Roma Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Sandwich

I have been craving a tomato sandwich ever since I saw this post over at Veg Obsession. I try not to make special shopping trips, so the sandwich had to be postponed until today....well worth the wait. I simply toasted two slices of whole wheat bread, and spread both slices with roasted red pepper and shallot dressing, and one slice with vegenaise (optional). For the filling I diced one roma tomato and tossed it with half a clove of chopped garlic, and a pinch of salt. Please don't be fooled by the cell phone picture, this was actually really tasty. I served it along side a wilted spinach salad. I can't wait to try this in the summer, I bet it will be killer with some freshly picked tomatoes and a little basil. I could also see this being really good on ciabatta bread with a little garlic butter spread on there before toasting....mmmmm

Vegetarian Sushi Filling

The video card on our desktop is down, so no pictures today. But it got me thinking about what I could write about that I don't have pictures for. Sushi is a summer staple in our house. I used to make fancy sauces for it as well, but now with little man's soy allergies less so. There are many reasons for eating vegetarian sushi, pregnancy, allergies, avoiding unsustainable fishes. Whatever your reasons you need not be limited (although it's still tasty) to cucumber and carrot matchsticks.

Here are a few of my favorite sushi fillings, mix and match them as you like.

Spicy Thai cashews from Trader Joes

Green onion

Avocado

Tempura fried tofu

Tempura fried jalapeno peppers

Hot peppers of any sort

Tempura fried veggies

Cucumbers that have been marinated in rice vinegar

Spicy cucumber salad (diced cucumbers mixed with a dressing of yogurt, cayenne, rice vinegar and a smidgen of sugar....I will post a recipe for this later, you can also add diced jalapeno to this)

Cream cheese

Cream cheese mixed with wasabi

Cream cheese mixed with Thai sweet chili sauce

Lemon pepper tofu

Lemon pepper asparagus

Marinated tofu (in a mixture of teryaki sauce garlic and cayenne)

Spicy nuts (either cashews or macadamia) Nuts that have been chopped and mixed with salt and chili oil....yum!

Veggies! Of course of any sort, matchstick, marinated, grilled, fried, whatever you like...then mix them with any of the other above ingredients.

Some of my favorite combinations....

Fried tofu, jalapeno, cream cheese

wasabi cream cheese, green onion, avocado

cream cheese, green onion

avocado, jalapeno

Marinated tofu, grilled bell peppers

Avocado Sandwich Spread or Dip

I am not going to call this an egg free substitute for mayonnaise, because you couldn't really use it to replace mayonnaise in recipes. It does make a very tasty sandwich spread though. So in our house we will be using it as an egg free, soy free mayo/ranch alternative. It also works great as a dip. This isn't so much of an actual recipe as a, "here is a vague outline of what I did, with some pictures and witty banter thrown in". So now go out there and adjust it to your own taste preferences and dietary restrictions.:)

The only downside to this is that avocado turns brown and I didn't add enough lemon juice to prevent it. If you make this, you have to use it quickly, or you have to get over that lovely shade of greenish brown (that always reminds me of Linda Blair) being on your sandwich or quesadilla.

All I did was throw 2 tbs of yogurt, two avocados (washed, peeled, pitted) and the juice of one lemon into the food processor. Then I added ranch dressing mix to taste. I've found packets of ranch dressing mix on the shelves that my met our dietary restrictions before, however....I did not love them. I wanted to...believe me, but it was just not meant to be. Try making your own, you can adjust the sodium, spices, and there are even dairy free recipes out there.

This made it's way into the kids muffin tin snacks the other day, check it out....

The theme was "A". A is for apple slices, avocado dip, and ants on a log. The kids gobbled this whole tray up in no time flat. I got the idea for serving it in a muffin tin over here, at Mama to 4 blessings, our homeschool blog.

Might I also suggest you try it on a veggie burger....good stuff!

