Week Three: Pizza

Pizza is amazing! I love the gooey cheese, warm tomato sauce, and crispy crust. It is truly a food of the gods! Originally, pizza began in Italy as a Neapolitan pie with tomato. In 1889, Queen Margherita of Italy was served a pizza that looked the Italian flag: red (tomato), white (mozzarella), and green (basil).
Later, a pizza was named after the Queen as Pizza Margherita.


My favorite pizza has lots of cheese and Canadian bacon.

I do not care for frozen pizza and have not been able to make a good pizza in my own kitchen; however, after watching a television show about pizza, I am ready to find the perfect pizza pie!

First, I tried pizza from Pizza Hut. I ordered a large, deep-dish one. It was only $10.00, which was a good buy. But it failed my test because the crust was too doughy. Perhaps, the deep-dish accounts for the doughy crust. Next time, I will order thin and crispy crust.

My next pizza came from Domino's Pizza. It was a large hand-tossed pizza with hamburger, black olives, an Canadian bacon. But it also failed to meet my criteria. The crust was crispy, but the pizza slice tasted dry and had very little tomato sauce on it. Apparently, it is hard to find a pizza with just the right ingredients on it. I would have to search further in my quest for the perfect pie.
Hideaway Pizza was my next pizzeria to try. I ordered a cheese pizza so I could focus on the three main ingredients: crust, sauce, and cheese. The pizza looked great coming out of the hot oven. The crust was nicely brown and crisp. The sauce and cheese were equally distributed. In the past, my family ordered Tulsa Hurricane, which is a blend of pineapple, Canadian bacon, and jalapeno peppers.

I have to get the hot peppers on the side because they cause me digestion problems. On the other hand, my husband eats them with every meal and loves them. Hideaway takes first place so far. It is a bit pricey though. A large specialty pizza costs about $20.00, but I can purchase a small cheese pizza with a salad or drink for less than $10.00. This works good for me since I am a college student on a limited budget.

The following weekend, I attended my niece's birthday party. I was excited because it was at Rodney's Pizza Place in Purcell, Oklahoma. I could continue searching for the perfect pizza while I celebrated Sierra' s tenth birthday. The party consisted of twenty people so there were different pizza varieties to try. Each one had a single topping: hamburger, pepperoni, sausage, and Canadian bacon. The waitress brought us a Canadian bacon first so I tried it. The slices were a mass of melted cheese, similar to a plate of nachos. Small flecks of pink bacon covered the mound of mozzarella cheese. I took a bite and fell in love. It was juicy! The crust was crisp, and the pizza melted in my mouth. I had found my perfect pie! It even looked like a pie because the melted cheese and Canadian bacon ran together as pies do. Then, I tried the hamburger pizza, and it was just as delicious.


The next time I visit Rodney's Pizza Place, I will try the Works. This is a pizza with mushrooms, hamburger, sausage, and bell peppers. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water and my stomach grumble. The true test to good pizza, though, is eating it the next morning. It has to taste good then, too. Unlike some students, I do not eat it cold. I will heat it up and see if it is as good as the night before.


I have loved pizza since I was a young girl, but I have eaten more since I have been in college than any other time in my life. Perhaps, it is the gooey cheese and warm sauce that comforts me when I am cramming for exams or writing essays on the computer. During my research, I discovered that pizza is eaten all around the world.

I did not know that pizza reflects cultures. On the Internet, I discovered that Israel has Pizza Hut and Sbarro. But they also have kosher locations that serve large portions of vegetable toppings such as mushrooms, onions, corn and labane (strained yogurt), and middle Eastern spices. In Korea, pizza is potato mousse-filled cookie dough crust sprinkled with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and raisins that can be dipped in blueberry sauce. America also has pizza that reflects the influence of Italian Greek immigrants. In Chicago, pizza is deep-dish and sometimes square. In New York, pizza has its own unique variety of thin crust pizza. Likewise, Detroit offers pizza in a distinct twice-baked style.


All this focus on pizza is inspiring. Perhaps, I will create a pizza that is uniquely my own. My relatives came from Germany so I can see what if they eat pizza there. I know they eat lots of sausages and potatoes. I have read about pizza in both Sweden and Japan. Since I really like shrimp, pineapple, and Canadian bacon, I can order those toppings to see how they work together.

The health issues of eating pizza is moderate. It is high in fat, salt, and calories; however, the tomatoes have antioxidants that fight cancer. I will limit my intake of pizza so I do not risk my health. I imagine after I graduate, I will not desire it as much. Pizza is certainly been a life saver to me when I do not have time to cook. I am usually going to class or studying most evenings.


