Quarantine Homemade Pizza

Along with other productive and important things I've been doing during quarantine: I've been tweaking my pizza recipe. Of course, Brick Oven Pizza is always my guiding star in this regard and I think we're getting close here.

Fresh ground whole wheat flour is important--grind your own if possible.

Ingredients:

For crust
2 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
1 packet instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic fresh or powdered
1 TB fresh rosemary, chopped fine
2 TB olive oil
3/4 cup warm water
Cornmeal to cover pan

1. Combine 1 cup flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in bowl. Add garlic and rosemary.
2. Add olive oil and warm water and stir with a wooden spoon.
3. Gradually add another cup of flour and up to 1 1/3 cup, until the dough begins to pull away from side of bowl (I use my bread mixer to knead for 3-5 minutes).
4. Drizzle dough with olive oil, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes
5. Punch down down and turn onto a floured surface. Knead 3-5 times, then use a rolling pin to work dough into a circle.
6. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. If using stone or cast iron pan, preheat pan inside oven. Press dough onto pan, making a lip for the crust around the edge and poking the surface with a fork all over.
7. Bake the crust for 5 minutes to set the crust (and make the bottom crispy).
8. Then remove from oven and drizzle the crust with olive oil, brushing it on the edges, then add the toppings. I do:

Toppings:
fresh oregano and/or fresh basil
tomato paste
S&P
spinach
mushrooms
fresh mozzarella cheese, crumbled
cheddar cheese
blue cheese
parmesan cheese
green onions

Layer tomato paste first, then S&P, then veggies/fresh herbs, then cheese on top. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the crust is turning golden brown at the edges. Slice and enjoy!

Lasagna Soup

Lasagna soup

Topping 

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1-2 tsp Italian seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Pulse together in a food processor and let sit in fridge while you make the soup. 

Soup

1 yellow onion chopped

4 cloves garlic pressed

1 zucchini quartered and sliced

2 large carrots peeled and sliced thin

1 lb ground turkey

3 cans crushed or diced tomatoes

3/4 cup red wine

1/4 cup tomato paste

6 cups chicken broth

8 ounces pasta (penne, farfalle, or other short pasta. I use whole wheat)

Salt and pepper

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning divided

Sauté onion, garlic, zucchini, carrots with salt and pepper and 1 tsp Italian  seasoning in olive oil until tender. Remove to a plate. Add a another tsp olive oil and brown meat. Add salt, pepper, and another tsp Italian seasoning to meat while browning. 

Add veggies back into pan with meat and turn heat to high. Add wine, tomatoes, chicken broth, tomato paste, remaining Italian seasoning, and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cover. Turn heat down and simmer for 15-20 mins until noodles and veggies are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste as needed. Ladle into soup bowls and serve with a large dollop of the topping. Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread

Chicken Tikka Masala and Lemon Curry Rice

We had the most amazing rice at this little river side restaurant in Sri Lanka and I have tried to find a recipe that is similar ever since we got back.  I found a recipe that was pretty close and adapted it to be just like it.  The Tikka recipe is just delicious and I wanted to make sure to get it on the blog.

Yellow Lemon Rice with Curry Leaves

3 cups cooked (brown or white) Basmati rice

2 tablespoons olive oil (or coconut oil)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1-2 TB chili powder

1 teaspoon mustard seeds or ground mustard

4-5 dried red chiles, chopped into thirds (more or less as desired)

15 curry leaves plus a few extra for topping

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

pinch of fenugreek

juice and zest of 1 lemon

sea salt to taste

Small handful of raisins

heaping 1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro, chopped

toasted chopped cashews for garnish

To toast the cashews: Preheat oven to 400°F.  Roast 7-8 minutes, until lightly browned. Roughly chop.

Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok. When hot, add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds, and cook — gently shaking the pan for 1-2 minutes until the mustard seeds pop.  Add the chili powder, curry leaves, and garlic, and sauté another minute or two until the garlic is softened but not browned. Add the turmeric powder, fenugreek, and lemon zest. Stir to combine.  Add the cooked rice, cilantro, raisins and lemon juice.  Season with salt to taste. Mix well. Stir another minute or so until just warmed through.

