As power outages abound, good to have a recipe that's as tasty cold as it is warm

In these days of rolling blackouts that have visited our Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex alongside the winter storm, having access to food that tastes as good cold as it does warm has been a daily preoccupation.

Believe it or not, this Greek Pizza falls into that category. Prepared earlier in the week before we had to wonder whether any task we began by using an electrical device could be completed before the power shut down, this pizza is absolutely terrific when served piping hot from the oven. But because its toppings are tomatoes, onions, olives, and cheese—the kinds of ingredients you’d find in a salad—it's just as tasty served fresh from the fridge. Believe me, we kept an eye on that fact as we sat in wait for the power outages about which we'd been warned through email and on cellphones by Garland's new Red Alert system.

Because the recipe (which, even though it was "Greek", hailed from the Chickasaw Nutrition Services) called for making a yeast-bread crust that had to rise, I initially had pause about trying this recipe. However, the rising process required only 20 minutes without any kneading, which made it as simple as (pizza) pie. The fuss-free dough turned out not to be sticky at all and thus rolled out and transferred readily to the pan.

One word of warning, however: be sure you AMPLY spray with cooking spray the pan you use. Keeping the crust from sticking to the cookie sheet was a challenge. Getting the crust un-adhered for serving turned out to be the biggest task of this recipe.

Greek Pizza ended up being an amazing entree that lasted the two of us through several meals, which, thankfully, saw our power remaining on each time we sat down to dinner. But you better believe we had our matches and lighters ready in case dinner had to be completed by candlelight.

Greek Pizza

1 package active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar (or sugar substitute)

1 cup water, warm

1 1/4 cup flour, whole wheat

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

2 tablespoons olive oil

cooking spray

3 cups spinach leaves

1 cup tomato, seeded, chopped

3/4 cup red onion, sliced

1/4 cup black olives, sliced (from 2.25 ounce can, drained)

4 ounces Feta cheese, reduced fat

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in flours, salt, and oil. Beat until smooth. Let stand for 5 minutes. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat and roll it into a rectangle. Generously spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Transfer crust to the baking sheet. Spread spinach, tomatoes, onion, olives, and Feta cheese on pizza crust. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. When cooled, spray lightly with olive oil. Makes 12 servings.