Three Fun Things: Pizza and Protests

1. Homemade Pizza! Specifically, this method.

I used to be intimidated by baking anything that involved risen dough, put off by a few unsuccessful experiments with yeast that had probably gone off from spending too much time in the heat. Like a lot of home cooks, I got bolder with my baking experiments during the pandemic—taking the time to craft homemade Pop Tarts, pecan rolls, and marzipan-filled challah that I documented on Instagram using my new Fuji XT20 camera, another pandemic purchase.

But I never really made baking with yeast a part of my regular routine until very recently, when I stumbled upon a pizza dough recipe that is dead-simple and works every time, as long as you have the patience to follow the steps. Like bagels, this dough from Serious Eats proofs a long time in the fridge—you mix it, dump in a Ziploc, and let it hang out at least a day, although even longer is better—and requires a secondary step (a couple of hours on the counter) to reach a perfect proof. After that, it’s a matter of assembly. Because I always have a lot of random bits of things hanging out in the fridge, I cobbled together a misshapen pizza with what was lying around: A half-cup of simple tomato sauce (use a small food processor to pulverize one 14-ounce can of tomatoes, a pinch of sugar, a drop of vinegar, and salt and pepper), plus sliced halloumi (my preferred local source is Goodie’s in Lake City), shredded parmesan, and some leftover schmaltz-based green garlic pesto, daubed on top.

Cooking has always been one of my primary outlets when I want to turn off the wall of sound in my brain, and it’s also a way I’ve saved money when times have been lean. (I don’t miss much about not having money, but there was some satisfaction in making the most of a food bank haul.) It’s hardly revelatory to point out that the ingredients for two pizzas cost less than a small salad at Pagliacci and that the homemade version took very little time and was an order of magnitude better than a congealing delivery pie. At a time of extreme economic uncertainty, though, it’s kind of magical to have a few culinary tricks up your sleeve for times when you want a treat but don’t want to, or can’t afford, to spend $50 or more on a basic meal.

2. Windy City Pie

Thinking about pizza did remind me that I’ve been meaning to mention my go-to pizza place: Windy City Pie, just across the street from a former Three Fun Things subject, the nonalcoholic bottle shop Cheeky and Dry. It’s a tough choice between the traditional Chicago-style deep dish pizza (which achieves a perfect balance of crackly crust and filling and is never soupy) and the cracker-thin tavern-style pizza, a more recent addition to the menu—both are great, but the deep dish is slightly more likely to send you to bed at 9. As a bonus, they have RC Cola on tap.

3. #TeslaTakedown

As a local news reporter, I don’t cover national protests very often, but I’m extremely happy every time I get a press release in my inbox telling me the protests against Tesla—maker of the Iron Crossover, the Incel Camino, the Model SS, the Deplorean, the Klaborghini—are going strong.

Besides all the political reasons you should not buy a Tesla and should sell yours immediately if you own one (for everyone slapping a “bought it before we knew he was crazy” sticker on the car you bought two years ago, here’s a damning list from 2022!), Teslas haven’t been state of the art for years and are losing value faster than a basement unit in a flood. (Tesla owners: You can probably still sell your Swasticar and still afford a used Ioniq 6, a superior sedan that looks much cooler, if you act fast).

If you’d like to participate in a protest at the Tesla dealership nearest you, the Tesla Takedown website is a user-friendly resource. Oh, look! There’s one coming up in South Lake Union this Tuesday.