Halloween and Fun with Friends

Lily got to go trick or treating for the first time last night, and I must say it's very hard seeing two of your kids grow up so fast while another is just earning the right to participate in fun traditions.  Our littlest one went as a devil this year, and had quite a blast. I have never been more thankful than for the families that had the foresight to give her fruit snacks. Even though I know candy will be a huge part of this tradition for many years to come (as proven by her older brothers and even father!), I just wasn't ready to let a two year old eat nothing but candy and crash out at the home of our wonderful hosts.
It was nice getting to go out and bring Lily along. I just couldn't believe how wonderfully she did, our typically difficult toddler in a new place with brand new people. It probably helped that my friend is a professor teaching special education.  She was like the baby whisperer! We will definitely be visiting with them again.
One of the boys went out with friends and the other stayed in and handed out candy to the non-existent trick or treaters. I just can't believe they are in high school already, and not kids anymore. What a Halloween.

Quick No-Measure Pizza Crust Recipe

Do you have one of thoses 200+ dollar mixers with the dough hook and attachments, but only use it like 3 times a year because everything just takes... so... long... to... make?  Why not try making this rustic no-measure pizza crust.  It doesn't have to rise before baking, and only needs to rest for a few minutes (just long enough to cut and prep your toppings) so dinner can be on the table quick.  Because you don't actually measure the ingredients, but go by the texture, you can also make as much or as little as you need with ease.

Begin by putting warm water and yeast in the bottom of the mixer bowl.  I don't let the yeast sit like other people do, but do make sure it has dissolved well.  To make four small pizzas, I used about two cups of warm water and 1 tsp of yeast.  You can also add a splash of oil to make the dough have a better texture, but it is optional.

I prefer to buy the jars of yeast because they are a better value, especially if stored in the refrigerator.  A good rule of thumb on how much to use for the pizza crust is 1/2 tsp per cup of water, so you can make as much or as little as you want.

Grease the top of the dough hook well so that the bread does not climb up where it won't get kneaded and get stuck in the attachment point.

Begin adding flour a half cup at a time, allowing it to knead well between additions, especially as it nears the right consistency.  It is important not to add to much flour too soon because the dough will continue to stiffen as it kneads.  I recommend using a good bread flour, but in a pinch any all-purpose flour works too.  If you don't like keeping two separate flours around, you can also keep wheat gluten to add to all purpose flour on an as needed basis.

You will know the dough is the right consistency when it is still very soft but would rather stick to itself than the sides of the bowl.  Again, knead knead knead.  I recommend using only the lowest settings because you can burn out the motor on your mixer, and because it the dough will climb the hook and not get kneaded well.

Oil a bowl and set the dough down in it.  Flip the dough over so all sides are coated and will not stick.

While the dough rests, coat a pan with oil and sprinkle with cornmeal.  I prefer to have two pans going so that one is always in the oven while the next pizza gets prepared.  Be sure to use a flat sided cookie sheet or pizza paddle if you plan on using a pizza stone, and omit the oil but use plenty of cornmeal.

This is also a good time to prep all of your pizza toppings, and have them ready to go on top.  This is a good time to encourage kids by having lots of veggies ready so they can make their own pizza.  It has been my experience that kids are far more likely to enjoy new things when they get to try them on something they already like or are able to play with them creatively.

If you kneaded the dough well, it should be soft and elastic, with a smooth shiny surface from the oil.  The bumps on this dough are just air bubbles, which are not a problem.

Divide the dough into the number of pizzas you wish to make.  Notice that it takes very little dough for each pizza.  I prefer a crust that is rolled very thin so that is cooks more crisp.  The yeast will make it rise up and get thicker.

Begin stretching the dough and working it into a flat disk shape.  Mine never turn out like the ones from a pizzeria, but are a very rustic shape.  They are still just as delicious, though, so don't get hung up on making them perfect.

Put the crust into the pizza pan, and stretch it out a little farther.  The cornmeal will prevent the pizza from sticking.

Chose a good quality sauce (in this case some I canned up myself from fresh tomatoes) and begin to build your pizzas.

My favorite is bacon, spinach, and onion.  It also works very well with alfredo and chicken pieces, but with good sauce open anyway, I decided to mix things up.  The one below is a simple cheese pizza.

