The Art of Making Pizza

Hello, Amanda.

I can't remember if you are going away tonight or tomorrow night, so I don't know when you'll read or write again, but I am taking my daily turn at the keyboard regardless. Interesting, just acknowledging yesterday that I had been neglecting writing was enough to get me going again. I said out loud that I've let life distract me and voila I'm ready for an artist's weekend, if you will. On my way to my parents' this afternoon, I wondered if there was anything I needed or wanted at the grocery store that I should pick up, in case I might choose not to leave the house this weekend. The first things that came to mind were pizza dough and mushrooms....

I had been making pizza every weekend there for a while. Not coincidentally, that was when I was on my writing roll, when I couldn't walk around a corner without thinking of something I wanted to write, when I was in the writer's equivalent of the runner's zone. My creativity was peaking when I planned time in the kitchen every weekend to roll and stretch dough, then paint it with olive oil and herbs, and decorate it with cheese I grated myself and mushrooms and onions that I had sliced and sauteed and seasoned. I would sit and write while it cooked, and let my nose lead me back to the oven before the timer went off, just in time to see bubbles of dough and cheese turn brown. I always felt like I should take a picture when I sat down to a slice, and sometimes I did.

I checked my journal when I got home (because you know I started obsessing, did I really make it every weekend? how long has it been since I made it last?) and discovered I haven't made pizza for 3 weekends now. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Clearly I'm overdue for standing in the kitchen pounding and rolling, chopping and seasoning, which I see now complements the time I spend sitting down pushing keys at my computer.

So that's my plan. I have a couple of new cookbooks and a pile of catalogs to look through, and although I am low on wine, I think I could keep myself sequestered until Monday morning if that's what moved me (or manage a quick trip to the liquor store). (I hate being low on wine.)

If you're still around I'd love to hear from you. If you are already away, I will look forward to hearing from you when you get back.

Sending lots of love, Barb