All of the taste, none of the guilt

Do you ever feel like sometimes you love something almost TOO much and then it becomes unbearable after a time?

I’m like that with pizza. I’ve had really good ones lately, and really crappy ones. The difference between good pizza and bad is like driving a Jaguar and driving a Yugo. (Does anyone still own a Yugo anymore?) When I eat really, really good pizza it’s kind of hard to stop. And then my waistline and hips are screaming at me for days afterward.

Then: lightbulb time. Why not take all the flavors of a good pizza, and condense them into one smallish little meal? I started with a whole wheat pita, and lightly brushed it with some good olive oil. Then added a little bit of grated cheese, and chopped veggies: olives, red bell pepper, baby spinach, onion. I added a tiny bit of dried oregano and hot red pepper flakes (because I roll with that stuff all the time). Popped it into my toaster oven for 10 minutes on 325 or so, and voila! A perfect, yet healthful portion of pizza that is way more filling than you would think. No sauce, you say? Nope. It didn’t really need it. The brushing of healthful olive oil serves two purposes: providing enough moisture to anchor the cheese and veg, and giving the pita “crust” just enough crackle to make you think this is one darn good “East Coast-style” ‘za.

World’s biggest pizza…

…well, it seemed like it at the time. This monster 20″ came from Spartan Pizza in St Pete, who’s been in business since the mid-1970s. The place is run by a Greek family and features old-timey, faded decor which only adds to its ‘hole in the wall’ charm. They have spaghetti dinners, gyros, and sweet desserts in a rotating cooler up front. But the pizza is hot and good, not too greasy but just greasy enough – and lasts for days if you have a small family or are a couple. Yum, yum, yum, all around!

I hate to say it…

…but sometimes, the only thing that satisfies, during a late, late night, is cheap store-bought pizza. (Meatless, of course.)