I decided to make my first ever attempt at homemade pizza today for lunch. I had all the necessary ingredients - tomato sauce, vegetables, mozzarella cheese - and I had bought pitas this morning at the grocery store which would make a perfect crust. I'll type out my recipe as I made my pizza today, but pizza is such a highly personal culinary treat, which makes it quite unique. Everyone has their own perfect topping combination, so what worked for me today might not work for you. I encourage you to take the idea behind this pita pizza and accessorize it with your own favourite toppings! Finally, my pizza ended up being monstrous - I had a little too much of each topping for just one pita. The measurements in the recipe to follow would make 2-3 pita pizzas, unless you enjoy a crazy pizza like me.
Pita Pizza
one whole grain pita (but really 2-3...my eyes were larger than the pita)
3-4 tbsp tomato sauce
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup pineapple chunks
1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chicken breast, seasoned and sautéed
1/4 cup onion, chopped
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly spray a pan and place the pita on the baking pan. Put in oven for 5 minutes to pre-crisp. While the pita is crisping, chop the vegetables and sauté the chicken breast. Here's my layout of toppings eagerly awaiting their pita crust:
Take the baking pan out of the oven. Add the tomato sauce to the pita and spread out with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the mozarella cheese. Add the desired toppings. Top with the other 1/4 cup mozarella cheese and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Place back in oven for 10-15 minutes, depending on desired crispness.
And here's my finished product:
So I know, I went a little overboard, but I had already chopped all the vegetables, so I had to use them. Despite being piled ridiculously high, this pizza was delicious, and relatively healthy, as far as pizzas go. This would be a great recipe to make with kids as everyone can personalize their own pita pizza.
I need some fun beats to accompany this pizza, so I picked a song that I love to belt out just about anywhere - the car, the kitchen, at a party with friends. Just like this pizza that suits any occasion and fulfilled my afternoon hunger, this song is a surefire selection to get me pumped up and fulfill my need to sing and dance - Mr. Brightside by the Killers.
I am part Hungarian (only 1/4), but when people ask me my background, that's what I usually say. It explains my weird last name (it's been fun to be unique, but I'll ditch it when I get married someday), and growing up, my parents made a few Hungarian dishes that I always loved. One in particular my parents called "Jennie's Famous Stew" because I constantly asked them to make it and licked my bowl clean each time. My parents had a few dishes like that, that they would name for my brother and I, maybe as a trick to get us involved in the preparation and cooking. I remember my famous stew, and I also had "Jennie's Famous Meat", which was a homemade London Broil. My brother on the other hand had "Chris's Famous Noodles" - some kind of Sidekick brand noodles out of a bag. I think it's obvious who turned out to be the culinary star in the family.
We made my famous stew countless times throughout my childhood, but I'm not sure that we ever had a recipe written down. I don't have a recipe for it at my home now that I no longer live with my parents, but the idea is in my memory, so I can usually recreate something similar. For my post today I'm giving you the quick and dirty version. I made this for dinner last night, and I didn't start until 4:30. Usually a stew is slow-cooked for several hours, but you can still achieve amazing depth of flavour and the right texture in the meat and vegetables with about an hour and half, which is what I did last night. Again, I'm an eyeball chef, but I guestimated the amounts for each component of the stew.
Hungarian Inspired Beef Stew
1 tbsp bacon fat
1 tsp butter
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
¼ onion, diced
2 cups stewing beef, cubed
salt, pepper, paprika – enough to season
beef so it browns well
2 cup potatoes, cut in small chunks
1 cup carrots, cut in small chunks
1 cup red wine
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp paprika paste
¼ cup strained tomatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
Melt the bacon fat and butter in a large
pan/dutch oven. While melting, season the beef cubes with the salt, pepper, and
paprika on all sides. Sauté the garlic and onions for about a minute to soften.
Add the beef and brown on all sides. Add the potatoes and carrots to the pan.
Season with more salt, pepper, and paprika. Sauté for 5 minutes to brown the potatoes and carrots.
