Weird Wild Rice

Sometimes, things that sound a little odd at first turn out to be just fantastic. Here's what I threw together for dinner:

Combine in a medium saucepot, cooking for 5 minutes:
2 tablespoons light cooking oil
1/2 cup cracked wild rice
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (the shelled kind, obviously)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, diced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
Add:
1 3/4 cups vegetable broth
Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until rice is tender.

I love the way my apartment smells after cooking wild rice -- all earthy and nutty and yummy!

weekends stink, all of a sudden

I am a little confused about a recent phenomenon I've been experiencing. I haven't been looking forward to my weekends! I'm not entirely sure why, except that I feel like I haven't been getting nearly enough time to rest, relax, and recharge. Why? Probably a number of factors:
~ Friday night babysitting jobs
~ Lots of plans with friends (which I love . . .)
~ Laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, and other general house maintenance stuff
~ Church on Sunday mornings
~ A recent inability to sleep past 7:00 a.m. (7:30 if I'm really lucky)
~ Errands
~ Work that has been following me home (newsletters, computer maintenance, conference forms, etc.)

The upcoming weekend probably won't be very relaxing either, with family plans and travel involved. Bah.

All I can say is, I am very much looking forward to winter break. Four weeks and counting! And then . . . two weeks of nearly nothing to do. I can't wait.

golly, it's cold.

Now, I love living in Minnesota. I love the seasons. But I don't love how the seasons change overnight. For example:

balmy fall,
balmy fall,
balmy fall,
balmy fall,
balmy fall,
WINTER NOW.

We reached our high of 25 degrees today before I ever got out of bed. The wind was fast and furious, and about 4 degrees.

I better run and shower so my hair has some time to dry before I leave for choir practice -- otherwise, it will probably freeze. Bah!

YUM.

Souhwestern Black-Eyed Peas (Courtesy of Betty Crocker's New Cookbook)

1. Cook 3/4 cup dried black-eyed peas. Drain.
2. Cook 1 cup sliced okra, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon tabasco sauce in 1 tbsp oil 5 minutes, or until onion is soft.
3. Stir in black-eyed peas, 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, and 1 small tomato, seeded and chopped. Heat through, adding a little water if necessary.

Now . . . spill a bunch of that over a piece of cornbread, and you've got a mighty tasty dinner.

caramel nut brownies

I updated an old brownie recipe to make these goodies . . . enjoy!

Whisk together:
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg plus 2 egg whites
4 tbsp Earth Balance, melted
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch salt

Stir in:
5 tbsp baking cocoa
10 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour

Pour batter into greased 8 inch pan, then top with a good drizzle of caramel ice cream topping and a big handfull of chopped pecans. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until they test done. Cool before cutting into 16 squares!

(You could possibly reduce the amount of sugar to half a cup -- if you do, let me know how they turn out!)

nutter.

What is with all of the nutters in my neighborhood lately? I was just getting home from Ann and Michelle's, and parked my car just outside the hospital across the street from my apartment building. I get out of my car and some dude pulls his monstrosity of an SUV over near the curb and yells out his window how I can't park there and I need to park at a meter. I look at him with the "interested, don't have any idea what you're saying because I'm pretending I can't speak English" look, and he then says, "the cops are gonna tow your car, IDIOT!" and then drove off. I felt somewhat taken aback. So, like a smart girl, I high tail it into my apartment building, drop off my purse, wait to see his car pull away, and go back and check on my car. As I had originally thought, I was completely parked in a meter spot. (You only have to put money in from 8 am to 6 pm M-F.) Perhaps he didn't see the meter sitting there on its lovely little silver post.

Somehow, I don't think yelling "idiot!" after someone out your car window is an effective way of helping them out.

Perhaps he had been drinking. I am doubly glad my car is safely tucked away for the evening! Sheesh.

Like I said earlier, nutter. Just plain nutter.

Blue Skies smiling at me

An unusual title, given the especially rainy weather today.

HOWEVER, we are currently selling Blue Sky guides at work right now, as a fundraiser for the scholarship fund. Let me know if you want one -- they are twenty bucks. (The preschool makes $10 off each guide sold.)

