Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The life which [has no pizza] is not worth living.

The yellowy, pollinated haze of an April day furthers my spirit's intoxication as I watch Mia.  I can watch her little fuzzy headed smiling self walk over and greet me in the mornings, or I can watch her hum a little tune with the sweetest voice I have ever heard.  I can watch her dump out a bowl of bottle caps and then one-by-one plop them back into a cup, or I can watch her pick up rocks and tuck them safely away in her jacket pocket.  It doesn't matter what she does; in her presence, I am in awe, I am happy, I am whole.
Time has slowed down for me these past few days, so I can focus on what is most important in life, and that is most definitely her.  We have been working on a surprise art project to give Daddy as a gift to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the restaurant.  We have also been reading lots of books about pizza -- we have many.  We have even been making our own "pizzas" out of homemade play dough.  Whatever we do, there seems to be pizza involved. 

Homemade Play Dough Recipe
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup salt
  • 4 teaspoons cream of tarter
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • food coloring of choice (I prefer the gel kind -- more vibrant)
  • Mix dry ingredients first.  Add wet ingredients.  You can make one large batch of the same color, or you can split the batch into four smaller batches and make a rainbow of colors. 
  • Heat over low heat (I use a nonstick frying pan), stirring constantly for 2-4 minutes. 
  • Knead well.
  • Store in an airtight container indefinitely.