Day 22: Garlic and Tomato PIZZA!

Well, to prevent my body, mind, and entire outlook on life from going into shock on September 7th I've started getting up at 5 in the morning. Well, 5:15 by the time I dragged myself out of bed. After taking two dogs on two separate walks (because I value my safety and sanity and will no longer walk them together), I had just enough time to cook some breakfast before heading out to coach my first tennis practice of the season (or I would have had enough time if I hadn't forgotten my keys later on).

I made scrambled eggs with peppers, onions, tomato, and Mountainthaler cheese from Mountain View Dairy. I also had a glass of cider and bread with butter.


After tennis practice and errands I returned home to cook the garlic and tomato pizza I never got around to yesterday. I've had garlic pizza where the garlic is minced and placed under the cheese, I am not a fan of this. I decided to roast my garlic (cut tops of unpeeled cloves, spread butter or oil on top, cover with foil, bake at 400 for 35 minutes). When it was done I squeezed it into a bowl of butter, smooshing the soft cloves apart and melting the butter into a soft, tasty homogeneous mixture. I spread this over the pizza dough left over from my first pizza-cooking adventure that I had already rolled out, and topped it with sliced heirloom tomatoes and shredded Gruyere and smoked Swiss cheeses.

Unfortunately my camera battery was dead, but I charged it and took a picture of the slice my boyfriend re-heated for dinner:


I had two slices for lunch and couldn't resist cutting off another sliver as I was putting the leftovers away. This pizza is right up there with the life-changing quiche I made last week, but I'm extra proud because I went rogue and cooked recipe-free.

Other foods that were not captured by my exhausted camera: a nun puff (2 actually, these things are soooo much better than PowerBars), and a glass of milk.

Dick, my boyfriend/significant other/life partner came home with a huge jar of honey produced by a colleague's parents.


If you've ever wondered why different honeys are different colors it turns out that it depends what the bees are currently pollinating. This can also affect flavor, as in the case of tupelo honey. Tupelo honey comes from bees that are pollinating tupelo gum trees that only grow in the southern United States along rivers and in flooded forests. There are two types of tupelo gum trees: white and black. White tupelo honey will not granulate. Granulation also affects the color of honey: fresher honeys are dark, but as they age they begin to granulate and lighten.

Still pretty full from my pizza and snacks I decided to have a salad for dinner. Dick, a culinary genius whose only formal training came from working at Ponderosa, suggested adding basil to my feta-cider vinegar dressing. My original recipe was very tart, but the basil balances out the cider, creating the best salad I've had all month.


After dinner I had a glass of Bully Hill Reisling; I give it a 9 out of 10. One thing I've discovered about myself this month is that I prefer sweet white wines. If you do not, you should probably subtract at least 4 points from all my wine scores.