Belated Birthday Celebration!

My dad’s birthday was Valentine’s Day but I didn’t get to celebrate with him that night. Our schedules are so conflicting! So I made a deal. I would cook him a feast in celebration! And it would be one that I could partake in as well!

I created another menu, much like I did for my Annivalentinese New Year celebration. This time the theme was Italian! I desperately wanted to use Ashley’s kale pesto recipe, so I based the whole rest of the meal off of that.

The menu went:
Throw-together salad of yummy veggies from the parents’ fridge (this was a last minute addition)
Pesto Lasagna with shitake mushrooms and artichoke hearts
Meat(less)balls topped with roasted red pepper sauce
Spearmint Chocolate Chip ice cream

Since the salad was a last minute addition and I didn’t measure, so I’ll start with the lasagna!

Influenced by the kale pesto I mentioned earlier, I created this unique lasagna. I whipped up the recipe for tofu ricotta I found over at (never home)maker and was blown away by the result. My mom couldn’t stop raving about how much she loved it (despite being a self proclaimed tofu hater) and how she could taste all the flavors in the pesto!

I altered Ashley’s pesto recipe the slightest bit, using only walnuts and reducing the nutritional yeast to 3 tablespoons. I also found that the consistency I wanted used 10 tablespoons of the cooking liquid. I followed the ricotta recipe to the letter.

Pesto Lasagna
1 batch pesto
1 batch tofu ricotta
1/2 package lasagna noodles
1 can artichoke hearts, rinsed well, diced
1 ounce dried oyster mushrooms, rehydrated, towel dried (reserving liquid) and diced
1/4 cup mushroom soaking water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot, boil some water for the lasagna noodles. Now, the idea to do roll ups came to me AFTER I had already broken the noodles in half and cooked them until they were extremely al dente. So if you aren’t going for the miniature lasagna look and want something really fancy, leave them whole and roll them individually instead of making it casserole style!

Anyhow once the noodles are cooked, strain, rinse and lay them out on paper towels to await their next stage. In the same pot you cooked the noodles in, heat a bit of olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, toss in mushrooms and artichoke hearts, seasoning with a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper. Cook until the mushrooms and artichokes get a nice beginning caramelization on them and become really fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.

Grease a 8×8 inch casserole dish with olive oil. Start with a layer of noodles and spread about 1/3 of the pesto on top. Using your hands, crumble about 1/3 of the tofu mixture on top of the pesto and cover that with 1/3 of the mushroom mixture. Repeat these layers until you’re out of either space or mixtures! Slowly pour mushroom water into the dish, being careful not to disturb your beautiful layers.

Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake 40-45 minutes. The edges will start to brown just a bit before it’s completely done!

Onto the meat(less)balls and sauce!

I was SO proud of both meat(less)balls and sauce! I roasted my own red pepper over the stovetop, even! I’ll be making this sauce again and again.. it was that scrumptious! I couldn’t stop eating it with a spoon..

Roasted Red Pepper Marinara
1 roasted red pepper, chopped
10 sun-dried tomatoes, rehydrated and chopped (reserve soaking liquid)
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 141/2 oz can diced tomatoes in sauce (unseasoned)
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon pomegranate balsalmic vinegar
pinch salt
cracked black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a large pot, cover and cook over medium/low heat for about 30 minutes or until the onions start to break down. Cool completely and refrigerate overnight. Pulse sauce in a food processor a few times to break down the sauce a bit more and stick it back in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. I ended up pouring mine over the meat(less)balls and baking them, uncovered, about 40-45 minutes alongside the lasagna.

Meat(less)balls
2 cups TVP
1 1/3 cup boiling water (I used the sun-dried tomato soaking water heated to boiling)
1 onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
3 teaspoons italian herb blend
2 flax eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
freshly cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I baked these beforehand and re-baked them under the sauce since I made them ahead of time. Alternatively you could just serve these straight out of the oven and heat the sauce on the stove.

Rehydrate the TVP with the boiling water and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Add in onion, garlic, nutritional yeast, herbs, flax eggs and olive oil. Combine well and stir in oats, wheat gluten, salt and pepper. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and form mixture into balls slightly smaller than the size of ping pong balls. Bake 20 minutes or until the balls feel firm to the touch. At this point they should be a bit brown on the bottom as well. Serve immediately or cool and store until you’re ready to dine!

My dad enjoyed his meal, too, after getting past the (understandably) strange idea of meatballs sans meat. We all had a second helping, even!

Dinner was followed by ice cream!

Sorry for the blurriness, I was too excited!

