Roadside Adventures

This afternoon we had a long drive from Richmond to Roanoke. About two hours in, my presenter noticed that we were about to pass Appomattox, VA and we decided it was about the right time to find a bathroom and get dinner. First we drove to the national park, where we saw the battlefield and (from a distance) the reconstructed Appomattox courthouse where, if you don't recall, Lee surrendered to Grant to end the Civil War. Then, on our way back to the highway, my presenter spotted a sign pointing to town where "restaurants, antique shops, and stores" were promised.

If you exclude fast food, there was actually no "s" on the end of "restaurants". The only option we could find was on the fabulous, one-block Main Street--Grannie Bee's. Walking in was like walking into an odd horror movie. We were the only people under 60. There were no less than three women in terrifyingly overdone makeup. Everyone stared at us like we were aliens. The entire place smelled like a deep-fryer. Everyone spoke with a thick southern twang. No joke.

The menu was sparse, but they had sweet tea! The waiter announced that the special was "saol-oh-mahn cakes" and "...the extra vegetable tonight is mac'n'cheese." I was definitely not ordering the special, but feeling adventurous I ordered fried flounder (meh...), green beans (from a can...), and the "veggie" mac'n'cheese (probably velveeta...). At least the sweet tea was tasty and the rest was definitely edible, unlike my presenter's unwise choice of "country ham" which more resembled shoe leather than food.

As soon as we exited the restaurant, walking past the most pathetic, wilted salad bar I have ever seen (including a large, soupy, clear container of cling peaches), we climbed into the car and burst out in giggles. Really, who cares if the food sucked, it was amazing. Utterly amazing.

Piece of Cake Pizza

Yeast scares me. I don't know what to do with it outside of a bread machine. So I took a page from the Joy of Cooking (and from my roommate who's amazing with all things baking) and made some pizza (#27 complete!). Turns out, it only takes about 2.5 hours total... not too bad for two large pizzas!

Pizza a la Adrian

Dough:
1 packet Active Dry Yeast
1 1/3c Warm Water
3 1/2c Flour
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Sugar (optional)

• Mix yeast with water and let disolve for 5 minutes.
• Add remaining ingredients and mix until the dough combines and is smooth.
• Form it into a ball and drizzle with olive oil. Place dough ball into a bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise until it doubles in size (about 1-1.5 hours) in a warm place (75-80ºF).
• Punch down dough and divide in half, wrap each half in plastic and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, grease and dust 2 baking sheets with olive oil and corn meal and preheat oven to 425ºF.
• Stretch dough carefully (I did this both in the air and then on the cookie sheet) to fill baking sheet. Fold and pinch edge to form crust. Brush with olive oil to prevent it from getting soggy and dimple it with your fingers to prevent it from bubbling.

Sauce (make while crust is rising):
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 small Onion, diced
3 cloves Garlic, crushed
1, 28oz can of Crushed Tomatoes
2-3 tbsp Italian Seasoning (dried)
1 tbsp Parsley (dried)
3 stems of Basil

• Saute onion and garlic. Add tomatoes and seasonings.
• Simmer for 10-15 minutes minimum to thicken.
• Allow to cool. Spread over prepared crust.

Toppings:
1lb Mozzarella Cheese
chopped basil
sliced garlic
sliced tomatoes
chopped onion
chopped red pepper
sliced kalamata olives
...really, anything goes here

• Sprinkle toppings over pizza, cheese goes last.
• Place Pizza in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melted and crust is slightly browned.
• Devour... but don't burn the roof of your mouth!

Recipe, OR... How to Empty the Veggie Drawer

This one is especially for Maureen, since she insisted that I do actually cook every once in a while. So far this week, I've been really bad about clearing out the veggie drawer. One big salad and a lot of fruit got eaten, but the gigantic beets lurked in the drawer, taunting me with their foreign allure (I've never tried beets before, other than one rather unfortunate experience with Dad's borscht experiment). So today I decided to roast what was left.

Here's what I had for dinner (all veggies came from the Full Circle CSA):
2 large beets, peeled
2 large new potatoes (about the same quantity as the beets)
1 small red onion (could have used more)
1 crookneck yellow squash, medium sized
a handful of baby carrots

note: ANYTHING that you have can work here, that's the point of a "clean out the veggie drawer" meal. Broccoli tends to need more oil to not burn, but zucchini and brussels sprouts are divine roasters as well.

Chop everything to chunky, roasting sized pieces. Throw them in a bowl with a healthy (or not so much...) drizzle of olive oil and a nice amount of Italian seasonings, garlic powder, and black pepper. Toss with hands, and dump on cookie sheet. Place in oven (which I forgot to preheat) at 400 degrees, and let cook for about 30-45 minutes. Stir with spatula once or twice... or just forget about it all like I did and come rushing back into the kitchen muttering "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..."

Meanwhile, make some rice-a-roni. Another option would be to make some greens as a nest for the veggies (beet greens would have been a great idea on my part, but I forgot about them). A non-lazy person would grill a chicken breast or something else tasty like that, but I was kinda tired of cooking at this point. Remove veggies from oven when tender and enjoy. As I ate mine, I had another "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..." moment, but this time, one of purely surprised ecstasy. That shit was GOOD.

Now I go on my little high and mighty rant: If you want this to be extra good, get real carrots. Those little wooden sticks that come in bags at the safeway are nothing like the carrots that came in my box last week. Bear in mind, the carrots I got were the same size, but actually only grown for a few weeks rather than whittled down to cute size. They were as sweet or sweeter than the beets, which were insanely good as well. Sometimes I get carrots in the box that are only as tasty as the store ones, but when you get the good ones, they are melt-in-your-mouth amazing. They don't have to be organic per-say, just get the ones that look funky, like you grew them in your own veggie garden. The uglier the better it seems. K, I'm done :)