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Amy’s Pizza Crust

1 1/2 cups water, about 110 degrees F

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

4 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons olive oil

Pour a couple tablespoons of the warm water into a large bowl. Add yeast to moisten. After a few minutes, add flour, salt, remaining water and oil in that order. Mix with a wooden spoon for a minute. The dough should be shaggy with all the flour moistened. If you have more than a tablespoon of dry flour, add more warm water and mix until all the flour is incorporated into the ball of dough. It can still have spots that are sticky and clumps that are drier, as long as it forms a ball in the middle of the bowl.

Flour your work area and dump your dough out. Knead it until it is springy and smooth. Put in an oiled bowl to rise for 30-45 minutes. Divide in half. (This will make enough for two cookie sheet sized pizzas. If you want smaller pizzas, divide your dough into smaller portions. You can freeze what you don’t use for another time.) Knead each ball of dough again. You can knead on oil instead of flour to keep too much flour from being incorporated. Be careful not to knead too vigorously or pull dough too tightly. You don’t want the developed gluten to tear. Keep the integrity of the smooth surface of the dough intact. Put each ball of dough in its own oiled bowl and cover with an oiled plate. Let rise for two or three hours at room temperature, or longer (even overnight) in the fridge. If you let them rise in the fridge, take your dough out of the fridge and hour or so before you use it to let it warm to room temperature.

Oil two cookie sheets and lightly sprinkle them with cornmeal or semolina flour. Put them in the oven. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Lightly flour your work space and gently turn a ball of dough onto the flour. Carefully stretch your dough and/ or roll with a rolling pin to almost the size of your pan. Try to leave bubbles, especially in the edges of the dough, i.e., use a rolling pin only in the center. Even if the oven is not fully preheated, take one of your pans out and put the dough on the pan. For a cookies sheet sized pizza, you need about 3/4 cup sauce. Top your pizza and return it to the oven. Roll out your second ball of dough, take your second pan out, put your dough on the hot pan and top it with sauce, cheese, etc. Return it to the oven. After 5 or 10 minutes, rotate the pans. Bake until the bottom of the crusts brown and the cheese is as toasty as you like.

Veggie Thai Curry (3 Recipes)

Ingredients

  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 head cauliflower, chopped
  • 2 t cumin
  • 1/2 t cayenne pepper
  • 4 t curry powder
  • 1 t salt
  • 1 t black pepper
  • 2 cm pieces ginger, minced
  • 14 oz can tomato, blended
  • 15 oz can chickpeas, drained
  • 14 oz can coconut milk (or substitute 2/3 c water and 1/2 c more cream)
  • 1/2 c cream
  • 1/2 c torn spinach (optional)
  • 1/2 c chopped cilantro

Instructions

Saute the onion in oil over medium heat until it begins to soften, add the garlic, stirring frequently. After a minute, add remaining ingrediends, cover, and simmer until the cauliflower is tender. Add the spinach and cilantro in for the last minute.

Adapted from https://tasty.co/recipe/simple-veggie-curry

ALSO Vegetarian Thai Green Curry at https://choosingchia.com/thai-green-curry-tofu/

ALSO Thai Panang Curry with Vegetables (Michael made, was delicioius)

Ingredient Notes

Baking Powder and Baking Soda. Bakewise 2008, p. 59. Use only baking powder unless you recipe has a lot of acidic ingredient such as yogurt or sour cream. Use 1 t baking powder per cup of flour.

Salt enhances sweetness and flavor by blocking bitterness. In cakes and sweet breads, use about 1 t salt per about 2 c flour

Oil. Makes cakes and sweet breads moist, but counteracted by protein in eggs. Use 1 egg per 1/4 oil.

Cobbler or Nut Crumble Crisp

FILLING (FOR CRISP OR COBBLER):

4 c (8 c for cobbler) blueberries (and/or mulberries, blackberries, or equal parts ripe plantain and mango)
1/4 c (leave out for cobbler) minute tapioca
3/4 c (1 1/2 c for cobbler) sugar
1 T (2 T for cobbler) lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Mix filling ingredients in bowl, slightly mashing blueberries. Let sit 15 min, stirring occasionally.