Pour in the wine and balsamic vinegar, and
let the mixture come to a boil. Stir in the mustard, paprika paste, strained
tomatoes, and sugar. With the flour in a small dish, add 1-2 tbsp of the sauce
and stir to create a roux (like a thick paste). Add the roux to the sauce, stir to combine, and let
come to a boil once more. Turn down the heat to low and simmer with a lid on
for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. Serve with bread for dipping.
This version makes two large or three small servings. You can always adjust the ratios of meat to vegetables depending on your personal tastes. The sauce is rich and dark in colour. You can also adjust the flavour with the amount of paprika paste you add. More gives a smokier, and almost spicier edge to the stew.
This is my container of paprika paste. I realize it's a unique ingredient, so I thought I'd post a picture. I get this at the Hamilton Farmer's Market at one of the ethnic food stalls. It's also available in large grocery stores that have an ethnic section or in specialty shops.
And that's my glorious bowl of hearty beef stew! It's such a wonderful winter meal, especially when it's cold and snowy outside and you just need to nestle in with something warm and satisfying. Comfort food at its best.
My beats choice is also a song I find comforting with its refrain reassuring me that "though the truth may vary, this ship will carry our bodies safe to shore" - Little Talks by of Monsters and Men.
I have the exact same breakfast every weekday before work. What can I say, I'm a creature of habit, as many of us are. And this breakfast smoothie is simple, flavourful, and full of good things to get my day started on the right foot. I am an early bird and I'm always starving when I first wake up, so I am forced to eat breakfast at a ridiculously early hour. Most breakfast staples leave me hungry again long before lunch time, but this smoothie is filling. Packed with protein, whole grains, fibre, and about two servings of fruit, it's nutrition in a tall, cool glass for long days in the classroom. It's also ideal post-workout to re-energize.
I'll give a small apology to begin, as I don't actually measure each ingredient before I add it to my blender, but just kind of pour since I've been making this smoothie for a good four years. I'll do my best to give you semi-accurate measurements!
Raspberry Vanilla Smoothie
5 heaping teaspoons yogurt (any flavour, I usually use vanilla or plain - really just whatever is on sale that week at the grocery store)
1/3 cup whole grain oats (I usually use quick cooking oats because they're smaller)
3/4 cup - 1 cup frozen raspberries
1 scoop vanilla flavoured whey protein powder (the container comes with a standard scoop)
1/2 cup - 3/4 cup fruit juice (I have never measured this...I add enough juice on top of the other ingredients to fill my blender to the 500mL line)
Add each ingredient in order into a large blender. Blend on medium speed until smooth. Serve immediately.
It's so pretty and pink! You could also change this up with whatever frozen fruit you prefer. Raspberries are full of nutrients and I like the colour they give to the smoothie. You could use blueberries, strawberries, or a combination of fruits. I sometimes also throw in half a banana with the frozen berries.
I find also that most smoothie recipes don't use fruit juice, but water, ice, or milk. Those are also solid options. I like the juice because it adds more sweetness (I'm sure you can tell from this blog that I've got quite the sweet tooth!). As well, using juice adds another serving of fruit to the smoothie. I try to choose the healthiest juice I can - one that doesn't have added sugar, and some juices now (in the Oasis line) have added fibre and calcium.
Since this smoothie pumps me up to face my day or to perk up after a tough workout, it needs some accompanying beats that get me energized. I'm choosing a fun and goofy song that makes me feel young, and because the year it came out, my grade 9 girls knew every word and were beyond shocked and pumped when I could rap along with them! Singing and dancing in the morning is a fabulous way to kick off each day, with Super Bass by Nicki Minaj.
Ok, I know it's now January and that Christmas was over a week ago, but I need to post about shortbread because it's one of the Christmas baking staples from my childhood. We never went a year without making shortbread cookies, and most years we made more than one batch because we'd eat them up so quickly. I personally made two batches this year: one to share with my students, and one to share with my colleagues at school. My Mom also made one batch for the family Christmas party. They're one of the simplest cookies - only four ingredients. However, shortbread has many subtleties. You can just as easily end up with a flat, crispy cookie as with a soft, chewy, buttery treat. Read on for my tricks.
Shortbread Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (plus more for rolling the dough)
Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. (This is trick #1: many people use white sugar in shortbread, but brown sugar gives you a softer, chewier texture in the finished product). Add the vanilla and stir to combine. Add the flour in 1/2 cup increments and mix. On the last addition the dough should come together. Using your hands, form it into a ball.