Fillo cups two ways (sweet and savory)

Remember these beans? Remember when I said they would be back. Well here they are on whole wheat tomato and feta sourdough bread. This was not what I had in mind, it was just a happy accident that I needed to use my starter, and I happened to have these beans. So good! I had to take a picture and share, these beans are quite versatile.

Back to the filo cups though. I thought it would be fun on a hot day such as today to feast on cold appetizers and have a game night. We ate these garlic bean filled fillo cups as well as the "yummy pink cups" as my daughter dubbed them, along side some homemade salsa and chips. Everything went over really well. Both children were hesitant to eat the cups at first, because I've told them that cups aren't for eating.

I am marking these as make ahead, even though in the strictest sense they are not. You can make the filling ahead of time, but I would recommend filling them right before eating as they might get soggy otherwise.

The "pink yummy cups" are really an adaptation of learning to live egg free. I used to fill fillo cups with a combination of lemon curd and yogurt, and top them with fresh raspberries (YUM!). No longer an option in our household. This new recipe was not only a hit, but a suitable substitute. If I ever figure out how to make an egg free, soy free, lemon curd I'll post it on here.


Garlic Basil Bean and Roma Tomato Fillo Cups

1 recipe garlic basil beans
2 diced roma tomatoes
1 tsp vinegar (balsamic or otherwise, I used raspberry basil vinegar)
30 mini fillo shells (2 boxes)
shredded cheese (optional)

Thaw filo cups according to directions on box. Mix together the garlic basil beans, roma tomatoes and vinegar. Distribute evenly into the filo cups. Sprinkle cheese on top if desired. You could heat these if you like the bubbly cheese element. They were very tasty cold though, especially on a hot day.


Pink Yummy Cups

1 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup organic vanilla yogurt
2 tbs fruit preserves (I used this)
15 mini fillo shells

Thaw mini fillo cups according to directions. Soften the cream cheese in a bowl. Stir in yogurt and preserves. Distribute evenly (about a tsp to each) into fillo cups. Chill and serve.

Sushi Rice Bowl

The weather here lately has been sooooo nice*. And by nice I mean you just want to get up in the morning, run outside, and DIE of heatstroke. The last thing I want to do in this sort of weather is cook.....the first thing I want to do is lie half naked under a ceiling fan sipping on a Jamba Juice....but since we don't have Jamba Juice here, and I live with other people that's not going to happen....Everybody good and hungry? :)

Back to the point (I totally have one)....which is, this is a super yummy cold dish that I've eaten two days in a row for lunch. It's basically brown sushi rice mixed with chickpeas, sauteed peppers and onion, avocado, and then I drizzled mustard wasabi dressing over the whole thing. Today I garnished mine with pickled ginger, and green onion.

Three fantastic things about this dish, you can make as much or as little of the components as you want and serve it several days in a row. You can change it up quite a bit and still have it taste quite good, throw in whatever you have on hand, leftover steamed veggies, maybe some carrot or cucumber sticks for more of a salad feel. And you can serve it without the dressing to keep it soy free, as I did for my son. Short on time? Try using a store bought organic salad dressing such as this.


Mustard Wasabi Dressing

5 tbs oil (I used canola)
3 tbs seasoned rice vinegar
3 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp mustard
1 1/2 tsp + more to taste prepared wasabi

Whisk all the ingredients together. This doesn't make a lot of dressing, but considering how little of it you need (I used about a tbs) it should do the trick.





*It's called sarcasm...love it, embrace it.

Chocolate Covered Berry Cake In A Mug

My husband said I should name this "lawlberry chocolate cake", because I used Olallieberry preserves. I think we may actually call this "lawl cake" at home, however....should you not be a pack of sci-fi loving, gaming on a Friday nighting, never got a date to a real prom sort of person (speaking of which this cake would have been perfect for my prom night as it serves one), you can call it something else.

