pizza pizza pizza

Tonight's dinner was: shaved asparagus pizza. With goat cheese and caramelized onions. And, of course, a more traditional pizza with chicken sausage and mushrooms. But the asparagus pizza was the highlight. Who would think to put asparagus on pizza? Not me! (although its definitely a better idea than ziti--what is the point of putting pasta on top of pizza?) I never would have thought to shave asparagus either. Apparently you can also shave eggplant and zucchini, and probably yellow summer squash, too.







We followed this recipe with a few changes. Mom made whole wheat pizza crust, and it was a larger pizza than 12". After shaving the asparagus, not only did I toss it in olive oil, salt, and pepper, but also a splash of lemon juice and some crushed red pepper. I used about 3 oz of mozzarella and 4 of goat cheese, along with some romano (maybe a little less than a quarter cup? I didn't really measure anything). The asparagus itself was yummy, I think I'm going to try making a salad with shaved asparagus and grape tomatoes sometime this summer.

Hopefully all you homemade-pizza-lovers will try this sometime!

To make and bring to a bbq tomorrow: deviled eggs (with avocado? depends if it magically ripens overnight!), blueberry cornmeal cupcakes, and something else TBD. Happy memorial day!

Going to the Amish grocery store

Having heard from my brother about an Amish grocery store near Charlotte Hall, MD, I decided to visit and see what it was like. The prices were astonishingly low for many things. A loaf of bread was $1.29, a jar of raspberry jam was $0.85. Some other things like coconut were relatively expensive, but on the whole, it is a wonderful place to shop. I picked up a big jar of peanut-butter for $2.30 or so, but upon arriving home, immediately heard complaints that it contained "transfats". OK, so maybe not all is well, but they also had transfat free peanut butter for about $3.35 a jar according to Jon. I didn't read the labels so I didn't know or care. The best deal of all was a can of oyster stew for $0.85 cents.

After the visit, I read up on Amish culture and saw the following advice: no photographs, don't stare, allow them to keep their distance. It is advised to wear suspenders, a mono-color shirt, preferably black. Women preferably should wear long dresses with no ornamentation. The Amish regard ornamentation and bright colors as a lack of humility.

Hallie would enjoy visiting in order to practice her German. These days the Amish also speak English well.

Guten Abend!

Ich bin mit meiner Mutter in Düsseldorf. Morgen gehen wir nach Köln.

Dienstag sind wir von New Jersey nach Amsterdam geflogen und Frietagmorgen sind wir von Amsterdam nach Köln geflogen. Dann sind wir mit dem Zug nach Düsseldorf gegangen (ich habe im Zug geschalfen!). Heute haben wir nach ein Museum gegangen. Auch sind wir nach einen Markt gegangen.

Morgen ist Mutterstag...Herzlich Mutterstag! Und heir in Deutschland die 13 Mai is Vaterstag...

-Hallie