The moon, and family

I have a perfect spot just here, where my computer desk sits in fron of the french doors between the great room and the sun room, which has glass on the south side, where my view is. So, in the summer, I don't see so much because there are two maple trees which shade the sunroom and keep the solar gain to a minimum. In the winter the view is great, the maples will have lost their leaves, and I have a clear view to the Cleveland sky, grey and leaden from November until May, with barely any relief. But I do see some distance, all the way to the turnpike where I can see the 18 wheelers pass. I can hear them, too.

I figured out the reason for my depression that's been building over the past few weeks. It's because over the course of the last three months, my job description has changed. I am now a full time cancer patient. I had three surgeries, a pleural effusion drained, and eight sessions of radiaton for a brain tumor since June 30. I have a chronic cough that is so intense that I nearly black out, and I dribble urine (how embarrassing). I have a row of brown medicine bottles on a shelf in the bedroom, several on the kitchen window sill, and then all my alternatives in the kitchen cupboard. Apparently they didn't work. Should I keep taking them? Would I be even sicker if I had not? Greg makes me his special Jack Daniels, honey, and lemon cough syrup every night and I believe it's as effective as any of the prescriptives. It's likely rotting my teeth, though.

Today I felt pretty good. On Friday, I was looking at the garden's bounty of tomatoes and realized that we have not made pizza margherita even once this summer, from fresh home grown tomatoes, though we did push it and buy tomatoes once or twice. So I was thinking that we'd make pizza on the grill for the family on Sunday, and apparently great minds think alike, because Greg came home and said that Nathan had suggested pizza on the grill for Sunday. Well, since Greg had to go into work briefly at 6:30, it seemed a good idea to do it here. And since we're half way between Tristan's family, it seemed logical to invite his family, too.

Now, before I start to talk about making pizza on the grill, let me just say that I have spent the best money ever at yard sales buying dress-up clothes for little princesses. Over the course of the evening I saw Annabelle and Casey in probably six outfits each, most of which involved a wand, a tiara, high heels, and satin or netting. Being the mother of four sons, this never ceases to amaze and thrill me. And Quin, playing with the action figures - also from a garage sale- that I missed by seconds buying the whole set up. I didn't even know what it was, but I knew we needed the whole set. We do what we can.

Paige called today while I was resting and talked to Papa. They raised over $200 from their lemonade stand to donate to Triple Nagative Breast Cancert Foundation to work for a cure. I am surrounded by incredible people, and their parents are my children and their wives.

So, the pizza. I made the dough, and sliced tomatoes from the garden, and put them on a rack in the oven with the convection fan on to dry them out a bit so they wouldn't make the pizza soggy. I made the dough, and decided to cook one side, so that it would only take half as long when we were cooking with hungry people waiting.

The recipe for "pain ordinaire" calls for four ingredients, flour, water, yeast, and salt. The ratio is basically three to one, flour to water, a handful of salt, half a package of yeast. I do it in the ancient KitchenAid mixer (really, it's 35 years old). Six cups of flour, about a tablespoon of salt go into the mixer bowl. Then, two cups of warm water (body temp) and a package of yeast in a cup, let it start to bubble. (I cheat and put a sprinkle of sugar in usually). Then, start the mixer, add the liquid to the dry, and let it mix with the dough hook attachment for five to seven minutes. If it's stubborn, stop the mixer, stir it all together with a spatula and let it mellow for five or ten minutes. then turn the mixer back on and let it knead. It should all come together as a mass on the dough hook, perhaps with some raggedy shreddy stuff on the bottom. You might need to add another tablespoon of water - not too much. Since I was doing this four times, I pulled it off the dough hook and tossed it into a big bowl. Repeat, three times. Knead the whole mess together for a couple of minutes, then cover with something - in my case it was a pizza pan large enough to cover the bowl. I have about a pound of dough left over that's in the fridge, and I can make a nice baguette tomorrow, and that dough will tast incredible for having fermented an extra day.

Now, the thing about a yeast dough (or beverage) is that yeast really develops its flavor over time. You've got bread machines and recipes for one hour dinner rolls, but don't be fooled. Yeast likes to work slow. When I have the time and I'm making bread, I'll use half the amount of yeast in the recipe and double the proof time. In fact, because I'm such a scrooge, and beer yeast is so expensive, I only ever use one bottle of yeast for two batches of beer. I split it, and give it a couple more days fermentation time. I think it's a better product, and it saves me six dollars.

For pizza dough, or any kind of yeast bread that you will be serving in the evening, start as early in the morning as you can. Work in a cool room, and let the yeast work its magic with flavor. I mixed my dough before noon, had a nap in the afternoon, and started making crusts at about 4;30. Two circles at a time, slide onto the hot grill, close the lid. The point is to prebake the top so you can assemble the pizza onto cooked dough, then put onto the grill and bake the bottom while the ingredients do their dance on top. I had sliced up lots of fresh tomatoes from the garden, but they seemed really wet, so I put them on a baking rack and held them in the oven at about 150 degrees with the fan going, all afternoon. I pureed garlic, basil, and olive oil which Nathan brushed on the crust, and on top of the ingredients. So - pizza margherita, brush crust with olive oil/basil/garlic mixture, layer with fresh sliced tomatoes, top with fresh mozzarella. Nathan also made some traditional style pizzas for the kids with jarred sauce, pepperoni, sausage, and cheese. We did the whole thing outside, picnic table by the grill, tapped a new keg of homebrew, opened a bottle of red wine, and a half gallon of chocolate milk. What cold be better than that?

These times are precious, cooking outdoors with the family. One of my regrets, though i have very few, is that we didn't eat enough meals outdoors. Sometimethe bugs were really bad, but mostly it was just more convenient to eat inside at the table. Don't make this mistake. Eat outside, with the family, and enjoy the summer. It passes so quickly.