Practice doing nothing

Sunday was an excellent day of practicing doing nothing.  We moved all of 22 miles from the Crater Lake Resort to the Rocky Point Resort.  I think the drive took about 20 minutes.


Our space was tucked in under some very tall trees.  I couldn't get back far enough to capture the tops!


The "Big White Thing" doesn't look so big in this picture.


After checking in and getting settled, we spent most of the day sitting outside, reading and enjoying the peaceful setting.

We did have a couple of interesting visitors.


This little guy stopped by.

And this  critter gave the side of the Alfa a once over with his very long antenna. He was about three inches long and a very shiny black.

Dinner was a grilled pizza with homemade whole wheat crust, duck sausage, onions, and a bit of Trader Joe's Roquefort cheese.  Yummy!






Oh, and the temperature today was in the 80s.  Warm but with very low humidity so it was really pleasant.  


Love Oregon!

Pizza On The Grill

Knowing I had some pizza sauce and a couple of turkey Italian sausages in the freezer, I decided to try making a pizza on the grill.  I decided to use the big Weber gas grill on the deck rather than the Q up at the Alfa, but I'm sure what I learned will transfer easily.


I made the whole wheat dough in the bread machine in the morning.  I always like to put a pizza dough in the refrigerator to proof for several hours.  It seems to make it roll out better.


While the grill was heating up, I diced up  and pre-cooked the onion, sausage, and eggplant. I didn't have any mushrooms on hand and used peeled Japanese eggplant instead.  First time for everything.  They were good! I also diced some red bell pepper, but didn't pre-cook it.

I love the way this whole wheat dough rolls!  It was not hard to get a nice thin crust.  I finished the roll out on a piece of parchment paper rather than corn meal on the pick because I thought it might be easier to handle putting it on the grill. It was.

We preheated the grill on High-High-High, and then turned it down to Med-Med-Med, and put the crust on right away.  It was a good thing I was standing by to watch it.  I expected it to take 5 minutes, but after only 2 I smelled burning dough. 

 I opened the grill and the dough had grown big bubble on the up side and was starting to burn underneath. I quickly removed it with the pick. 


In the picture the bubble side is down.  I flattened them, turned the crust over and put the sauce and toppings on. 

Craig turned the grill down to Medium - Off - Medium, while I went up to "dress" the pizza.


With a lower temperature I was able to heat the toppings without over-doing the second side of the crust. Yes friends, you do see a bit of cheese.  This was a more traditional style pizza and I used a small amount of grated parmesan.  A few months ago I would have topped it with at least 12 ounces of mozzarella as well!

Craig said it was a little harder to cut than a white flour pizza.


This is a healthier pizza.  Whole wheat crust, less cheese.  But it was tasty and satisfied my pizza craving.


The wine glass is Craig's,  my drink is the Pellegrino in the back.

I'm going to try a BBQ Pizza soon

Next time I make a pizza it will be on the BBQ. I think the whole wheat crust will hold up to grilling better than a regular thin-crust. 


From your comments, it seems like there is some interest in making it that way, and I'm willing to give it a try.


 Although using a whole wheat crust is an improvement, the best thing you can do to make a pizza healthier is to not include the sausage and cheese. 


Has anyone made a pizza on a Webber Q or other gas grill? How have you done it? Do you use a pizza stone?

I've seen something on the web about par-grilling the crust.   

It Doesn't Take Much ...

To make me happy.  


I've been checking the Alfa very careful every day and I haven't found any new mouse signs. The traps and bait remain untouched.


Happy Happy, 
but I am not letting down my guard.


With mice in mind, I have been thinking about being extra clean and careful with food and snacks in the Alfa.  (I am not known for being a great housekeeper, but this is a new challenge and I want to do it right.)


One appliance I have been concerned about is the toaster.  We make toast several times a week, and I will be keeping the toaster in the kitchen cupboard.  


In the house I keep it on the counter and I notice that there are often crumbs around it. I have always just wiped them up as part of the cleaning the kitchen. 

Then I had an idea.  Put a tray under the toaster to catch the crumbs.  I could wipe it out after each use, keeping the counter and cupboard crumb free.


 But to find the perfect tray?  

"Flash of genius..." The lid of one of those cheep plastic shoeboxes makes a perfect tray.  I'm going to use it in the house so I will develop the habit of wiping it out after each toaster use.  

I had a second wonderful discovery this afternoon.  
I went to the World Market store looking for a narrow basket.  I found an inexpensive basket, AND I found a set of two 8" pizza stones.


My medium size pizza stone does not fit into the RV oven, but If set these on the bias they will both fit into the oven at once, or since I have a double shelf for the convection microwave  could use them both in it.  


We really like to make homemade pizza.  I have a number of great recipes including one with caramelized onions with walnuts and balsamic vinegar, and one with only feta cheese and dill weed. 


Pizza is always better when made on a stone and now I will be able to do it in the Alfa. Now I have to find a miniature pizza peel!

Something that did not make me happy.  On Friday the guys from the county were seen on Hutchinson Road. They came, they looked, they did not trim any trees, they left.  Craig called the supervisor this morning and couldn't get thru again.

ERRG!