BUSY!

busy.

busy busy.

busy business and big action,

all activated in a buzz and blur of movement,

as time slips past too fast to be counted or accounted for-

that's what's up.

holy smokes-

i've been deep into tattooing all week,

and deep into deep dish pizza, too.

i'm sayin', between the sicilian next door to AMPERSAND TATTOO,

and the sicilian exxxplosion happening at home,

it's been a pizza avalanche all the frickin' time-

at least, in between all day back-breakin' and hand-crampin' tattzapps.

real talk.

the week went by so fast, i can't recall most of it.

i do remember the pizzas, though.

that's no joke.

they're ALL expert.

i mean it.

just go ahead and check out this homemade hottness, via teleport:

MADONNA MAMA MIA!!

spicy, sweet, and smoky seitan strips??!

yeah, buddy.

just when you thought that the brussels and onions couldn't get any better-

here we are with braised and seared juicy wheaten-meaten jauns for your face!

mmmmmm.

that's a cup of stripped seitan, from scratch (the recipe is on here, just look a lil harder)

in a half a cup of broth, with a tablespoon of tamari, three shakes of liquid smoke,

a tablespoon of agave, hot paprika, smoked paprika, ground mustard seed, and GPOP-

bubbled on low-low until it's all absorbed, 

then turned UP and activated with a glug of olive oil.

holy smokes.

if you haven't had this much boomfire fuego flavor in your mouth yet-

you'd better hold onto your head, because it might pop right off in ecstasy.

-

here are a few truths about pizza at the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress:

the oven is always at 480℉ on convection.

there are two stacked pizza stones in there, too.

there are always fried garlic sprankles.

believe it.

-

too much is the right amount, friends.

that's why there's caramelized onions AND crispy thin-sliced potato discs

AND tamari-glazed fried brussies AND tomatoes

on top of crushed tomato sauce and minced daiya chee'.

ummmm.

rules is rules,

and unless you prefer blarpity sub-par chee' situations, mince your sh!t first.

it just plain works better.

and better is better, bro,

-

good crust relies on good dough,

and this new-new has treated me right for a whole week already.

i keep making it,

and it keeps making me happier and happier.

i trust in pizza, kids-

pizza keeps up it's end of the bargain.

that dough recipe is right here.

so fresh and so clean.

***********

time keeps on tickin' past s'fast.

i keep on trying to keep up-

but i've got more work to do than hours in the day to do it-

and while most of my workload is self-imposed,

what else would i do?

i mean it-

the iron is HOT and it's time to strike.

turning away work, turning down treats, NOT eating pizza-

those are the sorts of things that dumb-dumbs do,

and we aren't with THAT? are we?

i don't think so....

so, it's full days and nights and weekends,

and it's all really happening,

and it's got to stay at eleven 

because less than that is an ever bigger time-consuming mess.

MORE tattoos,

MORE food,

MORE jokes and conversations,

MORE of  all of it, and who knows?

eventually my voice may even be able to pip above a squeak again.

i'm ready for all of it,

because that's all there ever is to it;

never quiet, never soft.....