I was inspired by Koko’s Kitchen. On a whim I decided to use the dried spearmint leaves I had in my cabinet instead of the peppermint leaves, giving it a whole different flavor. It went over very well!

Spearmint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (adapted from Koko’s Kitchen)
Scant 1/4 cup dried spearmint leaves
1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown rice syrup
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup PACKED kale, destemmed
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
pinch salt
1 ounce bittersweet vegan chocolate

Heat 1/2 cup water, spearmint leaves and brown rice syrup until the mixture boils. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let it sit for 10 minutes.

In a blender, puree milk, 1/3 cup water, kale, vanilla bean paste and salt. Add in spearmint syrup and puree again. Strain mixture into a large bowl and refrigerate overnight. The next day, strain the mixture again before pouring into the ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer’s instructions. Just before the mixture finishes, melt the chocolate in the microwave. Pour half of the ice cream into storage container and pour half the chocolate on top of that. Mix these together until the chocolate is well mixed and starting to be.. chocolate bitty. Top with remaining ice cream and remaining chocolate, stirring again. Lid that bad boy and freeze until ready to serve.

I was very happy with how this meal came out. If you’ve got some time on your hands and are up for experimentation, give these meatballs a shot! The texture really is great for having no meat in them! Next time I think I’ll go with a hefty dose of crushed red pepper and cayenne!

Enjoy your evening! It’s off to bed with me!

Hot DOG it’s vegan!

That’s right, I made vegan hot dogs. I was SO proud of myself I ran outside jumping up and down with pride to meet Kyle.

“Guess what I did, guess what I did?!”
*hop*
*hop*
*hop*

I then demanded he hurry up and make himself a dog and get to work on chowing!

I saw the seitan dogs on (never home)maker and was utterly intrigued by the idea. I got to work and switched up a few ingredients but pretty much followed the recipe.

I made some oatmeal dill buns to go with the dogs, too! There isn’t a recipe for those because, well, the dough they were made from was a mistake. I had wanted to make a loaf of bread for our security officer at the bank but I wasn’t sure that the variation I tried would work after my first loaf turned out a little gummy. I’m ok with slightly gummy bread so I just whipped up a different batch for him and kept the “oatmealy goop” for myself! Well the “goop” turned out well for the buns but I won’t make them again the same way!

The first round of dogs had a topping of a chunky pickle relish, brown mustard and sriracha (served with a side of roasted kale chips). The second round with spicy italian giardiniera and tomato paste for a completely different flavor!

I couldn’t get over the texture of these vegan dogs – so incredibly similar to a normal grilled sausage! I will definitely make these again (and spicier) during grilling season!

Vegan Hot Dogs (adapted from (never home)maker – makes 6 dogs)
1 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
2 tablespoons buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons black pepper
3/4 cup plus 2 teaspoons cold water
4 teaspoons tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon adobo sauce (I added this after the fact since the “dough” was a bit dry. Water would work, too)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare 6 pieces of aluminum foil and set aside.

Mix gluten, flour, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper and paprika in a large bowl. Set aside. In a blender, combine water, tomato paste, garlic, olive oil and adobo (or water) and puree until smooth. Make a well in the dry ingredients and slowly pour in puree. I started out mixing with a small spoon and continued on with my hands, kneading until the color was uniform. Split into 6 portions and form into hot dog shapes. This takes a lot of muscle and pounding but, trust me, it’s worth it!

Place your dogs on your foil wrappers and wrap them snug as bugs in rugs! Twist up the ends of the foil and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until they start to feel a bit springy. (Never home)maker warns not to over bake them or they’ll be too stiff.

Serve on buns and top with whatever your heart desires! Maybe some homemade ketchup!

Mmmmm!

This is how the crumble.. crumbles..

A flash in my mind’s eye while leaving work last night. Why couldn’t I make a savory crumble? I’d never made a regular crumble but that shouldn’t stop me.

So you know what?

I made one.

Oh yeah.

And it was delicious!

I think I’ll end up making another one at some point. I’ll change it up a bit and use different veggies. The possibilities are endless!

Poblano Corn Crumble
1 onion, sliced
1 large poblano pepper, chopped
1/2 cup tightly packed chopped collard leaves
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup black beans, cooked
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons non dairy milk
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil and saute onions until they start to turn clear. Add in poblano pepper and salt and cook for about 5 minutes. Toss in the garlic, corn, collards and black beans, reduce heat to low, cover and cook 5-10 minutes, stirring twice. While that’s cooking, whisk together nutritional yeast and milk. Turn heat off and stir in milk mixture. Spread the veggies in a pie plate, set aside and mix up the crumble topping.

