3 ways with pizza dough

You know those cravings that won't leave you. The ones that creep up at in appropriate times. Cravings that whisper in your ear "that just doesn't taste right" when you eat something that isn't what you crave. Fill your mind to the point where not even your favourite series, your child's laughter or your husband's loving words can penetrate the thoughts of making or eating that which you crave? 

I see you nodding and so you will understand when I tell you about my pizza dough craving. It wasn't about what was on top, that didn't matter. It was the flavour and texture of what makes a pizza a pizza that took residence in my head and would not leave. 


So I paused Lost Girl, got up and made the dough. I had no idea WHAT I was going to put on it but the dough was made. Next I went foraging in the fridge, freezer and cupboards for something to use. No, going to the shop was not an option....because...stop it! No! aaaaanyway. In the freezer I found a beautiful piece of beef fillet which I had trimmed off a larger piece I made a few weeks back, some roasted red pepper and tomato soup and a couple of sausages. In the fridge a tiny bit of cheese and in the cupboards onion and spices.

So I went about creating these 3 tasty snacks for us, never having to leave the house or dress in anything but slippers and PJs (see why the shop was not an option). I turned the sausages into cows in blankets (beef sausage see), the meat I fried up with some onions, caramelising it a little then made balls of meaty goodness. The roasted red pepper and tomato soup was cooked down and thickened and made a beautifully rich base for the pizzas I made with cheese and some onion and the rest of the dough was mixed in some caramelised onions to make little dinner rolls (that never made it to dinner)

Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water
1 sachet activated dry yeast
2 + 1 cup 00 flour (or half white bread flour half cake flour)
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt


Put the yeast in the warm water with a pinch of flour and allow it to bloom. Mix it in with the 2 cups of flour and knead adding the 3rd cup as you knead the dough. Kneed in the olive oil and salt. Place ina oiled bowl and cover and allow to rise. 
Once the dough has risen, knead it to knock out or the air bubbles and divide it into the number of portions you need. (If you are freezing the dough this is when you do it)

Spinach and Mushroom parcels - Meat Free Monday

The last 2 weeks have been rather tedious. I was helping my dad out answering phones while his receptionist was away on annual leave. I spent many an hour playing facebook games and wishing I had uploaded some images for blogging. I was not on my own computer so had no pictures with me and so you didn't get any new recipes to try. Sorry :(

However you did get a new look and feel, like a new space to visit. They say a change is as good as a holiday :)

So it is Monday again and with it comes the dulcet sounds of my family moaning at me that they don't understand how 1 day a week can make a difference. With it also comes me ignoring them. Some weeks I just quietly make my own little meal to eat, others I make a dish with several components so those who choose to can eat Meat-free and other days I make something so delicious, they don't care if there is meat or not.

Such was the case with these little phyllo parcels. With the meatiness of the wild mushrooms and the creaminess of the spinach, these edible presents ticked every box in the house.

What you need:

3 bags baby spinach

1 box mixed wild mushrooms

1 tub fat free smooth cottage cheese

1 onion

1 medium potato

½ fairview single salad serving feta (or 1 wheel)

garlic

smoked paprika

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Phyllo pastry

What to do:

Wash the spinach very well (rule of thumb is at least 7 times, no one likes sandy spinach)

Chop half the onion finely, do the same with the potato (the pieces should all be roughly the same size and very small). Heat up some olive oil in a wok or large pan. Saute the onions and potatoes then add the spinach and mix till wilted (depending on the size of your wok/pan you made need to add the spinach in stages). When all the spinach has wilted add the garlic ad stir well. Then add the cottage cheese and crumble in the feta. Turn off the heat and stir well. Slice the other half of the onion into slivers. In another pan toss the onion and the smoked paprika in some heated olive oil, then add the mushrooms and fry until browned. Add the mushrooms to the spinach mixture, mix well then season to taste.

Cut your phyllo into long strips (I use scissors). Brush one piece with olive oil and stick another piece on top of it. Spoon some filling into it and fold as you wish, using a little more olive oil to seal it. Heat up the oven nice and hot and turn on the grill  and grill until golden brown and crispy (you filling is cooked and should be warm, if the filling has cooled then place the parcels into the oven at 180°c for a few minutes and then pop them under the grill)

You can serve them steaming hot, or even instead of sandwiches for school or work the next day

"sushi" in a bowl

Monday afternoon, while innocently sitting at work, handing out sushi advice to a friend I received an SMS from the fishmonger across the road. Now before you think there is something fishy going on, I only get them when the tuna comes in. How could I resist, fresh yellowfin tuna (orange on the SASSI list) and after spending so much time explaining to my friend the steps to perfect sushi I had to get it.

