Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Mini Veggie Pizza's

There is nothing better then a good pizza...but its hard to find them without cheese for some reason. Plus when there isn't any cheese you have to have a really good crust. I've tried a lot of recipes for crust but none really turned out the way that I wanted. This one did.

For your crust you will need:
-1 cup warm water
-2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
-2 tsp instant yeast
-1 tsp raw sugar
-3 tbsp olive oil
-1 1/2 tsp salt (2 tsp also works)

Combine your oil, salt and sugar together and whisk. Let sit for several minutes and then add one cup of warm water. Stick this into you bread machine on the dough setting. Gradually combine the flour into this letting one cup combine completely before adding the next. Let your bread machine do the rest of the work.

When you take it out it should be nice and elastic. If it isn't adjust and put back into the machine for a little while or kneed.


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Next I would preheat your oven. I set mine to 500 degrees. As this is pre-heating divide the dough into 6 pieces about a quarter of an inch thick.

I use a white sauce which is an olive oil infused with anything you want. For this we used one with sun dried tomatoes and one with basil.

Now its time to pile on those toppings. I love fresh veggies so mine had olives, roasted red peppers, portobello mushrooms, artichoke hearts, garlic, and tomato. My none vegan friend and boy friend did pepperoni and mozzarella cheese so really you can go anyway you want.


Place in the oven when they are ready. You should leave them in about 7 minutes, rotating about half way though from rack to rack.



And there you have it! Perfect, from scratch, home made pizza's! You can always make them bigger or smaller.



Erika's Spicy Italian Seasoning

Yum Yum Yum....I love seasoning and so does everyone else!

You will either need a motor and pastel or the spice attachment on your food processor.


Ingredients:
-1 1/2 tbsp oregano
-1 tbsp dried basil
-1 tsp dried rosemary
-1 1/2 tbsp dried onion flakes
-1/4 tsp dried thyme
-1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
-1/2 tsp chili flakes
-1 1/2 of pepper
-1/4 tsp garlic powder

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what to do next. Grind up all of the spices together and you are done. This is a great topping or pizza spice.



Keep in a cool, dry area until you are ready to use it.

Italian Day- Basil, Rosemary & Garlic Infused Olive Oil

This is a great gift or just something to have hanging around for bread and dipping. These are normally sold for fifteen to twenty dollars at stores. And all that you need is a few simple things that can be picked up or grown.




Things you need:
-One pretty bottle
-Olive oil
-Several sprigs of basil
-Garlic
-Dried rosemary

Take the rosemary first and fill it to about a half an inch above the bottom. Next push in your desired amount of garlic in full pealed cloves. Carefully slip the basil in so it stands straight (Pretty).



Take a funnel and slowly pour in your olive oil. Plug up with a cork and let it sit for a week to...as long as you would like.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Jumbo Israeli Couscous



I love Couscous and Israeli Couscous is really the way to go. First of all its great tasting. Second it's only three ingredients. Semolina flour, water and salt; perfect. You can find it at the local grocery store in the international section or at a Middle Eastern market.

Boil this until tender.

Second, use saffron (again saffron can be purchased less expensive at a local middle easter market), salt and pepper and mix/ grind those together. Dice up several Roma tomato.

Drain the couscous and let sit for a few minutes.

Once those are all finished mix those and the couscous in the warm pot.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Rainbow Salad With Kiwi Stars

So I have been waiting for this! A chance to debut my beautiful new lunch box that by lovely boyfriend got me for my birthday (because thats just how wild and crazy we got). So here we go....not that I haven't been taking lunch to work but because it has been relatively normal food (Almond butter and jam and what not). This salad though really looked great and I'm sure its going to taste great tomorrow too.

I suppose you could say that this is my version of left overs...which is to say, the veggies in my fridge that are nearing the end of their lives. I love it because it encompasses what I love to tell people about eating the rainbow.

On the bottom I have layered red pepper slices, then avocado, next some radishes, followed by red onions. Next I mix up some lemon juice and olive oil and drizzled that across the top to soak in over night in the fridge. I left a bit of lemon on the side because I love the taste of lemon and avocado together.

For desert I just took some of my favorite raw fruit to snack on. The kiwi I cut with a cook cutters to make cute little stars.

As for my birthday lunch box....its awesome. It creates a vacuum to hold everything perfectly into place. There is also a little sauce case but I didn't want to use it today! Love!


Sunday, September 5, 2010

Banana Cashew Power Balls


I was looking for a good snack after running for Will and I. The raw craze has really brought up the love of "Raw Balls". These are not raw but they are still great and tasty! Keep in mind that they are highly fattening though so unless you have a high metabolism and/or exercise a great deal eat them in moderation.

That being said they are a great snack for after a work out!


2-3 overripe banana
2/4 cup raw cashews (about 1.5 ounce)
2 tablespoon flax seeds, ground
6 tablespoons oatmeal (regular or quick oats)
dash of vanilla extract

Cut the banana into slices about 3/4-inch thick and place them on a plate. Microwave on medium power for about 7 minutes, until most of the moisture has boiled out of the banana.

Using your hands (Moist works better) form into small balls and put into a tuperware container. Refrigerate before eating and keep in the fridge after.

While you are waiting on this pulse the cashews in the food processor until coarsely ground. Add the flax seed and oatmeal and pulse a few more times. Add the banana and dash in the vanilla extract into the processor. Blend into a thick paste.