FOR BERRY CRISP — CRUMBLE:

6 T cold butter
3/4 c flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
pinch salt
small pinch nutmeg
1/2 c sliced almonds

3. (for crisp) Spread filling in bottom of 8×8 glass pan. Mix dry ingredients except nuts, cut in butter, stir in almonds, then sprinkle on top of filling. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, then remove and fluff topping with a fork. Return to oven until crust is lightly browned and edges of fruit are bubbling (30 min?). Let sit 10 min before eating.

FOR BERRY COBBLER — BATTER:

1 c flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c water + 1/4 c cream (or 3/4 c milk)
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla

3. (for cobbler) Mix the batter ingredients. Pour half into a greased 8×8 or 9×9-inch baking dish. Add filling, then the remaining batter. Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 min until golden brown.

Serves 5. Eat with Aldi premium vanilla ice cream.

Wild Rice Pilaf

• 3/4 c converted rice
• 1/2 c chopped onion
• 1/2 c diced carrots
• 1/4 c raisins
• 2 T butter
• 1.5 c vegetable broth
• 1/2 c frozen peas
• 3/4 c cooked wild rice
• 1/3 c toasted almond slices

Cook the wild rice beforehand (see below). Saute the converted rice, onion, carrots and raisins in butter until onion is tender. Add the broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in frozen peas, wild rice and almonds; heat through.

COOKING THE WILD RICE:

See https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-cook-wild-rice-on-the-stovetop-198709

Cucumber Radish Salad (Mango/Peach)

1 cucumber, partially peeled and cut to 1/2 slices
5 radishes, diced
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 c yogurt
1/4 c cream
1/2 t dried dill leaves
1/4 t salt

Mix and serve.

Can substitute mango and/or peaches for the cucumber/radish and fresh mint leaves for the dill. Reduce the salt.

Baked Potatoes Bar (and Roasted Carrots)

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Rub potatoes or sweet potatoes generously with olive oil and salt and pepper.
  • Bake 60 minutes, or until the potato is fork-tender and the skin is crisp.
  • Do the same with carrots or whole zucchini and add them in for the last 40 minutes

Use sweet potato as well as golden potatoes. Serve with butter, yogurt, broccoli, fried chicken bits, bacon bits, grated cheese, sliced black olives, green onions, avocado.

Serve with Cucumber Radish Salad.

Morning Glory Muffins

Rachel’s —

Muffin recipe: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/simple-morning-glory-muffins/#tasty-recipes-73691

I changed pecans to walnuts, decreased the brown sugar to 1/4 cup, and instead of the applesauce, orange juice, orange zest, and 1/2 of the apple I took a can of cubed pineapple, drained the juice, crushed the rest in the food processor, then added 1/3 cup juice and 2/3 cup crushed pineapple. I still kept the other half of the apple in.

Hard Boiled Eggs

METHOD A

  1. Put the eggs in a pot and cover with cool water 1 inch above the top of the eggs. Bring to a boil.
  2. Turn of the heat and cover with a lid. Let the eggs sit for 12 min in the hot water.
  3. Remove eggs and cool immediately in ice water.

METHOD B

  1. Bring water to boil under a steaming basket. Put a single layer of eggs in the basket over the boiling water.
  2. Steam for 14 minutes (17 if a double layer of eggs) over the boiling water. This time will
  3. Remove eggs and cool immediately in ice water.

FOR EASIER PEELING

For easier peeling, use older eggs and let them sit in the ice water longer.

TEST conducted 2022-04-16 on Methods A and B with 6 eggs in each. RESULTS: The steamed eggs may have peeled a little easier, but not certain. Method A will probably give more consistent results, since the initial temperature of the eggs will be less important.

Shakshuka (Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce)

3 T oil
1 diced onion
1 diced and seeded poblano or bell pepper (or diced zucchini)
4 finely chopped garlic cloves
1 t cumin
2 t paprika (optional)
1/4 t chili powder
12 peeled tomatoes (or 1 28 oz can peeled tomatoes)
8 eggs
1/3-1/2 salt (depending on proportion of canned tomatoes) and 1/4 t pepper
chopped cilantro

Cook the chopped pepper and onion in oil until the onion becomes translucent in a cast iron pan. Add garlic and spices and cook for an additional minute. Add the tomatoes and break down the tomatoes using a large spoon. Season with salt and pepper and bring the sauce to a simmer. Add zucchini (if using). Make small wells in the sauce and crack the eggs into each well. Cover the pan and cook until the eggs are done to your liking (5-8 minutes). Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serves 6


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