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Pizza!

© Bob Ewing

Number one on your speed dial, how many people have a pizza delivery place as number one on your telephone's speed dial? My inspiration for this week's exploration of that famous food, pizza came, Tuesday morning when I was enjoying a slice of cold pizza while surfing the net. This is no ordinary pizza, nor is one of my own making, more on that later. This pizza was created by a family friend who owns and operates a small café here in town. She also has a catering service. Usually she only makes pizza for her catering clients and doesn't serve it in the café, but this week we talked her into making us one. She also makes a fantastic carrot cake which may be the subject of another article.

Now I enjoy a good carrot cake and this one was tasty indeed but it was the pizza that exceeded the taste barrier. I've eaten quite a few pizzas over the years and the test that I have for quality is simple. If it can be eaten cold for breakfast the next morning, it passes. Our friend's pizza passed this test with flying flavours. Hers is not the typical round pie but a rectangular one that cuts up into nice little hand-sized squares, ideal for parties and other gatherings, essentially places where you eat standing up with a napkin under your food.

What I like most about pizza is the same as what I enjoy most about spaghetti, the sauce. A good, pizza sauce brings the ingredients to life while a dull, flat sauce is a death sentence. I make a pretty good pizza. No longer using the telephone to have it delivered but making the dough, grating the cheese, slicing the mushrooms, peppers and tomatoes. I can't grow the grain to grind into the flour nor make the mozzarella but I can grow the other items, including the tomatoes for the sauce. This way I am in control and nothing, except the cheese, I can buy locally ground flour, has had to travel very far to please my palate. This means I can indulge in one of my major comfort foods and not worry about the harm done when our food travels thousands of miles from the field to our table. While our friend makes a delightful pizza, I still prefer making my own. There is just something very satisfying about being able to provide for yourself and taking control of your own needs.