Knitter in the Kitchen

As a baker, I shy away from making bread. I feel somewhat intimidated by yeast-based recipes and I’ve only ever used yeast a couple of times — once for no-knead bread, and once for classic cinnamon rolls. Then I saw Brooke’s post about her homemade pizza, and I was inspired to try my hand at making pizza from scratch.

I used Giada’s Pizza Dough recipe and followed Brooke’s example of throwing in some chopped fresh rosemary and cheese into the dough while mixing. I had some problems with the dough — it was much too wet, and in hindsight I should have added more flour before attempting to take it out of the food processor. Me struggling with removing the overly sticky dough was not a pretty sight. The recipe didn’t indicate how long or at what temperature the dough should be baked, so I experimented. I decided on 400 degrees for 4 minutes without toppings, and then an additional 15-20 minutes with toppings added (depends on whether you are making a wee 6-inch personal size pizza like the one shown above or a 12-inch). The dough tasted pretty good — the fresh rosemary in it certainly made a difference. A single batch yielded enough for one 6-inch and one 12-inch pizza.

For the sauce, I adapted the Exquisite Pizza Sauce from allrecipes.com based on user reviews. I omitted the honey, anchovy paste, and dried marjorom, and let the sauce sit overnight in the fridge instead of just thirty minutes. It was yummy! This recipe is a definitely keeper.

I kept the toppings simple. I think the key to avoiding soggy pizza is to go light on the toppings. I used a grated three-cheese blend (Romano, Parmesan, and Asiago), mushrooms, bell peppers, olives, and basil.

I had fun making the pizza and it was tasty, so I plan to do it again! Next time, I want to try Smitten Kitchen’s really simple pizza dough. Do you have a favorite pizza dough recipe to share?

A couple of weeks ago we made The Pioneer Woman’s Cajun Chicken Pasta, and the flavors were really good! Next time, we might even try it without the chicken. The side of asparagus was inspired by this photo from Mintyfresh. Roasting it with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper at 400 degrees for 9-10 minutes is now my favorite way of cooking asparagus.

On Sunday evenings, Hubby and I cook a big batch of food that will last us for four nights. This means that we don’t have any leftovers to bring for lunch, because the leftovers are reserved for dinner. So for years, my lunches have consisted of a sandwich, chips, and sometimes cookies. Not exactly the most nutritious combination, especially given my sandwich and chip selections (such as peanut butter and jelly with Lay’s Classic Potato Chips). And I doubt that cookies could be considered wholesome.

Recently, I decided to start packing better food. I am tired of sandwiches, plus I think eating so much junk is catching up with me. So my new plan is that on weekends, I’ll also cook a second batch of food just for lunches. This was my first week of doing so, and I made Chickpea Potato Curry, Broccoli with Red Pepper Flakes and Toasted Garlic, and rice.

The Chickpea Potato Curry was new to me and was yummy. The prep was minimal, and once the veggies were chopped everything went into one pan for about 30 minutes of simmering. Which is pretty darn easy, and it yielded five lunches for me and two for Hubby. Not bad, right? The broccoli side dish is from the March 2007 issue of Cooking Light and is a standard rotation for us. Really simple and tasty.

I’ve already found several new recipes I want to try for lunches, and once we head into summer, I’ll probably do some salads. What do you usually eat for weekday lunches?

I go through phases with my cooking and baking. Sometimes I’m enthusiastic about trying new recipes, and other times I’m content to stick with the tried and true favorites. Lately, I’ve been in an experimental mood and actually made two new dishes in one day (which has got to be a record for me). One was a Tuna Noodle Casserole from the January/February 2010 issue of Cooking Light.

I had never eaten tuna casserole before, and was hoping this might be a simple, hearty meal. I incorporated a few mods as suggested in the recipe reviews, and they worked well, but unfortunately this is not repeatable dish. Hubby and I learned that we don’t like tuna casserole — it’s just too heavy.

I also made the Chipotle Bean Burritos from the same issue of Cooking Light, and these turned out quite well!

We used pico de gallo instead of salsa, bagged lettuce instead of the chopped tomatoes and lettuce, and cilantro instead of green onions. The cilantro made a huge difference - it really brightened up the flavors! This recipe is definitely a keeper. On a side note, the magazine recommended organic beans because they are lower in sodium. I did a quick comparison at the supermarket, and was surprised to find that it was indeed true.

It’s been a long time since I’ve tried a new recipe. I’ve had my eye on this one ever since Kate posted it, and I finally got around to making it today. It did not disappoint — it was super tasty and easy, like chili. Next time I will probably make a double batch.

My mods:
::Used a 15oz can of cannellini beans because my supermarket did not carry 19 oz cans.
::Used hot Italian turkey sausage instead of sweet. Decreased amount to about 10 oz (about half the package) to compensate for less beans.
::Tripled garlic because we love garlic.