Stay away from the pizza oven…

On October 14 we attended Pizza Night 2.0, AKA the 18^th Garden Swap. The instructions were simple. Attendees were to bring:

1. A garden inspired salad, dessert, and/or pizza toppings to serve 4-6 people.
2. BYOB
3. And, of course, your fruits and vegetables to swap!

Upon arrival at the side gate to the house, we entered a brick paved backyard, complete with green vines, stone fountain, and a large chicken coop (home to my Neighborly Eggs). In the back of the garden stood the pizza oven, glowing a bright orange/red. The host had set up an assembly station with mountains of dough balls and lots of different toppings. Around the corner, near the garage is where the swap would occur, where three long tables were loaded with garden variety goodies. Pumpkins, Mila’s Roasted Tomatoes, Homemade Soap, herbs, avocados, citrus, kale, pomegranates, and so much more.  My garden has recently pooped out on me, so I brought some Neighborly inspired homemade salted caramels, and some rosemary & oregano to keep things green.

It was a HUGE success with over 70 people in attendance. All night long, the host dished out pizza after delicious pizza from that oven to each of those 70 people. I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for all of her hard work. I suspect others might have felt the same, but the pizza was so good, no one commented.

How to be Neighborly: If you make pizza, they will come.

For the swap, I took home a haul of oranges, limes, chili peppers, fresh curry leaves (which are IMPOSSIBLE to find, BTW), corn, thyme, rosemary soap, avocados, pomegranates, and pesto. Inspired by the theme and the swap, here’s what I did with my haul.

Garden Swap Pizza

• Pizza Dough
• ¼ c pesto
• 1 ear corn
• 1/3 c sliced tomato (about 2 roma tomatoes)
• 1/4 c sliced onion
• 1 Tbsp fresh oregano
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 2 hot peppers, thinly sliced
• 2 c mozzarella cheese
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Spread the pizza dough on a cookie sheet, and drizzle with pesto. Sprinkle with 2/3 of the cheese. Spread the corn, tomatoes, and onion over the pizza, and then top with the remaining cheese. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, oregano, and hot pepper slices. Drizzle with the olive oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.