Souper Freak

Tyler and I just returned last night from a trip to Cleveland for my best friend Holly’s wedding. We were there for six days — six hot, sweltering, sweat-dripping days. Cleveland gets hot in the summer, but this was unusual even for Cleveland. I promised myself (and Tyler) that I’ll never complain again about how cold San Francisco is in the summer. (We’ll see how long I keep that promise…I went for a very chilly walk this morning and found myself almost wishing for just a few rays of that hot Cleveland sun.)

I realized on this trip that it’s no wonder Cleveland has such fantastic bars: drinking is one of the only things you can do comfortably and enthusiastically in Cleveland year-round! It’s too horribly cold and snowy in the winter, and apparently too unbearably hot in summer, to maintain many good habits with any consistency. Good luck running on icy, snowy sidewalks in February (or March, April or even May depending on how long the winter decides to hold on) or even thinking about running in summer — even showering ends dismally if you don’t have air conditioning. By the time you towel off, you’re soaked in so much sweat you need to hop back in.

But snow, heat, rain or sun, Clevelanders can keep up brilliantly with the bar scene! We hit so many great bars on this trip: the Treehouse in Tremont, where a beautifully sculpted tree stretches its limbs across the bar, and where I discovered Leinenkugel Summer Shandy beer with its fresh lemony flavor; the Winking Lizard on Coventry in Cleveland Heights, with a humongous beer list and food menu, where we were offered Great Lakes Brewing Company’s coveted Christmas Ale in celebration of “Christmas in July”; the Tradesman Tavern in Parma (my home town!) with a beautiful wall mural depicting working class heroes AND pierogies; Shooters, Cleveland’s flagship bar on the west bank of the Flats, where we danced and drank the night away after Holly’s wedding….and too many other bars to describe here!

Lots of fun, lots of beer, lots of good Cleveland food….now it’s time for lots of yoga, walks, water and balanced eating. I’m off to a good start — did a bit of each today. When I came home from yoga, I let my pantry inspire me. Within 15 minutes, I had whipped up two mini pizzas made with Trader Joe’s whole wheat flat bread. Since I didn’t have any of the standard pizza ingredients, I had to get creative.

My first concoction involved some thickly sliced portobella mushroom sauteed with (lots of) garlic. I laid the mushrooms atop a flat bread covered with Trader Joe’s roasted eggplant and red pepper spread, then added sliced cherry tomatoes and a sprinkle of goat cheese.

My next one was a bit more experimental. I put a good drizzle of spicy srirarcha sauce on the flat bread, then topped it with — ready? — canned anchovies, plus some sliced cherry tomatoes and a generous sprinkle of good ol’ shaker Parmesan cheese.

Then popped both of these in a 425 degree oven for somewhere between 5-10 minutes — until I heard the cheese sizzling and the toppings were warm. Not sure how long you’d have to wait to get a completely crispy “crust” (only the edges of mine had a little crisp).

As I waited for the pizzas to cook, I read up a bit on anchovies. I don’t have much experience with them at all — I’m sure I’ve eaten them before, but I don’t have any distinct memories and I’ve never cooked with them myself. It turns out they’ve been a favorite part of the human diet forever, and they are one of only a limited number of foods that possess “umami,” an entirely unique taste dimension (sweet, bitter, sour, salty….and umami). Read this article for more interesting details and read this article to learn more about umami (it means “yummy” in Japanese!).

And so what did I think? There was definitely a flavor to the anchovy pizza that was delicious — unfortunately, the fish made it so incredibly salty that I had a hard time enjoying that flavor. It was best when I “cut” the salty flavor of that pizza with a bit of the other — putting them together in one bite made for a fabulous flavor! I think I’ll have to search out less salty anchovies or experiment with de-salting them a bit (apparently you can soak them in milk to extract some of the saltiness).

Will I do this again? Absolutely! What an incredibly easy, light and satisfying dinner. There are so many combinations and possibilities to try — just be guided by whatever you find in your pantry!