Basic Pizza Dough

• 1 c. warm water (110F)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

• 1 1/3 c. all purpose flour*
• 2/3 c. whole wheat flour*
• 2 Tbsp vital wheat gluten*
• 1 Tbsp salt
• Up to 2 Tbsp of dried herbs / other flavorings (optional)

• Proof the yeastDissolve sugar in the cup of warm water and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let sit in a warm spot for 5 to 10 minutes or until foamy and yeasty smelling.
• Mix the DoughIn the mixer’s bowl, combine the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, gluten and salt. Add the proofed yeast mixture to the flour and mix together with a dough hook until it comes together. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball.By hand, combine the water + yeast mixture with 1 cup of the flour to form a batter. Add the rest of the flour in 1/3 cup measurements until it gets too difficult to stir. Turn out onto a flour board and continue to mix in the flour by hand until everything has been incorporated and you have a slightly tacky dough. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball.
• Proof the DoughDrizzle a bit of oil into a bowl. Place the ball of dough in the bowl and turn over to coat. Cover with a wet kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let proof for at least an hour or until doubled in volume. Punch down and cut off a piece of dough big enough for the pizza you would like to make. This recipe can make 4 thin crusted “personal” sized pizzas (big enough for a Mommy + toddler for lunch!)
• Bake Preheat an oven to 400F. I don’t have a pizza pan or anything fancy so I just line a baking sheet with foil, spray it with non-stick spray and place the formed dough onto the baking sheet. Top with your favorite toppings (mine are Ranch dressing + cheese + meat) and bake for 10 ~ 15 minutes.

Vital wheat gluten + all purpose flour is a quick alternative to “bread flour” and quite a bit cheaper! I like keeping vital wheat gluten on hand than keeping several different flours on hand. (Psst… “cake” flour is just sifted AP + 1 Tbsp of corn starch per cup! Don’t be fooled by marketing.) Vital wheat gluten is also marketed as “bread improver” — I get it in the bulk bins at my local discount supermarket so it is never too expensive since I can buy only what I need. Otherwise, it comes in 8 oz bags which can be a bit pricey.

You can also use plain AP flour if you can’t get a hold of wheat gluten. It is not that critical.

I try to hit up a Farmer’s Market or farmer’s stand at least every week or so, to take advantage of the fresh produce we have in this area. There are at least three Farmers Markets within ten miles of us and a countless number of family owned farm stands. (Antioch may be maligned for being way the hell out in nowhere land but it does have its advantages.) The Concord Farmer’s Market isn’t one of the close by Farmers Markets but it is my current favorite due to its location. Todos Santos is a beautiful city square with a park, kids play area and is surrounded by a good selection of shops. These shops include Half Price Books and Peet’s Coffee which is damn near my version of heaven already. Adding a twice weekly Farmers Market on top of it is just icing on the cake! The location is full of mature trees for shade so after meandering through the Farmers Market, you can sit on the grass and let your kid play while you enjoy some fresh produce and whatever hot food happens to be at the market that day.

The Little Empress and I wandered through Half Price Books for a bit before hitting up the Farmers Market. While I’m not nearly as much of a bibliophile as other folks I know, book stores and libraries seriously make me happy and I can stay there for hours. TLE is still a bit young and got restless and I was getting hungry so I decided to head out to find something to eat. There were a bunch of great hot food stalls to choose from, including Argentine Empanadas, tamales, wood fired pizza, gourmet hot dogs… yummy. I decided on a gyro which I thought TLE would like but she didn’t. Alas, no photo of the gyro as it disappeared into my gaping maw way too quickly. It was delicious.

We relaxed on the grass for a bit. Next week, I’ll have to remember to bring a good blanket to sit on as well as a ball for TLE to kick around. I’d thought that she would have wanted to play on the play structure but she was (surprisingly) uninterested. (Lucky for me. The play structure is meant for kids 5+ rather than the toddler set. That usually doesn’t stop TLE who is a total daredevil.) Instead, she entertained herself by watching other kids and running around on the grass near me.

TLE dancing on the grass

Soon enough, she tired of the grass and signed frantically for “apples” which is her way of asking for fruit. It took some convincing to get her back in her stroller. I normally don’t take a stroller anywhere but Farmers Markets are SO much easier to navigate with a stroller rather than carrying her on my back while carrying groceries. (Plus, have you ever had a toddler eating a plum while in a back carry? I personally find the sensation of dripping plum juice down my neck to be decidedly NOT PLEASANT.)

