OLS: Week 8

Pizza for Week Eight!   I saw the post on FarmToPhilly.com about making pizza and I just *had* to!   This has become a popular item in the house since the crust is actually done on the grill.   I usually do a big batch of them at once and then stick them in the freezer or fridge and throw toppings on later and stick them in the microwave or toaster oven to melt the cheese really quick.   It saves time, the crust comes out nice and crispy without using a pizza stone.   I’m giving credit to Bobby Flay for this one since we saw it on Food Network a while ago and I thought it was absolute genius.   Cooking in the house during the summer is just TOO hot sometimes, so taking everything outside to the grill is a great option.   The show featured this recipe, and I really just only use the flatbread part and make my own toppings.   On to the ingredients!

Crust: Whole Wheat pastry flour  from the Mill at Anselma.   Non-local Olive Oil, Salt, Yeast
Toppings: Heirloom Tomatoes and onions (hiding underneath) from the North Star Orchard, Colby Cheese from Agape Acres, and a little basil from the back deck.   Couldn’t find a local Mozzarella, and really, all cheese is delicious in my humble opinion, so Colby it was.   I didn’t even bother with sauce since the tomatoes were nice and juicy.

The pizza made for a quick and easy meal.   I actually botched a batch of the pasta dough from last week by using a bad recipe that had me adding way too much water.   I decided to throw in some more flour and gave up after a certain point, added yeast, and let it sit to see if it would work for pizza dough.   Happily, it worked out just fine.   After the flatbread was grilled up, I turned the heat down low and set the flatbread with toppings off the direct heat, closed the lid, and came back in about 15 minutes.   The cheese had melted nicely and it looked perfect.

I have so many ideas for using local ingredients in meals, I feel like there won’t be enough weeks for all of them!