Sometimes things turn out even better than expected! Last night I made a focaccia, six sandwich buns, and my “experimental loaf”, which came out exceptionally well. When I make bread, I make slightly more dough than I need, and then experiment with the extra piece in a tiny bread pan that is meant to be used in a toaster oven. So far, so good, but if there is a failure, not much is lost. The worst that can happen is that I have fodder to make breadcrumbs! ;->
It went really well with the spaghetti and meat sauce. I have been buying organic meat from local ranches, and, combined with a half-pound of mushrooms, copious sweet onions, one-half pound of the ground beef, and not quite a whole jar of Classico Spicy Red Pepper Pasta Sauce, made about five good-sized servings, slightly larger servings than you see on my plate.
I’ve switched from Mozzarella as the only cheese for Italian dishes to using Provolone much of the time. The flavor is more robust, and it’s easier to grate. The “meltiness” factor is a bit different, though, so if you like long strings of cheese, these strings will be a bit less . . . well, less “stringy”.
The veggie is rainbow chard, which was a delightful accompaniment. Just a little crunch on the stalk parts, and the greens were divine! Perfection!
You can see in the background a bag of oranges that came from the farmers market, too. I just squeezed a few of them (yes, by hand!), and DH and I enjoyed a few sips before breakfast.
The plain focaccia is just behind and to the right of the pesto bread. As different needs arise, I can slice this into strips, lightly toast them, et voilá – breadsticks! If I intend to spread avocado on the strips, I can slice them a bit thicker. If a sandwich holder is required, I can slice off an appropriate shape.
Need a quick pizza? Smear a little of the tomato pesto on a wedge, add cheese, and a sprinkle of oregano, and toast just a bit under a broiler. If you have a few bits of leftover veggies that will fit on the pizza slice, now is the time to enjoy them – extra credit for extra nutrition.
A light film of olive oil or butter, a sprinkle of Italian herbs, and a few shreds of Parmesan or Romano, and you have the perfect accompaniment to brighten up just about any meal. The focaccia is very versatile.
If you have oddly-shaped bits leftover, just toast up any shape, and enjoy as you would crackers with a steaming bowl of soup.
I love being able to do things ad hoc – keeps my creative juices on the move! ;->
Adventures of Dorrie Anne 
I love chard of any color, but once I was able to buy a bunch of yellow chard and the buttery flavor was just heavenly.
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When we were up in the Pacific Northwest in 2005 and 2006, we were introduced to many kinds of veggies that were not then available in Arizona. Rainbow chard was one of them. Now, all these years later, we are finding that many of the really wonderful produce items are now available here, and we are delighted to partake of them in copious quantities! ;->
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I love provolone cheese! Where do you find it in blocks? Or do you just ask the deli to lob off a chunk for you? Really good, smoky provolone seems hard to find. Costco sometimes has some imported smoky provolone from Italy (pre-sliced in packages), but they don’t always have it when I’m there.
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I’ve stopped buying any shredded cheeses because of the wood pulp they add. Also, I find that because of the many, many surfaces, that mold sets in so much more quickly. I’m trying to avoid sliced cheeses for the same reasons, but they don’t seem quite as vulnerable. But, yes, I ask in the deli for a pound hunk of anything I buy there – meat or cheese. This totally confuses the slicers, but they are catching on to the procedure.
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I never considered the cellulose as a problem. I’m sure it is in LOTS of foods. But on the subject of grated cheese, I buy the large bags of it at Costco and divide it into approximately one-pound Ziploc bags, and freeze them. I find that it freezes very well, probably because of the cellulose…
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We try to avoid the cellulose that is likely in a lot of prepared foods. I don’t know if it is overly harmful or not.
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What wood pulp do you speak of, Judilyn?! Have I been eating WOOD!
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Yes, Ma’am. Check out the ingredients panel on any bag of shredded cheese. It takes a bit longer to shred as needed, but a hunk stays fresher for longer, and doesn’t have the cellulose in it.
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I knew there was a reason I liked shredded my own cheese.
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You go, Girl! ;->
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I’m not a gluten or dairy consumer, but this meal could definitely lure me! We love chard here too but our favorite is definitely kale! We have so many food options these days–we’re really fortunate. When we ate cheese I would buy Tillamook (best cheese ever) & grate it myself. Avoids all the crapola that comes in shredded cheese.
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I toured the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Oregon several years ago. It was really interesting! It was a spur of the moment diversion on our vacation and we were both glad we went.
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So . . . tell us about it!
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Looks scrumptious. You should have a cooking show. I don’t understand why you don’t weigh 200 lbs with all this delicious food.
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We eat anything that we want, and neither of us is overweight. We think it is because we eat really good food, so we feel nourished and satisfied with just the amount that our bodies require. We don’t crave sweets or fatty things. It’s enough to eat meals that are nourishing, so we don’t eat between meals, either.
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