Clean-Out-The-Fridge Pizza

There are times when I dig in the produce bin(s) of my refrigerator and realize that some of the veggies buried at the bottom are nearing their last days. It is at those times that I either make spaghetti sauce or pizza. I recently saw a recipe in an issue of Vegetarian Times for Clean-Out-The-Fridge stew, but I mistakenly took that magazine to the pool where it got drenched and therefore became quite unreadable. I guess I'll never know how to make that stew now, but I have no qualms about commandeering that name for my pizza.

I keep store-bought pizza crusts in the freezer (I prefer Mamma Mary's brand), but I have clipped out a recipe for whole wheat pizza crust, and I intend to use that recipe to get over my fear of making Things That Need To Rise. I'm not there yet though. I do despise the refrigerated pizza crusts in a can that can be bought in the biscuit section of the supermarket. Nasty, awful things.

Last night, I defrosted two pizza crusts, brushed them with olive oil, sprinkled them with garlic powder, dusted them with Italian seasoning, spread them with tomato sauce and covered them with mozzarella (though I have been known to use monterey jack). Then I cleaned out the fridge and topped them with the following:

• Green olives
• Scallions
• Red onions
• Fresh parsley (out of my garden)
• Mushrooms
• Red bell peppers
• Green bell peppers
• Poblanos
• Marinated artichoke hearts
• Grated parmesan
• Grated romano
• Crumbled feta
• Cracked black pepper
• Crushed red pepper

Bake on a pizza stone dusted with cornmeal at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes. YUMMY!

I'm a big fan of pizza, but will rarely order it from any of the national chains anymore. My favorite pizza joint in Athens is Little Italy, but as the owner was just busted for being the ringleader of meth network, I have fears for the future of the restaurant. A friend of mine and I were jokingly discussing buying the restaurant if it ends up on the block, and now I can't stop thinking about how much I would enjoy running my very own commercial kitchen. Alas, this is only a pipedream for now. Maybe later...

The Carnivore loves my pizza, but Fat Baby had never had any before last night. I cut a slice for him and then cut it up into little-tiny itty-bitty baby pizza slices. Whereas most children pick off the vegetables and will only eat the cheese & crust, Fat Baby carefully picked off the vegetables and ate each one, and then hurled the crusts to the floor with utter disdain. Hmmm, maybe he only likes crusts made from scratch. Figures.