The World's Most Expensive Garlic

Here at the Zoo Daddy-O is trying to grow the world's most expensive garlic. No, we are not farmer. However, Daddy-O has agrarian desires. His ancestor were farmers in Northern Italy, I think it's in his blood.

Back to the garlic. Daddy-O has wanted to try his hand at growing garlic for a while. Late this summer he bit the bullet and ordered his garlic which arrive in early October. Garlic is planted in the fall and harvested the following year, sometime in the summer. $19.00

On Saturday he headed to hardware store to acquire the items he needed to make his raised beds for the garlic. As well as the stuff to enrich the soil. Garlic likes to grow in sandy soil. Tennessee soil is made of clay with is nothing like sandy soil. $71.00

Daddy-O returns from his trip to the store, marks his plot for the raised bed, removes all the grass, proceeds to turn all the soil to loosen and enrich it and hacks up our telephone line. Service call just to look at the hacked up line $85.00

So far we are up to $175.00 and the garlic hasn't even been planted yet! I don't know how much it will cost to repair the telephone line, but up to this point if they all produce, each bulb of garlic will have cost us $3.50. Depending on the cost of the repair that number could double even triple! Everyone is getting garlic from us for Christmas next year, consider yourself warned.

"You-Get-To-Invite-Friends-To-Your-Birthday" Birthday Party

As with most post from this blog, better late than never is the motto. I should have posted days, huh, weeks ago.


This was the first official "You-Get-To-Invite-Friends-To-Your-Birthday" Birthday Party we have ever had. I have to says it went pretty well, much less stressful than our normal "Invite-All-Of-Daddy-O's Family-And-Cook-A-Huge-Meal-For-30-People" birthday party.


No. 1 Son was allowed to invite 4 friends and their siblings. We had Pizza Bianca for a snack, soda, and beer and wine (the adults only). The weather was spectacular so we all sat on the deck and let the boys run wild!


Daddy-O made each of the boys a marshmallow blow gun which they all L-O-V-E-D. For approximately 2 hours for boys shot each other with marshmallows with a quick break for cake and presents. Success!!!

The Cake.
In case you don't know or recognize, it's the Death Star from Star Wars.

The guests with party favors.
Marshmallow blow guns.

The Lute!
He's saying with great excitement and enthusiasm,
"I got TWO Mouse Trap games!"

One happy birthday boy!

Pizza Bianca

This is a staple at our house. I make it at least once a week. I think it's super easy. Enjoy!



Serve the pizza by itself as a snack or with soup or salad for a light meal. Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter. Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick. This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp. Serves 6 to 8


3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces)
1 2/3 cups water (13 1/2 ounces), room temperature
1 1/4 teaspoons table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/4 teaspoons sugar
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary (whole leaves)

1. Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.

2. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

3. Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
4. One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees. 5. Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.
6. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes, sprinkling rosemary over top and rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board. Brush dough lightly with remaining tablespoon oil. Slice and serve immediately.


Pizza Bianca with Tomatoes, Sausage, and Fontina Toppings

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 cups shredded fontina cheese (8 ounces)
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage

1. Remove sausage from casings. Cook sausage in large nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking into small pieces with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate. Place 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes in fine-mesh strainer set over medium bowl. Let sit 30 minutes, stirring 3 times to allow juices to drain. Combine 3/4 cup tomato solids, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1/8teaspoon table salt. (Save remaining solids and juice for another use.)

7. Bake until spotty brown, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Using metal spatula, remove pizza from oven, spread tomato mixture evenly over surface, and sprinkle with shredded fontina and sausage. Return pizza to oven and continue to bake until cheese begins to brown in spots, 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Wisdom of the Zoo

As I was sweeping before heading to work the other day The Princess said,

"Mommy, don't sweep up the sun."

My heart melted.

Happy Birthday No. 1 Son!

For starters, who are you and what have you done with my little boy?

I can hardly believe how big you have gotten. I don't know what 1st graders are suppose to look like, but I don't think this is it. Speaking of 1st grade, you're learner to read! This just amazes me. I have to admit it's not you best subject; it will click soon enough. However, math is a whole other story. You are a whiz and love it. You also are excelling in science and religion; I find the religion part kind of funny. Your are always conduction some kind of experiment which usually water and a plastic bottle and trying to save some little bug or frog. You are also on a little team of students that goes to the other grade to talk about composting. Kind of funny but awesome. You are definitely my child despite the fact you look nothing like me.



You recently developed a love affair with board games, can't get enough Battleship. You are d-y-i-n-g for a bb gun and a bow and and arrow or even a Nerf gun. The weapons will have to wait for a few more years. But I know you will totally freak about what we got you for your birthday!!!



So, today is actually your birthday however your party won't be until Saturday. For snack at school today you wanted me to bringing Pizza Bianca for you class. (All you lurkers will have to come back Monday for the recipe.) I got up bright and early this morning to make a fresh Pizza Bianca for you and your class. They all loved it.You'll have it again for dinner since you said you wanted it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I think snack and dinner should suffice.



I have so much I should say here. But this is all for now.

Happy Birthday, Big Boy!
Mommy loves you so much!

Orange Smiles

Enough said.

Happy Halloween Part II

Clone 18 and Clone Captain Rex

Ester Williams

Yoda

This was the first year I did not make the monkeys' their Halloween costumes and I don't feel one bit guilty. It was cheaper and much less time consuming and stressful. The Princess never officially had a costume. She wore a UT cheerleader outfit (barf!) to the zoo. It was something in her closet that my sister-in-law gave her. When we went to the bank on Friday to have their picture taken she wore her swimsuit and flip flops and then again on Halloween night. Friday wasn't so bad, Saturday night was COOLED! I did pack a cute pair of pink leopard print pj's that she finally agreed to put on after the sun went down.

I also broke a 11 year tradition of having some kind of Halloween get-together at our house. It all started when we moved in our first house in Ashland City. We would have around 500 trick or treaters each year. It was so much fun to watch all the kids in their costumes that we would have a little party to watch the parade of ghouls and goblins. This was even before we had our own little monsters. When we moved to Nashville we continued our tradition in spite of the low number of caped crusaders. Well, this year we got an invitation early in the month to go to someone else's neighborhood and I jumped on it. We had such a good time! I actually got to take my own characters out for treats. I didn't have to cook or clean my house. It was awesome! So, I raise my bowl of candy to new traditions! Clunk, crunch, rustle, rustle...

By the way, our schedule is wide open for next Halloween. We are currently taking invitations.