How to Make a (Fairly Decent) Homemade Pizza :)
Taking a much-needed breather from posting poetry, almost exclusively for nearly 2 weeks (and giving you, dear reader, a well-deserved break, too ;) As an interlude, I thought to share another art I'm quite fond of, if not as adept at: cooking.
Since my wife (@dianarpo) and I began keeping an organic garden, few years ago, we've been making a concerted effort to try and eat better. This translates to culinary upgrades, such as: homemade tomato sauces (the store-bought variety can no longer compare) and freshly-made pesto whose deep green taste has to be experienced to be believed. We have also ventured into slightly more ambitious territory, like: squash soup, cucumber-based Greek yogurt dip, aka Tzatziki. And, as is to be expected, we also have amazing smoothies and salads.
But, because sweet Diana is an incorrigible pizza addict (who samples every type of pie withing a 20 mile radius of wherever we find ourselves--I tell her she should get paid for it) the other day, we attempted to prepare one of those things at home, too.
In this affair, I let the little lady lead -and took the back seat of chopper and dicer- which is a reversal of our typical roles in the kitchen. So, without further ado, here's our attempt #2. The missus describes our 1st homemade pie as a flop (it didn't rise but, the way I see it, that happens to the best of us). So, for take two, we purchased a pizza pan with holes on the bottom for a crispier pie.
If you wish to try this at home, dear reader, what you absolutely need is an oven -which you will preheat at 350 degrees, and use to cook the pizza for 12-15 minutes- also dough, tomato sauce, cheese (we used aged Gouda) as well as whatever fixings you like (ours is vegetarian, with kale, red pepper, onion, carrots, olives, garlic and a whole lot of hope).
When we go out for pizza or order it in, we tend to do 1/2 and 1/2 (if they allow us) since she's a simple gal, and I'm a pile-it-on guy, who favors pineapples, pesto, olives, kale, chicken and just about everything else, really (can you guess which half is mine?)
Alright, many thanks, for your attention and I hope you might want to try this at home :) Bon Appetit!
Looks fairly tasty and fairly healthy! :) And apparently as much fun to make as it is to eat!
Hey, thanks, for that boost, dear @kenny-crane! It turned out highly-edible :) (Can you tell, in the pics and jaunty text, how ridiculously pleased I am with the results?!)
I may have detected a slight smile. :D
🤪😜🤣
I found it interesting that the temperature you guys cooked the pie at was so low. Typically, it is recommended that you cook pizza very quickly and at very high temperatures. Many instructions will even suggest turning your oven up "as high as it will go." I'm not criticizing your recipe or saying you guys did it wrong or anything. I just found it interesting. It looks like it turned out great.
My partner and I also have to do the half and half thing. Her favorite pizza is just pineapple and I like to stack on all the toppings (except black olives). We both used to be bakers in our younger years and really enjoy making our own yeast-risen dough. Luckily though, we have a local french-style bakery that makes and sells fresh pizza dough at local grocers around town, so if we don't want to make the dough and let it rise we can just go across the street and pick some up that is ready to go.
I really enjoy your poetry, but it was nice to see a little bit more of your life as well. Thanks for sharing.
Y'know what, I was surprised at the low temperature, too (and towards the end, bumped up the heat to 400, and added a few minutes). But, that's what the directions said, and I'm not very good at following them, generally :)
How wonderful that you and your partner used to be bakers, and what high standards you must both have! In Egypt, when we want to say someone is a grouch, we say: they don't even smile for fresh-baked bread. (Crazy saying, but you might get the gist :)
Glad you enjoyed this post. I'm happy to share more of my life, online - with the passing of time, beginning to think that nothing is personal. But gal is a touch more modest/shy, so I'm grateful that she indulged me with this
_/|\_I ABSOLUTELY love that saying! How could you not smile for that! Homemade bread and pizza are the best. I do agree on the high temperatures though.
Haha, glad it tickled you, too :) Higher temperatures duly noted, and will pass onto better half, before we attempt Pizza #3 for the Guest!
Haha. That is pretty good. I may use that sometime.
You're welcome to it :) If there's one thing I love as much as poetry, and good food, it's proverbs/sayings--and what they reveal about the cultures who coin them!
Like one of the other commenters, I was surprised too by the low temperature. Especially with no pizza stone! I used to make pizza from scratch and thought you had to get at least 600 degrees for a decent bake.
