You Have Enough To Do; Keep The Pizza Simple

Marriage is a lot like cooking. Both are an unknown product in the beginning. Both can improve with experience. And both can surprise you with the results.

I contemplated marriage and cooking as I worked in my yard the other day. I was busy picking up pine cones, and with more than 500 pine cones from just two trees, I had lots of time to think.

A lot can change in 20 years of marriage. Back in 1977, there was just my husband and I. Our house in Leavenworth, Kan., had a small kitchen, and our budget allowed us to eat in style in Kansas City on weekends.

Now we have three children, we eat a variety of home-cooked and fast foods and we keep a more careful budget. We’ve gone from steak and potatoes to chicken, fish and vegetarian foods. We shop more frequently now, not just once a week. We don’t think twice about making a milk run or a goodie run.

Apppliances have changed, too. Back then it was the iron skillet and the stove. Now it’s the microwave, food processor and bread machine.

Our original dish set is not what it used to be. Pieces are missing and some are chipped. Silverware sets have changed, too; some pieces have gotten chewed up in the garbage disposal, or disappeared into kids’ bedrooms, or been inadvertently dumped in the trash.

And so life stays the same even as it changes. There is growth and transformation and hard work, as there is with picking up pine cones.

Some recipes are easy work, such as this adult-friendly pizza from Better Homes and Gardens’ “Low-Fat & Luscious” series. The cookbooks are very eye-appealing, with full-page pictures of entrees and highlighted nutrition analyses. There’s an emphasis on low-fat foods without sacrificing flavor.

And on a final note, I wish my husband a happy 20th anniversary.

Peasant Pizza With Goat Cheese

From “Low-Fat & Luscious Italian” (Better Homes and Gardens Books, 1997).

1 (16-ounce) Italian bread shell

2 ounces fat-free cream cheese (block style)

2 ounces semisoft goat cheese or feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)

1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed, or 2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

1 small yellow, orange, or green sweet pepper, cut into thin bite-size strips

Place the bread shell on a baking sheet. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the cream cheese, goat cheese or feta cheese, dried basil (if using), garlic and black pepper. Spread over the bread shell. Place the tomato slices and sweet pepper strips over the cheese mixture.

Bake pizza in a 400-degree oven about 12 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with the fresh basil (if using). To serve, cut into wedges.

Yield: 6 main-dish servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 269 calories, 8 grams fat (27 percent fat calories), 14 milligrams cholesterol, 38 grams carbohydrate, 14 grams protein, 581 milligrams sodium.

, DataTimes MEMO: The goal of Five and Fifteen is to find recipes where you can do the shopping in five minutes and the cooking in 15. Merri Lou Dobler, a registered dietitian and Spokane resident, welcomes ideas from readers. Write to Five and Fifteen, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.

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