Pizza Night

Growing up, Friday night we always ate Chinese food. Religiously. One family favorite was the Golden Temple restaurant, leading to all kinds of bad jokes from my father about going to "Temple" on Friday night. Mmmm, bring on the pork fried rice. Thanks Dad. I think I may have inherited your sense of humor.

For my husband, Friday meant pizza. I've been making a lot of homemade pizza lately (inspired by my mother-in-law's acquisition of a pizza stone, or one of my mother-in-laws, I should say, as I'm blessed with no less than three! Keep your snarky comments to yourself, people. They read this blog on a semi-regular basis.)

Right...so, pizza! Everyone loves pizza. Homemade crust is easy as crust with my kitchen-aid mixer (thinking about my mixer makes me burst into song and dance around the kitchen), and then it's fun to experiment with toppings. Tonight's creation is a pesto pizza with artichoke hearts, garlicky sauteed spinach, Parmesan, mozzarella, a light sprinkle of feta, and of course, olive oil.

I'll take some pictures when it comes out of the oven. You know it's done when the smoke alarm goes off.

The Prodigal Blogger Returns

I know, I've been ignoring you. I've been outside because rainy season is finally over. Actually, I've been volunteering a lot too, with an adult literacy program and with TANC (the Tibetan Association of Northern California). I assure you that my husband is still being (well) fed. While I've been slacking on the blog, I've perfected spanikopita, cheese enchiladas, and vegan chocolate chip cookies. I finally made a pancake of restaurant quality, all thanks to my new ceramic titanium ScanPan. I also bought a large leafy basil plant and made my first pesto of spring. (It IS spring here in California, 70 and sunny and so green...apologies to my peeps in colder climates. I finally remember why I agreed to move out here in the first place.)

Here's what you can expect in the very near future. (Be excited.)
I'm currently working on the Go Veg For Passover Manifesto.
Let's face it: the holiday commemorates the suffering of our people. So to celebrate, we go ahead and inflict suffering on others? Is that the logic of a well-educated people? Gefilte Fish (I'm not sure what kind of fish this is, but I'm sure it is made from fish), Matzoh Ball Soup (made with chicken!), brisket (I think that comes from a cow?), chopped liver (don't even get me started); JUST SAY NO. Have you seen factory farms or slaughterhouses? They make Egypt look like a resort in the Catskills. The animals are still waiting for their Moses to come and lead them out of oppression. What will you do to celebrate freedom this year?
(Okay, sorry, I get excited and preachy about this, but I think it could really be the start of an important movement.)