No where close to "too much."

This time of year, we have more tomatoes that a person can sensibly use, so we make a lot if pizza. If you are going to make pizza, you might as well make it for 16 people. The outdoor kitchen has made that much better.

New outdoor kitchen on shoestring budget

We find we use it for lots of different things, but Mike particularly loves cooking out there. Last night we had some (16) friends and family over, and ate pizza for the second time in three days.  Mike made six pizzas, and we still had sauce leftover.

Typically we use about three pounds of tomatoes  in the sauce, and Mike has some new heirloom tomatoes we used for the sauce.

Mike makes the whole pizza using the pizza oven, even the sauce

We also made one with brie, apple, honey and sage that doesn't use sauce, and one with a pesto sauce made from our basil.  Mike has gotten so obsessed with the pizza that we do most of it outside unless there is wind (it blows the parmesan away) or rain, which there was last night.  Even so, Mike made the sauce outside on the pizza oven (he takes the top off). You can see the full set of summer project pictures in his photo album. It is important to note that making six different types of pizza is no where close to too much pizza by Mike's definition.

In addition to pizza, we mostly make things that use up what we have in the garden.  I made a slaw with cabbage, onion tops, apple, carrots and sugar snaps, and a salad with roasted beets, cucumber, feta, pumpkin seeds, carrots, red onion, greens and roasted veggie chips. We bought the feta and the seeds (too late in the year for our own seeds - we'll make some next month), but the rest is mostly from our house except some of the greens.  I also made a dressing of Mike's pesto, garlic, salt and pepper, mayo and homemade yogurt. Apple crisp (using up our apples), our salsa and chips, and a tray of plain veggies rounded out the meal.  Thanks to Jodi for the pop, which was not grown in the garden.

Before we had everyone over, Mike and I did a big biking circuit on the river bank and tried out the new workout area, which was super fun.  I tried all the equipment as designed, and Mike played with everything in as many illicit ways as possible.  That was a great morning, but the afternoon was better.  I harvested onions and Leo made them into a 6 foot braid.  We planted garlic together and I dug carrots, and picked the beans and the last of the peas. I also picked five large zucchinis which I frozen down in 30 cups. I had a sixth that I tried to get Anna to take, but she was too smart. I have a few more apples to pick today, but I am mostly done.  I absolutely love picking processing and cooking my own food, even when Mike frowns at the zuchini and declares, "That is way too much."  A day like yesterday is not about excess, it is about largess, right?