One Local Summer: Week 7

Pizza! Pizza is a very simple way of using up veggies from the garden. Pizza's are great with fresh tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and all those fresh Italian herbs.

For my pizza I used:

• Local tomatoes from the farmers' market
• Green pepper from Viel's Farmstand in Rollinsford, NH
• Onion from my garden
• Bison Italian sausage from Sea View Farm bought at the Rye Farmers' Market
• Fresh Cheddar Curd from Silvery Moon Creamery bought at the Rye Farmers' Market

I cooked this pizza while I had my two kiddos running underfoot so I didn't get a chance to snag some herbs from the garden. You could most definitely top your pizza with basil or oregano if you so choose.

For the crust, I made it from scratch in the bread machine. I found a knock-off Pizza Hut style crust recipe from Recipezaar. Now, I don't dine at Pizza Hut frequently enough to know how this compares to their crust, but irregardless, it makes a very fine pizza crust! For another crust option, try Beer Pizza Dough in the bread machine.

Pizza Hut Style Pizza Crust
in the bread machine

1 1/3 cups water
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

2 tablespoons cornmeal

1. Add ingredients (except for cornmeal) to machine bread pan in order as per manufacturer's instructions.
2. Set to "Dough" cycle.
3. Lightly grease one 9 x 13-inch pan and sprinkle with cornmeal.
4. When the dough cycle is complete, roll out dough and place in pan.
5. Let rest in pans for 10-15 minutes.
6. Add toppings of your choice.
7. Bake at 350°F until done (approximately 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of toppings).

You can now add your toppings however you like! I sliced my tomatoes and put them down as a base and then added the pepper and onion and pre-cooked sausage on top. (The kids ate most of the sausage, not much made it to the pizza!) I broke the curd up a bit and added that last. I know the crust isn't really local, but it's the best I could do! I kept all the toppings local though!! Try making a pizza with local ingredients this summer!