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Pesto Tomato Pizza

You need:
Pizza crust
Pesto sauce
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 cups of your favorite pizza cheese (I like the Mozzarella, Asiago, and Provolone blend.)

Pizza Crust (Thanks, Jamie!)

1 packet active dry yeast
1/4 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water; allow to rest for 8 minutes. In a seperate bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour yeast mixture over flour mixture and mix well. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Coat hands with olive oil and pat dough into a ball. Working from the edges to the center, press dough into a 12″ circle. Place dough on a lightly greased pizza pan or baking stone and stretch dough to edges, leaving dough a little thicker around the edges.

Bake 8 minutes or until slightly golden and puffy. Meanwhile, make pesto:

1 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic

Place everything into blender or food processor. Cover and blend on medium speed for about 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape sides, until smooth.

Spread pesto on crust.

Top with tomato slices and your favorite shredded pizza cheese. Bake for an additional 12 minutes, or until cheese is melted and pizza top is golden and bubbly.

Photos from the Dragstrip

FestivALL over the place!

We’re off to FestivALL — with a friend!

Sidewalk chalk art at the Library (Jon could have stayed here all day!)
And a water droplet that left a smear on my lens for this and the next photograph… *gah!* You can tell I’m not a professional photographer, right?

“Magnetic” (velcro) poetry

Everytime I see Julie Adams at a fair or festival, it’s like seeing Madonna. She’s the first musician I think I ever got to see in concert, and her music makes up a big part of the soundtrack of my life! Here she is singing “Funeral Food,” one of my favorite (and possibly her funniest) songs.

Power Rafting

Went to Power Park, did some rafting…

Peace Rose

Lunch!

Beach Cake a la Jeanette
(kind of like blonde brownies, with a creamy topping baked right in.)

2 cups pecans, chopped
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter
1 box confectioner’s sugar
3 eggs
8 oz cream cheese

Mix together pecans, cake mix, melted butter, & 1 egg. Press into a 9X 13″ cake pan. Mix together sugar, 2 eggs, and cream cheese. Pour over 1st mixture. Bake @ 350″ for 40-60 minutes or until golden brown.

Purple Dahlia

FestivALL

Know what week it is?

It’s FESTIVALL!

If you’re in Charleston, you should go. It’s a huge arts festival, with street performers, concerts, artists doing live demonstrations, and other fun events. It starts Thursday and ends Sunday night. Most events will be taking place around Capitol Street, but there are events at the Clay Center and Universtiy of Charleston, as well.

Go here for an interactive map (very cool!)