The Stratzeria: 10 thoughts on Making homemade pizza in Lansdale

For the third straight year I have been making pizza for friends as if it is my true calling. Maybe it is. Last night a friend said I needed a sign outside my house, The Stratzeria.

Some thoughts:

1. Jazz is chosen randomly, counting by 7's. Last night it featured Anat Cohen, Tony Bennett, Duke Ellington, and three others. They are set before I start the dough. The other week I forgot this stage. I do turn down the volume just before guests arrive.
2. People generally say they like all toppings, but what many really mean is they do no like olives and they think pineapple is a travesty. Personally if I could adapt to both of these I think you could as well. We love using oil-cured black olives.
3. I do keep a running total of people have fed. The last two years I nearly fed 60 people pizza. It seems to be what we do these days for entertainment. I am mystified by how many friends I wish to have over.
4. The best way to place greens on a pizza is to cook it in the sauce.
5. It's ok to use straight mozzarella.
6. It's ok to use billions and billions of other types as well. I like adding a bit of a second cheese to the mozzarella.
7. Broccoli is best chopped into tiny bits. We like muenster cheese with broccoli.
8. Dough. Heaping two cups of warm water, a splash of honey, two packets of yeast. One to two cups of whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup of olive oil, tsp of sea salt, and as much white flour to make if dough like. My recipe has evolved into this. It used to have a 1/4 cup of rye flour. Makes enough for two pizzas which I make on cookie sheets.
9. Shrimp and garlic is heaven. It used to be a special Christmas Eve treat.
10. If I am to make my own pizza sauce, then it happens in the summer by roasting tomatoes with garlic and salt. add fresh herbs from your garden at the very end.

Side note... I blogged about my Fit over here.

 

The 12 Days of Christmas Shout Outs:The Buddha in The Garden of Nutmeg Designs for day ten

This morning, the sun came out. Mosaic Woman looked out her studio window and called for me to check out our Buddha. Eventually I got out for a photo; it was not for the first time. Years ago I cleaned up a section of the garden and celebrated that moment in time. Those azaleas failed to thrive.

Now a lilac and a butterfly bush are having there moments in that space. The roses are still here. This summer when I began to call our rather small estate, the garden of Nutmeg Designs, I caught the Buddha in this moment in time.

No Nutmeg Designs did not exist when we moved here, but we did finally break down and buy a home in order for Margaret to have the space to become Mosaic Woman. I also desired a space to create my own garden and have a studio of my own. As new home owners we went off and bought ourselves an unfinished concrete Buddha, and Mosaic Woman spruced it up. Our Buddha has seen many a moment.

Last night inside our house I was unsettled. Snow does that to me, possibly more than anything outside of health scares. Outside snow was settling on the Buddha, inside I needed to be OK with uncertainty.