To bake the pizzas, heat your oven to a fairly high heat.  I usually try for 450 or 475if your oven will do it without burning everything inside.  If you are using a pizza stone it is best to preheat the stone in the oven for at least 30 minutes, then carefully sliding the pizza out onto the hot stone baking until cheese is bubbly and brown.  If using a metal pan, I recommend cooking the pizza until the crust is just cooked and the cheese just melts, then removing it from the pan directly to the rack to finish for a nice golden, crisp crust.

Don't use a timer to judge the doneness of the pizza, but instead look at the brown-ness of the cheese and crispness of the crust.  Since each pizza will have a slightly different thickness of crust and will vary with the amount and wetness of toppings, using a timer just won't do.  Frozen pizzas are carefully constructed to be exactly the same, but not so for our delicious home baked ones.

Tough Decisions and Moving On

I suppose if someone is going to find themselves in a dilemma, the best kind is having to chose between two situations where either is an improvement and both are paths that would be exciting to take.  As I mentioned when I first reopened the website, I was interviewing for a scholarship to cover graduate school.  What I did not mention was that I had also been applying for a promotion within my company.  I was kind of in denial about the possibility I could get the position, even though I am well qualified.  I was afraid it would look bad that I have only been in my current position since graduating in spring - Less than half a year.  And mostly I love my current position and the people I work with, even though I did want to leave room for my career aspirations to grow.  Like so many things in life, these two opportunities collided and I had to make a major life decision.

I guess I should be elated to receive both an offer for a graduate school assistantship and a new job within hours of each other.  It was very exciting to think that I could have a masters degree in two years, and since my dream is to own and manage land, Environmental Science just seemed too perfect.  I still hold onto the idea that we will buy land in the next 5-10 years, if only a few extra acres when we trade up to a larger home.  It would be great to be able to responsibly develop and restore it, while growing and raising organic, humane food...

But practicality won out, and having a family, I have to make the best decision for all of us.  And to be honest I was just as excited about starting a new direction with my career that would bring additional responsibility and opportunities.  I will be starting on November 16 as the Research Analyst for my institution.  I will still be dealing with data, analysis, and reporting but it will be almost the entire  scope of my job, and I will be working under the director at an institutional level and not within a department.  It is very exciting, but I am also sad to see a chapter of my life end.  My first job after college was enjoyable and I made many friends.  I hope I will continue to see them, and who knows... Maybe I will find another way to pay for grad school.  I still have it on my radar, but I am thinking a course or two at a time as I find a way to pay for it sounds much more sustainable than trying to balance a 20 hour a week assistantship with a full time job.

Here's to life's big decisions, and seeing where the future will take me!  Cheers!

No Waste Pineapple and Ginger Spicy Chicken Marinade Recipe

So it happens.  Sometimes you go to the store and see a pineapple and think, wow that sounds so good!  You didn't eat before you went and there this ripe, fragrant spike is on sale and beckoning to go home with you.  Nevermind that you live nowhere any pineapple will grow, they are almost out of season, and the sale price isn't really all that much off.  you think, "it's still a good value, right?!"  That is until you get it home, and realize that you are throwing more than half of the thing away because you aren't about to eat the peel or core.  The price you paid for it may make it seem tempting, but in the end you realize scraping the peel with your teeth to get it all is 1) messy, and 2) getting all kinds of spiky things stuck in your teeth, 3) not really resulting in that much extra pineapple.

It ended up being quite a lot of extra pineapple, so I really thought about for a second.  I decided I won't eat it or throw it away.  I would steal the pineapple goodness by using it in a marinade.

I started by tearing off all of the little papery bits that might come loose and stick to the chicken.  I then diced it up and dropped it all in a bowl.

It ended up being quite a lot.  Because the pineapple skin is so textured, you have to go deep to get it all.

Next, I peeled a large piece of ginger.  I always keep this at home along with a full pantry of other herbs and spices.  You can't be a frugal person without splurging on flavor.  They go a long way, and so aren't really expensive at all if you buy what you use and use what you buy (ahem, people with stale saffron sitting in the back of your spice rack for the last three years).  A good rule on buying herbs: If you have never used it before, look for recipes that use it in copious amounts, and try to decide if you would enjoy those foods and, realistically, if you would cook them.  You wouldn't buy curry powder if you don't like indian food, and that goes for other spices as well.

Grate  the peeled ginger into the bowl.

Season with salt, pepper, garlic, and crushed red pepper flake.  Add vinegar and oil to make a light vinaigrette.  You can also add honey or a touch of sugar if desired, but I prefer to wait to toss the chicken with honey after cooking.  

