Although this
afternoon has been sunny and mildly warm, this morning we awoke to
freezing fog and -2 Celsius. It stayed cold and foggy most of the
morning, not helped by a breeze which made it feel colder still.
The kitchen was the
place I wanted to be this morning and so I stayed in there, making
bread, doing a jigsaw in the room next door and generally meandering
between the two.
Forgot to make some
soup so instead pinched off some of the bread dough before the rest
went into two loaf tins and decided on a pizza for lunch.
Only problem was a
lack of toppings, hence the title of this post. There were no fresh
tomatoes, cheese, meat etc. Instead I had to compromise - my middle
name.
I made up some
tomato paste with a squirt of garlic and a little water and smeared
it over the base. Next came a finely sliced small onion and a 1/4 of
a yellow pepper (the rest was going off). I had an unopened tub of
low fat garlic and herb cheese and mixed a little with a small amount
of milk to make a sloppy paste and dropped it on top in small blobs.
Finally, an end rind of parmesan was finely grated on top followed by
a few good splashes of hot cajun sauce and olive oil.
20 minutes later and
we were eating it piping hot for lunch plus a nice cup of tea.
After lunch we went out
to gather pine cones to dry to help eke out our kindling. Two bags are
now spread flat on the floor of the garage and should be ready to use in
a few days. We aim to go back and gather some more bagfuls as they are
dropping quite well now and we need to gather as many as we can. What
aren't used this season will be stored for next autumn/winter.
We are well aware they give off tar but as we sweep our chimney quite often, don't
think it will be too much of a problem. Anyway, as wood burner owners
are aware, they can be a little cantankerous at times and on rare occasions, just refuse to go.
I think the pizza turned out very well, it looks delicious :)
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't too bad at all, certainly filled us up!
DeleteIt's surprising what you can rustle up with a few bits from the fridge and a bit of imagination. It does look good and I bet it tasted good too.
ReplyDeletePatricia x
Considering I thought I wouldn't be able to make it, it tasted good.
DeleteI think imagination and improvisation are sometimes the best ingredients.
ReplyDeleteThat pizza looks lovely.
Sue xx
Thank you, sometimes for us, it is mind over matter, we don't mind and it doesn't matter!
DeleteI used to think making pizza was a bit of a faff, but really, if you have the makings - and you have proved almost ANYTHING can be a 'making'! - you can turn one out in no time. Yours looks very appetising.
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered about burning fir cones - we have one of those multi-fuel burners, so I'm assuming they shouldn't be a problem as the chimney is lined a fair way up?
As long as your chimney is swept once or twice a year ought to be okay BUT I am making no promises. We use them only if we have to and then, only around 5 or 6 at a time to light or re-ignite the fire.
ReplyDelete