Pizza Rising

Jayda Swenson is a paramedic with a past- and a secret. (Lisa Wilson Otto, the author of Heat Rising, is an EMT herself, so the details are scarily realistic.) When Jayda meets the new guy at work, Ben Tierney, both her carefully guarded issues threaten to be revealed. Her dead husband invented a horrific recipe for meth that she thought died with him, but the bodies showing up around town say otherwise. Plus there’s the mysterious matter of her blood condition- and Ben seems to know a lot more than he is letting on. Between fighting demons, saving lives, and sexytimes, Ben and Jayda spend time dissecting each other’s food choices. She’s a health nut, he’s a junk junkie. Perhaps, if someone made this vegan pizza for them, they could eat at the same table at last. Lisa is querying agents for this novel at current, so don’t look for it on Amazon just yet!

Pizza Rising

1 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup hot water
1 T sugar
1Tb olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal

3 Tb olive oil
3 minced cloves garlic

1 Tb olive oil
8 oz sliced baby bellas
2 leeks, finely chopped
1 Tb fennel seeds
2 Tb tomato paste
1/4 c red wine

Combine the first seven ingredients in a bowl, cover, and let it rise while you preheat the oven to 500. In this heat, I just stuck mine on the front porch. It doubled in 20 minutes flat.

On a small pan, heat the olive oil and garlic to a simmer, then remove from heat and set aside to infuse.

In the bottom of a cast-iron skillet, spread a bit of oil. Turn your dough into the pan, and spread it to the edges with cornmeal-y fingers. Pour the garlic-oil on top of the dough. Put the skillet on the stovetop and heat it over medium while you prepare your toppings. This will give that crunch to the crust.

In the garlic pan, heat the rest of the oil and add the mushrooms and leeks. Cook for a few minutes. When they look ready, add a pinch of salt, and the fennel seeds. Stir, and add the tomato paste and wine. When the “sauce” is coating the veggies, dump it all on your pizza. Transfer the skillet to the oven for 8-12 minutes.

Garnish your pizza as desired- I used fresh oregano and slivered almonds.

Serve with both kale and potato chips.