It’s been another busy week for Matthew. Now that he is back to work, we haven’t had as much time in the kitchen. But we did take advantage of another nice day to grill outside…
Monday on the Grill with Matthew: Grilled Chicken on a Stick, roasted garlic smashed potatoes and cole slaw with cherry tomatoes from the garden.
On Tuesday night we supported Special Olympics by eating out…
On Wednesday Matthew took his bike in for a tuneup to get ready for riding a day of RAGBRAI…the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. This is the 50th year that riders spend eight days riding 500 miles from the Missouri River to the Mississippi.
On Wednesday, next week, Matthew will be joining the #BEUMC (the Iowa United Methodist Church Conference) team for a 54.5 mile ride from Ames to Des Moines. Organizers are expecting 75,000-100,000 riders on Wednesday.
It will definitely be a challenge, as it is going to be the hottest week of the summer. Temperatures are expected to push close to 100F. But, it is a ride, not a race. There will be plenty of time to stop along the way for pork chops, pie and water.
On Fridays the Italian pizza exploration continues…
Friday Pieday: Pizza alla Casalinga, meaning housewife-style pizza, is a variety of Italian pizza that consists of a thick-focaccia type dough topped with mozzarella, a sauce of crushed tomatoes + garlic + olive oil + oregano, salami, pepperoni, mozzarella, black olives and grated Romano. Italian housewives prepared this pizza in their home ovens. New York-style grandma pizza or grandma pie was derived from this pizza variety.
On Saturday, Matthew Johnson and Link Therapeutic Recreation Programs friends went to Spook Cave in McGregor, Iowa. They enjoyed lunch at St. Olaf Tavern. Look at that Breaded Tenderloin…it’s the size of the plate!
I spent some time tracking down black garlic for Sunday’s pizza. One good thing to come out of the pandemic is online shopping. I finally found it at Whole Foods.
Black garlic is a type of aged garlic that is colored deep brownish-black. It doesn't taste particularly garlicky. The flavor is sweet, tangy, rich, and concentrated, like molasses or dried dates, with an earthy savor; the texture is sticky and spreadable. You can learn more about it here.
Sunday’s Creation: Black Garlic Pepperoni Pizza…a thin crispy crust topped with a black garlic sauce, Parmesan, traditional pepperoni, mozzarella, deli style pepperoni, mozzarella, chopped black garlic and Cup n Crisp pepperoni.
Till next week,
~Peggy Palmer-Johnson