Pizza, Galette, Gratitude

Good morning. Hope you all had a nice Mother’s Day. We went for a long hike and spotted a scarlet tanager and possibly a black-throated blue warbler. My Mother’s Day gift to myself was a goldfinch feeder, which I hung in the backyard on Saturday. Ever since I was little, I’ve interpreted a goldfinch sighting as a sign of good luck, so why not do what I can to flood the backyard with these bright, happy, magical vehicles of positive energy? I’ll keep you posted on sightings. Here’s your PPP heading into week nine…

Pantry: Pizza Night

We made pizza last night with homemade dough — we used to do this all the time, but somewhere along the line (blame it on busy weeknights) we just got used to falling back on the store-bought balls, which are legit good, but (breaking news) definitely not as good as homemade. Andy rolled out two balls, distributed a (drained) 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes on each; then topped one with mozzarella, leaving the other plain, and baked each (separately) at 450°F for 15 minutes. We turned the just-tomato one into our go-to salad pizza dinner. It occurred to me that I should try to find a new interpretation of that salad pizza I’ve been making forever. It’s such an easy vegetarian dinner and would work well in my book. Ideas welcome!

Project: Mixed Berry Gallette

Before we went hiking, I made my mom a galette. It’s my favorite kind of baking project because it takes under an hour start to finish and the more artless it looks the better. Basically, take whatever berries you have (if they are about to go rotten, all the better), approximately 2 cups, then toss with 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, juice from half a lemon; then spoon that whole mess into the center of a 9-inch pie dough (I used a storebought dough; if you want to go next-level, go pate brisee) and fold dough in around the edges as shown. “Paint” the folded perimeter with a whisked egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar if you have it. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, then decrease heat to 350°F for another 20, keeping an eye on it. My mom loved it. Though, as a mother myself, I think what she appreciated more was the (socially distanced, gloved, masked, etc. etc.) delivery service.

Purpose: More Gratitude

My cross-country runner has been injured for the past three months, diligently doing her PT every day, and was just recently cleared to start up again. The kid is so happy to half-run, half-walk around a track you wouldn’t believe it, so there’s been a lot of talk about gratitude in my house. There are easier ways to remind yourself to be grateful than injuring your femur, though. I’ve seen a few people on instagram regularly posting Gratitude Lists and I like that trend. Last year, I was using Happy Feed, a gratitude app that makes you write down three things you’re grateful for every day, and when it’s the same thing day in and day out (health, family, food) you start to internalize the message. Lastly, for the sweats out there, I’m guessing this poetry collection (from the iconic Everyman’s Library publishing imprint) would be a nice way to read yourself to sleep every night. Or at least, it should be better than twitter.

Stay safe. Stay home.

The goal of the Project, Pantry, Purpose series to keep us sane, distracted, and connected. Please continue to comment below with suggestions for recipes, projects (for kids and adults), good deeds, donation ideas, stories, movies, games, puzzles. Or just tell me how you’re doing, what your daily routine is, and especially how DALS can help you or people in your community. You can also email me directly at jenny@dinneralovestory.com.