A Year of Gratitude – March 3, 2024

My gratitude was hiding in a slice of pizza tonight. I didn’t expect to find it there, but it was waiting for me just the same.

It was a busy day today, far busier than I would have liked. There were a lot of chores that begged to be done given our warmer than usual weather. I couldn’t make much of an argument. It made sense to do them today when the weather was cooperative.

I had also decided to make homemade pizzas and a few loaves of sourdough bread. I should have planned better, but I didn’t. I’m known for taking on too much in a day, for choosing to add too many tasks to my day’s plans. That’s precisely what I did today.

I kept going, moving through one task and on to the next. I started the sourdough process. I fed the starter for the two loaves. I fed the starters to move back into the fridge for the next time I want to bake with them.

I made a batch of sourdough hybrid pizza dough mid-morning. I wanted to give them plenty of time to rest in the refrigerator. I know that I could plan ahead a full day and make pure sourdough pizza dough, but I often make a hybrid dough that includes both my sourdough discard and a bit of yeast. I find it to be a delicious way to shorten the number of hours I need to make delicious pizza dough while also adding a bit of the satiny texture from the starter and that tangy flavor we enjoy.

In the midst of my busy morning, I did enjoy making the pizza dough. I knead my dough for two five minute sessions with a rest in between. There are few tasks I find more meditative in the kitchen than kneading bread, so it was a nice bit of time to just focus on the rhythm of the kneading and relax. With each push and turn, I could feel myself relaxing just a bit.

Once the six balls of pizza dough were in the refrigerator resting, I had a baking recipe to work on. Penny Lane came into the kitchen hoping that it was lunchtime. It was, so I sliced an apple and a bit of aged gouda cheese. I snacked as I worked and she waited patiently on her bed next to the table for me to share. She knows me very well, because she got a few nibbles before the plate was empty.

It was too nice out to spend all day in the kitchen, so we went for a long walk. The birds were singing in the trees as we passed by. We saw a tiny yellow finch up close. It was so small and beautiful. We listened as a large dog barked at us from inside a house as we walked by. I might have imagined it, but I think that Penny picked her head up a bit after we heard that, as if she was far too dignified to spend her time barking nonstop in the house. I didn’t dare remind her that she had done the same when a runner had passed by the farmhouse earlier in the day.

We returned home and Penny flopped down on her bed in her favorite window. I got busy working on the rest of the pizza toppings. I made red sauce. I made a batch of homemade Boursin cheese. I made confit garlic and then decided to make a few confit tomatoes using the cherry tomatoes on the kitchen counter. I mixed up a bit of ricotta cheese with basil saved from last summer’s garden. I cooked up a little chicken to add to a pizza.

Then it was time to make the pizza. The grill was hot and it was time to stretch the dough, top each round, and bake them on the hot steel on the grill. They cooked up beautifully tonight. We gathered around outside as dusk set in and milled about, eating pizzas and talking. We spotted a young fox watching us from our woods behind the old barn. It didn’t stay long, but we felt lucky to have seen it.

The pizza was good. The company was even better. I looked around and realized that this was one of those simple moments that I love, that I will treasure forever. It was just my family gathered around a handmade table full of homemade pizza. It wasn’t a white tablecloth dinner at a fancy restaurant. It was better. It was just the people I love being themselves, totally relaxed, enjoying each other’s company.

By the time it was all cleaned up, put away, and I was able to finish my pizza duties, I was tired. But it was the very best sort of tired. The kind that comes from giving of yourself to the people you love and making warm memories I will carry with me forever.

I was grateful for pizza night in spite of all the work I put into it because it was worth it and more. I am grateful for every moment I get to spend with these people I love. If there’s delicious pizza to enjoy together, well, that’s just a delicious reason to be extra grateful.

I hope that your day included something delicious, time spent with someone you love, and that it landed gently.

This post is part of our A Year of Gratitude Series. You can find the introduction, inspiration, and entire year’s gratitude’s posts here.