Winter overstayed its welcome...so much so that Spring never stopped by and we went straight to summer. When we got back from Taiwan, where it was in the 90s, we were met with rain and temperatures in the 50s and 60s. But all that has changed, we've been entrenched in 70 degree weather for the past few weeks with a period of time where we were consistently in the 80s for a few days. We're even on the verge of breaking the record for the most consecutive days without rain. The record is 29 and I believe we're at 27 or 28 now.
Now trust me, I'm not complaining because for the longest time I didn't think we'd be getting any produce this year until July because of how cold it was. Thankfully the sunshine in the heat kicked things into gear and spring vegetables started showing up quickly followed by strawberries and then cherries. What's next? Hopefully peaches, plums, nectarines, and tomatoes.
Another great thing about spring and summer is the food starts tasting fresh and alive again. As much as I love kale and chard, I'm done with them come May and want spinach and arugula. The raw milk I get from Sea Breeze Farm will taste like the clover the cows are now munching on and the fresh halibut and salmon are starting to be caught by our friends at Wilson Fish again.
But not only am I excited by all the new stuff that shows up at the Farmers Markets, but so are the farmers. They'll happily, and proudly, tell you all about their snap peas, how their strawberries just took off after the first day of hot weather, their fresh ricotta, stories of how they only caught a couple of fish on one of their trips out, and much more.
Of course seeing all that great food at the market inspires me to start making more than just braises. Pan roasted marble salmon with sauteed spinach one night, burgers using beef from Skagit River Ranch the next. And then I heard Sea Breeze Farm was making their own mozzarella and I knew I needed to make a pizza.
But not just any pizza, a pizza that tasted like the new season we're in. Something fresh and bright and utilizes something I could find at the market. So it was decided, arugula pesto pizza. My favorite pizza dough recipe is from The Cheese Board: Collective Works: Bread, Pastry, Cheese, Pizza. Anyone that has spent any time in Berkeley is probably well acquainted with the Cheese Board and most likely their pizzas as well.
So I started out making the dough and while it rose I...went out and got a burger. But when I got back, I whipped up the arugula pesto with some toasted walnuts, garlic, parmigiano reggiano, and of course olive oil. The recipe for the pizza dough yields three 10 inch pizzas so I went about dividing and shaping the doughs. Let me just tell you I can't make a round pizza to save my life. They each took their turn in a 550 degree oven on a pizza stone and each came out a little different. The first had a nice puffy crust but was a little light in color. The second was a little darker because I brushed some olive oil on the edges, but not as airy. The third was much much darker because I used a little heavier hand with the olive oil and almost as puffy as the first, most likely due to the fact that I actually let the oven get back to temperature. Ah, the fickle nature of cooking. Regardless of their differences, they were each a wonderful amoeba shaped taste of spring.