In unrelated news, I am nearly done with my Christmas shopping. It feels a little strange going Christmas shopping when it's still 60 degrees outside. But, when your mom asks you for a Christmas list in early October, it gets one to thinking. Also, unless I buy early, all the good stuff is gone off people's lists. Kind of like waiting until the last minute to get a wedding present, and then all that's left on the registry is a garlic press, one napkin, and a soap dish.

Cookie Monster is banging my door down.

So, I made killer, fabulous, awesome chocolate chip cookies yesterday. (They are actually vegan, because I made them for this week's staff meeting, and I have one coworker who is vegan and several coworkers who have severe dairy intolerances.) They aren't incredibly healthy . . . but they still have a bit less sugar, are whole grain, and have no trans fat and very little saturated fat. And I can't stop eating them! (Some may end up going to Michelle's on Saturday night, if there are any left, so I can get them out of the house!)

Here's the recipe:

Cream together:
1 cup Earth Balance spread
1/2 cup natural/raw sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Whisk together, then stir in:
1 tablespoon commercial egg replacer (such as Ener-G)
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla

Combine, then stir in:
2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Stir in:
2 cups chocolate chips (check the label if you are actually trying to make these vegan -- some may have dairy)
1 cup chopped pecans

Drop by rounded tablespoonfulls (you may want to slightly smush them flat, since these don't spread quite as much as traditional CCCs do,) onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake at 350 for 10 or so minutes.

(I've found it's best to slightly underbake goodies made with whole wheat flour, as opposed to overbaking them -- they get tough if they get too brown. You want to pull them out just as they are completely set and are a light golden brown color.)

Something you could do to cut down on some of the fat would be to replace half the Earth Balance with an equal amount of soy or regular yogurt, (stir the yogurt when you stir in the egg replacer,) and then use 1 cup of mini chocolate chips, instead of the 2 cups of regular chips.

Hey, so all of this talk of CCCs . . . I may have to go have another. Although I made fabulous homemade pizza for dinner tonight, and am still a little full from that . . . decisions!

Happy Monday, folks!

ah, harry potter . . .

I just finished rereading all six of the Harry Potter books today. I had started this project, oh, a month or so ago, and it was well worth my time -- as Christine suggested might happen, I became completely immersed in that world. And I caught stuff I missed the first time 'round, since I wasn't in such a hurry to find out what happened. And I'm even more excited for the last book to publish. Well, or the next book, anyway.

See, I have a few cockamamie theories concerning the Potter series. I actually think there will be 4 more books. Why, you ask? Well, for starters, Harry has to find 4 horcruxes and then kill Voldemort -- a big task for just one more novel, if you ask me. (See, find one horcrux per novel, then also kill Voldemort at the end of the last one.) Also, Harry technically has one year left at Hogwarts, then will be required to do some sort of wizard college, since he wants to be an Auror. (I'm sorry if someone who hasn't read the books is reading this -- you have no idea what I'm rambling about.) Also, I think ten is a nice number of books -- much more well-rounded than seven.

Other conspiracy-type theories: I think Sirius Black will come back, and I'm not entirely sure Dumbledore is dead. I still think Snape is working for the "good guys" -- although there is the problem of that unbreakable vow thing he formed at the beginning of book six. Perhaps he "had" to kill Dumbledore, because of the vow, and didn't know what he was agreeing to at the time. Or it could be a big, fat setup -- Snape was in on faking Dumbledore's death or something. Who knows. But it's incredibly interesting fiction!

ya, you betcha

I watched "Fargo" tonight. I had had several people over the years tell me I shouldn't watch it because I wouldn't like it. They were wrong! I thought it was both disturbing and interesting, and I was surprised to find out it was a true story. And I appreciated the message they tried to send.

And, strangely enough, I know one of the actors. I used to babysit for the guy who played the parking attendant's kids. Crazy, eh?

