West coast best coast, east coast beast coast

It is currently 19 degrees, feels like 10 degrees in New York City. At my home in LA it is 57 degrees, feels like 57 degrees. It is moments like this when I wonder what in the world I was thinking moving so far east to the frigid temperatures, snow storms and, yes, wintry mix.

Today, I was in the mood from some good old fashioned California food. And, as always, Martha had just the thing - West Coast Grilled Vegetable Pizza. Nothing like an avocado to bring me back to the warmth and comfort of home.

The result was delicious and satisfying, as well as simple to make. I stuck some pizza crust into the oven and baked it for a bit and then took it out and added sliced goat cheese (so fantastic!), plum tomatoes, and scallions. I burnt the bottom of the pizza, again... I really need to figure out how to prevent this from happening!

Once the pizza cooked a bit, I then chopped up some avocado and mixed it with spinach and vinegar (I used balsamic, although Martha recommended red wine). The avocados here on in NY are not nearly as good as the fantastic, right-off-the-branch avocados in California. This, compounded by the fact that my avocado wasn't completely ripe, was slightly disappointing.

Despite all these factors, and the fact that I didn't actually grill the pizza, it was still amazing and something I'll definitely make again!