patty-cake pizzafarm life

i admit to being a little obsessed with my patty-cake sour dough starter. i actually find myself caring about it as if it's my needy-micro-child waiting there in the shiny-clean jar on my kitchen counter, for me to feed and nurture it. it sits on a pretty folded napkin because i can't bear for it to be on the cold, hard granite. and, i attentively monitor the digital thermometer i put next to it, to make sure its' fermentation is not too fast, not too slow.

with so much care and attention going toward it, don't you think it would be wasteful to throw 1/2 away every morning just so i don't end up with buckets of starter? well, i do. so i've found some good uses for the excess. i can make pizza dough with it, waffles and pancakes, crumpets and scones, or any baked good that requires yeast. and, what i like about making pizza with the surplus 1/2, is that i can also use up whatever leftovers i have on hand, because i hate to waste food.
you can put just about anything on a pizza: cooked potatoes, green beans, roasted tomatoes, apples with seeds and nuts, tofu, artisan cheeses, and on and on. even if you don't have a wild yeast starter, try getting creative the next time you make pizza and find a use for all of those little bits of leftovers you have that you might normally throw away. i especially like to serve patty-cake pizza for lunch with a local craft beer or a glass of wine, and then treat myself to a nice, peaceful nap!