I used Olallieberry Preserves from Linn's Fruit Bin for this cake....what's that? You've never heard of Olallieberry? How sad for you! I grew up on them, Olallieberries are kind of like a blackberry, maybe a smidgen tarter, very excellent. Especially in pie...mmmmm....lawlberry pie. Well since I couldn't bring home a pie from California, I brought home these preserves. They are tart and fruity. Not too sweet. And eating them on toast, or in this cake, reminds me of my childhood.

The preserves have seeds. So if you don't like the idea of a seedy dessert feel free to use seedless raspberry or strawberry as they would also provide a hint of berry flavor. If you feel like being really fancy, mix up the batter in a separate bowl, pour half into the mug. Then add a tsp of preserves, a tbs of chocolate chips and then the other half of the batter. If you are making a vegan version of this cake make sure your chocolate chips are vegan...and use rice milk...huh duh.


Lawl Cake in a mug....

5 tbs flour
4 tbs sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder
3 tbs oil
3 tbs milk (rice, soy, almond...whatever you have)
3 tbs Olallieberry preserves
4 tbs chocolate chips

Mix together the flour, sugar and cocoa powder in a large mug.

Stir in the wet ingredients, mix thoroughly.

Stir in the chocolate chips

Microwave for three minutes.

Let cool

Eat

Hate me for telling you how to make a cake in less than five minutes. :)

This was received well by all, gooey and chocolaty with a hint of berry flavor, and without any thing to make my dear son turn red and puff up like a blow fish. Success! It is nice to be able to make a cake and not have a whole cake just sitting there....taunting ...and teasing. And even though this is supposed to be one serving, we all made and shared just one cake in a mug. A nice treat on a day when it is definitely too hot to be turning on the oven.

I feel I should also note, I am not being paid or compensated by Linn's fruit bin or any of the products I've reviewed thus far. It's just a brand that I really like....and should they happen to want to send me oodles of yummy goodies I wouldn't turn them down. However, as of this point that has not happened.

What sort of flavors remind you of your childhood or your hometown?

Smokey Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes and Baby Spinach

This was good....really good. I started this blog not only to share, but to learn. And what have I learned? That corn stock ah-maize-ing...heehee, see how I did that? Seriously now, it is a tragedy to throw away your corn cobs before you have used them for stock. I didn't follow an exact recipe, I just threw what veggies I had (4 corn cobs, and 4 carrots) into a pot, covered them with water, added 2 bay leaves, salt, and crushed garlic, and I boiled it....forever...voila...rich flavorful broth. Feel free to use an exact recipe, if that kind of thing floats your boat.
I am certain this recipe is still good without the corn stock, but I hope you do take the time to try and make some if you get the chance. The sweetness from the fresh corn and the sweet potatoes combined with the creamy Gouda, hint of spice, and the smoke flavoring created a winning dish that everyone enjoyed. It was nice to see my kids chow down on so many different veggies without any complaints.

What you need...
oil to coat pot
1 onion peeled, washed, and diced
2 carrots, scrubbed and sliced
1 sweet potato peeled, washed, and diced
1 potato peeled, washed....and you guessed it...diced.
2 dashes red pepper
1/4 tsp Creole seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
5 ears worth of corn kernels
6 cups of corn (or other veggie stock)
4 tbs cornstarch
4 tbs water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 lb shredded cheese (I used Gouda, but I think smoked cheddar would be equally nice)
2 handfuls of washed baby spinach (optional)
1 tsp smoke flavoring
salt to taste

Pour enough oil to coat the bottom of a large stockpot and heat it over medium heat.

Add the onion, potatoes, carrots and Creole seasoning and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onions are translucent and the potatoes and carrots are tender.

Mix together the cornstarch and water in a separate bowl

Add the corn, pepper, stock, and bring to a boil. Cook for ten minutes.

Add the cornstarch and water and cook until potatoes are done and soup is thickened.

Lower the heat, and stir in the baby spinach, cheese, and milk. Heat through.

Stir in the liquid smoke, and add salt to taste.

