My Spring pizzas have taken a decidedly vegetarian turn, and I like it. I’m moving away from heavy foods, especially with my pizzas, and especially during Spring and Summer.

Tonight’s pizza was a departure for me. I didn’t use basil pesto or tomato sauce, I  used Lemon Artichoke Pizza.

I spread garlic paste over the rolled dough, then baked the crust for 10 minutes at 475 degrees as usual.

I spread the artichoke pesto with a rubber  brush, brushed virgin olive oil on the crust. I put down thin strips of fresh mozzarella, tomato slices, chopped red pepper bits, sliced mushrooms, a dozen or so broccoli heads, a cup full of kale cut into small  squares, some pine nuts.

The crust was crispy and dry, a good bed for vegetables.

I loved the flavor of this pizza (cooked at 475 degrees for ten more minutes), the pesto gave it a lemony flavor, and vegetables blended together and were delicious.  The whole wheat crust was thin.

I used a pizza stone, as always. It helps make for crisp crusts, a big deal for me.

I think the pizza may be all veggies once the farm stands open except maybe for a fresh chicken sausage from Yushak’s deli once or twice.

I am much enjoying the creativity of planning meals, shopping smartly and cooking. Maria is a great inspiration for me, I doubt I would cook these meals for myself, it’s a joy to cook for  her.

She is thin as a rail and eats like a horse.

I like trying different vegetables and mixing them to see    what flavors work.

And I will say emphatically, no, there is no cookbook in my future, really good chefs work and study for years, not weeks or months. I’m a novice, I am no fine chef.