Garden Pizza

There's a certain pleasure in picking ingredients from a kitchen garden, no matter how small. It feels so satisfying to go outside and find basil and oregano, maybe onion, and (some seasons) even spinach. This year I didn't get much spinach; something small and furry found its way into the greens and ate it. I bought my spinach from the Farmers' Market instead. My tomatoes aren't ready yet, so this particular pizza had sauce from a jar.

When food comes out of the backyard garden or from a local producer, the cook knows what really goes into it. Organic, pure, additives or not - harvesting (or buying from the grower) and cooking from scratch increases control over food quality.

Enough philosophy already. Here's a quick ingredient list: a bit shy on specifics because I make my pizza on the fly with little or no measuring, but still useful if you want to try it yourself.

Crust: I buy mine as a mix. If you can make your own, I envy your talent!

Sauce: Less is more! Choose a basic marinara sauce and spice it up to your own taste. I've used as little as half a cup on a 12 inch pizza.

Now the fun. Go to the garden or the farmers' market and get --

oregano

basil

spinach

onion (you choose the type)

garlic (to taste)

peppers

-and anything else that appeals to you when it's on top of a pizza, including a wonderful mozzarella cheese.

I cut up the herbs and sprinkle them on top of the sauce. Onion and garlic and peppers (optional) can be next. Spinach: simply cut off the stems and set the leaves, whole, on top of the herbs, etc. Then choose a good mozzarella (I bought mine from a local cheese shop that stocks fresh cheeses from local dairies). Grate cheese over the top of the pizza. Tempting though it might be, don't overload it. Let the flavors come through.

Bake according to the package directions for the crust. Dine! Enjoy!

The pizza? Delicious.

Growing and picking the ingredients? Very satisfying.

Having direct control over the quality of the food my family eats? Priceless.