So I cleaned the pizza oven...

I decided I wanted to try a different method... the broiler uses my gas.. and sometimes I get electric when Im in a park or camp ground....

So.. whatever... besides I need to be ready for the random college campus and side hustles..

It took 5 minutes start to finish... rolling the dough while the oven pre-heated which was 1 of the 5 minutes....  I bagged the pepperoni an left it off..same with the sausage... it was olive love, mushrooms and cheese... rosemary, basil and red pepper flakes...

No smoke was involved.... my oven ran sweet...it was so perfect... I cooked on the grate its-self rather than a pan... which worked out fine an kept it all crispy an good...

I normally make a 6" pizza or breads like this one.. but the oven will cook a 10-12" pizza or a reasonable size foccacia....  which makes life easier on the girl friend front.... I think I may get a peel to work on and serve with..rather than my old heart shaped cutting board...

Now I'll obsess over pizza and those recipes for a few months.. its funny since I got the oven for making pita bread.. not pizza.... I needed fast high heat cause thats what makes the pita blow up.... and I wanted an electric option cause Im sort of cheap and lazy..

well.....

I got a call this morning about my up-coming grand tour/class extravaganza... which was scheduled to begin thursday....

Day one.... the classes are full I didn't get in and no speakers are scheduled..... sooooooo..

Day one I don't need to go ....which saves a ton of money I don't have.... the good news is... I've already had the classes..   I don't "need" them... its just about staying on top of things and observing the instructors...

But everything else is on and I only have to spend one night in town.. to bad its Friday cause party traffic and fuckwads are kind of the rule.... and Im more of a book store and bistro guy..only not gay..

We won't talk about shopping for shoes, hats and dinnerwear... art supplys and the various random quirks I have.. I know I'm not gay.. Im not in that good a shape physically... even if I do know how to cook, dress and dance..

All that aside.... I want to find a coffee shop with table cloths for a change.... Normally its all about grab and go at a fuel stop, which is "ok" its not like the old days when coffee sat on a burner for three days... its actually good coffee now... thanks to the free market system and competition for the consumer dollar... its just not a latte or espresso...and there are no tables or lite conversation... its urban rather than urbane...

Or as an option...theres the ever popular quest for a Sonoran hole in the wall cafe, which has to do with meneudo and goat stew or tacos....and I note any of the afore mentioned items scares Canadians who are trying to pass as white people.. so.... I look for dark faces..lots of red and green paint and no English signage...

Which gives me pause.....ever see a "Canadian" resturant? Nope....its because there is no market for cream of hotdog soup with maple suryp... white bread and hot dog gravy or hot dog pot pie..

Twats...... they're always the ones that bitch about Mexican food being Mexican....then snivel about paying cause the food "including the milk" was to  "spicy" as they steal the tableware for "souviners"..... and the Mexicans think Canuks are white...which creates a lot of racial problems and confusion....

Mufukkas.....La Migra, needs to jamb up the cannuks way more than the Mexicans... the US has enough whiney bitches... we really don't need the spawn of draft dodgers and traitors wandering around.... Eh?

An I need some new music....

Stills an what not...

Well....maybe its not a still in the Ozark sense....its an Alembic and is used for harvesting essential oils..Juniper, sage, pine, medicinals and what not.. some times they get used for brandy... I have heard rumors of them being used for whiskey as well.... but Jamisons is cheap enough that I wouldn't bother....

The pots cost a  pretty penny which I dont have......but I do have some skills at banging out metal.. and theres no shape on the unit I havent made out of sheet iron when I was building caulderons and tankards..

The chargers Bill has to sell me are 3/16-1/4" thick and about 12" across...which is perfect for my purposes...I have heavy tube and copper sheet hidden..... so this project can happen pretty easily...

And I need to work with my hands a little..... worst case senario I have a sexed up copper cauldron and a sauce pan or two....

Im still trying to get my mind around the day... I made more pizza but left out the pepperoni..

I have 3 or 4 days of.... "hey howdy" coming up..classes and God knows what... I got the official line on what I study... the decision is... anything I want..as much as I want.. and Im pretty much a valuable commodity..I bitched about the exams.. the system, lack of certificates..and all the insider beefs on can imagine... turns out the supervisor has the same issues... so Im gold other than that.... I want to go get the copper...

Bill is in a tourist town...and all is well ..he has a girlfriend in Las Vagueness.. theres some hints that theres a spot for me....and I need the money... but its a been there done that gig ya know?

I would set up and run my own thing.. so who knows.. he still has his glass blowing equipment.. and I havent forgotten the notion of lamp working beads, perfume bottles, pipes and sex toys...

 Yeah I know... but now weed is legal so making pipes is not a paraphernalia beef....

Its medical supplies..... I'd do it for the irony.....

Bread porn...

The famous flat bread.... I should have followed through the full process... from dough to cooked on the grill.... to topped... then shoved under the broiler so the cheese melts....

I pre-cooked and drained some loose sausage... doing that mize-en-platz thing.... which  I don't think I spelled right... but its a French term.... therefore beneath my dignity to spell check.....

