Simple Pizza Crust

Simple Pizza Crust

*Photo from Mission Delectable

*Recipe  from Smitten Kitchen

Makes enough for one small, very thin crust pizza.

1 1/2 cups flour (can replace up to half of this with whole wheat flour)
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Stir dry ingredients, including yeast, in a large bowl. Add water and olive oil, stirring mixture into as close to a ball as you can. Dump all clumps and floury bits onto a lightly floured surface and knead everything into a homogeneous ball.

If you are finding this step difficult, one of the best tricks I picked up from my bread-making class is to simply pause. Leave the dough in a lightly-floured spot, put the empty bowl upside-down on top of it and come back in 2 to 5 minutes, at which point you will find the dough a lot more lovable.

Knead it for just a minute or two. Lightly oil the bowl (a spritz of cooking spray perfectly does the trick) where you had mixed it — one-bowl recipe! — dump the dough in, turn it over so all sides are coated, cover it in plastic wrap and leave it undisturbed for an hour or two, until it has doubled in size.
Dump it back on the floured counter (yup, I leave mine messy), and gently press the air out of the dough with the palm of your hands. Fold the piece into an approximate ball shape, and let it sit under that plastic wrap for 20 more minutes.
Sprinkle a pizza stone or baking sheet with cornmeal and preheat your oven to its top temperature. Roll out the pizza, toss on whatever topping and seasonings you like. (I always err on the side of skimpy with toppings so to not weight down the dough too much, or if I have multiple toppings, to keep them very thinly sliced.)
Bake it for about 10 minutes until it’s lightly blistered and impossible to resist.

Tutti-Frutti Crumble

Tutti-Frutti Crumble

*photo from Cannelle et Vanille

*recipe adapted from Super Natural Every Day cookbook

3/4 cup spelt flour

2 tblsp poppy seeds

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup butter (melted)

2 tblsp cornstarch

2 tblsp white sugar

1 cups raspberries

1 cup blueberries

1 1/2 cups strawberries sliced

1 1/2 cups cherries pitted sliced

1 cup pineapple cut into small pieces (or use canned pineapple, well drained)

1/4 cup currents (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F with a rack in the middle of the oven.  Butter an 8 inch square or round baking dish.

To make crumble, mix together the flour, poppy seeds, oats and sugar in a bowl.  Use a fork to stir in the melted butter.  Divide the mixture into three portions and use your hands to form three patties.  Place the patties in the bowl and freeze for at least 10 minutes, or until you're ready to bake.  

Make the filling by whisking together the cornstarch and sugar in a large bowl.  Add the fruit, until evenly coated.  Transfer the filling to the prepared baking dish. remove the topping from the freezer and crumble it over the filling making sure you have both big and small pieces.  

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the topping is deeply golden and the fruit juices are bubbling. Let cool a little before serving!

Cucumber Peanut Salad

Cucumber Peanut Salad

*Photo from 101 cookbooks

*Recipe adapted from 101 cookbooks

3 medium cucumbers, partially peeled
1 cup peanuts, toasted
3/4 cup dried large-flake coconut, toasted

juice from 1 lemon 

1 tsp cumin

2 tbsp grainy mustard

3 tbsp maple syrup

4 tbsp oil

2 tbsp tahini

1.2 tsp fine grain sea salt

2 cups of chopped cilantro

Halve the cucumbers lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and chop into small pieces. Just before you're ready to serve, transfer to a mixing bowl and toss gently with peanuts, coconut, lemon juice.

Blend cumin, mustard, maple syrup, oil, tahini and salt to create a dressing.  When ready to serve add desired amount of dressing to cucumber mixture and toss with cilantro.