Pizza

Homemade pizza is one of the best foods known to man. My mom has made an amazing pizza for years. I have been spoiled and am still never quite satisfied with a delivery pizza.

A pizza created at home can be customized to suit any taste. Art likes a thin, crispy crust. I like a thick, chewy crust. We both love toppings of all kinds- especially cheese.

Tonight, I made a crust based on a recipe I found in Martha Stewart Living. I have made it several times before. The combination of crispy outside and chewy inside suits us perfectly.

I substituted 1 cup of whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the all purpose flour called for in the recipe. Since I do not own a pizza peel, I put my shaped dough on a preheated stone and then added the toppings. Then, I placed the stone in the oven and bake the pizza at 500 degrees for about 8 minutes.

I made an easy pizza sauce.

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 of a yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 oz tomato paste
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
dash of crushed red pepper flakes

Heat oil in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Saute onion until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, stir 1 minute. Add tomato paste, stir 1 minute. Add tomato sauce, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes. Simmer 15 minutes.

(I have noticed the presence of onions, garlic, and tomato sauce in just about every meal I make...)

In addition to the sauce, I topped the pizzas with torn spinach, roasted red bell peppers, turkey pepperoni, grated carrot, caramelized onion, Parmesan, feta, ricotta, and mozzarella.

I realize carrot on a pizza is pretty unusual. I used the carrot to add some more veggie power to the pizza. They were finely grated and not at all noticeable.

Everyone enjoyed the pizza for dinner. And, we will enjoy the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.