FRIIIIDDDAAAYYY

I'm going to whip out a quick blog on one of my 15 minute breaks today - so this probably won't be very interesting. I've noticed on a lot of the blogs that I read regularly, they do a five senses of the moment summary. I love this idea! I rarely sit and focus on smells or tastes as much as I should. So I'm going to steal this blogging idea in order to give myself a creative crutch for the day. Senses:


Seeing: The gorgeous day outside. I hate being inside all day long, but I love that I get to at least see the sunshine. I think I may need to have an outdoor lunch!


Smelling: My little bunch of peonies that I snipped this morning (from my mother's garden and she said it was OK!) I LOVE peonies. 


Tasting: My coffee....even Starbucks' instant coffee packets taste great. Mmmmmm.


Touching: My keyboard. Typical.


Hearing: The U.S. Royalty Midsommar album. I've only listened to it about two million times, and that is NOT enough!


I'm going to get my passport picture taken today. FINALLY. I've had the paperwork done forever, but I haven't just gone and taken the stinking picture even though it probably takes 5 minutes. Now I will more than likely have to pay an extra fee so that I can have it by August. For the Osheaga Music Festival! YAY!


Have a great Friday :)

Mambo Italiano

So tonight..... I'm:

-Making homemade pizza - one of my favorite things to make EVER

-Having Libby and Whit over for homemade pizza night

-Using copious amounts of fresh tomatoes (not from Joan's garden, unfortunately) and fresh mozzarella 

-having many refills of malbec on the patio 

When I first decided to do pizza night earlier this week (while reminiscing over OTHER wonderful pizza nights with Whitney), I had decided to make our regular favorite; Crab Avocado. However, I decided I definitely needed to incorporate something new to my marinara sauce. The pizza's I make are almost always thick-crusted and the sauce is very sweet (which I love).

I felt that tonight called for a change, and added honey and extra red pepper to my regular sauce. I also made two of our regular favorite pizzas (the avocado crab) and a pepperoni and tomato (I really wanted to throw corn or zucchini on this - but no one seemed psyched about this). These pictures were taken before I put the avocado on, but I always put that on right before I set it on the table. Delicious!

Did I mention it was in the 90's today? It was in the 90's today. As much as I don't handle heat well, I couldn't help but soak up the sun this evening in a flowy skirt and no shoes. It was perfect. The food was really good - but the company was better. :)

Amazing Pizza Sauce

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

1 tablespoon ground oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons dried minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground paprika

1 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 tablespoon honey

Salt and pepper to taste

Nie Nie's Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (I stole this off of one of my favorite blogs ever years ago http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/)

2-¾ whole-wheat flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-teaspoon salt

1 packet of yeast

Dissolve packet of yeast into 1-cup warm water with ¼ teaspoon sugar, let sit for 7 minutes (or until risen)

Mix flour, olive oil and yeast mixture with dough hook. For about 5 minutes. 

Place in oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap in warm spot for about 1 hour (or desired risen state) 

Roll out and add toppings. Cook for 17-18 minutes on 475 (those are my oven settings anyway)

I usually make 2 rectangle (cookie sheet) pizzas.