In a large bowl, mix together the following:
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon maple syrup (I opted for a locally made honey mustard blend since I’m ok with eating honey)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mash a fork around in there until everything is good and wet. Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly on top of the veggies. Bake 35 – 40 minutes and serve hot.

Annivalentinese New Year Celebration

Happy (day after) Valentine’s Day, all! Kyle and I aren’t big Valentine’s Day people so we combined our half year anniversary, Valentine’s day and Chinese New Year into one big celebration!

Kyle hasn’t had much experience with Greek inspired cuisine, so that was his cuisine choice. I planned the menu, sent him a cute little Evite invitation, bought the ingredients and, come Sunday morning, got my booty to work on creating!

The first course was taken from Angela over at Oh She Glows. I saw her post for Garbanzo Bean Soup and knew it would make the perfect first course for this meal! The only change I made to the recipe was to substitute some sesame oil for some olive oil since I had no tahini in the house. This soup was mega-tasty and I will definitely make it again!

The main course. The big kahuna. This beauty was taken from the Moosewood Restaurant cookbook I checked out from the library last week. I’m not sure how the reposting thing works with cookbooks so I’ll just say: you MUST, MUST find the book and try the recipe! It’s a quinoa pilaf flavored with celery, red pepper, zucchini, basil, mint and lemon rolled up in delicious collard leaves. Oh man.. this was delicious. My favorite dish I’ve made in a while. Kyle raved about it all night!

Of course, a celebration wouldn’t be complete without something sweet to top it off. This dish wasn’t Greek inspired, but I’ve been planning it for almost a month! Themed meal or not, it was making it to the table! I based my recipe on one I found over at Baking Bites. I subbed in 1/3 cup brown rice syrup for sugar and used SO Delicious unsweetened coconut milk. To top off the delicious ice cream, I decided to make some dark raw chocolate. 2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon brown rice syrup and 1 tablespoon coconut milk mixed until uniform, rolled between wax paper and frozen makes a yummy bittersweet addition! It was a little soft for my liking, so next time maybe I’ll use something other than brown rice syrup to sweeten. The flavors, though.. spot on!

Served up in my "vintage" Garfield mugs!

All in all I would say the menu:

Quite a hit!

I hope your celebrations were filled with fun, good food and love!

Another Round of Tofu

Yep, that’s tofu! Nice, spicy, crusty, delicious tofu. Hmm.. crusty and delicious never sound so great together unless you’re talking about food, huh?

Yesterday afternoon, while awaiting the impending doom of the blizzard at work, I was perusing The Pioneer Woman’s website. I perused my way onto her post about her beef fajita nachos. Even though she was talking about marinating beef, which as of late has made me nauseous to think about, I was drooling by the end of the page.

My first thought was that I HAD to incorporate this marinade into something I could eat. My second thought was that I had tofu in the fridge at home. BINGO!

I threw together the marinade, drained my tofu, then marinated that luscious block of soy overnight. Boy it was delicious. BOY it was spicy. But that’s why I used the pineapple. Its also why I chose to watch Die Hard while scarfing down my dinner. Ok maybe that’s not the reason.

I have a thing for Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman.

*chomp*

Yippie Kai-ay.. well.. you know the rest..

Chipotle Lime Tofu
1 block extra firm tofu
3 large cloves garlic
3 whole chipotle peppers, with sauce
Juice of 2 limes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons water

Cut tofu into 6 blocks, then press extra moisture out between paper towels and something heavy for about an hour. You’ll probably have to change the paper towels a couple times to get it nice and “dry”.

While your tofu is draining, mix up your marinade. Into your food processor, toss the garlic, chipotle, lime juice, olive oil and water and blend until smooth. Or as smooth as you can get it. Mine was still chunky, but I’m ok with chunky sauce.

After your tofu is ready to go and your marinade is ready to impart flavor; place the tofu in a ziplock bag and pour the marinade over the top. Press the air out of the bag, roll it on top of itself and place that bad boy in the fridge for at least 24 hours. You can probably leave it in there for up to 3 days, I’m experimenting with 2 pieces I didn’t cook up tonight to see if leaving it longer effects the flavor of the tofu any.

Once you’re ready to fry-er-up, heat a pan over medium heat with about 2 teaspoons olive oil. Place 3-4 pieces of tofu in the pan, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil and place a nice heavy cast iron pan over that to press the tofu into that hot oil. I saw Rachael Ray do this the other day with her spicy mustard chicken and decided to try it. I wanted to see if it would help crust up the tofu, but I don’t know if it made a difference. It made me feel fancy, anywho! Cook that tofu for 5-8 minutes, flip and recover/press it and cook for 5-8 more minutes until it is as crispy as you like it. Now you could probably cube that up and toss it with pasta, throw it into some tortillas with some “cheeze” and some sour “cream” or you could do what I did and lay it on top of some red leaf lettuce with some pineapple. Just roll and chow down!

