Piece of Pizza Pie Herb Garden

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This plan is one slice of the many possible. Wedge this little garden into any convenient spot in the yard. Ours measures about 5 feet on each straight side, 6 feet along the “crust”, but it’s adaptable to any size. A pizza garden is a good project to do with children, particularly if you begin with purchased perennial starts, which should fill in in two to three years. A garden like this one can help children learn the rhythms of seasons and plant growth.

If pizza parties are regular events in your household, you’ll be harvesting here often. But just because it’s a pizza garden doesn’t mean that you can’t use the same herbs to season spaghetti, meat loaf, and other family favorites. Here are its “toppings”:

• Basil, being quick to germinate, is a good choice for children to grow from seed. It is the herb that goes best with summer foods such as tomatoes and squash.

• Sage occupies a large area in this pizza garden. It has many ancient associations, and it complements the ingredients of three seasons.

• Rosemary may claim a bigger piece of this garden if you live in a climate where it can stay outside through the winter. Otherwise, grow it in a pot and overwinter it indoors.

• Parsley and chives are so versatile that they must be in any herb garden, including a pizza wedge.

• Oregano and marjoram are the flavor basis for many Italian/Mediterranean pizzas and focaccias.

• Thyme’s tiny leaves will fill the point of the wedge, and its flavor tempers the richness of cheese.

• Tuck in some dill for shellfish or vegetable pizzas or any seafood recipes.

• Garlic chives are not only ornamental, but being milder than garlic, they work well with seafood pizza.

Master Recipe for Pizza/Focaccia Dough

By using as much as 1/2 cup of a different flour in addition to white flour, you can produce many pleasant variations in your pizza dough. Whole wheat flour gives the crust a nice color and wheaty taste. You can use up to 2 cups for a chewy, hearty crust. Rye flour lends a slight tang, good with toppings of Taleggio or Fontina cheese and smoked salmon. Cornmeal makes a rather heavier crust with an earthy corn flavor that goes well with spicy toppings such as fresh chiles or hot sausages.

This recipe makes about 2 pounds of dough to serve 6 to 10 as an appetizer or 4 to 6 as a main course. It can be made into 6 pizzettas about 6 inches in diameter, 4 pizzas 8 to 9 inches in diameter, 2 pizzas 12 to 14 inches in diameter, 1 thick-crust pizza about 12 by 15 inches, or 1 focaccia about 10 by 12 inches.

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Mixing and kneading the dough
Stir the yeast into 1/4 cup water. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.