Pizza...plain and simple

 Often the simplest foods are the best foods. This couldn't be more true of pizza. It often does take much less effort and definitely less cost to make a pizza from scratch than to buy or order one. And it's always healthier when you know what goes into your food. This time around, I made a whole wheat flour pizza dough (because that's all I had in my cupboard) with fresh ingredients.

For the dough, here's a good recipe which makes quite a bit of dough:
6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used a slightly less amount of whole wheat flour)
3 cups warm water (77° to 81°F)
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 tsp salt

Let the yeast dissolve in the warm water for about 5 minutes.

Combine the flour and salt and dump the mixture onto a flat surface. Make a depression in the middle, pour the yeast and water into it, and combine the dry and wet ingredients until the dough starts to come together. Keep working the dough with the palms of your hands for 7 to 8 minutes, and then let it rest at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until it doubles in size. You can cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and leave it somewhere warm. Once risen, punch it down, squeezing out all the air bubbles. Cut the dough into four equal pieces and shape them into balls. Place them in the fridge for another 2 hours.

You can cut the rising time but your dough will make a thinner crust for your pizza. Once its ready, shape out your pizza crust with your hands and put it on a pizza stone or pan. Then top with whatever ingredients you like.

I used some olive oil, tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese. Bake the pizza at 400 C for about 20 minutes or until the crust is browned and firm, and the toppings are baked through. Plain and simple. And Delicious!

Use what you've got

 Some nights you just want supper plain and simple...and quick. Here's another go-to pasta dish that's mostly impromptu or experimental because it allows you to use what you have in your fridge or pantry. It's one part veggies, one part pasta base, and one part sauce. Saute the veggies (and garlic - always!), add tomatoes or pre-made tomato sauce, and throw it on some pasta. Done.

This time around, I had onion, garlic, mushrooms and some nice multi-coloured tomatoes. I started with the onion and cooked them in a small pan until translucent. Then I added garlic and some salt and pepper until aromatic. Then the mushrooms went in until they were cooked and soft. Finally, I added the tomatoes and let their moisture draw out and coat everything. I had some canned plain tomato sauce which I added until it was all heated through. If you want something extra, add meatballs, ground meat or some beans or chickpeas. And the whole point of this dish is you can use whatever veggies or items you have like fresh herbs, peppers, zucchini and different kinds of pasta. Don't be afraid!

 I had olives for the sauce but forgot to add them in. They made a nice after-dinner snack though! I'm still trying to enjoy olives more because I'm not a huge fan of them normally. But with rich food like tomato sauce and some wine, I'm coming around to them a little more every time I have them. Beautiful!

Spaghetti rules

Simple spaghetti with a tomato meat sauce.

when I'm feeling sooky or sad or just tired there's nothing better than a plain old fashioned meal of spaghetti. I don't really have a recipe for this dish because I've been making it as long as I can remember cooking.

I vary it a little each time depending on what I have on hand. But there are some characteristics that HAVE to stay the same each time:
1) The dish must have a lot of garlic
2) The sauce must be made from scratch. By that I mean that the tomato sauce should start as actual tomatoes. Canned or fresh...it doesn't matter but they have to be real tomatoes that I can cook down, simmer, and turn into a sauce.
3) The pasta has to be cooked al dente (or "to the tooth"). I'm not one to make pasta from scratch (though I'd love to have some if you're offering) but I will not compromise on the "doneness" of my pasta. I like it to have a little bite and it cannot be mushy.
4) Sorry veggies but for a truly comforting spaghetti dish, I need some kind of meat for me to really enjoy it. I'll blame my upbringing for this one. I grew up eating lots of meat-based dishes and, though I really love veggies and a lot of meat-substitute products, there's no substitute for the heartiness or texture ground beef, turkey, chicken or pork gives to a dish of homemade spaghetti.
5) Give it time. The sauce should be simmered for a little while to let all the flavours mingle and marry. Ever notice how lots of chilis or pasta dishes taste better as leftovers the next day? That's because the sauce has had time to develop and settle. I'm not one of those people who will say you should simmer your spaghetti sauce all day. But you will notice a huge difference if you let it simmer for about an hour before digging in.

So if you need some comfort food put on a pot of pasta and start throwing some fresh ingredients into a pan for simmering. Before you know it you'll have a warming dish that's good for your belly and soul.

Lasagna ? I hardly know ya!

Lasagna is something most people enjoy or make on a regular basis. The basics are layers of pasta, sauce and fillers. There are a million different types: white sauce, traditional with tomato sauce, meat, spinach, veggie, fancy or simple, you name it. I made one recently with no-bake noodles (a time and sanity saver), plain old tomato sauce, mushrooms, spinach, beef and green peppers. It was simple and delsih. I did use cheese (because I'm a cheese addict) and alternated between mozza and ricotta. I love ricotta in lasagna and tend to use it whenever I make the dish.

