Sean and Roy

This is Sean and Roy. They are great baristas and they make me laugh. Laughing is good!

Onion Inspiration

I took this photo of onions at the Farmer's Market on Saturday and was inspired to make one of my favorite recipes, Onion and Cheese Pizza. It is from Jane Brody's Good Food Book, one of my oldest, well-worn cookbooks.

Onion and Cheese Pizza

Crust
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 pkg (1 scant tablespoon) active dry yeast
1 tsp. honey or sugar
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp. salt, if desired
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
1 to 1 1/2 cups (approximately) all-purpose flour

To prepare the crust:
1. Place the warm water in a large bowl. Add the yeast and honey, stirring to dissolve the ingredients. Let the mixture stand 5 to 15 minutes or until it is bubbly.
2. Add the oil, salt, whole-wheat flour and about 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, or enough to form a ball of dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead the dough for about 5 minutes, adding more all-purpose flour as needed to make a firm, smooth dough that is not sticky.
4. Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning the dough to grease the top, cover the bowl lightly with plastic wrap, and set the dough aside in a warm, draft-free place to rise until it has doubled in bulk.

Topping

1 Tbsp butter or margarine

3 large onions, thinly sliced (3 cups)

2 Tbsp grainy mustard

8 - 12 ounces Fontina or Fontal cheese coarsely shredded

1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

1/2 tsp dried thyme

To Assemble the Pizza

5. While the dough is rising, melt the butter or margarine in a heavy skillet, add the onions, cover the skillet, and cook the onions over low heat for about 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Uncover the skillet, turn the heat up to medium, and continue to cook the onions, stirring them, for about 10 minutes longer or until they are golden. Remove them from the heat.

6. When the dough has risen, set the rack of your oven on the lowest rung and preheat the oven to 475.

7. Punch down the dough, divide it in half, and roll out half the dough (save the other half for another time or double the topping recipe given here) on a lightly floured surface into a 13-inch round, or 1 inch wider than your pan. Place the dough in a lightly oiled 12-inch round pan with a slightly raised edge or on a flat baking sheet and form a raised edge with the dough.

8. Spread the mustard on the dough, scatter the onions evenly over it, sprinkle the cheese over the onions, and top with the parsley and thyme. Place the pie in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.

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Enjoy!

Music at Rapunzel's

Last night we wanted to get out and do something fun so we went to Rapunzel's, a little coffeehouse a few miles away. We heard Front Street a group of three that sing beautiful three part harmony and Thomas Gunn, a local singer/songwriter. I don't know how to describe the genre...my husband described it as singer/songwriter music...sort of folky, a little bit blue grassy, but neither of these. It was all accoustic and really great.

When we walked in you could smell the chunky chocolate brownies that had just come out of the oven, but I settled for a cup of chamomile tea.

Next Saturday The Buzzard Hollow Boys are playing...one of my favorites - hope we are able to go.

Farmer's Market

This morning I went to our local farmer's market, which is always a great place to go. It is not a huge market, but I get overwhelmed with crowds and too many choices, so, in fact, it is just the perfect size for me. I took my camera and got so many amazing photos that I think I'll share them through out the week.

In addition to beautiful fruits and vegetables someone brought three cute puppies. The sign on the box they came in read "Your new best friend. Born July 4th." Despite their cuteness I did not take one home.

A Little Rain Today

It has been really dry here, but today it rained for a little while. Yipee! I thought I would add a photo of a doll I made. She is called Water, a spirit of rain, oceans and all things wet. Maybe she will bring a little more rain our way.

Cookbook Shelf

I really like to cook and this is a small portion of my cookbook collection - this is the shelf of classics. There is also a shelf for good but not classic, vegetarian, and miscellaneous books with such titles as My Fruit Kitchen, Shakes and Smoothies and The Smith Family Cookbook which was put together by my grandmother. I love having this assortment of recipes to work with.

Sweet Corn

My good friend Barbara called me on Saturday and asked if I'd like some sweet corn. She had been gifted with a ton of it which her husband, son and grandchildren picked that morning. So we went and got a big bag of it. So we feasted on delicious sweet corn and had plenty to freeze. This winter I'll make some tasty corn chowder and remember that sunny summer day.