Serve topped with toasted cashews and a few more toasted curry leaves.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

For the chicken marinade:

• 3 boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon ginger
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt

For the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons of vegetable/canola oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 small onions (or 1 large onion) finely diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic finely grated
• 1 tablespoon ginger finely grated
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 14 oz (400g) tomato puree (tomato sauce/Passata)
• 1 teaspoon ground red chili powder (adjust to your taste preference)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups of heavy or thickened cream (use evaporated milk for lower calories)
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water if needed
• 4 tablespoons Fresh cilantro to garnish

Instructions

1. In a bowl, combine chicken with all of the ingredients for the chicken marinade; let marinate for 10 minutes to an hour (or overnight if time allows).
   
2. Heat oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. When sizzling, add chicken pieces in batches of two or three, making sure not to crowd the pan. Fry until browned for only 3 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm. (You will finish cooking the chicken in the sauce.)
   
3. Melt the butter in the same pan. Fry the onions until soft (about 3 minutes) while scraping up any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.
   
4. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant, then add garam masala, cumin, turmeric and coriander. Fry for about 20 seconds until fragrant, while stirring occasionally.
   
5. Pour in the tomato puree, chili powders and salt. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown red color.
   
6. Stir the cream and sugar through the sauce. Add the chicken and its juices back into the pan along with a scoop of the remaining marinade and cook for an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling. Pour in the water to thin out the sauce, if needed.
   
7. Garnish with cilantro (coriander) and serve with fresh, hot basmati rice

original tikka masala recipe is from cafedelites.com and original rice recipe is from wildgreensandsardines.com

Moist and Delicious Cornbread

I am a cornbread snob.  It is usually dry and crumby and too sweet or not sweet enough.  I finally created the most amazing and moist cornbread tonight and I don't want to forget it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Dry ingredients:

2 cups cornmeal
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup plain sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:

1/3 cup melted butter
2/3 cup sunflower oil
1/3 cup honey
4 eggs beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup milk

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.  In a separate bowl melt butter and combine the rest of the wet ingredients. Whisk until eggs are beaten and mixture is blended together.  Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix well but don't overmix.  Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.  It will be pretty brown and slightly cracked on the top near the sides.  Let cool about 5 minutes and then serve.  SOOOOOO yummy!

Sausage and Squash casserole

This is adapted from a Plated recipe that we got. It’s amazing.
Ingredients
5 pieces of corn bread (leftover or store bought)
Fresh sage, chopped
Fresh rosemary, chopped
1 1/2 lbs butternut squash peeled, seeded, cubed
1 lb collard greens, kale, or chard, sliced
2 shallots, sliced thin
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp Butter
1 1/2 lbs sweet Italian sausage
1/3 cup white wine
4 oz shredded gruyere
2 oz shredded Parmesan
1/2 cup heavy cream
Evoo, s+p

Directions
Preheat oven to 450, break up corn bread into crumbs, add chopped sage, and Parmesan, set aside. Toss butternut squash in evoo, s+p, and chopped rosemary and roast 15 min. In a large frying pan, melt butter on med high, sautée shallots until soft then add garlic and sausage until it’s browned. Add white wine to deglaze then add greens and cook until wilted. Add s+p. Remove from heat. Combine roasted squash, cream and gruyere with sausage and greens, stir to combine and then place mixture in 9x13 casserole pan. Sprinkle  cornbread mixture all over, evenly. Bake 5-7 min. Until browned.

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

We became addicted to these in the Philippines and came home to search for a recipe that was reminiscent. This one from Brown Eyed Baker was perfect. Super yummy and so pretty on a plate.

A classic Christmas cookies – rich, fudge-like chocolate cookies covered in powdered sugar.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Whisk together the brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. Combine the unsweetened chocolate and butter in a small bowl and microwave at 50 percent power, stirring occasionally, until melted, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until combined. Fold in the flour mixture until no dry streaks remain. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
5. Place the granulated sugar and powdered sugar in separate shallow bowls. Working with 2 tablespoons dough (or a medium cookie scoop) at a time, roll into balls. Drop dough balls directly into granulated sugar and roll to coat. Transfer dough balls to powdered sugar and roll to coat evenly. Evenly space the dough balls on the prepared baking sheets.
6. Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until puffed and cracked and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), about 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cool completely on sheet before serving. The cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days.