Off to bed -- I was running a fever earlier today, and I have a sore throat and am all achy and stuff. Bah. At least I have a sub for work tomorrow, and can take it easy.

occupational hazard

So, something unpleasant happened at work this afternoon. Dan and I had a small group of kids bushwhacking around the overlook pond when suddenly, I felt something strange in my hair. I had a "small' ball of burdock seeds (i.e., about the size of a baseball,) stuck to the back of my head, tangled in my hair, near my collar. I had another clump of them attached to the top of my head, too.

Bless Tammy, for she spent fifteen minutes with me pulling them out.

And what did I learn today?

Always, always, always wear a hat.

I have no words.

A long setup before I offer up a recipe:

Well, it's fall. The temperatures are (somewhat) cooler, the leaves are changing colors and then abruptly dropping off the trees into crunchy piles on the ground, a hat and mittens have become must-haves for the early mornings at work, and I have been craving fall food. Pumpkin, sweet potato, apples, baked goods, and . . . soup. After a long, nearly soup-free summer, I'm back, baby.

Now, soup is one of my all-time favorite foods. Why, you ask? Well, it's warm, comforting, easy to make, freezable, usually a "meal in one," and one of the few "leftovers" that I'll actually eat. If I have soup in the fridge, dinner's nearly done when I walk in the door from work. A nice lunch, too, especially with a grilled cheese sandwich.

I admit, I'm a bit of a soup snob. (Well, I'm a food snob -- see new title for my bloggie?) I grew up eating nearly all homemade soups -- vegetable beef barley, ham and bean, chicken noodle, chicken rice, turkey noodle, chili, and so on. Soup in its canned form did not grace my parents' pantry shelves, unless it was the "cream of" variety, which would subsequently be poured into a casserole or over a chicken bake. Strangely enough, I don't recall tasting Campbell's tomato soup until well after graduate school . . . I thought I didn't like tomato soup, when in actuality, I don't think I'd ever had canned tomato soup. (I do actually like tomato soup, and it's the only canned soup I'll buy.)

I have been craving chicken noodle soup lately, which is unusually odd, since I am a vegetarian. (I still think fall and winter make us crave the foods of our childhood -- I'm not sure why. Any ideas?) So, I attempted to create a vegetarian chicken noodle soup . . . and oh baby, I have no words. This is a complete, fantastic, culinary triumph on my part. (If I do say so myself.) I think I have nearly replicated the flavors and textures most people come to expect from chicken noodle soup, in a completely vegetarian form. (Well, if we're splitting hairs, it's technically vegan.) So, here's the recipe.

CATHERINE'S CHICKPEA NOODLE SOUP

1. Heat 2 to 4 tablespoons olive or canola oil in a large soup pot. Add a heaping cup each chopped carrot, celery, and onion, and 4 minced cloves garlic. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the onion and celery just starts to turn translucent.
2. Add 6 cups of vegetable broth, 2 bay leaves, and 10 good cranks of black pepper to the pot. Bring this to a boil.
3. Add 1 cup frozen peas and 1/3 to 1/2 a package of whole-wheat fettuccine, broken in 1 to 2 inch pieces, to the pot. Return the soup to a boil, then lower the heat, cover partially, and simmer 15 minutes.
4. Stir in 2 cups cooked chickpeas, 1 heaping tablespoon minced fresh parsley, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced, and the juice of one lemon. Heat through. Taste and add a little more salt if needed. Remove bay leaves before serving.

(One quick note about the herbs -- look in your market's fresh herb section for a "Scarborough Mix" -- parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Save the sage for pumpkin soup, use the rest for this, and you only have to buy one package of herbs, which can get quite expensive otherwise! Also, one quick note about the broth -- it's essential you buy good broth, obviously. Some vegetable broths I've bought have been quite thick, whereas others have been thinner. I'd vote for a thinner broth in this recipe, since you're going for a soup consistency, as opposed to a stew.)

Finally, there is a LOT of "stuff" in this soup -- if you prefer more broth to "stuff," use less veggies and chickpeas, or increase the amount of broth. But I'm a "stuff" girl, often leaving the broth at the end of my soup adventures untouched. So it's just the way I like it. I encourage you to make it just the way you like it!

Spicy Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup (and Little Oaties, too!)

