Well, the weeding continues, as it always has and will each May. But. It must be done, or those pesky weeds will win (and I can’t let that happen). And, most importantly, there won’t be a tomato or a melon to be had if the Farm produces only weeds. And a Summer without melons isn’t worth having. And speaking of melons. I have given a lot of thought to what will be produced here on the Farm this Summer in the way of evaluating all we actually eat vs. all we think we will eat. And here on the Farm, we love our Corn–right as it is on the cob. Now. in the past only one type of corn has been planted here on the Farm, and that is the type and kind that makes bread. And if that kind is planted (and the seeds saved for future planting) then no other types or kinds may be planted alongside. Well. We have a lot of that corn flour left from last Summer, so I was thinking we would take the year off and plant corn that may be held in the hand in the way of roasting and boiling and putting it in a stew. In short, I think we may plant sweet corn here on the Farm–a first for us. Usually, we buy this corn from other farmers, who know that type and grow it so well. That being said, I hope to have all kinds of recipes in here from our very own corn! Here’s hoping.

And speaking of good things to eat, my very best friend is in town to-day and is coming to the Farm for a visit, so of course, we will be making pizzas, and this is my new fa-vor-ite:

Spinach and Goat Cheese Mushroom Pizza, or The GOAT, as I like to call it, and here is how it is made:

The dough is made and made well. If you have never made dough before, there are several ways for it to be done, and I myself switch between those ways, but for today, I went with what’s simplest, which was to take a cup of warm water and to that add a tablespoon of instant yeast. That is left by itself until it becomes creamy–about five minutes. Once it is, two and a half to three cups of all-purpose flour is added and kneaded in (for simplicity sake, I use my mixer with the dough hook) for about ten minutes or until the dough is smooth. To this is added about a tablespoon of olive oil–today I used olive oil that was chili-pepper infused. The dough will fall apart a bit, but after kneading it a while, it will find itself again. If it is still struggling after about five minutes of kneading, a little more flour can be added. That will fix it. At that time, a teaspoon of salt is added and the dough kneaded it bit more. It is then removed from the bowl and placed on a floured counter-top where it is rolled and tucked into a ball and covered with a towel and left by itself for an hour or two or until it doubles on itself. At that time it is cut into four equal pieces and those rolled and tucked into their own little balls and set on their own little sections of floured counters and covered with a towel once more. Those should be ready to go in about two hours at which time they are flattened gently until they are the right size and shape suitable for the pizza into which they are destined to become.

There. Now you know at least one way to make a good pizza dough. I am sure we will look at others at some time in the future. But for today, this will do. To make it a GOAT pizza, four cups of spinach is to be sautéed with two tablespoons butter, along with a quarter cup fresh oregano and two cloves freshly minced garlic. This is cooked and cooked well until all is a lump of bright green in the pan. This is left to cool a bit, and once it is, is placed in a food processor, along with four ounces fresh goat cheese and a smidge of salt and pepper. It is pulsed a time or seven or until all comes together. It is scraped from the processor into a bowl and set aside for now. In the meantime, five large mushrooms are sliced thinly and set with a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan and left to cook until they are charred nicely. These also are set aside to cool. Now. To assemble the pizza. The spinach/goat cheese mixture is spread evenly over the prepared dough, almost to the edge. A good amount of shredded mozzarella cheese is spread over all, as well as a bit of good freshly grated parmesan. The mushrooms are set over all, and the whole thing slid into the pizza oven (or a preheated five-hundred-degree oven fitted with a pizza stone and set to broil once the pizza has arrived). In the case of the pizza oven, the pizza is carefully watched and moved this way and that until all is bubbly and golden and delicious. In the case of the standard oven baked pizza, it is also watched, only not nearly so closely. Once removed, the pizza is set on a rack to cool and the crust is gently brushed with a bit of garlic butter. No wonder this is the GOAT!