Saturday morning, Nastia makes Pizza fret

I was trying to spell pizza fret when Google or maybe it was the spit of Teri's mother gave a spelling suggestion. I was intrigued so I copied and pasted (boy, I'm so computer literate) and actually found a recipe for it. As the women who posted it said, it is not a recipe, but more like directions on how to do it. I'm going to take a moment to write down how Teri wants all of her decendants to make pizza fret and then I'll tell you how Nastia and I make it. Firsta, you getta the pizza dough..yeah, I'm the only one who finds that funny. You putta...ok, I'll stop, but it is funny. The pizza dough is in the freezer section at the grocery. At home you put the dough in a large bowl, Teri uses a glass bowl she has from her mother. The dough come out of the bags and is put in the bowl. It is best if it has been defrosted first. A towel is put over the bowl and the bowl is placed in a warm spot in the kitchen. Now back in the dark ages, you know, the 60's all stoves had pilot lights. A pilot light is a small flame, in the oven that always burned, that helped to light the oven when you turned it on. It is about a quarter of an inch tall and yes a waste of gas, but it kept the stove warm enough that dough would raise if you put it in the stove. Modern stoves are cold and indifferent, while older stover are warm and inviting and make the kitchen a place to hang out in. yeah, that is a little over board. Old stoves, with pilot lights were good, but just like The Sopranos, they were good, but there time has passed. Now the trick is to find a warm place in the kitchen, away from drafts and any animals, thinking dogs here, not mice or coyotes, where the dough can rise, leave it over night. If it rises you punch it down in the morning and get things together to make the pizza fret. If it doesn't rise, well go get things together to make pizza fret. I like using the giant cast iron pan I got at a barn sale several years ago. I think I've told the story several times. The night before, remember you are supposed to take the dough out of the freezer to let it defrost. Since this is Nastia's deal we are letting her do it all. She'd wanted to take the dough out of the freezer earlier, but forgot.

It's like 9 PM and she remembers. I walk in doing something and she comments she forgot to take the dough out and it's still frozen solid so she's put it in warm water. I have my hands full of something so I tell her to immediately take it out of the water. She is in the process of doing that when Teri walks in and tells her the same thing. Teri gets involved helping her to dry off the dough. I think in all the commotion no one tells her why you can't put the dough in water. One of Teri's prized bowls, some are from her mother, some she found in a store and had to have, are taken carefully down and the bread raising bowl selected. It's just the one we always use to raise the dough. It's put on the rack over the stove. I put on the heat lamp, but Teri says it will cook the dough. Recently Teri and I had a rough 'talk' about how to make pork chops so I let it go. Dough needs warmth to rise. In February, in our house at night, in the kitchen with poor heat, it ain't gonna rise. The next morning, Teri isn't feeling well so Nastia, with my oversight makes pizza fret. I tell Nastia, her mother likes the big formerly non-stick pan (time for a new one), but I like the cast iron. I take the cast iron out and she pours some oil in it. It takes a few minutes to warm. Nastia checks the oil by flicking with her fingers some water into it. I pull some dough off and start to make pizza fret. I make the first and soon Nastia is doing it all.

I step back against the sink and watch her made pizza fret. At certain times Nasti's arms are just not long enough. She's always been sensative to pain. So she over reacts, in my opinion to bees and the possibility of getting stung, see her Ford Escape for details back two, three years ago. So when she has to put the dough in the hot oil her arms are not long enough and her sleeves are too short to cover her arms and hands even though she tries. I watch, take pictures but do not interfer. This is growing up. Cooking and accepting that sometimes the oil is going to get you. Teri comes in, feeling a little better, I guess and says, You're doing it all wrong, they're too thick. Nastia tells the truth saying, this is the way daddy told me to make them. Teri says, "americano" which translates into, all together, "AMERICAN!!" really, (tongue in cheek) what the hell is she?? But, also she is right, they are too thick. She and Nastia work together making the last half or so of the pizza fret, a nice mother daughter moment. They don't get along as well as they should. They remind me of my brother Karl and my dad how they'd fight all the time. But for now there is peace and it is nice. I wonder if they noticed? I woke Elena before we started making pizza fret, inviting her to join us. She politely declined and went back to sleep reminding me to wake her when breakfast is ready. Yeah, I know, but she is such a pleasant person when forced to get up early and it's about that time of the month. So put them together and let her roll over and go back to sleep so we'll all be happier. Teri yells from the bottom of the stairs and Elena comes down. She is in an extra snarky* mood and it is mostly directed toward her sister. Nastia reacts like any sister would to her little sister being mean. The four of us sit down at the table. A plate of pizza frets are surrounded by butter, cinnanon and sugar and a large selection of jellys and jams. Elena and I dig in first. Nastia is off making tea and Teri is just sitting down. We eat, talk, sometime look at our phones, until Teri gets mad and makes a snarky* comment. It's nice eating with everybody, even with all of the comments between Nastia and Elena, and occationally Teri. I eat mostly quietly, savoring the morning. snark*y- critical or mocking in an indirect or sarcastic way snarky remarks * bad tempered or irritable. Bobby's always a bit snarky before his nap. /