Yes . . . it's as good as it sounds. And even hotter. (Chels, this would knock the Jon-O-Meter clear out to Jupiter. I wouldn't even attempt, unless you're going to eat it all!) ;-)

1. Bake 3 large sweet potatoes for 50 minutes at 400. Cool, skin, and cut into chunks. Reserve.
2. Peel and mince a 2-inch piece of ginger. Chop one onion. Cook both in 1 tablespoon oil 5 minutes.
3. Stir in 1 tablespoon red curry paste, and cook 1 minute.
4. Add 15 oz coconut milk and 3 cups vegetable broth. (If you'd like ths soup to serve more as a meal, stir in 1 package extra-firm tofu, squeezed dry and cut into bite-sized pieces, at this point, too.) Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.
5. Add potato chunks and simmer 5 minutes.
6. Stir in 3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, and a small handfull of cilantro, minced. Serve with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.

(This is from a copy of "Real Simple" magazine, that I was reading last night while babysitting.)

Now, I have to say, in its original form, this may be a bit too hot for my tastes. (My nose was running while I was eating this earlier.) If you have a more conservative palate like me, I'd consider starting with half as much ginger and curry paste, and moving up from there if you'd like more heat.

I've never really liked spicy food, until very recently. (Like, in the past year or so.) In a way, I see it as a bit of a challenge -- how much can I actually eat before I have to quit because I can no longer feel my lips?

I also made cookies tonight from "Sinfully Vegan" -- a vegan baking book I borrowed from my coworker Joey. They are pretty darn tasty! (I made a quarter-recipe, which was just over 2 dozen small cookies -- enough for me for a week or two! I also made a few minor changes to the recipe, including using whole wheat pastry flour instead of barley flour, and adding chocolate chips and pecans.)

Little Oaties:
Combine 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 2 tablespoons raw sugar, 1 tablespoon applesauce, 1/4 cup canola oil, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Stir in 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1 1/2 cups oats, and 1/4 tsp baking soda. Stir in 1/4 cup each chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes on greased cookie sheets. Gobble.

Saturdays Rock, short delve into philosophy, Friday recap, and rambling.

Saturdays just plain rock. You can get up whenever you want to, stay in your jammies as long as you like, and wander aimlessly through the day if you feel like it.

I have been blog-neglectful lately, and have recently decided to remedy that problem. I have many random thoughts that I need to share.

So, I was babysitting last night and reading one of their copies of the magazine "Real Simple" while Feury was watching Scooby-Doo. I read something interesting in the mag about why, as adults, time seems to fly past so quickly. (I found this especially interesting because this past week seemed to go very fast for me. But I'm not complaining -- again, Saturday rocks.) Someone once told me that as you age, time seems to pass more quickly because each day is a smaller percentage of your overall life, thus it feels shorter. (As a 2-year-old, one month is one twenty-fourth of your whole life, whereas as a 26-year-old, one month is one three-hundred-and-twelfth of your life. Makes sense?) However, psychologists have a different theory, according to this article. Aparently, as adults, our lives become more routinized than when we were children, so our days seem indistinguishable from one another. Thus, time seems to fly, because it's all bleeding together in one blur of same-activity-ness. Interesting, eh? What do you think?

Yesterday was actually a pretty sucky day, for a Friday. Work was more than a little insane, we had an initial conference after school, I was mega-overtired (I slept quite poorly Thursday night,) and then I went babysitting. At least that part was easy . . . (I ate supper with Feury, watched most of a movie while he played video games -- his mom told him he could, played a couple board games with him, read a magazine while he watched Scooby-Doo, and then put him to bed) . . . until Missy paid me and I realized I had nowhere to put the cash she gave me. (Meaning I had forgotten my purse at work. Highly unlike me. I don't think I've ever forgotten my purse anywhere before in my life!) So, at 11 p.m. last night, I drove BACK to West Saint Paul and retrieved my purse from our office. Boy, was I mad at myself. And really stinking tired when I got home.

I should probaby get dressed here pretty soon and head out to run some errands. I desperately need groceries, and two friends have the same birthday this weekend! Need cards and gifts. And I want to make soup, so I better get crackin'.

