bella terra 2011!

A happy Monday to you all! Let's kick off April with an exciting announcement...bella terra is back!  But this year, I've been lucky to have the opportunity to share a bit of space in the green house at Maple Hill Farm, home of the local food hub. if you're not familiar, the local food hub is a community supported nonprofit working to strengthen and secure our local food supply by supporting small, family farms, increasing the amount of fresh food available to our community, and inspiring our next generation of farmers. I am proud to be part of a community that supports such an organization, and thrilled to have the opportunity to share images of their beautiful land and facilities with you on the AHPhoto blog!

This Spring, Summer, and Fall I will be sharing images from my time at the farm with two girlfriends, Emily (local food hub) and Stephanie (flavor magazine) as we grow food for our home kitchens. Most of the seedlings we've started out at the farm will be planted on a little plot I am sharing with these friends, but some will come home to live and grow in my backyard garden. I am planning to share the bulk of the place and detail photography at AHPhoto, and the final dishes and recipes that result from all of that hard work here on bella eats. I hope it won't be confusing, and will try to keep it simple. Let's just see how it goes.

For a recap of my 2009 garden: bella terra | 2009

For images of our first 4 weeks on the farm: bella terra | weeks 1 and 4

So, are any of you gardening this year?  If yes, what are you growing?

a call for your best pizza dough recipe...

Friends...I need you! Here we are on April 1, Spring has sprung and I've already made my first grilled pizza, and I still don't have a pizza dough recipe that I am completely head-over-heels for.  May I ask...do YOU have a favorite pizza dough recipe?  And if you do, would you please, please share it with me?  In exchange, I will give you my very favorite pizza topping combination...do we have a deal? Thank you. :)

Happy weekend, all!

Andrea's very favorite Pizza Topping Combination, inspired by Dr. Ho's Humble Pie

• your pizza dough of choice (please share!!!)
• corn meal for dusting your very hot pizza stone
• tomato sauce (preferably from this recipe)
• thinly shaved ham (preferably from your favorite local farm...we always use Double H Farm ham)
• fresh mozzarella (from Mona Lisa Pasta)
• caramelized red onions (heat over medium heat in olive oil for about 10 minutes, until golden brown)
• fresh arugula (also from Double H Farm) dressed with a little bit of olive oil and fresh lemon juice (or, lemon olive oil...yum!)
• shaved parmesan cheese
• sea salt to sprinkle on top

We grill one side of the pizza dough before topping, remove the dough and top the grilled side, then put the pizza back on the grill.  The arugula and shaved parmesan go on the pizza once it has come off of the grill and is ready to be served.