Wow! I found a pizza farm online. It is near the Mississippi River in Alton, Illinois. The farm is a half-acre circular plot that is divided up, similar to the slices of a giant pizza. The eight wedges on the "R" Pizza Farm illustrate the components of a pizza. The three goats represent milk, the cow stands for beef, and the seven pigs symbolize sausage. In addition, there are tomatoes, peppers, and herbs on this unique farm. I am impressed. This organic farm draws 6,000 visitors a year and even serves pizza. This would be a fun place to take the whole family or a great field trip for students.

http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20050916&slug=pizzafarm16

Week Two: Little House on the Prairie

"All I have told is true, but not the whole truth." --Laura Ingalls Wilder


As a young girl, I loved to watch Little House on the Prairie. What is it about the frontier that is so captivating and romantic? The show originated with the real Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series in 1932. Wilder wrote these books until she was 76 years old. I love the illustrations, which were done by Garth Williams. Laura and her family live in a Wisconsin forest at first. Here, they have no schools and grow vegetables, Wow! I cannot imagine living so isolated there is not even ha grocery store nearby. Then they travel in a covered wagon across the frozen Mississippi River to the Minnesota prairie.

Hollywood makes the frontier look so appealing. Perhaps, that is part of the intrigue. Every day after school, I would run home and watch this show. I would forget all my troubles as I watched Laura face mean old Nellie Oleson and life in Walnut Grove. I lived on a farm and also had to a gather eggs, feed chickens, and slop the hogs. But my chores were work, unlike Laura and Mary's fictitious ones. It was much more entertaining to watch someone else do farm chores. But it was the interesting plot and positive family that kept me watching it, week after week.

I remember reading Little House in the big Woods. Jack was such a good dog and had to swim in the creek or drown. I am sure my love for the television show was established while I read the Little House books. My mother stayed at home with my siblings and me, sewing many of our clothes. We did not live in a cabin or on the prairie, but we had a garden, chores, and animals to take care of. I adored Laura Ingalls and still enjoy watching the show today.

The books and television series influenced me in many ways. In my wedding, I had two flower girls who wore sunbonnets and dresses just like the ones that Mary, Laura, and Carrie wore to church. I believe Laura was an early feminist because she thought for herself and was a homesteader. Obviously, she had to be a strong woman to endure the hard life on the frontier.

The Little House books were based on Wilder's childhood in her pioneer family. She lived from 1867-1957. Life was very hard during this time; nevertheless, Wilder survived. The First Four Years is a manuscript that was discovered after Rose Wilder died and contains some of the hardships she lived through.

She and her husband, Almonzo, suffered severe drought, hunger, and lost a son soon after his birth in 1889. Almonzo also had diphtheria and became partially paralyzed. Wilder's story is inspiring and helps me to appreciate the television shows even more. I catch the reruns from time to time and am reminded of my childhood once again.

Here is a link to the television show and theme song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO72KBtUmHk

Classic Cars

Old classic cars are so cool! My husband and I have decided to purchase one; however, we cannot agree on one model. He likes the 1963 Impala SS (super sport) because he drove one like it when he was a teenager. He also likes muscle cars, but I have different taste. I want a car that is roomy, comfortable, and nostalgic. The 1955-57 Chevy Bel-air is a car that has all these qualities. I love the turquoise and white cars because they have huge back seats and trunks. The dash boards are sweet and so wide! We are looking for a car with original interior, but we know that we will have to put an air conditioner in since most older cars do not have them. I did not realize this until we began looking for a classic car. This year, we have been to a few car shows: Holdenville, Paul's Valley, Shawnee, and Prague. We hope to go to Guthrie this weekend and check out the cars there. I can picture us cruising down the road in a cool car. I realize the gas mileage is only twelve to fifteen miles per gallon, but looking cool comes at a price. I do like the 1966 Thunderbird. We saw an awesome black one in Blanchard recently. The Thunderbird was in the movie, Thelma and Louise. I like the way the back seat wraps around the side of the door. Old classic cars carry a nostalgic message, which is why many people are drawn to them. They bring back so many memories of childhood. If we could just capture the innocence of youth in them, we would be set. Maybe, we will find the perfect car in Guthrie. . .

Week One

Today is the first day of Advanced Composition class. I am excited about it. I hope to learn new writing skills and make new friends. I have always loved to write. Although the class is only eight weeks, I think it will be fun.

Blogging is a new way to write these days. Many people use it as a tool to advance their writing. I do not really understand how people know what blogs are out there, but I suppose I will learn about it. I enjoyed watching the movie, Julia and Julia, because the young Julia incorporates blogging as she experiments with new recipes of Julia Childs. I think this would be fun; however, the cooking might be a lot of work.

I love to watch cooking shows with competing cooks. They are hilarious! Sometimes, the contestants forget one ingredient and the entire entree' flops. I recently watched Just Desserts. The cooks created a chocolate masterpiece that was four feet tall. In fact, it was a chocolate tree with branches. This project took skill and creativity.

Writing is similar to cooking. First, you start with a thought and freewrite to gain ideas. Then you stir these ideas together until a concrete topic surfaces. Once all the ideas are down on paper, you can write a thesis and eventually the paper. The final product is a complete essay, blog, or letter that is worth reading. Others can read it and enjoy it as well. Writing gives a sense of accomplishment, regardless of the topic.