But I'm awfully hungry. I should probably eat breakfast first. And I borrowed a cookbook from one of my coworkers about vegan baking that is calling to be browsed. We'll have to see what I accomplish, I guess!

As American As . . .

Apple Pie*

(Makes one 8-inch pie, which is enough for 8 to 12 servings, depending on how big you slice them!)

(This is courtesy of my Betty Crocker cookbook, by the way.)

CRUST
Purchase a refrigerated piecrust, OR, make your own:
Combine 2 cups flour with 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in 2/3 cup fat of your choice (butter, shortening, lard, or a combination of the two. If you use shortening or butter, add an additional 2 tbsp fat, since both contain some water.) Toss in 4 to 5 tablespoons cold water, just until the dough almost cleans the side of the bowl. Gather dough into a ball and shape into a big, flat, round piece using a rolling pin. Turn out into a pie plate. Flute the edges.

FILLING
Combine 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and a dash of salt. Toss with 8 cups sliced peeled apples. Transfer to pie plate and arrange nicely if you care to. (Or do what I did, and just mound them in there as high as you can without the apple mountain toppling over.)

TOPPING**
Combine 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Cut in 4 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle/pat onto apple mixture.

Bake pie at 425 degrees for 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Keep an eye on the crust edges and struesel topping -- if they begin to brown way before the pie is fully cooked, make a tent out of foil for the pie. You may also want to put a cookie sheet on the rack below the pie while it bakes in case the pie overflows. (Easier to scrub a cookie sheet than the floor of your oven, righty-o?) Cool for a little while (like 15 minutes or so,) before slicing and serving.


* Why apple pie today, you ask? Well, we made two with the kids this morning. (An apple peeler-corer-slicer helps a lot when you try to do this with a classroomfull of kiddos.) And by golly, they were absolutely pie-tastic, if I do say so myself. And all the kids' grown-ups were incredibly impressed. And almost every child gobbled up the pie. Happy times in the Willow Room.

** Why the struesel topping instead of the traditional 2-crust pie? Well, to save a little fat per serving, and also because I didn't request enough pie crusts when I filled out our snack list a week ago. Sometimes I'm a moron....

help!

So, over a month ago, I was at IKEA with Ann and Michelle and I saw some girl walk past with an "I heart MPLS" t-shirt. (It looked just like the classic "I heart NY" tee, but obviously replacing the "NY" with "MPLS.") I have been kicking myself ever since, because I didn't stop her and ask her where she got it. And I want one. And I've been searching, google-aided, for a half an hour now, to no avail. Michelle thought you could get them at citypages.com, but I didn't see them. Grr!

Sooooo . . . my dear friends . . . help! If you happen to know someone who has one of these, or know where I can get one, lemme know! (In a perfect world, I'd find one that was cut for girls. "Unisex" tees just don't work on me -- I'm FAR too short.)

The only t-shirt I want more than an "I heart MPLS" shirt is an 89.3 The Current shirt. Can't buy those. Garn.

NEW CLOTHES NEW CLOTHES NEW CLOTHES NEW CLOTHES!

Yes indeedy, I went shopping today. And boy did I need it! After my adventures in reforming my diet, getting more exercise, and other excitement since the start of the year, I had lost 20 pounds. (And on someone who's 5 feet 2, 20 pounds is a lot more weight than it sounds like!) And I had finally hit a wall in my frustration with my wardrobe. I was tired, tired, TIRED of EVERYTHING being 2 sizes too big. So I went to Old Navy. And also to Target.

And now I have new cheap jeans for work, a few new long sleeved t-shirts, a couple of shirts to wear "out" (including a pale yellow t-shirt that has a nice retro repro of "Yellow Submarine" on it -- I'll have to wear it to work sometime because the kids love that song!) and a couple of new skirts and dressier sweaters for church and other dress-up type occasions (including my cousin's wedding, which is months away, but in mid March it will still be very cold out, but everything out on the racks will be frilly and summery. And I don't want to freeze.) Man, that was a long run-on sentence. I'm just so excited about my new clothes, I can't stop to punctuate.