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Flirting with Veganism

After much consideration, much drooling over the delectable recipes on the vegan blogs I follow and much research, I’ve decided to try flirting with going vegan. Both health and environmental concerns have entered my brain, especially after watching Food Inc and reading The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone (something I’ve been wanting to do for almost a year). For one month I’m going to eat no meat and no dairy, save for the possible fish filet if I really feel I need to have some meat (and this is only because my parents go fishing a few times a year and I know exactly where that fish has been and what it has been through). After that month is up I can decide whether or not I’m going to reintroduce any of the meat or dairy back into my diet.

Since last Monday things have been going great with this plan. I’ve even baked with dairy and eggs, not tasting as I’ve gone (I’ve gotta get it out of my house somehow! So to work these baked goods go!) and this afternoon I made Kyle some chicken soup and didn’t taste that either. I’ve resisted sour cream, chocolate chips, everything. I haven’t even had cravings for them. Though I will allow myself to eat chocolate if I start to crave it. One cannot live without the chocolate in my freezer for too long. That is certain. =)

So this afternoon, I made a delicious roasted veggie mix. It wasn’t too much of a recipe, just something I threw together in my head while showering. I chopped up some fresh fennel and butternut squash I had leftover from the farmer’s market way back when, then tossed that with olive oil, pomegranate balsalmic vinegar, fresh garlic, chopped lemon and salt. I roasted that mixture and tossed in some roasted walnuts when it came out of the oven. Wow it was SO delicious. I had to stop myself from eating the whole pan in one sitting! I will have THE best lunch tomorrow.. especially when I pull out that red lettuce to wrap the leftovers in!

Sorry for the poor photo quality - it was a quick snap with the phone!

A rough estimate of measurements:
1/2 fresh fennel bulb, chopped
1/3 butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1/2 lemon, seeded and sliced
1 large clove garlic, crushed and diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon balsalmic vinegar
~ 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup roasted walnuts

Toss all ingredients together except for the walnuts (save those for after roasting), bake in a 400 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. Toss those walnuts in after you pull the deliciousness out and go to town! If fennel isn’t your thing you could leave it out or substitute some other yummy veggie! By the way, that’s my newest bread flavor, buckwheat, mint and anise, sitting in back topped with some earth balance. Mmmmmm!

I’ve got another surprise for you tomorrow. Here’s a hint.

PUMPKIN!! WOO HOO!

All sorts of New!

I’ve been bread baking. Thanks to Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Awesome book, truly awesome.

It kinda looks like an armadillo.. a garlicky armadillo!

I’ve only used their master recipe so far, but altering the spices, I’ve made oregano garlic bread and vanilla bean cinnamon bread! So easy, so delicious. I’m SO proud of my newfound baking skills.

Just look at that texture!

I’m also really hoping that the library “forgets” I have their copy.. haha!

I happened to whip up an awesomely simple soup the other night as well. Mmm.. soup.. mmm… egg drop soup! So simple, so delicious!

Mmm.. soupy...

Egg Drop Soup
3 cups water
1 beef bouillon cube
3/4 cup pasta of your choice
1 cup arugula, torn
1 egg, beaten

Boil water and dissolve the bouillon cube. Pour in alphabet noodles (or pasta of your choice), toss in arugula and boil until pasta is al dente. Turn off the heat and slowly drizzle in the beaten egg while stirring the soup gently with a spoon. You’ll see the egg cook itself in the hot soup and get all cool and thready looking. Then you get to devour it! Yum, yum!

Also.. NEW BANGS! Love em! I’m trying to grow out my hair. I’ve had it short for years and just need a change. To alter the monotony of the growing out process, I decided to try out some super-short bangs! I’m so glad I took the plunge!

New bangs!

I Heart Soup

Last night’s dinner was scrumptious. So scrumptious that I forgot all about photographing it until the leftovers were packed up for lunches.

I’m so sorry there’s no good picture. I tried! It just wasn’t meant to be.

You can use your imagination I’m sure. Just think of your favorite creamy chicken and rice soup. Piping hot, glazing the spoon as you pull dip in for another mouthful. Chicken, rice and garlic flavors standing out on your tongue. Now you want soup, huh?

