Sorry to hear it, Ed. It is amazing what we do as youngsters to our joints never considering the long term consequences. I wish I could go back 40 years and do it all over - when I think about it, I'd hardly expect a car with moving parts to work for 80 years without parts replacement, and our bodies are no different.
Sounds like you're exhibiting the extreme effects of osteoarthritis, which is referred to as "wear-and-tear" arthritis, in which the articular cartilages imply wear out exposing raw bone surfaces that with time can eventually form bony spurs. This is a form of arthritis that each and every one of us will experience if we live long enough.
Sorry to hear that you have so much surgery to look forward to, but on the upbeat side, my mother went through hip replacement and was absolutely amazed at what she could do post surgery. She never regretted it for a moment.
Well, we did the pizzas and they turned out even better than we hoped. We're cooking the pizzas directly on the grill grate, and not covering them (we don't have a cover on this grill). Although we have found that cooking on a stone in the grill is acceptable, it is really no better than cooking it in the oven or any other heat source for that matter (when using a stone). There is something about the direct flame licking the crust through the grill slits that makes it extra special.
My wife does all of the crust - she starts out with a basic bread recipe and rolls out the ovals - then painting one side with olive oil, she inverts it onto the grill. It is allowed to cook for a while, then a brushing of olive oil on the exposed side.
Once the crust is done on the first side, it is flipped and toppings are immediately added - because this side is already hot, the cheese starts melting straight away.
The pizzas today were very simple:
- home smoked (pecan) cheddar, Gouda, and pepper jack
- home grown heirloom tomatoes - they are naturally orange
- black olives, Kosher salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes
Here's our masterpiece for today - the crust was thin with a slightly chewy center encased in a cracker crisp smoky crust. The pecan smoke in the cheese blend wafted into the nose and added to the moment as I enjoyed the crisp crunch of the bite - the tomato juice savory, salty, sweet, and spicy ran over the palate further stimulating the taste buds.
We also did one with our regular tomatoes - also home grown, but not nearly as good.
The bottom line: I never would have imagined that I would ever enjoy a pizza that did not have some kind of meat on it, but I was certainly wrong. These were among the most delicious pizzas I have ever eaten. Likely, at least in part, it is due to the cheeses that we'd smoked a couple of weeks ago, and the vine ripened, home grown tomatoes.