And I also need to find a good tailor. My lone suit is far too big, and I have some dress pants and a couple of fantastic wool skirts I just can't bear to part with that are also far too big. Any ideas?

In unrelated news, the heat has yet to turn on in my apartment, and it's more than a bit chilly. I feel like hibernating.

weirder and weirder and weirder

The latest Oliver shenanigans? I made toasted pumpkin seeds tonight, and he kept trying to eat them! I had to move the cookie sheet off the table and onto the kitchen counter to persuade him to bugger off!

Why did I make toasted pumpkin seeds, you ask? Well, because I cooked a pumpkin, and made . . .

CURRIED CREAM OF PUMPKIN SOUP

(by the way, I made up this recipe and the amounts are approximate, so bear with me)

1. Sweat one small onion, finely chopped, one small sweet potato, peeled and finely chopped, and 3 or 4 cloves of garlic depending on size, minced, in a good amount of extra virgin olive oil until soft.
2. Add a rounded teaspoonful of vegetable bouillon, a few good shakes each garam masala, curry powder, and ground ginger. Continue cooking for a minute or two to toast the spices.
3. Add about a cup and a half of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir in just over 2 cups of cooked pie pumpkin. Continue simmering for about 15 minutes or so.
4. The soup should be very thick at this point, with bits of onion and sweet potato throughout. Puree the soup in 2 batches in your blender with about 3/4 of a cup of half and half, split between the batches. Salt and pepper to taste, then cool and chill if you aren't serving it right away. Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds! YUM!

If you don't care for curry powder, omit that and the garam masala, and use pumpkin pie spice instead. The soup would also be good with a bunch of slivered fresh sage sauteed at the beginning with the onion, but the sage would have fought with the curry, so I left sage out. This time.

And I have a bunch of cooked pumpkin left yet, so I plan on making mini pumpkin pies SANS crust sometime soon. (AKA, pumpkin custards.) Perhaps yet tonight. We'll see how ambitious I'm feeling.

grrrrrrrrr......

The spam commenters have found a way in. Grrr. But I have also found a way to delete comments. So I'll change my commenting preferences back to "anyone can comment." Comment away, friends! (Stay away, spammers!)

Holy Smoking Spatulas, Batman!

All right, well, the planets are in alignment, the food gods are smiling on me, and multiple factors are influencing what is turning out to be a weekend of cooking and baking. (It is finally NOT 90 degrees outside and I can turn on the oven without baking myself. I'm sick of eating hummus and cheese and crackers for dinner. (Although those were great summer foods!) I got paid yesterday and was thus able to make a voyage to the Wedge for raw materials. (I walked. You should have seen me, hoofing it back with a backpack and two tote bags loaded to the gills, in the light drizzle this morning. I got pitying stares from passersby. Oh well.) And I have nothing to do this weekend . . . I repeat . . . NOTHING! Wahoo!) So, I'm cooking. And baking. And I will eat well all week. I have a big plan, and I'm sharing the recipes with you! Here goes.