Only problem was that it was monday and I am sorry to break the news to you but FISH count as MEAT. When I got home with my tuna I suddenly got paranoid about whether it would stay fresh enough in the fridge to be eaten raw the next day so I decided that marinating was the way to go. I cut 2 steaks from the piece I had and marinaded them in the fridge until the next evening.

Still the sushi idea didn't want to leave so I got to making the rice. however, by the time TheHusband was done with work it was 10pm (I had to go fetch him) and the last thing I wanted to do was roll sushi. So I stopped off at woolies and grabbed some prawns, then fetched TheHusband and hurried home. I coated my tuna in sesame seeds and seared it, stir-fried the prawns with some garlic and spring onions and served it all on a bed of chilled sushi rice with a soya and wasabi mayo sauce.

Sesame crusted seared tuna

What you need (served 2 + leftovers for lunch):
500g fresh tuna
1 tbs hoisin sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp honey soy marinade
½ cup water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp wasabi (more if yours isn't strong like mine)
½ cup white sesame
½ cup black sesame

What to do:
Mix all the wet ingredients together making sure the hoisin is dissolved well. Place the tuna steaks in and leave for as long as possible (mine were in there for longer than 24hours). Heat a frying pan nice and hot. Mix your sesame seeds together and coat your steaks on both sides. Pop in the hot pan for about a minute each side (remember SEARED, not COOKED) then remove and allow to rest for a minute or 2 (I stir-fried the prawns in that time). Slice the steaks into chopstick managable sizes :)

Veggie soup with homemade gnocchi - Meat free monday recipe

My mom has recently decided that meat free mondays is not a bad idea. So I was happy to discover when we went shopping that what she had in mind was a heart vegetable soup which we packed full with everything from peas, to spinach, baby corn and more (no potatoes).

Something didn't sit right with me and I was sure it was missing something but I just couldn't place my finger on it. Then, while browsing through Meeta's "What's for Lunch Honey" archives I came across this recipe. I immidiately called my mom and asked her to buy some gnocchi to add in. She agreed but first had to rush home so the domestic worker could go home and then she would go shopping. I got home shortly after her and while discussing things I decided that it would be quicker and tastier to make our own gnocchi.

This was the perfect opportunity to go to my list of "recipes I have to try" and one of them was JamieWhoSA's gnocchi recipe. I didn't have sweet potatoes but loads of lovely woolworths organic potatoes.

The soup was my mom's creation but its a basic vegetable soup, flavoured with louvage and parsley, below though is my slight variation on JamieWho's recipe. I was so lucky to have some really awesome ingredients on hand.

What you need:
6 small organic potatoes
1 jumbo free range egg
2 cups stone ground white bread flour
pinch of nutmeg
salt to taste (the stone ground flour has no salt in it)

What to do:
Peel the potatoes and boil in some salted water until soft. Mash well. In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients until you get a warm soft dough.Cover with a tea towel and leave for 5 minutes. Roll the dough out into a sausage shape (I did it in batches), then with a sharp knif cut pices from the sausage. I then rolled them into blobs (very technical I know) and pressed them gently with a fork. In the meantime boil up some salted water and put the gnocchi in. When they are ready they float to the top.

To add a little edge to mine I grated parmesan on them as they came out of the water instead of adding it directly to the soup.

Vegetable Egg drop soup - a recipe

The problem with me and recipes is that I can NEVER follow them to a T. Thats why I find baking challenging as that could lead to a serious disaster. Either way I decided to do the free soup from weight watchers which turned into a not so free but very delicious winter warmer.

What you need:
Baby sweetcorn
Green beans
Carrots
Celery
Tin of mexican style tomatoes (if you dont get them where you are just used tin tomatoes, add some chilli and coriander/cilantro)
Onion
Olive oil
1 egg white
Paprika
Parsley
500ml Vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar (optional)


What to do:
Chop up all your veg. Fry off the onions in a tiny bit of olive oil in a soup pot. Throw in the rest of the veg and toss a little. Add the tinned tomatoes and and the vegetable stock. Allow to cook until all the veggies are nice and soft and add you herbs and spices, salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar to balance out any acidity. Once the soup is ready, whisk your egg white (or the whole egg if you are not watching your weight/cholesterol), take the soup off the heat and stir it, as you stir SLOWLY pour in your egg.


Either eat is as is or serve with a fresh, warm roll (I love the woolies heat and eat collection)  


The Shopping List