Too Hot to Cook???

Remember those long, hot summers as a child???  I do!!!  As most Italian families in our neighborhood.....we had a kitchen in the basement, with those slanted cellar doors to the outside.......we had our old wood burning/gas stove down there along with old kitchen tables and chairs, nothing fancy, but clean and cool.....my mom cooked every meal no matter the temperature!!!  We never went out to eat!!!  All the messy cooking got done there and all the canning and preserving too.......we dined on fresh garden produce and enjoyed the breezes coming in from the open doors......and we had pizza on Friday nights.....So tonight, to celebrate summer, I made homemade pizza from scratch just like my mom did....no, not in the basement, turned up the AC in order to have the oven on!!!

I made the dough using 3 cups of flour, 1 cup warm water with one envelope yeast dissolved in it and 1 teaspoon sugar too.  Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil with flour....mix and knead till smooth and elastic, put in oiled bowl to rise and oil the top of the dough then cover.

Meanwhile I peeled about 6 large ripe tomatoes, cut in half and put cut side down in colander to drain, I even squeeze more water out of them and some seeds too.  Chop tomatoes and place in bowl, add chopped parsley, basil, garlic, salt and pepper.

By now the dough has risen.....spread it out in a jelly roll pan and in a 9 x 9 pan,cover and let rise again.  Heat oven to 500 degrees, when heated put in pans and cook for 10 minutes in upper third of oven.  Remove from oven and with slotted spoon, spread tomatoe mixture over dough, drizzle with olive oil, add a bit of oregano, sprinkle with grated cheese......put back in oven for another 15 minutes....oh, yum!!!

Of course I had to have a fresh salad and a hamburger too.....washed down with a cold beer.......perfect for hot summer meal!!!

Before and After

Found this old printer's drawer in the basement, used to hang in my son's room as a child.......forgot all about it and was delighted to see it again, it has the coolest metal drawer knob on it.......also found this unfinished wood lamp I bought probably 30 years ago!!!!  Time to paint them white........

Painting on the washer in the basement.......

My studio is their new home.......

Cottage Colors at ECS

This month's theme is red, white, and blue.......

Yummy fresh tomatoes from the Farmer's Market.......have been stuffing my face with tomatoe and mayo sandwiches......will make fresh pizza for supper tonite......yum.

Vignet on tea table in living room....rabbits and tray from HL, bunch of radishes candle from TJM, is that too cute???

And here is my sweet Ginny doll with her hot chocolate set waiting for company!!!  She is my favorite pal from childhood!!!

Going green tip

Blue canning jars are making a come back, so I dug around in the basement to find a box of them packed away since the 70's!!!  They were once lined up on my kitchen counters with all kinds of goodies in them.  These two are holding plastic and metal bottle caps and jar lids.    Why you ask???  Since they are disposable anyway, I use them to hold paint for projects instead of using palette paper~~ sometimes you just need a dab of something and these fit the bill, then just toss them out!!!

This paint project, which is still not completed~~~~~was done on my sewing table, which I never use for painting, but was easier to use this time.

I also use the caps when I need a small amount of glue, or varnish or fixative~~~~and feels good to re-use something!!!

Where Bloggers Create 2011 Part 4

My hastily hung sign over the windows.....will do it better later.......

These shots are of the other side of the room......and no, I will not open the closet doors!!!

You know who.....Sam.....naps on the green check mat!!!  Boxes hold crimps, ribbon rolls and scrapbooking supplies.

Bottles waiting to be decorated.........aqua wire tool caddy, I carry station to station.....

This side is for sewing and jewelry design.....the drawers hold trims, lace, rickrack, doilies, yarns........the tool chest drawers hold beads and findings......

Silk ribbons and stamens for ribbonwork....

Stuff......

 The business corner...