Last Saturday, I made pizza dough for the first time, and it was a delicious success! Not sure how I’ve gone so long and made so many pizzas never having made the dough from scratch. (In the past, I’ve been a big fan of Trader Joe’s whole wheat pizza dough.) But now, I can imagine it becoming a weekly staple.
For this first time around, I used a basic recipe and methods combined from my three go-to cookbooks of the moment: Alice Water’s The Art of Simple Food, Isa Chandra’s Vegan with a Vegeance, and the standard Joy of Cooking. The ingredients don’t vary much, but I like getting a few different opinions on techniques and timing–especially when it comes to yeasts.
Once the dough was prepped, I headed to the refrigerator to gather toppings from what we had on-hand. First, a pie with herbed potato, carmelized onion, and goat cheese with a thin spread of tomato. And second (inspired by Antonio’s in Amherst), a spicy Mexican pie with black beans, avocado, diced jalapeno, and goat cheese with a splash of hot sauce!
Any suggestions for your own favorite (and maybe unusual) seasonal pizza toppings?
Going public
By public transportation, the trip involves a brisk one-mile walk and two well-timed buses–plus many books and podcasts en route. All together it’s about 90 minutes each way. And after walking in the rain and missing the bus recently, I’m well aware that public transit is not always the easiest choice. Maps look complicated, fares get confusing, and you aren’t in complete control of your travel. Sometimes the bus is late. Sometimes you get wet.
But then I sit back in my seat as we drive through the foggy morning–and I’m reminded of all the simple benefits of transit. A dose of fresh air to start and end my workday. A peaceful morning drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. Saving money. No traffic or tolls or parking for me! Reducing our footprint. Plus small interactions with real people (riders and drivers alike!). And committing a piece of each day to reading, thinking, and watching the world go by. And all that is worth the extra effort.
What’s your favorite part of the ride?