The thing I really love about lasagna, no matter the variety, is that it's great for so many occasions. You can bring it to a pot-luck, have it at a dinner party, leftovers are great, and you can make a big batch and freeze portions for use at another time. I made two lasagnas this time around: one for now and one for freezing for work lunches. It's an easy and economical solution to the morning rush! Just grab a container out of the fridge and away you go.
ps. I just want to mention I love the lighting in my new kitchen. It's helping me make great strides in my food photography!

Snow Day Pizza

So it's a snow day here where I live. Blizzard conditions outside with blowing snow and cold temps. I'm off work for the day and had little else to do but conjure up something in the kitchen. I also don't have much in my fridge. But I seem to always have the necessities for baking: flour, yeast, salt, sugar, etc. So after scouring my pantry I decided to make pizza. From scratch.

It's not that difficult and here's my go-to pizza dough recipe:

1 1/2 tsb dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Mix these together gently and let sit 10 mins until it starts to bubble.

Then, in a large bowl, mix together
3 1/2 cups flour (all purpose)
1 1/2 tsp salt

Pour the yeast mixture into the centre of the flour mixture. Start pulling in flour into the centre with a fork gently mixing as you go. Then add 1 egg, beaten, and continue to combine the mixture into a loose dough.
Once the mixture starts to just come together, dump it out onto a floured surface and knead it.

Kneading is simple enough and the best way is to press the dough, pull one side towards you and then double that onto the middle mass of dough. Turn the whole thing a 1/4 turn and repeat. Keep doing this for a couple minutes until the dough becomes smooth and can form a ball.

Put the ball of dough into a lightly oiled bowl and turn it around until it is lightly coated with oil. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap. You need to let this rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place. Once that's done, unwrap it, punch the dough down, knead it once more for a few minutes and it's ready to go.

You can stretch this dough with your hands or knuckles, flavour it with herbs, shape it into bread sticks or whatever you'd like. On this snowy day, I opted for one basic tomato sauce/peperoni/cheese pizza and one smaller basil pesto and tomato flat bread.

Making your own pizza dough is a little time consuming but you can take pride in it. It's relaxing and helps you take out your frustrations. Plus you can experiment with it: use whole wheat flour, flavour it, make it into different shapes, choose whatever toppings you like or have on hand, etc.

Not a bad way to spend time, or eat, on a snowy day.

Adventures in entertaining

Everyone has the need (or want) to entertain once in a while. Holidays, birthdays, housewarmings, congratulations, etc. They're all excuses for celebrations complete with food, drink and good company. While I have been known to go a little out of control with my food and drink preparation, I have learned some useful tricks and techniques over the years that have made entertaining enjoyable and easier than ever. First, I try to have one or two signature dishes. Then the rest of the spread can be easy cheese/fruit/meat platters, veggie or fruit trays, ready-made frozen apps or even chips and dip. Have one drink you can offer guests (and make sure there's a non-alcoholic option) but more often than not people will bring their own libations so don't sweat it. Focus your energy on taking pride in your work, setting a nice grouping of finger foods and then forget about it. When guests stat arriving you need to relax and enjoy their company. The middle of your party is no time to be worrying over un-made dishes, stuff in the oven or if a pot is boiling over on the stove!

I threw a bash this past weekend and here are some things I threw together for the occasion. Complete with my recipe for my go-to party dish: guacamole!

There are a million different ways to make guacamole and I've been known to just throw together some avocados, tomato and lime juice and call it a day. But if I'm really serious, here's how I do it:

3 avocados
1 tomato
1/2 lime (juiced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/4 onion (minced)
1/4 cup cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper (minced)
pinch salt & pepper

Combine everything in a medium/large bowl and mash avocados with a fork until the mixture is still slightly chunky but well combined. Then transfer the mixture into your serving dish. To save the guacamole for the party, put plastic wrap over the mixture and press it into the top of the guacamole so it touches all the surface. This will prevent the mixture from browning. Refrigerate until it's time to party. Serve with chips or veggies. Yumm-0!


Cheese and crackers is easy peasy but pleases lots of people. This was simple brie and pepper goat's cheese. Below: a spread on a table makes it easy for people to mingle and dash back and forth for treats. Besides what I talked about here, I also made bacon-wrapped asparagus (yes, it is an excellent idea!) and did a couple veggie platters and candy bowls in strategic places around the apartment.




One of my signature dishes and an essential sweet treat in a sea of salty, savory appetizers. Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes get easier to make every time and are are a great conversations starter! Happy entertaining!

A thought on eating local

CBC's food blog FoodBytes has a new post about the troubles with trying to eat local. The author discusses recent closures of hog farms and processors in Prince Edward Island. He writes: "P.E.I. pork travels close 850 km from the farm to my plate." That's in the Maritimes. I'm even farther East in Newfoundland and don't want to think about how far my food has to travel to get to my plate. I love avocados and bananas but just think of the fuel it takes, for example, to transport fresh produce like that all the way to the communities in this province! The idea of a 100-mile diet seems lovely in theory. But the reality of it is I don't think I could give up long-distance food"cold turkey" without suffering culinary depravity.