We wandered up and down the aisles of the Farmers Market, looking at all the yummy and delicious fruits. I like to make at least one round of the offerings, to see what’s being offered at what prices. Summer farmer’s markets are always the best, full of stone fruit, delicious berries and awesome vegetables. Plus, fully circumventing the farmers market means I get to pilfer samples from everyone. BWAHAHA. (These samples kept TLE satisfied for quite awhile!)

Free samples? YES PLEASE.

I saw some really lovely tomatoes and a bunch of Asian herbs that I desperately wanted but knew I had no time to really enjoy properly this week so I passed. Seriously, check out these tomatoes!! The heirlooms next to the Early Girls were even more gorgeous but I didn’t get a really good shot of those.

Tomatoes... gorgeous, aren't they?!

After my first round, I stopped at a vendor to pick up a few pounds of naturally sweet, stone fruit goodness. TLE was very happy to get her chance to dig in to a sweet-tart pluot.

Yummy pluot!

Nomilicious indeed!

Marshmallow lover

Since The Little EmpressNinja has soundly defeated just about every gate we have in the house, we took them down as they were far more a hindrance to us than they were to her. The last few days have been somewhat stressful as a result, as neither The Hubs ™ nor I fully trust The Little EmpressNinja not to do something crazy like climb up onto the counters and/or hang from oven knobs. (Both of which she has been caught doing, by the way.)

Still, I’ve stubbornly decided to keep the gates down and packed away because, well, she has to learn sometime, right? I just keep telling myself that.

Since there is no longer a gate protecting the kitchen, I’ve found myself having to be extra careful about what I leave out on the counter, so as not to tempt The Little EmpressNinja to climb. Though I have learned my lesson about keeping sharp knives in the sink where she can’t reach them, things like bags of chips and foodstuffs are somewhat harder to remember.

TLE is quite self-sufficient when it comes to feeding herself and happily does so. To her, anything left on the counter is fair game. This is how she ended up with a bag of marshmallows for dinner* last night. She had triumphantly plucked the marshmallows from the counter and walked into the office, marshmallow in hand, bag clutched to her, munching away happily.

“Mama?” she asked, holding the bag of marshmallows out to me with a smile.

“Mama doesn’t want marshmallows. But thank you,” I replied.

She nodded, smiled and went along her merry way, still clutching the bag of marshmallows.

* For the record she didn’t eat the entire bag of marshmallows, only about three of them. Which, when you think about the size of a toddler’s stomach, is plenty. I’m sure there are some parents that will roll their eyes at the thought of someone allowing their toddler to eat marshmallows for dinner. Hey, live a little, okay? Of course, there are other parents that I’m sure will understand exactly where I’m coming from when a few marshmallows can buy you some sanity minutes.

A friend of mine just linked an article about a McD’s hamburger: 1996 McDonalds Hamburger

The post was originally published in 2008 but honestly, the message speaks for itself. That just ain’t natural.

I’m not so naive to think that all restaurants make their own roux or stock. That requires manpower and manpower requires money and let’s face it — restaurants that I can afford to eat at likely can’t afford all that manpower.

I can maybe understand taking certain shortcuts with stock and such. No different than the home cook that uses bullion, really. No, it is not ideal — all that salt! — but not every home cook has the time nor inclination to make their own stock.

However, this particular product just made me go “…”

CheezMaxTM is a revolutionary new dairy product replacing up to15-20% of mozzarella cheese on pizzas. This product is made with whole milk, and has less fat than mozzarella cheese. It is synergistic with cheese, and actually binds with existing cheese to give the appearance of more cheese – while increasing hold time.

It has applications in fresh, refrigerated and frozen pizza, and can be custom formulated to meet specific cheese flavor profiles. It can also be utilized in other applications such as enrobed cheese products.

CheezMaxTM has a potential of up to 30% savings over current cheese cost.

From the CF Chef’s Ingredients website

In two words – “F*ckin’ euw.”

But cheese replacement? Um, no, dammit. I’m paying for cheese on my pizza, stromboli, calzone, whatever. (And I usually get extra cheese!) So guess what I want? I want cheese. I don’t want whatever they’re cutting the damned cheese to improve the damned bottom line.

I’m not so granola minded that I think everyone should eat whole, unprocessed foods. (And certainly not Whole Foods. I can’t afford to even step on their grounds much less afford their food.) Mind you, I try to eat and feed my family as few processed foods as possible, more out of frugality than anything else. But the realization of how overly processed restaurant food is makes me think twice, if not three or four times, about eating out. If I go through so much effort to avoid processed foods at home, why would I go out to eat it and pay a premium to do so? YUCK!

