Day Two

It's finally warming up here in Alaska and I am extreamly pleased because I love eating outside in the mornings. What can I say? I'm a morning person. The birds are finally out in full force singing their little birdy songs for you to listen to while you eat this fantastic breakfast of coffee, juice, and "everything" bagel loaded with egg, cheese and a Morning Star Breakfast Patty.

For lunch I indulged in something that I've loved since childhood: peanut butter and banana sandwich. Don't judge me until you've tried it. It's a classic in my world.

Then, to round out the day, we had our pizza night. Almost every Friday we have pizza, it's fast, it's easy, and you don't have to worry about what you're going to make because it's always the same. We have different kinds of pizza but I make the sauce and the dough in bulk and freeze it so that most of the work is done. Meat is always is an ever present part of our pizza night but I came across this recipe and thought that it sounded great. While I made the dough and sauce myself like I usually do, I don't recommend doing that. The chopping and shredding and sauteing and pre-cooking of all the parts took so long that it was a complete hassle, something that goes against everything that pizza night stands for.



Superfast Veggie Pizza

Yield: Makes 8 pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 medium-size yellow crookneck squash, diced

1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (more or less to your taste)

1 16-ounce baked cheese pizza crust (such as Boboli)

1 14-ounce jar mushroom pizza sauce

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup of sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced (or leave them whole like I did, however they did tend to burn a bit)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup packed shredded mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces)

Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini, yellow squash and crushed red pepper; sauté until vegetables are almost tender, about 5 minutes. They're going to cook in the oven so you don't want to over cook them. They should still be pretty crispy. If you want to you could remove them and saute the mushrooms a bit at this point.

Place pizza crust on baking sheet. Spread mushroom sauce over. Sprinkle with garlic, then mozzarella. Top with squash mixture, tomatoes and fresh mushrooms. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake pizza until cheese melts and crust is crisp, about 13 minutes. Let cool about 5 minutes to "set" the cheese. Cut into pieces.