Wood shop, pizza, and winter trees...

Our winter barn project is done.   We painted and installed the salvaged cupboards.  We used chalkboard paint for the middle one, so my husband can keep project notes. The bench below was built by his father.  The walls are lumber from various projects and we added a wood stove for heat.  Altogether, it turned out pretty cozy.   It is good to have that project done.

 I love Pinterest.  This weekend I tried Mexican Chorizo White Pizza with a beer crust.  Overall, pretty good.
Crust:
2 c. Flour
1 t. Active dry yeast
1/2 t. Baking powder
1/2 t. Salt
1 T. Olive oil
6 oz. Dark beer
Mix dry ingredients and add olive oil and warm beer.  Knead 7-10 minutes and let rise for 1 1/2 hours.

White Sauce:
2 T. Butter
2 T. Flour
1 1/2 c. Milk at room temperature
1 t. Garlic powder
1/2 t. White pepper (I used normal pepper)
Pinch of nutmeg
1/3 c. Parmesan cheese
1/2 c. Cheddar
Melt butter in a saucepan and whisk in flour.  Cook 2 minutes then whisk in milk.  Stir in garlic, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook, stirring often, until sauce becomes thick.  Then remove from heat and stir in cheeses.  Stir until the cheese melts.

When dough is ready knead for a few seconds.  Preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Drizzle a little olive oil on a baking sheet or pizza stone.  Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place doughball in the center and push to edges of the pan.  Brush with olive oil, cover with white sauce, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and oregano.  Add taco meat (The recipe calls for chorizo, but we didn't like it much.) or sausage, black olives, pepper, mozzarela, cheddar, and Parmesan cheeses.  Yumm.  I made changes to the actual recipe.  It can be found here: pinaenlacocina.com

All this talk of social distancing is intriguing to me.  My husband and I are professional social distancers.  I normally get groceries once a week and sometimes every two weeks.  The pantry is always stocked and our freezer is full of deer meat.  We don't go out to eat very often and take few shopping trips.  During this time my biggest concern is for our families and friends.  I hope everyone is being safe and taking care of themselves.