Pizza Night: Wheat Crust with Veggies and Ham

Normally I'm the one making pizza from scratch, but this time girlfriend decided to help out and made the crust. She followed a recipe from Italian Cooking: The Definitive Encyclopedia of Fabulous Food by Capalbo, Whiteman, Wright and Boggiano, which is a great cookbook filled with the basics and information about techniques.

The main thing I love about pizza (besides how good it tastes!) is the opportunity to use any leftover veggies from the week's shopping (or the garden) before they go bad. So while girlfriend made the crust, I chopped and sauteed peppers and onions to top the pizza. I also chopped up some deli ham that needed to get finished off or it would likely have ended up in the garbage in the next couple days. Then some fresh mozzarella was shredded and some thin slices of fresh parmesean were shaved off the block.

Here's the recipe for the crust:
Wheat Pizza Crust
Ingredients
1 1/2 Tbsp Active Dried Yeast
1 Cup Lukewarm Water
Pinch of Sugar
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Salt
1 1/4 Cups White Flour (We use organic bread flour)
2 Cups Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour

Directions
1. Warm a medium mixing bowl by swirling hot water in it, then drain. Place yeast in the bowl and pour in the warm water and sugar. Mix with a fork and allow to stand until yeast has dispersed and starts to foam (about 5-10 minutes).

2. Use a wooden spoon to mix in the olive oil, salt and white flour. Then mix in about half of the wheat flour, stirring with the spoon until the dough begins to form a mass and pull away from the sides of the bowl.

3. Sprinkle some of the remaining dough onto a smooth work surface and knead the dough while working in the remaining flour a little at a time. Knead for 8-10 minutes and then form into a ball.

4. Lightly oil a mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and place a moist kitchen towel on top of the bowl. Leave it in a warm place to rise for 40-50 minutes. When it has doubled in size punch it back down (to release the air) and then knead for 1-2 minutes.

5. You can divide the dough in two for medium pizzas or leave it for an extra large pizza. Flour a smooth surface and use a rolling pin to roll it to the desired thickness (I usually roll mine out to about 1/4 inch thick). Then place the dough on a lightly oiled pan (We usually skip this and just sprinkle cornmeal on the pan).

That is the end of the book recipe, but here's how I finish mine up!

6. Place pan in oven pre-heated to 500 degrees and pre-bake the crust for about 5 minutes.

7. Remove and top the pizza. Return to oven for 5-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

I was pretty happy with this recipe as it makes a solid chewy, but strong crust. At the end of the cooking time be sure to keep an eye on your oven. Some pizzas only need 5 minutes, whereas others really need the full 10.

Cloud's Chunky Guacamole

I absolutely love my guac, which is funny, because growing up you couldn't get me to touch the stuff with a 10' pole. I liked most green vegetables - I even loved my broccoli and zucchini. I would make whole meals out of vegetables if my mother would let me! But avocados? Guacamole? No way!

However, thanks to "Moe's" (a Chipotle-esque chain that has slowly been expanding into New England), I was formally introduced to guacamole without even realizing it. A friend had a burrito, a "Homewreaker" if I remember correctly, and it had guac in it. From then on I ordered guacamole on every burrito. However, it took a trip to a locally-owned restaurant to fully convert me to a guacamole-loving fiend. Girlfriend and I ate at Mezcal (an upscale Mexican-Southwestern fusion restaurant) for our 2 year anniversary. We got one of their "complete meals" for 2 people and it came with freshly-made guacamole and chips. I was skeptical, but tried it. Maybe it was the pitcher of house margaritas, but I was officially hooked on guac!

Now, I get random cravings for guacamole and tortilla chips. As a result, I've now got a recipe tailored to specifically to my tastes. My winter version is more chunky than creamy due to how expensive avocados are during the winter. For a creamier version, I add a third avocado to the mix.

Assemble the ingredients

Dice some garlic

Dice some onion

Chop up the tomatoes

Cut up the avocados and scoop out the pulp

Mash the avocados (I like mine completely mashed, but girlfriend likes hers chunky)

Coat the avocado with lime juice

Throw in the seasonings

Fold in the rest of the ingredients

And Voila!


Cloud's Chunky Guacamole - Winter Version
2 Avocados; Halved, Seeded and Peeled
2 Tomatoes; Seeded and Diced
1/2 Medium Onion; Peeled and Diced
1-2 Cloves Garlic; Minced
1 Lime or Lemon; Juiced (I use whichever's in the fridge)
1/2 Teaspoon Cumin
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Chili Powder or Cayenne Pepper
1/2 Tablespoon Cilantro, Chopped

Prepare garlic, onions and tomatoes. Place the avocado in a large bowl and squeeze 1/2 of the lime over it. Mash the avocados using a fork, whisk or potato masher. Mash in the cumin, salt and cayenne. Using a spoon, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Squeeze the other half of the lime over the mixture and mix it in. Let sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour to allow flavors to meld and then serve.

*I also love to make this the night before and find that the flavors combine beautifully sitting in the fridge overnight.

Pizza Night

Last night I made pizza for dinner, from scratch! Well, the sauce wasn't homemade. But that's only because I'm officially out of my saved cans of tomatoes from last years garden. I did however make the crust from scratch and it was excellent! Topped with pasta sauce that I added a bunch of stuff to, fresh mozzarella cheese and sliced onions and red peppers.

Harvest Mondays

It's been a relatively quiet week here....

Hybrid tomatoes, an heirloom from a plant that was gifted to me from REC and some Blue Lake green beans

Hybrid tomato, sweet Italian pepper and more green beans

More tomatoes and green beans with squash blossoms

The lunch made from the harvest shown above.

A lovely black beauty eggplant (that will probably end up as dinner tonight) and a small Italian pepper

The garden totals thusfar:
Summer Squash - 4 lbs
Tomatoes - 8 lbs
Green Beans - 1 lb
Eggplant - 1 lb
Italian Peppers - 1/2 lb