BASIC PIZZA WITH TOMATOES AND ARTICHOKE HEARTS (one 12-inch pizza, which is 4 generous servings)
~ For the crust, combine 1 cup bread flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/4 tsp salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl or measuring cup or something, combine 1/2 cup very warm water (110 to 115 degrees Farenheight,) 1/2 tbsp honey or raw sugar, and 1 3/4 tsp active dry yeast. Stir, then allow the yeast mixture to sit for a few minutes until it gets nice and foamy. Add the yeast mixture to the flours, and stir together with your fingers until it all pulls together. (You may not use all of the flour.) Turn your dough out onto the counter and knead for about 5 minutes, or until it feels smooth. Place the dough ball in an oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap that you've oiled or sprayed with cooking spray. Let it rise in a warm place until double, 30 minutes or longer.
~ While the crust is rising, prepare your toppings. (SEASONED OLIVE OIL) First, smash a big clove of garlic and place in a mini saucepot. Add a couple of glugs of extra virgin olive oil and a bunch of dried Italian seasoning. Bring this to a high simmer, then remove it from the heat and let the oil absorb the flavors while you prepare the rest of the toppings. Strain before using. (CHEESE) Shred about 2 cups part-skim mozzarella and about 1/2 a cup of parmigianno-reggiano. Toss to combine and reserve. (ARTICHOKES) Open a can of artichoke hearts and drain. Cut each into quarters, and place on about 3 paper towels to further drain. I wrapped them up lightly in the paper towels and flipped them upside down partway through the draining process. (TOMATOES) Open a can of diced tomatoes, and drain and rinse well. Do the paper towel thing with these guys, too.
~ After the crust has risen, punch it down and lightly knead it for a couple of minutes. Work it out into a 12-inch circle and place on a greased pizza pan that has also been dusted with semolina flour. Top the crust with the oil, half the cheese, the tomatoes, artichokes, and the rest of the cheese. Let it rest for about 5 minutes before baking at 475 until lightly browned and crisp, about 10 minutes or so. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before cutting to prevent cheese run-off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CORN MUFFINS (12)
~ Combine 1 cup yellow cornmeal, 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 4 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt in a medium bowl.
~ Make a well in the center and add 1 cup milk, 1 egg, 1/4 cup oil, and 1 tbsp honey. Stir together until just moistened.
~ Fill greased muffin tins about 3/4 full and bake at 425 for about 12 minutes, or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

go with . . .

BLACK BEAN CHILI (This is a Catherine Classic, and I may have shared the recipe with you previously. I apologize if this is a repeat!) (8 or more servings)
Combine the following in a Crock Pot and cook on low for 8 hours:
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed, or a comparable amount of beans that you've soaked, drained, and cooked
30 oz can diced tomatoes with liquid
14 1/2 oz vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels (or more if you like a lot of corn!)
1 large or 2 medium green peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)
4 green onions, sliced
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FALAFEL (4 servings)
Combine in a food processor (or alternately, smash the chickpeas with a fork and stir everything until well blended -- this is what I do because I don't own a food processor!):
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
15 oz canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or alternately, 2 cups cooked chickpeas you did yourself)
Shape the mixture into 16 small patties. Cook patties in 1 tbsp olive oil about 5 minutes per side, or until lightly browned. Serve in pita halves with lettuce leaves, tomato slices, and YOGURT SAUCE (Combine until smooth: 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp tahini, and 1 clove garlic, minced.)

and a nice side for these sandwiches is . . .

GRAPE AND WALNUT SALAD
Combine 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 2 tbsp brown sugar (or less,) and a dash of cinnamon until smooth. Toss this dressing with 3 cups of red grapes, halved, and 3 tablespoons of chopped walnuts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EATING WELL'S SWEET AND SOUR TOFU
Ingredients:
20 oz crushed pineapple or pineapple chunks in juice (drain and reserve 1/4 cup juice)
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
14 oz extra-firm water-packed tofu, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp canola oil, divided
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 by 2 inch strips
1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1/2 by 2 inch strips
Directions:
1. Combine pineapple juice, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, and sugar until smooth. Marinade tofu in 3 tbsp sauce up to 30 minutes. Add cornstarch to remaining sauce and whisk until smooth.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet. Transfer tofu to pan and cook until golden brown, about 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.
3. Add remaining oil to pan. Add garlic and ginger and cook about 30 seconds. Add peppers and cook 2 to 3 minutes or just until tender. Add sauce and cook, stirring until thickened, about 30 seconds. Add tofu and pineapple chunks and heat through.
(I plan on serving this with brown rice and a side of steamed broccoli for dinner Monday night.)

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NAVA ATLAS'S CHOCOLATE BROWNIE CAKE

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup natural granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened good-quality cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup vanilla organic low-fat yogurt or soy yogurt
1/4 cup low-fat milk, rice milk, or soymilk
2 tablespoons light vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, preferably cane-juice sweetened

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir together.Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and pour in the yogurt, milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir until thoroughly combined, then stir in the chocolate chips.
3. Pour into a lightly oiled 9- by 9-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sides of the cake begin to pull away from the pan, and a knife inserted in the middle tests clean.
4. Let cool in the pan until just warm or room temperature, then cut into squares to serve.

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Well, off to do dishes before I can keep cooking. :)