Though I'm not willing to give up my avocados just yet, maybe I'll try eating just canned tomatoes in the off-season and extend my puny herb garden to include more veggies. Baby steps people, baby steps.

Pasta salad for lunch

I've been a littlle lax lately with preparing lunches. If I don't get lunches together either the night before or in the morning, we end up eating crap and spending too much for said crap food. But what do you do when you're sick of leftovers and sandwiches? The other night I decided to improvise with what was in my fridge and cupboard and make a nice pasta salad. You could use whatever you had but here's what I used:

Bowtie pasta (about 2 cups)

Cherry tomatoes (1 pint and cut in half)

Black beans (1/2 can, rinsed)

Green pepper (1/2 pepper, sliced thinly)

1/4 cup light mayo

2 tbs mustard

1/3 cup mozza cheese (cubed, could also use feta or shredded cheddar)

dash of salt & pepper, paprika and chili powder.

Cook the pasta as per directions on the package. Drain and put aside to cool. Then chop/prepare the rest of the ingredients. Put into large bowl and add the dressing ingredients. Mix and combine with the cooled pasta. Then divide the salad up into small covered bowls or reusable lunch containers. Presto - lunch for at least two days. It was easy and it'll be there waiting in the fridge!

Chili surprise

The surprise is that I didn't know I was making chili until it was done! It started out as a spaghetti-like idea. I had ground beef and tomatoes...that's all I knew for sure.

I started with olive oil in a pan, chopped some garlic and added that to slowly saute while I took a look in our fridge and pantry. We had carrots, green peppers, and cremini mushrooms. I chopped all those up and added them to the pan to sizzle. The mixture was starting to look more like a ragu than regular spaghetti sauce. Then in went the meat. More sizzle until it browned. Then I added a couple chopped tomatoes and a can of chickpeas that were hiding in the cupboard. I also added some chili powder, ground cumin, salt and pepper, partly out of instinct and partly out of that's what was within reach of the stove while I stirred. Then all it needed was a good simmer until all the flavours melded together and the veggies were soft. Voila, chili!

All you need with this is a good piece of garlic bread and a spoon!

This is what I'm having for supper tonight...yum!

Tangy pork chops (and a squash confession)

The finished product: Pork Chops with Tangy Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce and butternut squash puree with peas.

I had picked up some pork chops at the supermarket. They were a nice size but it was windy and I didn't feel like BBQing. So I dug around my cook books for a real recipe I could try. I often don't cook a recipe word for word but I don't cook chops that often either so I needed inspiration. I found a recipe for which I had the ingredients on hand: Pork Chops with Tangy Fire-Roasted Tomato Sauce from Rachel Ray's Big Orange Book.

So here it is (note I only had two chops so I used less of every ingredient and only one can of tomatoes):

2 tb extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO to Rachel fans)
4 1 inch boneless pork loin chops
2 cloves garlic -- minced
4 scallions (white & green parts) -- in 1" pieces (I used 1/2 regular onion, minced)
2 tbs light brown sugar
2 14 oz cns fire-roasted tomatoes
3 stips of smokey bacon (I didn't use bacon for the chops...see side dish note below)


Place a large skillet over medium high heat with 1 tbsp EVOO. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and sear them in the hot pan until they're golden brown on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. Once they are golden, remove the chops to a plate and cover with foil. To the same pan, add the garlic and scallions. Cook until the scallions begin to tenderize, about 4 minutes.

Add the vinegar, brown sugar and tomatoes. Bring the sauce to a bubble and return pork chops to pan. Finish cooking the chops in the sauce, this should take 3-4 minutes.

As a side dish, the Big Orange Book recommends polenta which I have found difficult to get, and to cook. I happened to have a butternut squash so I decided to make the same polenta recipe only with squash instead. And here's my confession: I have never cooked squash before. I've eaten it, seen it cooked on TV, but never attempted it myself. Before now.

I looked at the thing and figured (and remembered from cooking shows) the best approach was to cut it in half, season with salt, pepper and oil and roast in the oven until it was tender. Basically my technique was to cook it until it was done. Which didn't take as long as I thought it would: about 30 minutes. Then I scrapped out the flesh of the squash and put it in a pot with the crisped bacon (I used it here instead of in the pork chops), a couple tbs of milk, stock, about two handfuls of frozen peas and a bit of Parmesan cheese grated down into the whole mixture. As a side dish it was good but it would have been terribly bland if not for the bacon and cheese. Don't those two always lift a dish?!

Anyway, the pork chop recipe worked out well and the smooth squash was a nice balance to the tangy chops. The tomatoes kept the meat from drying out and becoming chewy (always a bonus) and I will be making this one again!