Pizza

Well I was wondering if we could go a week without pizza but it seems the answer is no. Thursday after work we spent talking on the deck and the time just flew by, so it was pizza to the rescue rather than having to go inside and cook. The weather has been perfect lately - sunny, mid 70's and no humidity. But I do have to coat myself in Off now since the mosquitos are biting. I found a tick on myself yesterday for the first time. Luckily it was still walking around and hadn't yet dug in for a meal. I captured it alive in a glass so I could determine was it was. Luckily it was a wood tick (aka dog tick) and is not the type to carry Lyme disease. But I don't think I got bit anyways. Friday night we made another dish from the Union Square Cafe cookbook, "Penne with Asparagus and Red Peppers". I had to roast 4 peppers and then peel and chop them. Previously I have roasted peppers in the oven for 1 hour. This time I tried roasting over the open flame of the gas stove, which was a much quicker method, but still just as messy peeling off the blackened skins. The end result though is a nice sweet pepper so I guess the effort is worth it. The dish turned out great and we had leftovers for lunch yesterday. Below are a couple of more plants that have started to bloom. On the left is some Veronica (aka Red Fox Speedwell), a nice spiky pink flower. On the right is Achillea 'Richard Nelson' which I've planted in front of the electrical box in the front yard. It's doing great in that harsh dry spot.