Aside from the sausage.... there were sliced mushrooms... basil, oregeno, thyme, multi shredded Italiano cheese....a scanty spray of emergency and not real good pepperoni.... tomato and eggplant sauce I customised into pizza sauce with garlic and sundry herbs... 

The traditional, olive oil, olive, garlic, parmasean and anchovie stuff I put on everything...

I don't use a lot of sausage or pepperoni..... I use them mostly as a seasoning rather than an ingredient... I have no idea when my thinking changed in that regard... It still tastes good to me..and I use 3/4 less than I did.... so bonus...

Ha..  Im pretty happy with "just" olives, mushrooms an cheese..and its not a fat-bomb..

I mopped out the pepperoni grease and ate what looked disturbingly like a one eyed smiley face that was in the middle of a stroke... But I wasnt being all that attentive to symmetry.... it was a tough day.. and I was kinda hungry..

The pepperoni goes on top so the grease doesnt soak the base an I can sorta dial it back a bit... maybe I'll just not use it anymore.... or hold out for the high end stuff..this was sort of a dire straights situation....

I made Rayta for dinner yesterday.....

I'd forgotten how much I liked spicy yogurt and cumber .... now the fluffy one wants to make chutneys... which is another big favorite for me... when the temp hits 125+... trust me you need all the appetite stimulants you can get..

Other than that...today suckkkkkked...

I got a call from Bill.... he has some copper chargers I wanted to buy..which make dandy rounds to beat into sauce pans.... or a still...

Its an Irish thing....

Speaking of O my Gawd..

While writing about pizza and real life..

I get a call regarding next week, I have stuff to do next week, which is the famous :forward momentum type activity"......school, networking, being seen etc..... they want to know what I want for my meals for the three or four days..

Ha... most of what they offered I wouldn't eat...I usually fill an ice chest with what I normally have and call it good, no sense arguing or explaining..  besides it looks so good discussion is redundant..

I did manage to find a greek salad and fruit.. everything else, aint gonna be happening.. they did have a foccacia bread... but unless I can read the label.. Im not too interested..

So I'll do my usual stop and shop.... just in case..

O my...gawd...

I have stuff to do next week, which is forward momentum type activity..... which is unrelated to my real life.... its just work, school, being seen...and "Networking".....

Real life is the GF and the fact I do a lot of different kitchen stuff.....like read cook books, write recipes an take photos cause I want to make a cook book.... then theres the recipes themselves... which is sometimes about competitions and cook offs... gaining or losing weight.. fat vs muscle...  handling blood sugar..lowering blood pressure... avoiding bad juju... Chinese medicine.. keeping the ya in my yang....

I have my regular diet/regimen...which involves baking my daily bread..  the fluffy GF likes it.. she discovered bruschetta.. and likes that.. olive spread is good.. tapenades, artichoke spreads.. pomodoro... a big list of stuff... we haven't discussed nut spreads.. but shes a smart lady.. and walnut butter is sorta good... same with hazelnut an almond... changing up the rummaging food is fun... so.. we evolve..

Same  with the bread... I make a basic flat bread which is more Indian than anything else.. but it can be adjusted and made all sexy pretty fast.. I just happen to like plain..

She has kids.... kids need food that is/are sexy.. which means pizza.. but screw pizza hut grease bombs... kids need good stuff.. so ok...  pizza hut can't compete with real olive oil.. hand kneaded dough.. slow raised, wild yeast sour doughs.. cracker crusts.. real sauces or lack of sauces.. uber custom tops....  or my demented ideas of what goes on pizza...

No cheap ass "pepperoini" thats just.... red grease.. they get the good stuff, aged, fermented and so good.... nothing else will do.... same with sausage... cheeses... olives.. mushrooms..

Trust me.... ...  just cause I like flat bread, olive oil, basil and salt doesn't mean Im not schooled in the fine art of OMG pizza... replete with crusts that often get eaten by themselves.. cause they're that good...

Each ingredient stands by its self.... the crust.. the sauce, the pepperoni, the cheese etc..all need to pass the test.... and I like fresh Mozzarella... not the nothing taste bricks or pre shredded packing material....  I mean soft, lush and pretty..  sort of like the GF..

I like canned olives.. but klamata are sexier... so thats that...  goat cheese is sexy too... but not everyone likes it.. the mushrooms... ever try morrels on a pizza?

Long story short..... Im working out the pizza doughs, sauces and tech for her...  she can work the rest out with the kids..so they get it just how they want it...

They'll be so spoiled they won't even look at a  box pizza.. just like I am.... hahaha

You do it your way..

I do most things my way.. some chick told me once "your used to having everything your way" like it was a bad thing.... I just said "yes I am" and let it go.. because part of the deal about having everything my way.....is recognizing a fake and not caring what they think about who I am..

Besides... I really am used to having my own way...

The fluffy one thinks my habit of doing things my way is a good thing.... especially cooking .. since I share my recipes and we work out things together... She collects my rantings and cooks them... takes photos and puts them in a little book...with the recipes..

Its way to have dinner together.....regardless of logistics... she adjusts it all to suit her tastes.. an everyone lives happily ever after...

Which isn't a bad thing... she gets to have things her way.... it makes for a happy GF.