would have never co-invented bacon-topped, peanut-butter-iced, dark chocolate cupcakes (hella good), nor would it occur to me to try herbed goat cheese on top of brownies (rather like a chocolate cream cheese danish - also yummy), or even blackberry jam on garlic texas toast (what would my life be like without you??).

In that vein, I happened upon:

Black Bean, Banana Quesadillas

C'est tres yummy.

Building on the Caribbean combo of plantains and black beans, I fashioned this combo out of laziness and hunger a few years ago, having nothing in the house to eat but some left-over black beans (cooked as mentioned in "Huevos Whatevers"), a banana, a few flour tortillas, some hot sauce, and a slice of provolone cheese.

It has since become a favorite dish.
It's possibly the best thing ever.


Smear some prepared beans on a medium flour tortilla, and top with one half of a banana, sliced. On top of that, sprinkle a light portion of shredded mild, white cheese, and top it off with another tortilla, also smeared with beans. Fry in a well heated skillet prepped with butter or oil until crispy on both sides and the cheese is melted (about five mintes per side). Served sliced and topped with a hot sauce that's not too vinegary (I use Hot Cock Sauce. For visual reference, check out my hot sauce cabinet).

^
Too much hot sauce, perhaps?
...Never!!

You say tomato, I say tomato.

Matt found this monsterous specimen at a farmer's market recently. Needless to say, it begged to be made into a caprese salad. Instead, I made it into a sauce for pasta.

What can I say - I have no fresh basil on hand. Sorry.

Making a fresh tomato sauce is super easy, anyway. All you have to do is slice it into bite-sized pieces, throw it into a pan containing well-heated olive oil and chopped garlic, season to taste, and mash the hell out of it.

In this case, I seasoned with salt and pepper, dried basil (I know, I know), and a splash of vodka. Alcohol-soluable flavors, you know.

Of course, save the last bit of salt for the end, and rehydrate wih stock if necessary....

Add freshly-cooked pasta with a bit of its water and a little bit of grated cheese, and you end up with this:


Not too shabby.

Simplicity Made Slightly More Complicated

Right. Dinner.

Seared tofu, glazed with teriyaki sauce, paired with purple potatoes and other stir-fried veggies over short-grain brown rice.

Surprisingly work-intensive, but isn't it gorgeous?


Totally worth the effort. Just have your timing down, and trust that your ingredients will serve you well. Press and sear your tofu (This was pressed for a REALLY long time by our standards [6 hours], then seared for 5 minutes a side). While doing the searing, cook potatoes til tender, then brown if desired. Blanch carrots for 5-6 minutes, fresh green beans for 2 and 1/2 minutes, frozen peas for 30 seconds. Then dump them all in a pan of heated, well-seasoned olive oil. Toss and season. With a light hand, pour some teriyaki sauce over your resting tofu (it'll be done searing by this point), toss to coat, and add to the pan at the last moment.

This dish was completely improvised, and the bare flavors of the ingredients really make the whole thing. You could taste the sweetness of the vegetables. They were actually sweet. The way you hear they should be. The carrots had a slight tooth to them; the peas were carmelized.

Holy cow.

Wonder Squash

UNDISPUTED FACT: Spaghetti squash is freaking amazing. I don’t know how it knows to do what it does, but more power to it, I say. It’s just so pretty and delicious and mind-boggling. And it goes really good with garlic, which is always a plus.

I am seriously in awe of it. Nature does a much better job than humans at making up things to eat. Nature came up with spaghetti squash. We came up with strawberry licorice. Which is also yummy, but I’m sure you see my point.