CREO

A couple years ago my parents built CREO, which stands for Clarion River Earth Oven. One summer my parents took on this project and it will be serving us amazing pizza and bread for years to come... not even the massive flood could take it down.

Every piece of the oven itself came from the one acre plot on which it stands, except for the bricks which he got for free from my cousin's home (previously my grandpa's bricks) and the glass bottles needed to retain heat within the bricks.

Dad got the clay from the river bank, swimming across by pulling the kayak to where he found the best clay, filling his bucket which sat in the seat of the kayak, and swimming/pulling it back across the river. Each rock was carried over his head and brought up to the house with our little, old red wagon.

So, here's a peek into pizza-making day...

 The fire has to be started early, so that the oven is hot enough to bake pizza.

 The wood has to be dry and fairly small to fit inside.

 Trees and a river pattern are etched in the outside walls...

 Here are the rocks he dragged and carried from the river.

 All of the mud, sand, clay and mortar came from the land or shore.

Once it gets to 700 degrees F, then it's time to start cooking. That is one HOT oven!

The dough's been tossed!

Ingredients are ready...

Let's get goin'!!!

Once the pizzas get going, it's non-stop making, eating, throwing dough, and eating some more. Everyone's always ready to partake... especially this guy...

The best pizza you'll ever have...

Time to eat.

Now we'll just have to dream and drool over these pictures until next year.

The Aftermath

Here are a few photos from the day after the flood...

Here is where the road was compromised, about a mile from The Pinery:

 This was all water the day before.

 Here is the swing, now swinging in the breeze again.

 The oven shows the line from where the water had been!!

 And here's the meal Jim made for us on our last day at The Pinery, the day after the flood. Turkey legs, asparagus, and a specialty quinoa side dish he's just started making. Thank you, Jim!!! YUM! We may have been exhausted, but we certainly ate well.

(All posts will be a bit delayed, as I catch-up on the last few weeks...)

Earth Oven

Earth that had been lugged across the river, mixed and stomped.

Layer upon layer spread and packed.

They put in the hours. Sore muscles and sweat. Reading page by page and over again.

Scraping, molding, and placing the final artistic touches.

All in time for a family reunion. A chorus of onlookers, hungry and questioning.

Each carefully constructed their pizza and put it in line.

(Still haven't figured out how to flip these)

Each pizza only took 2-3 minutes to cook at the 600 F degree temperature in the oven.

16 delicious pizzas were had by all! Some stated it was "The best pizza I(they) ever had!"

And when you're with the extended Krumich family it's always a crazy, somewhat intense, and wonderful time!

Thanks to the Earth Oven for making the evening even more special!