Enjoy!

This is my submission for September 2010 "No Croutons Required". The theme is corn. Wish me luck!

Lemon Blueberry Breakfast "Bars"

These were a little sweeter than we normally go for breakfast, but they are filled with good things like local organic blueberries and yogurt....so the justification was made. :) I am not normally a fan of blueberries, something about the texture throws me off. But I could eat this dish every day. It doesn't necessarily set into a real bar, but as you can see it holds it's shape. I guess you could put it under the category of a trifle. Whatever it is...it's good!
I got the idea from My Stepmother, who served a similar dish while we were in California. Very light and refreshing, perfect on a hot day. I knew instantly I wanted to recreate it when we got home. My version is egg free, and soy free (check your ingredients thoroughly), and it's mostly organic. It was so easy to make that I let the kids help. Not only did they help make it, but they helped gobble it up. I will be making it again today.


1/2 package Bunny Grahams
1 Pint organic blueberries divided
6 tbs Sugar divided
1 package cream cheese
2/3 cup plain organic yogurt
2 tbs organic butter melted
2 organic lemons


Crush the Bunny Grahams and mix with 1/2 pint of blueberries, 2 tbs sugar, and the juice of one lemon. Stir together and pour into an 8x8 baking dish.

Soften the cream cheese and whisk until smooth.

Whisk in the butter slowly, then whisk in the yogurt slowly. The mixture should be creamy and smooth.

Stir in the juice from the second lemon and stir in the remaining 4 tbs of sugar one at a time, adding more or less to taste.

Pour the yogurt over the berry graham cracker mix and pour the second 1/2 pint of berries on top.

Refrigerate overnight to help it set....or eat it right away if you can't handle the wait....
Guess which one I did?

Cool and Spicy Chickpea Tacos

Too hot to make tacos?? Never! This vegetarian taco filling is served cold. And when separated from the tortillas, it would make an excellent lunch to take to work as it doesn't need to be heated. And what would a taco be without fixins'. I filled mine with spring mix, avocado slices and freshly made salsa! YUM!
I also wanted to show you how this meal is easily turned into a lunch the next day for my kids. Chopped up chunks of cheese, avocado, sweet potatoes, and taco filling. Little man ate all this and a bowl of rice. Baby girl ate most of it....but insisted she didn't like "sweet tatatoes"...even though she had eaten them the night before. Thus is the way of a four year old.


Ingredients

2 cloves pressed garlic
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 tbs sour cream
1tsp lemon juice
2 tbs taco seasoning
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin
1 can El Pato tomato sauce (spicy or with jalapenos whatever floats your boat)
salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

1lb bag of chickpeas cooked according to package drained and cooled
tortillas and whatever you like to top your tacos with...onions, salsa, avocado, leafy greens, olives, sour cream....pickles? I'm not here to judge.

Whisk together the first nine ingredients.

Stir in the chickpeas, cilantro, and add the salt pepper, and cayenne to taste.

Fill taco shells as desired....easy peesy...peasy??....pesey?....

Black Bean Chipotle Burgers with Pan Fried Sweet Potatoes and BBQ Sauce...

I was inspired by Debbie. I love her blog, even though she isn't a vegetarian she frequently posts meatless recipes, and she posts the caloric content. Fabulous! This recipe for sweet potatoes and black bean burritos reminded me that...well...I love sweet potatoes and black beans. I am still kind of worn out from the trip so in figuring out how to satisfy my craving without a trip to the store I came up with this.
It's simply one of my make ahead frozen black bean burgers (you could always use your own recipe, or buy them) which I thawed and cooked in a pan on the stove. I topped it with thinly sliced and pan fried sweet potatoes, organic BBQ sauce, and served it on a whole wheat bun. It went over well with the fam. If I had thought of it ahead of time I could have grilled the sweet potatoes and burgers side by side. Which is what I will do next time I make these.....and there will be a next time!