Add the chicken and marinate for several hours or overnight.  Broil at 400 or grill until browned and tender, about an hour depending on the size of the chicken pieces.  If desired, coat with a light glaze of honey.  Serve with an asian salad and plain or teriyaki rice.

Bacon, Turnip, and Garbanzo Hash

This is a delicious recipe that truly deserves to be tasted before it is judged.  I know, I tend to be a bit more adventurous than many my age when it comes to veggies, and I have a lot of work to do to earn converts.  But this recipe just may do it.  It is savory and complex, with comforting notes of hickory and bacon enhancing the mild flavor of caramelized turnips and chewy toothsome goodness of sauteed garbanzos.  I know it will be hard to win everyone over with veggie recipes, but as someone that loves growing my own veggies and who has access to some of the best farm stand produce in the country I must say that those people are missing out.  Every good foodie knows that you can't knock something until you have tried it, and tried it the way it was meant to be eaten- In a thoughtfully planned dish with flavors that enhance and not detract, using sound kitchen techniques.  If you don't know how to cook something so that it tastes good, don't be afraid to look it up.  Find someone that has mastered that thing, and do what they did until you can do it right.  If you always try only boiled and steamed veggies, you will probably always find them bland and unpleasant.  Just saying.   I also love that this recipe has a reduced footprint because it has so little meat in it and so many veggies.  I hear so much about why people should go Vegan but so little about making better choices on a daily basis, many small steps at a time.  We try to reduce our meat consumption and do some vegetarian or vegan meals, but by attempting to avoid the trap of all or nothing thinking are finding that moving toward healthier choices and kinder decisions is going much better than being on and off the wagon repeatedly.  This makes a great meal with very little meat per actual serving, especially if you add additional greens or veggies like I do at the bottom.

To make this delicious recipe, start with a half cup of cubed seasoning bacon, or to taste.  Any fatty bacon will do, as would cubed ham hock in a pinch.  Begin browning bacon until it just begins to release fat.  It should still be raw, but we want enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan.  I use a moderate to high heat for this recipe since I am using cast iron.

Take two turnips and prepare them for adding to the pan by slicing them in half through the middle to give a stable base, then cutting long ways.

Dice into rustic pieces, up to a half inch in size.  The turnips I used were pretty large and filled a large soup bowl.

Add turnips to the bacon in the pan, and cook together.  It will take a while for turnips to brown and the bacon to render.  This is a good time to work on preparing the other ingredients.  Season generously with salt and pepper.  I like to use a little hickory salt if I have it around.

I take turnip greens (and radish greens are good too!) from my garden to use.  I always start way to many and instead of thinning when they are young, wait until they are older and cook with them.  It seems less wasteful.  By the time they are older, they are thinned and with a little care and watering will still produce well.

I recommend using some green onions in this recipe, which I also took right from the garden.  Any variety will do, but mine are Egyptian Walking Onions.  They are perennials that come back on their own and have a deliciously strong yet inviting taste owing to their heritage as a cross between an onion and shallot.  I use them all the time and they require pretty much no care.  My kind of plant!

Because they are on the strong side, and because I am also using onions, shallots, and garlic, I only take a few.  It may seem like overkill to use four members of the allium family but by using small amounts of each the flavor is not overwhelming and the flavor profile is more balanced and complex.

I like to go ahead and chop everything up and keep it on a plate so it is ready to add at just the right moment.  Here you can the the turnip and radish sprouts, green onions, half a white onion, and one small shallot.

You will need about 1 to 1.5 cups cooked garbanzo beans, or one canned drained and rinsed.  Wait until the turnips are cooked through and have brown caramelized edges all around because they take a while to cook and the recipe goes fast beyond this point.  When they are fully cooked add the garbanzo beans and white onion, and cook until the garbanzo beans are chewy and golden.

It should almost begin to resemble traditional hash at this point.  When all of the items are browned and thoroughly cooked we can move on to the final step.

Add in the finely chopped greens, green onions, garlic, and shallots, quickly stirring in and wilting.  Do not actually cook for best flavor and texture.

The finished product is ready to eat. To make this a great lunch option that is far lighter on meat, you can add additional greens or other vegetables.  It stretched the portions, and with a careful choice can even up the protein content of the dish.  This makes several lunches, and will result in taking less meat than taking a salad with chicken breast or tuna sandwich each day.

To add more protein for lunches this week, I added a bag of frozen peas.  I barely warm them before turning the stove off since peas so quickly go from sweet and crisp to flavorless mush.  It was so good, it was hard not to eat it all today!