stacey . smoore . the staceyfish . 
Life in a Northern Town: the exploits of an ecstatic Alaskan
Lens: the adventures of a girl and her camera
In an effort to get back into the swing of this blogging thing, I'm going to make a post today devoid of any real substance (i.e. recipes) because I have no new substance to report. Rather, this I'll be posting gratuitous shots of some of the food I cooked today, all of which has been seen here before.
First up are the beloved pumpkin spice cookies. Last week whist in the grocery store I was literally flabbergasted to find Halloween candy for sale. My brain was seriously thinking it was still July or something and was wondering why they were hawking old candy. I was happier when I realized that the appearance of the sickly sweet stuff on the shelves means one thing: it's time to start baking these jewels again. I particularly enjoy the third photo when blown up to take over the entire screen and viewed with the benefit of a few feet of distance. It almost made Cory start drooling in his tracks.
Cory and I have been loving the grill recently. It doesn't get much more simple than slicing up some veggies, crumbling some dried Greek oregano over them, and throwing them over the fire to blacken and soak up that flavor. We usually also grill fish, especially right now while the Alaskan seafood is so good (but admittedly not quite as fresh as I'm used to). Tonight we feasted on King salmon - a true indulgence - prepared in the usual manner, also pictured here - along with grilled zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, and julienned onion (alas, the light was gone by the time it was prepared, so no photos tonight) and - another special treat - caprese salad.
(Hold on, I think I hear a riot forming in the back. What's that, you say? I've never actually posted a recipe for caprese salad? Ah, that's right, I've just posted a photo. Don't fret. It couldn't get any easier. It's a pity because it's certainly a favorite but I don't know that it justifies its own entry. Anyway, here goes: take a large very ripe (preferably local because it's really hard to find truly ripe tomatoes that aren't local. Take a half-pound of fresh mozzarella cheese. Slice both into 1/4-inch thick slices and arrange on a plate. You can put the tomatoes flat and place mozzarella on top of them or you can place them vertically - it's up to you and how fancy-pants you're feeling. Made a chiffonade out of some basil and sprinkle it over the arrangement. Finish with a drizzle of high-quality extra-virgin olive oil and some fresh cracked pepper. Proceed to dazzle your tastebuds with one of the most simple and delicious foods out there. If you're into, y'know, kicking it up a notch (oh god, I think I just threw up a little in my mouth), use buffalo mozzarella - mozzarella di bufala. It's spendy but the flavor and texture are beyond compare. In further kicking-it-up action, spring for an heirloom tomato. My favorites are the Marvel Stripes. Oh, and do yourself a favor - save those seeds and plant them next year! Another variation - great for parties - select some good cherry or grape tomatoes and find mozarella sold in similar-sized balls. Get a bunch of basil. Take a wooden or bamboo skewer and put a tomato, a basil leaf, and a mozzarella ball onto it. Repeat until your ingredients are exhausted. Arrange on a tray and drizzle with olive oil and pepper.)
Whew. That was quite an aside for an entry that's supposed to be all pretty pictures. But I digress.
But this was no mere caprese salad! This was, indeed, the fancy-pants variation described above! Marvel Stripe! Buffalo Mozz! Basil from the garden! And the clouds parted and Lo, the angels did sing, and it was good. And then it was in my tummy.
Ain't life grand when you have the luxury of throwing a pizza in the oven on a Friday night? And isn't it even better when that pizza is homemade? We definitely hold by that line in our house.
I've always eschewed the line "Even when it's bad, it's still pizza" (quit rolling your eyes, I know that comes as no surprise whatsoever if you've even spent two minutes reading this blog) and I take great joy in making every component for my pizza that I can. Really, it's the only way you know you're going to get a good one.
I love to use pesto as a base for pizza, especially in the summer. Few things give me more pleasure than shearing my basil plants (Fred has recovered from his confined-to-a-pot days and is loving all the room he has to stretch his roots, for those of you who had met him when he wasn't looking so hot), bringing the green stuff inside, and pulling the leaves off the stems. It fills the kitchen with a wonderful aroma!
The only problem with fresh pesto is that it's really easy to overdo it on the garlic, especially if you're like me and habitually triple - at a minimum - the amount of the tasty stuff called for in a recipe. Luckily, I ran across a technique with which you toast the unpeeled garlic cloves on the stove to mellow out that bite it's known for. It works like a charm and I no longer have to work about whether or not I'm going to OD on garlic. You just have to make sure to toast up enough so that you have extra to put on top of the pizza!
The only thing left to do is to load it up with other high-quality ingredients. Once you've done all of this, you'll have created a pizza night to remember!
