It finally feels like summer has arrived. Our tomatoes got in so late this year that I still don’t have any ripe, but this heat wave might just do the trick. When I was thinking about getting out the dehydrator and canning supplies so that I could be ready when the harvest starts, I thought I’d make one last meal with the tomatoes I still have left over from 2004! (I wasn’t home for ’05 and ’06 — I lived out of a suitcase and ate out almost three times per day. Shudder. I’m so glad that is over!) Freezing sundried tomatoes really worked at preserving them well, though. They still taste awesome.
So I popped some pizza dough into the Kitchen Aid with the dough hook. I used my regular recipe, except this time I substituted some Acadian Light Buckwheat that is grown in Maine. (I’m calling anything from northern New England local. I grew up in Texas — these are very small states!) I think it came out really well. Cooking it out on the grill is perfect. I don’t have to heat up the house with the stove while it is so hot. I use this thing, which I love. I gets the dough up off the surface, so it doesn’t burn on the bottom before the top is done.
Today was dairy day, so I made a quick raw milk mozzerrella and ricotta with the left-over whey. That simple step makes the pizza so much better. I wish I could make a decent parmasan cheese like they make in Italy. Many were originally made from sheep’s milk, so I have hopes that as I get better at making cheeses, I might be able to figure it out. When I took the Cheesemaking 201 workshop last month, he suggested I take a trip to Italy and see the equipment they use. He said the biggest trouble is cutting the curd into small enough pieces, and the way they have their vats set up to mold the cheese as the curds shrink.
My little Greek basil plant gave a nice handful of fresh leaves to top the pizza, which was a nice finishing touch for a really simple yet really tasty pizza. It doesn’t get more local than this.
I’m now ready to start harvesting this year’s tomatoes. Come on sun, do your thing.
[Documented for One Local Summer.]