And yet your pizza looks better than any of my pizzas ever did.
Wow, I’ve never gone higher than 450... but, will experiment with the heat, next time around. Turns out, there’s more than one way to do it 🤓
Good to hear from you, and sweet dreams (from over here) 😴
Thanks you too! My wife and I have friends who put bricks in their oven. Not a brick oven, just bricks in the oven. I used to work in a brick-oven pizza restaurant (coincidentally owned and run by Egyptians) -- GREAT pizza and they showed me how to do it. I still can't get it just right, but, the kids will eat it.
Haha, now, there's a funny visual: bricks in the oven! :D Thinking of preparing pizza, again, tomorrow for guests. Thanks, for sharing that bit about my compatriots, btw, always happy to hear they're out there...as I see so few living in the US, now. Sweet dreams!
You and your wife looks nice , organic pizza at home ,it's realy great thing . Nice article dear .
Thanks, for your kind words. Tomorrow, it’s chicken masala, but I don’t think I will post 👨🏻🍳
Perfect. Love homemade pizza. We made a pizza oven in the garden once out of mud and straw and spend the week making all kinds of amazing pizza, until the cows ate it. The oven, not the pizza!! 🐄🍕
Delightful visual (and parable) - the mud 'n straw oven and cows devouring it - a mandala of sorts? (By the way, thank you, for sharing that lovely Rumi quote on generosity, on your blog.
_/|\_Oh thankyou, glad you enjoyed it. Love Rumi. I was meditating on that as a drew the mandala. Oh yes, mud and straw and cows - it does feel like a cycle, you are right! That's a poetry in itself. xx I'll be sharing more of my mandalas soon xx
Everything is poetry, my friend, properly perceived. That's Rumi's spirit, too :) Since he resonates with you, here's an interview I recently gave, where I speak of his influence on my work (on the page and off): https://idriesshahfoundation.org/interview-with-yahia-lababidi/
Stay blessed <3
Fabulous. I will read it when i get home from work. I adore Rumi's lumiscent devotion and wonder at all things. I had a Rumi passage read at my wedding. Here is a mandala, just for you right now. I probably will steem it one day soon, but in this moment it is a gift for you
Bless your heart. It makes me happy to know you had Rumi read at your wedding, and I'm grateful for the gift. In exchange, and at the risk of bombarding you (only when you have the time, and if you have the interest) a piece of mine on Seeking the Light Through Literature
No no I'm really interested in your work! Thankyou!
<3
Pizza purists know that sauce can make or break a pizza, but for these easy hacks, a decent store-bought marinara will suffice, especially if you know how to make it taste better. You can also opt ... What I do tend to have on hand fairly often are four bread-type products that work wonderfully as pizza crusts.
Thanks, for those tips, we're still novices, but aspire to be purists, one day :) This time we used less sauce, which helped, and a dough which was not spiced (we relied on ingredients for that). All in all, I'd say it turned out much better than our first time. We're gonna have another go at it, later this week, when we have a guest over for lunch :)
very nice and happy @yahialababidi :)
Glad you enjoyed it, @fajarmadan (your post about ducks made me happy :)
thank you @yahialababidi :)
Mmm, that looks so good! I'm a topping-heavy guy too :P
I hope you enjoy your two week poetry break! :D
haha, I think most guys might be, beastly that way :P
I'm not taking a 2 week poetry break; I'm taking a break from posting poetry 2 weeks straight.
(Posted new poem, today :)
Ah! Okay, awesome! And did you just generalize men?? :P
Yes, at least the ones that I know, and who answered, here...
Well, my brother doesn't like a bunch of toppings, so ha!
Yawning Say, what ? :p
Mi hermano no te gustas muchos ingredients.
That's probably incorrect, but whatever.
Point is, sexism is a no-no :PPPP
Yea, yea, I got it (let’s drop it, already ;)
Very tasty pizzas are definitely very pampering tongue @yahialababidi hehe
It was delicious, you should try it :)
I haven’t personally tried freezing it, but I’m pretty certain it would freeze just fine. I would freeze it after the first rise, once it has been divided into portions. And then I would thaw it in the refrigerator completely before baking it. Let me know if you try!
Thanks, for the tip. But, for the time being, there's nothing to freeze--we ate it all :)