Tuesday 26 August 2008

On Pizza and Having a Night Off


First of all, thank you all for your precious thoughts and get well wishes. We were ALL at school this morning. YAY! I didn't even feel the need for a nap by 9.30am. Woohoo, things are lookin' up folks!

Felicity, I would happily swap cooking meals if someone would come to mop and vacuum my floors. I keep looking at them thinking "must get to mopping one day soon". Sigh. We never skip meals though.....

Now, on to the reason for my post today. I have made a new discovery and it's really a bit of a double edged sword. It means my potential for night's off from the kitchen have dwindled to only one affordable option. The flip side is that our wallets will happily keep their contents. Bought pizza is now off the menu. Dh's belly doesn't like the ham. I've been having vegetarian pizza for quite some time because it doesn't like me much, but dh has just realised this for himself. I am quite disappointed in this development. Pizza is a healthier meal than fish & chips!

So I'm thinking that perhaps this should be one of the first things I teach Miss Sunshine to cook on her own. When I was her age I used to make our Sunday lunch pizzas for our lunch at the beach each week. I've gotten to a very very simplistic topping menu, so it wouldn't be too hard I don't think. Good plan, do you think? I might get to have a night off here and there after all.

So what is a post about pizza unless I tell you about our favourites? I make pizza dough in the bread machine. We prefer a thinner crust, so once the dough is done I roll it out and make the pizzas straight away. We do two 'family sized' pizzas and it's getting to be so that's almost not enough. One base is brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with crushed garlic and diced onion, and then topped with a layer of thinly sliced potatoes. A sprinkle of salt is a must The other is pineapple with bacon or pineapple with mushroom on a tomato base. We like oregano sprinkled on this one. Both get mozarella cheese, of course.

Mmmmmm, there's nothing quite like pizza made with just the things that delight you, and a pinch of Mum's love.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Our family love home made pizza too. I usually freeze a base when I make them and that becomes a quick lunch or easy dinner. Just top it and bake.

Glad you are feeling better.

Tracy said...

I haven't been leaving comments while my family was here, but I did keep up with my reading. WOW, you've been down for awhile now. I pray that your recovery is full, and that there are no relapses.

I know what you mean about the double edged sword. I DO love to cook, and homemade pizza is wonderful, but it is nice to have a break now and then. With 7 of us, I have a difficult time making enough to feed us all at once. I'd definitely train your daughter soon. It's easy, and she'll feel great about doing it.

Dianne said...

I love Pizza but tend to stay away from them because didn't think they went to good with the diet. It may be that I just need to take of the meat and add more veggies.

It's a good thing to teach your daughter to cook...nothing like teaching them young...it makes them prepared for when they have families of their own and in the mean time, mom can take a night off! Good for both of you, wouldn't you say?

Belinda said...

Hi Tracy,

One of my most vivid childhood memories was the pizza assembly line.

Dad did the dough. Mum spread the tomato paste and us kids scattered the various toppings all over. To finish up Dad sprinkled the cheese and balanced things out a little if we had got a little too enthusiastic. Friday night tea was always a family affair.

Kind Regards
Belinda

Left-Handed Housewife said...

We have been doing a lot of homemade pizza lately, too, mostly because my husband and I got tired of takeout. My current favorite is pesto pizza, made with prepared pesto, mozzarella cheese and slices of tomato. Lovely!