Its ok, I did too. That’s why I made some. You can, too. It took less than 30 minutes. I feel like Rachael Ray!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
1 cup skim milk
2 cups water
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, diced
2 tablespoons dark rye flour
2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 cup wild rice, cooked
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil. Saute celery and mushrooms, salting and peppering to your liking. While veggies are cooking, heat milk, water and garlic. You’re looking to scald the milk, here, so just let it heat! Add flour to olive oil/veggie mixture, whisking to keep from clumping and to cook the “raw” taste off the flour. Cook the roux about 3-5 minutes, then add the milk and continue whisking. Now you get to add the rice and chicken. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 8-10 minutes. Serve immediately and enjoy! Makes about six 1 cup servings.

Finally, perfect cookies!

I am so proud I’m beaming! I’ve FINALLY found the secret to perfectly crispy, chewy cookies! FINALLY!

Perfection!

Better yet:

They’re made with olive oil, not butter. Oh yeah.

Chocolatey, olive oily and with a hint of roasted garlic. Yep. Garlic.

No I’m not crazy. I’m just adventurous!

So if you’re an adventurous soul as well, give it a shot. You’ll love it!

Drool-worthy for sure.

Just try to share so you aren’t the only one with garlic breath!

Garlicky Chocolate Chunk Cookies
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons dark rye flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons molasses
1 egg, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 clove roasted garlic, crushed
1 cup chocolate chunks

Combine flour, salt and baking soda, set aside. With a stand mixer, beat oil, sugar and molasses until it starts to get a bit airy. It won’t get fluffy, poor olive oil. =( After the sugar and oil are combined, beat in egg, vanilla and garlic until well incorporated. Add flour mixture a bit at a time until well mixed, then add in chocolate chunks. Cover dough and refrigerate at least 24 hours.

The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and (without allowing it to come to room temperature) drop dough onto parchment paper by roughly 2 tablespoon rounds that are an inch to an inch and a half apart. Gently press dough down a bit to help flatten the cookies out as they don’t spread much. Bake cookies 12-14 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then chow down!

Nom nom nom!

Beetsa Pie

Crab Pizza

I haven’t made many pizza doughs from scratch.  I’m usually in too much of a hurry and just end up buying the pre-made stuff.  Well today, in honor of Kyle’s fantasy football draft, I decided to make homemade pizza with homemade dough!  I was planning on making a plain old whole wheat type dough until I got an email from one of my many food blog subscriptions; the awesome people of (never home)maker.  Now this wasn’t the first time I’d seen a recipe for beet pizza dough. I’d seen it before over at The Cooking Photographer but I’d forgotten about it!  I got so excited I could hardly stand to wait until today to make it!

Roast Beef Pizza

I ended up following the general recipe from (never home)maker but changing a few ingredients.  It was so incredibly easy and SO tasty!  I know most people would be put off by pink pizza crust, but Kyle and I were all for it!  The recipe makes enough for 3 smallish pizzas.  I chose to make two and stick one in the freezer for the next time we want to make pizza.  Hey all I’ve gotta do is remember to take it out of the freezer right?  Sounds.. simple enough.. we’ll see I guess!  Anyway, after a coating of garlic spiked olive oil for each pizza and a quick 5 minute tour of the oven, they were topped with yumminess.  Onto one went some roast beef, sweated Vidalia onion, sweet red peppers, hot giardiniera and low-fat mozzarella.  Onto another went a beet puree with chopped sun-dried tomato and garlic, sweated Vidalia onion, sweet red peppers, imitation crab meat, danish blue cheese and a bit of low-fat mozzarella.  Both very different but both deliciously devoured!

Hey, don’t just take my word for it, whip up a batch of dough and try it for yourself.  Maybe make some garlic knots out of the leftover dough while you’re at it.  It’s a yummy warm snack for a cool evening.  Welcome fall!

Beet Pizza Dough
1 packet active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup beet puree (unsalted canned beets pureed with enough liquid to make an applesauce consistency)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

In a medium bowl, sprinkle yeast over water, mix with fingers and allow to sit for 5 minutes to bubble up. After the 5 minutes are up, add in the beet puree, olive oil and honey, stirring with a wooden spoon until well combined. In a large bowl combine flours and salt, making an indentation large enough to pour the beet mixture inside. After the beet mixture is poured in, mix it all up!

Mix me, mix me!!

Now its time to get your hands dirty! (I hate that part – dough sticking to my fingers is so nasty! But so rewarding…) Knead that dough until its nice and elastic, then coat it with a bit of olive oil and cover it with a wet towel. Now you have to let it sit for 2 hours. But hey, after that you get to roll it out, bake it quick-like at 425 degrees for 5 minutes, top it and finish it off! Then try not to eat it all in one sitting!