Homemade, wholesome pizza and more Utah gardening adventures

HAHAHA! Skeeaired? Don't be. It's not a dangerous spider. I mean, you don't want one to bite you (leaves a nasty welt, I hear), but they're good at killing bugs you don't like. Oh, and they jump. *Shiver.* But, look how fuzzy he is. I mean, in a way, isn't Harold here kind of cute? Just look into those eyes. And those other eyes...and those ones too... He's just a hardworkin' arachnid; don't hate!

It's called the Daring Jumping Spider. I ran into this cuddly little fellow yesterday as he was attempting to climb into my tomato plant. I should have let him.  My tomato plant is covered in filthy vermin! It's stressing me out. Those are my tomaters, free loaders! Yuck. Anyway, they'll soon be getting a thick serving of organic insecticide.

Ok. Now I'd like to get serious with you for a minute. Because, I'm going to show you my pizza. I made a pizza the other night and it was wonderful and healthy and you need to know about it.

So, good pizza must begin on a solid foundation. I wanted this pizza to have a kick-butt dough and I found one called Jay's Signature Pizza Crust. However, as is my wont, I Meg-ified it by subbing half whole wheat flour. That made this a pretty healthy dough since the fat is just a bit of olive oil. This crust is outstanding! Be warned: this is a yeast dough and must rise, so you'll have to start it about an hour before baking it (but it is SO worth it!)

After rising and rolling, it was time for some exceptional ingredients. I wanted simple but striking flavors, so I opted for no tomato sauce (gasp) and went with 3 toppings:

Emmentaler cheese, basil, and vine-ripe tomatoes.

Three words (and one article) for you: I am a genius.

Bahaha. But it did turn out pretty good.

Next, we threw it on my $10 baking stone and this is what came out:

And then we had ourselves a little slice of heaven. Actually, several rather huge slices.