Food of Love

I mentioned I cook, right?

I am what is known as a serious cook. My mother is 100% Italian and I've been cooking with her and the rest of my female relatives for as long as I can remember. I've owned my own catering company. I worked with my mother in hers when I was a teenager. I do (or did - I'm taking a hiatus) home kitchen testing for national food publication. You know those pictures you see of a perfectly grilled salmon fillet perched atop a pile of artfully dressed mesclun salad and tiny potato sculptures, balanced and decorated within an inch of its life with tiny dots of sauce swirled around snippets of fresh dill and faultless half-moons of lemon? I can do that. And serve it to you with panache and perfection right at my dining room table. Well, at least until one of the damned cats decides to get a wild hair up her ass, dash across the table and swipe the salmon, leaving behind a broken tower of really expensive potato salad. Which is why the little wenches are usually locked, howling, in the master bedroom when we have company.

Anyhow, I've had to change my whole approach to cooking as well as eating. Convenience foods have not historically ever made an appearance in my house. I cook from scratch and so does Strutt (who is an awesome Southern cook - hir fried chicken makes the heavens open and the angels sing). We don't often use substitutes and replacements and fake foods - and, to be honest, we weren't real crazy about starting now. Strutt doesn't have a weight problem in the first place, unless you count the maybe 5 lbs. s/he thinks s/he needs to lose. S/he's never had a weight problem (for which s/he is routinely banished by me to the ninth level of Dante's hell :) ). Katie certainly doesn't need to be eating synthetics - and frankly, I think if it's not good enough for my daughter, then why should it be good enough for me or Strutt?

But I had a lot of work to do to revamp mealtime into something we could all enjoy without sabotaging myself or shortchanging Strutt and Katie. A lot of what we cooked was healthy in that it used fresh meats, fruits, vegetables - but things like butter, cheese, and eggs were a problem. I wanted to stick to whole grains as much as possible and cut out refined flour and white sugar. Strutt and I both started to look at it as a huge challenge and have really been getting into it recently. We've come up with some amazing stuff. Sundays are still my free day, when I can enjoy the old favorites, but we're doing good on the restricted days as well. I'm going to publish a recipe now and then, like this one for a killer veggie pizza:

Fresh Veggie Pizza
Makes 4-6 servings

1 can (15-ounces) tomato puree
3 medium cloves garlic, finely minced, divided
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1-1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 package (2-1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup red pepper, diced medium
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup fresh baby spinach, thinly sliced
1/3 cup black olives (optional)
2/3 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
5 fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade

Make the sauce: combine the tomato puree, 1 clove of minced garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the black pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat. When mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Make the crust: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, yeast, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt. Add the water, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the honey; mix well and knead briefly just until dough comes together in a smooth ball. Cover with a warm, damp towel and place in a warm spot for 20 minutes to rise.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and move the oven rack to the low-middle position. For best results, place a baking stone on the oven rack and allow it to heat thoroughly.

While dough is rising, put 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Swirl the skillet to coat the bottom with the heated oil. Sauté the onion, red pepper, mushrooms, spinach, and remaining 2 cloves of minced garlic until the vegetables are crisp-tender and the spinach is wilted, about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently and watching to make sure the garlic does not burn. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Punch dough down and press evenly into a greased 14-inch pizza pan. Brush the dough round with the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil. Spread half the sauce on the pizza dough round to within 1/2" of the edge (the remaining sauce can be frozen for future use). Spread the vegetable mixture evenly over the sauce, scatter the black olives on top (if using), then sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake the pizza on top of the pizza stone at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Sprinkle with fresh basil; let stand for 5 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.