Flour your rolling surface, your hands, the top of the dough ball, and the rolling pin to prevent sticking. Roll the dough out until it is about 1/4 inch thick (This is trick #2: rolling your dough too thin will create a crispy cookie rather than a soft shortbread). Using cookie cutters of your choosing, cut the dough into shapes and place the cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate with coloured sugar, chocolate chips, or leave plain. Bake for 6-10 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie (smaller shapes require less time). You will know the cookies are done as soon as the centres are puffed up. (This is trick #3: don't bake your shortbread for too long! As soon as the cookies look puffy, get them out of the oven.) Allow cookies to cool on the sheet for about 3 minutes and then transfer to wire baking racks to cool completely.
A simple cookie with many subtleties. Despite having baked two batches this year, I neglected to snap any photos of the finished products. Rest assured, they were buttery and soft with just a hint of sweetness, and decorated with festive red and green sugar.
I considered making the beats festive, but it seems a bit ridiculous now that we are past Christmas AND New Year's to post a Christmas song. So instead, I chose a song that, like the shortbread cookies, is simple, but has many subtleties. This Year's Love: David Gray.
So I mentioned in an earlier post that I do in fact have a favourite cookie of all-time. This is a big deal for me, because I tend to be a very indecisive person, and I rarely have a favourite anything. If you asked me for my favourite movie/book/song/actor/singer, I wouldn't be able to even begin to narrow down the field. Now if you've been reading the blog, I think it's obvious that cookies are one of my favourite things, as I have more posts about baking cookies than any other item. Although I love them all, I have one "go-to" recipe, adapted from The Happy Baker Cookbook (ironically, in the book, it's called "Erin's Go-To Cookie"). I call my version the Everything Cookie. Why? Because it has a little bit of everything to satisfy all the indecisiveness inside me.
Everything Cookies
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut
Preheat oven to 375F. In a small bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a large bowl, combine sugars and butter. Beat until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and egg; mix well. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the chocolate chips and the coconut.
Drop by teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes until centres are puffed.
Add a tall glass of cold milk, and all of my cookie desires are fulfilled!
For the beats, I'm choosing a throw-back to my childhood since these cookies make me feel young. I grew up listening to Motown. No, I didn't grow up in the 60's. My parents did, however, and they controlled the stereo, so I came to love the music. I'm choosing I'm Gonna Make You Love Me by The Supremes and The Temptations. It combines two power groups of Motown (much like how these cookies combine many staple cookie ingredients), and with just one bite, these cookies will make you love them too.
First catch-up post is a chewy, wintery, minty cookie. I whipped these up one November weekend along with some pumpkin muffins which didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped. But the cookies were delectable, and I would make them again in a heartbeat! I adapted from a Nestlé recipe to get a chewier and mintier version that really satisfied. Mint Chocolate Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour 2/3 cup baking cocoa 1 package of instant chocolate pudding Mix 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup butter,
softened 2/3 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract 2 large eggs 1 cup mint chocolate chips
Preheat
oven to 325° F.
Combine flour, cocoa, pudding mix, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat
butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract in large mixer bowl
until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded
tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies are puffed. Cool
on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Here's how they looked coming out of the oven:
The Nestlé recipe used green coloured chocolate chips, which made it more obvious that the cookies were mint, but I decided to go stealth style. Adding in the pudding mix also kept the cookies soft and chewy for several days after baking.
These were a fun and delicious cookie with a great depth of flavour and texture. My choice of beats also has intense depth in texture and harmony, so I think it matches well with the cookies: Some Nights by Fun.
So...I missed a few months there...
Work has been exceedingly busy! I have been whipping up countless good eats and treats, but I haven't been as diligent about documenting with photographs or composing accompanying posts (obviously). I'm going to start playing catch-up this month. Some posts will feature photos and others will not, and then hopefully I'll get back into a groove of semi-regular posting.
I'll throw a beat into this post, since it doesn't include any eats or treats. A fun, sweet song that's pretty catchy - Ho Hey by the Lumineers.
