Part III: The Pizza

Are you ready to make pizza? You've had the dough stored in the fridge for a few days now, as well as some left over marinara or pizza sauce from the other night right???!!!

Spoon on your sauce over the pizza dough...more or less, whatever you prefer.

Cheese and toppings...cheese combination is very important. I like to use 1/2 mozzarella, and 1/2 provolone with a little grated Parmesan/Romano.
Other toppings: peppers, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, garlic, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, sausage, ground beef, chicken, olives, etc. etc.

If your not baking your pizza on a stone I would recommend baking in the oven before you put the cheese and toppings on...Spoon on your sauce then bake for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees.

This is what it will look like. Baking it twice ensures a crispier less soggy crust on the bottom.
Remove from oven and Sprinkle liberally with cheeses (don't skimp) then add your other toppings. Bake again for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees, or until cheese starts to brown on top.

This pizza was absolutely the best...with spinach, fresh garlic slices, and a little onion.

Tips:
- The hotter the oven the better, try it at 450-500 degrees but just watch the pizza, it will bake fast!
-The hottest place in the oven is the bottom...place your pizza as close to the bottom as possible.
- Pizza crust baked on a stone only needs to be baked once (with all toppings) if baked twice the crust becomes overdone and hard.

Trip to the little zoo

"I wuv you sooooo much!!!"

Sneaky little guy, snitching her snacks while she's not looking!

Tia was screeching with joy in the swingDo we look alike or what?

It was a great day!

Part II: Pizza Sauce

Here is the pizza sauce, sweet but tangy, the perfect addition to my home-made "Authentic Italian Pizza!" Leave yourself some time if your going to make this...it really doesn't take a lot of effort just a lot of cooking time.

If you have a food processor, mince your garlic and onion in there, the finer the mince the smoother the sauce.

You want to saute the onions and garlic until translucent.

Pour in the 2 28oz cans of crushed tomato'sStart adding in your spices& salt...It will be quite watery, don't worry...the longer you let it simmer the thicker it gets.Add fresh squeezed juice from half a lemon.Don't forget the 1/2 cup of sugar, very important!2 T red wine vinegar1 12oz can of paste

Let it simmer for a long time if you have lots of time, I would do 2 hours or so, otherwise add some cornstarch "very carefully" to thicken it to desired consistency.
Note: cornstarch will make lumps if not done properly...add maybe 3 T cornstarch to a small cup, slowly mix in some of the sauce or water until cornstarch is pourable then add the mixture to the pot and mix thoroughly until it comes to a boil.

Then add it to your home-made pizza dough.

Sweet & Tangy Pizza Sauce

1 large onion minced fine
5 garlic cloves minced fine
2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 t thyme
1/2/ t parsley
1 t basil
1 t oregano
1 t salt
1/2 c sugar
2 T Red wine vinegar
1 T lemon juice
1 12 oz can tomato paste

Add all ingredients into a large pot, mix thoroughly and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 2+ hours or until desired consistency.

Pizza Part I: The Dough

Light Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (from Artisan in Five Minutes a Day recipe book)

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 T salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
5 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Combine the water, yeast, & salt in a 5 quart bowl with a non airtight lid. Mix in the remaining flour with a spoon, make sure it is well combined and there are no lumps of flour.
Cover and let rest at room temperature for about 2 hours, then you may store it in the fridge for 2 weeks. Dough is easier to work with when it is cold...it is less sticky.

Note: This will make about 3-4 14" round pizza's (depending on how thick you want your crust), so please feel free to cut the recipe in half or store it in the fridge for some bread the next day. Don't forget, you can store this dough up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

When ready to make pizza, remove dough from fridge. (We obviously didn't use a big enough container.)

Sprinkle flour over the surface of the dough in the container as well as your hands (it is very wet and sticky) Break off a large grapefruit size portion with a knife.Form the dough into a nice ball by pulling the surface of the dough with your thumbs around to the bottom turning the dough ball as you go. Add more flour to your hands if it is still too sticky.

Now you are ready to role out the pizza dough. I found this dough to be very resilient, so you may need to let the dough rest for 10 minutes or so to let it relax, then try to role it out again. Or you can try slamming the dough on the counter, sometimes that works, just give it a good shock!

You can use a normal rolling pin for this.
Sometimes it is easier to take it in your hands and stretch it, just don't do it too much that you make holes.
Then throw it in the air a few times just for fun, because you can!

Put it in your pizza pan and and your ready for the sauce.Part II is coming soon!

A Trip to the Farm

Our new pianist!

Silas was loading Grandpa up with toys in case he got bored in his sleep!Grandma gave Tia a little baby doll...she is giving it lots of kisses, she loves it!

Trying to see if this would fit in her mouth...Just look at those cheeks!

Tia is helping in the kitchen where my Mom and I spent most of our time.

Aunt Sarah and Silas going to spread manure on the fields.

Silas had a dirty diaper...I don't think he was doing it on purpose but he was trying to get as close to Uncle Johnny as possible.

This was the closest he could get...poor Johnny!

I need motivation to finish...

Here are a few pictures of the pantry cabinet that my Mom made. It is taking me quite a while to finish it but here is some progress.

As you see in this close up, my goal is to have it distressed and roughed up a little.

Since these pictures the bottom piece has been painted with the first coat of black paint.