Lemony Chickpea and Rice Salad

It's hot. And I'm fighting off a cold. So I wanted a meal that would be refreshing, and light, with flavors strong enough that I might actually be able to taste despite my stuffy nose. This fit the bill quite nicely. It was refreshing and tasty. I will be making this again.

What you need:

2 tbs rice vinegar
1 tbs lemon juice
3 tbs oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tbs Dijon mustard
cayenne to taste
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 cloves of garlic peeled and pressed
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 1/2 cups cooked rice

More cilantro and avocado for garnish

Whisk together the first ten ingredients.

Stir in the chickpeas and rice to coat.

Refrigerate, and when ready to serve garnish with more cilantro and avocado.

Super Easy Pasta Salad (egg free, soy free)

I have posted this recipe (or at least a very similar one) before, but I wanted to post it again because...
1.) It's summer, and this dish is perfect for hot days.

2.) Last time I posted this I had no picture of it, and now I do!! What's that??....You don't see a picture...well that's because it's still on my camera. But I do have one, and I will share it with you as soon as I figure it out.

3.) We are still working on clearing out the fridge and this is a great clear out the fridge meal because there are so many things you can add to it...olives, peppers, feta cheese, grated carrots, and broccoli all work very well in this.

What you need:

1 cup of cooked noodles (check ingredients for egg and soy if you are accommodating to allergies)
2 cans of beans drained and rinsed
1 bottle of this red pepper vinaigrette
3 cloves of garlic peeled and put through a press
Anything else you care to throw in there...maybe a few veggies and herbs...whatever floats your boat.

Mix it all together and refrigerate. The garlic will be strong. If you are serving this to a crowd......or if you care what other people think of your breath you may want to cut it down to 1 or 2 cloves of garlic. I really really like garlic....you will know what I mean if you make this.

Marinated Portobello Mushrooms with Sun Dried Tomato Sauce

For as fancy as this sounds, the thought process that led me to it was rather simple. First I looked in my fridge to see what we had on hand, then I checked to see which measuring cups were clean. I could lie to you and say that I was trying to achieve a balance between the saltiness of the tomatoes and the sweet cherry notes of the pinot noir....but no, it was more like "Hey look Portobello mushrooms, I bet I have something in my fridge that will make those taste good....and look here, I have a tbs measure that isn't dirty, let's use that.

For the Marinade
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
4 tbs red wine
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs prepared mustard
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3 cloves peeled and pressed garlic

Clean and degill* four mushrooms and place them in a baking dish. Whisk together the marinade ingredients and pour over the mushrooms. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours turning once. I left mine in all day, yum!

For the sauce

1 package (3.5 oz) sun dried tomatoes
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs red wine
2 cloves peeled garlic
1 15oz can of tomato sauce

Put the garlic, oil, wine, and tomatoes in your food processor. Process until smoothish and start adding sauce. Once all the ingredients are in there, and you are certain you don't have any large chunks of garlic left you are done.

Now let us put it all together.....

Grill the mushrooms until desired doneness.

Heat the sauce in a saucepan over medium low heat until cooked through. Stir occasionally.

Pour sauce over mushrooms and serve.

This was delish! I added smoked Gouda to the hubsters portion (pictured). I thought the sauce was a tad salty, hubster disagreed....but he likes food super salty. I would suggest using no salt added tomato sauce, and adding more salt as you see fit.




*I don't know if degill is a word, the wavy red lines of doom are indicating to me that no...it is in fact not. But what I mean by degill is take your paring knife and carefully scrape all of those black gilly type things out of the inside of the mushroom.

Smokey Chipotle Black Bean Burger

This is a OAMC recipe. I made these sort of assembly line style and it took a good bit of time, but it was worth it for us because now i have a ton of veggie burgers in my freezer that make quick and filling dinners. It only took a little bit of effort for each part of the process, but it can look a bit daunting when you put it all together.

