It just doesn't do well in 110 degree heat. The funny thing is, it perks right back up after the sun leaves the patio. I don't know how much longer it will last, but it will be interesting to see. It's like those robots on Mars that just keep staying alive. (Yes, the squash, cantaloupe and tomatoes look really sad and I should clean them all up and throw them away, but they are trying so hard to hang on... it seems a shame)Cuz it is so hot, I have absolutely NO DESIRE to turn on the oven and cook something.
Oh, right. Angela had given me an electric skillet for Christmas so I could cook outside.
Yes, my middle name is smart.
The first attempt wasn't too great of a success (think well done/charred/carbon) so I decided to refrain from sharing all the blackened details, learn from it, and move on.
I had found a Southwestern pizza that I wanted to try. It involved spicy black bean dip (for which I substituted refried beans), taco seasoned chicken (for which I substituted fajita seasoned sausage cuz I was too lazy to thaw the chicken and I didn't have any taco seasoning packets), scallions (which I substituted a regular yellow onion I cooked with the drained sausage), cumin, cilantro, salsa, and pepper jack cheese (I was trying to use up some cheddar I had so I used that too).
Hmm.. Isn't it funny the type of stuff I have on hand?
Here is my crust cooking away outside.
That is actually the second crust (the pan is too small for a full pizza so I made 2 small ones). The first crust I did directly on the bottom of the pan. After it had been in there for only a few minutes, the bottom was getting pretty brown. So I stuck it on some tinfoil. What I really needed was a rack or something, but I couldn't find anything small enough at Walmart.Being the engineer that I am, I decided I could make one out of rolled tinfoil. I couldn't put the dough directly on those rolls of tinfoil because it would buckle and warp around them.
(picture taken the next day)Yes, I am an engineer and I use terms like buckle and warp. Very nice and descriptive if I do say so myself.
This is why I still cooked the crust on the bottom of the pan first so it would gain some strength. I then put all the toppings on it, placed the tinfoil and pizza on those 3 little rolls making sure the tinfoil was up to allow circulation under and around.
VOILA! Pizza.
Take a bit out of crime. (Had to make sure it tasted good!)The recipe needs a little more of a punch so I think next time I'll add green chiles or something. I'm shore it wasn't all the changes I made to the recipe.
PS. I tried bread (french) last night and it really didn't work. Scorched on the bottom and yucky doughy looking on top. Then when one of the loaves fell as I was taking them off and ended up covered in dirt and spiderwebs... not so interested in eating anymore. Spiderwebs always take my appetite away.
10 comments:
The Pizza looks delicious. Smart idea to cook outside. I should do something similar but I am too lazy. So I still end up cooking inside. We need a little grill or a skillet thingy like you. I am not very good at experimenting though, and I am definitely no engineer.
Ok thats long enough, and then some! This covers two of my favorite topics, food and garden!spider webs do have stuff that helps with headaches. I learned that in girls camp. you should try it out and let me know :).
Way cool about your pizza. I like pizza. did you know that? did you cook it with the lid on or off? Do you think I could get a cheap pizza stone and then shape it to fit in my skillet. Would that work? have you tried pizza on the grill? I should try that too.
I'm not a huge fan of "mexican pizza, but yours looks good. I like plain ol' tomato and cheese and topings. Although I ate some pretty wierd ones in Taiwan....
Maybe you should put some shade cloth over your thigns to help them survive. I bet if you can nurse them through once it cools down you'll get tons! You can use toole or other cheap fabrics. see http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2008-02-01/No-spray-Way-to-Protect-Plants.aspx
What if you put shade over your canteloupes? You could make a sweet little tent for them. They'd love you!
Oh-sad cantaloupe. I hope it survives! But in the mean time, the pizza looks delicious!
I'm glad that your pizza worked out. We talked about it last friday and I'm glad you tried it. It feels so good when you try something new and it works. But if it doens't, it sure makes you feel kinda dumb- which of course you have never felt seeing your name is smart...
Yes, your garden looks a little sad. You could go pick things in mine. Russell isn't. It is getting watered though and it looks pretty good.
That pizza looks delish!
The pizza looks fantastic! And I agree, can you shade the cantaloupe or does 110 just singe everything anyway?
Pretty Pizza. I found that some things need to be in a small pan inside the cooking pan. Sometimes the foil ones work if you can find the right size and shape.
So sad about your plants, we aren't quite that hot, so things are still surviving around here-I hope that yours do too. I got some zucchini from a friend and right now I'm baking zucchini bread and I can feel my kitchen slowly heating up, I'm pretty sure it will be sweltering in here soon. It's okay though, I'm just going to lie down and pretend I'm in one of those spa things.
That Mexican pizza looks some much better than the one at Taco Bell! Maybe if you have an old umbrella you could try to plant it's handle in the ground to give your plants some shade.
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