I soaked the beans the night before, then first thing in the morning I drained and rinsed them. Then I set them to boil while I chopped up my onions, garlic, and measured out my spices in a bowl. I added the onion and bay leaf, and then I made breakfast for the kids. Thirty minutes later, when the timer went off I just dumped the garlic and bowl of spices in. Then I got the kids dressed and thirty minutes later when the timer went off again I tasted them, removed the bay leaves, and turned off the heat. I let the beans cool a bit then I pureed them up with the rest of the ingredients to make my veggie burger "dough". That went into the fridge until I was ready to turn it into patties.

You could probably cut this recipe in half and try it out before you commit to a freezer full of bean burgers.

For the beans
One pound beans rinsed sorted and soaked overnight...then rinsed again.
2 onions diced
2 bay leaves
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and diced
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs chili powder
1 tbs ground cumin

In a large pot combine the beans, onion and salt. Add water just to cover, and toss in the bay leaves.

Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Boil for thirty minutes and add the spices and garlic. Set the timer for 15 minutes and check beans. Mine took about an hour total to cook.

Remove bay leaves. Let beans cool.

If there is excessive liquid skim it off...a tiny bit of liquid is ok. You don't want it pooling, or for the beans to be submerged. The more liquid you have the more breadcrumbs you will need though.


Now....to turn these babies into burgers....

The beans....hu-duh
1/2-2 chipotle chilis in adobo....start with 1/2 and you can always add more. And remember what I always say, you can never have too much spice....unless it's in your eyes, then pretty much any amount is too much.
2 baked potatoes skins removed
1/4 cup tomato sauce
Bread crumbs, the amount you need will vary depending on how much cooking liquid you had, how big your baked potatoes were...etc. I believe I may have used about 3 cups. What you are looking for is the texture of cookie dough so stop when you get there...
Salt to taste.
Liquid smoke to taste...trust me, this stuff is the bomb diggity! Get some! Use it, love it, thank me later...don't be discouraged from buying it just because I still use early nineties catch phrases like "the bomb diggity".



Process 3/4 of the beans, the potatoes, tomato sauce, and the chipotle in your food processor until smooth. Pour into a large bowl.

Stir in the rest of the beans, and the breadcrumbs until your mixture is very thick and holds it's shape well. Add salt, pepper and liquid smoke to taste, cover and refrigerate.

When you are ready to grill, just shape the dough into patties and grill, bake or fry them up. I served them on homemade bread with mozzarella and avocado! Yum! I froze the leftover burgers. They did well reheated.



More tips on veggie burger making.

Veggie Burger Tips

There are so many advantages to making your own veggie burgers, you control the sodium, flavorings, ingredients, and texture. Also, if you happen to be avoiding soy, making your own is the way to go!
I have had some pretty epic fails in cooking. Mostly in the area of baking, but veggie burgers have proven to be a formidable opponent. I have learned a few things through my failures and I would like to share them with you.

First of all, all of my great successes have involved a food processor. They enable me to puree the beans to actually act as a binder in my burgers. If you don't have a food processor you should go get one, or borrow one.


The dough or batter (or whatever) should have a dense, thick consistency, like cookie dough....mmmmm cookies...,dagnabbit now I want a cookie.
Be right back.......

Thirdly, chill your dough! I find it's best to make veggie burgers in big batches. I do it on a scheduled day that I don't have much else going on. I make the dough the night before and leave it in the fridge. It gives the flavors a chance to blend, and I have an easier time shaping the patties.

The dough should be easy to shape into patties. If it is falling apart in your hand it will fall apart on the grill.

After taking this picture I allowed myself a few minutes to snicker about how it looks like I'm holding a doodie. I will allow you the same....have I mentioned how mature I am? Are we all done then? Good.

Last but not least, you want your grill, or frying pan hot when you put the patties on.

I hope this helps some. Pictured in these photos are some smokey chipotle black bean burgers, I will hopefully be getting around to putting a recipe up sometime later this week. It's a OAMC recipe so if you are wary of veggie burgers I would suggest trying it (or another recipe) in small batches. See what you and your family like. Then if you have a couple of hours that you can set aside, make the whole recipe to keep in the freezer for quick meals.

Cilantro and Ginger Rice with Chickpeas (late night snack)

Since about February I have been working out.... a lot. And so far the main difference I've seen is that my rings are loose......but my pants are still tight. You do realize what that means right? All of my weight is redistributing from my hands to my aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway. Not quite fair if you ask me, the point being that the hubster and I went to the gym tonight and when we got home, after feeding, dressing, changing, and putting the kiddos to bed we found ourselves HUNGRY. In need of some good fuel for our bodies (and apparently mainly my...back to the point) I thought I'd whip up a sauce that go over some chickpeas and rice that we already had on hand.

Ingredients:

1 cup cilantro washed very thoroughly
2 cups spinach ditto
3 cloves peeled garlic
3 tbs olive oil
3 tsp vinegar of your choice
3 tsp minced ginger
1tsp honey (or more to taste, some vinegars might be sweeter than others requiring less to balance the acidic taste)

Salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

Everything except the salt, pepper, and cayenne, goes into the food processor until smooth. Add salt pepper and cayenne to taste. Spoon over rice and chickpeas. Super simple, super good.

In other fantastic news little man's sweat test (test for cystic fibrosis) came back normal! :)
/happy dance

Pizza on Chapati Bread

I have a busy week coming up. That has nothing to do with this pizza, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Quite possibly you will see less of me, also quite possibly due to being wired on adrenaline you will see much more of me because I will wake up much earlier/stay up much later than I really should. If that is the case you may also find me in a corner blubbering near the end of the week, with a broom in one hand and a to do list in the other.....corner blubbering after the children are in bed is my usual method of coping when I take on much more than I should.

Ok, so maybe I was wrong...I can figure out one way my crowded schedule has to do with this pizza. This meal is much quicker to throw together than traditional pizza, and now that I have all the ingredients on hand (I made extra chapati) not only can I have pizza in minutes, but most of the toppings are excellent on salad, so I can work my way through the big tub o' organic baby spinach I have in the fridge for quick lunches. I may even throw some spinach on the pizza today for my lunch...mmmmm.....lunch.

Chapati is a whole wheat flat bread. I first discovered it in an Indian cookbook. It doesn't come out like naan, it is thinner and crispy, more like a tortilla. I thought it worked perfectly as a thin crust pizza, and I will definitely remember this pizza in the summer months when it is too hot to turn the oven on! It is also super cheap to make because it is basically whole wheat flour, salt, and water. If you look up chapati recipes you may find some that also use white flour, heated water, I even found one that used potatoes, but I like the simplicity of ingredients in this recipe. I used olive oil for mine because my little ones need the fat and calories it provides, however I don't believe oil is traditional......I could be wrong though...

Chapati is also a great recipe for kids (not the frying part), because it involves mixing, stirring, and rolling. And when served as pizza kiddos have a grand time picking out their toppings.


Chapati
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup water
2 tbs olive oil

Stir the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the water all at once, and mix it in thoroughly. Add olive oil until the dough can be easily shaped into balls (took me about 2 tbs). Divide dough into four pieces and shape those pieces into balls. Roll them flat and cook in a HOT skillet one at a time, turning once. It is important not to grease the skillet or add oil, these are cooked in a dry skillet. If you wish, you may brush them with melted butter once they are done cooking.

They have so many applications, cut into triangles and dip into hummus, use in place of naan with curry, eat plain brushed with butter, or even as pizza. I melted some butter, and mixed in cumin, cayenne and minced garlic. I brushed the butter mixture on top of the chapati, and added diced red onion, feta and olives. I heated my pizza in the toaster oven, but the hubster and I both agreed this would also be good without the toaster oven bit.....of course you would have to like onions as much as we do. :)