Toddler Sampler Platter

At nearly two years old,  I’m rather lucky that The Little Empress isn’t actually picky about what she eats. She loves all types of fruits, veggies, cheese and the like. She’s never met a noodle she didn’t like. Like her Daddy, she loves pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) so much that she’ll happily slurp the last of his noodles from his bowl, no matter how red with Sriracha it is. Honestly, she has a better palate than some adults I know!

Despite her adventurous palate, she’s not much of an eater. On good days, we can encourage her to eat more than a few bites of her meal before she’s off to explore again. On bad days, I swear she survives off of nursing and air. I know, I know — toddlers don’t require nearly as many calories as adults but she’s such a delicate little thing that I can’t help but worry that she’s getting enough food. At her last well child check, she tipped the scales (fully clothed) at just under 22lbs which was at the tail end of growth curve. The doctor wasn’t really worried since she hadn’t actually slipped down where she normally is on the curve but still encouraged us to let her eat as much as she wants. He even gave us the green light to let her have things like milkshakes and hamburgers which could help her gain some much needed weight.

For better or worse, TLE isn’t overly interested in fast food or other “calorie dense” foods though she does like things like milkshakes and soda. Instead of encouraging her to prefer foods she shouldn’t like, we’ve opted to just allow her to graze throughout the day on healthier options. I try to set out a sampler plate full of fun foods that I know she likes, with a few healthier “calorie dense” options.

On the plate above, I’ve got two cut up strawberries, half a clementine, a stick of cheese and whole grain mini-sandwiches filled with Nutella. I refill the plate as needed, letting her pick and choose what she’ll eat for any given amount of time. This system seems to work out well for us. She loves having a choice for finger foods and it helps give me peace of mind that she’s eating a (fairly) balanced diet.

What tricks do you use to get your picky little one to eat? Tell me in the comments!

As far as baked goods go, I usually find scratch made to be so far superior to mixes that for most items, I wouldn’t dare use a mix. Brownies? I’ve got a kick ass recipe for that. Cookies? I make one of the best chip cookies EVAR. Scones? My buttermilk scones are the best ever. Breads? I love baking breads and experimenting with them. In fact, here’s a batch of bagels I made over Memorial Day weekend

I know that I’m perfectly capable of making my own cake from scratch. I’ve done it before dozens of times.  Chiffon cakes, honey cakes, devil’s food, chocolate, vanilla…. Name it and I’ve probably made it.

But for some reason, I succumb to the siren song of cake mix and canned frosting whenever the fancy to make cupcakes strikes. There’s something oddly satisfying about the mindlessness of it all, being able to pour everything into the mixer, spoon it into the pan and have it come out yummy and delicious with little effort.

When it comes right down to it, cupcakes are tasty, no matter what.

Here’s our menu for the coming week:

Breakfast choices: Bagels with salmon cream cheese, yogurt, cereal
Lunch choices: Leftovers OR frozen dinners (for The Hubster ™); soup & sandwich (me)
Snack choices: Crackers, cheese, fresh fruit, cottage cheese

Dinner (all served with lettuce salad unless otherwise noted)
Monday: Omurice
Tuesday: Baked chicken with rice
Wednesday: Japanese-style beef curry
Thursday: Loco Moco
Friday: (out with parents)
Saturday: (out with friends)
Sunday: Leftover bufffet

The Little Empress’ meals:

• Breakfast -  fruit yogurt and cheerios / soft scrambled eggs with cheese, whole grain toast
• Lunch – grilled cheese with meat on whole grain / cheese & veggie pancakes, juice + water, fruit
• Snack – cheese and crackers, juice + water, fruit
• Dinner – Modified adult dinner + assorted veggies, juice + water

Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie

This post is part of Menu Plan Mondays @ OrgJunkie

Popular cooked donburi combinations include:

• 親子丼 – oyako don (literally parent/child rice bowl) – chicken & egg
• かつ丼 – katsudon – fried cutlet (usually pork)
• 牛丼 – gyuudon – beef bowl

Donburi is a quick meal for those days/nights that you want something filling and comforting with minimal effort. It is just a matter of stirfrying your ingredients, adding the sauce, simmering and then pouring over rice. I try to keep a supply of tare (the broth that the topping is cooked in) on hand in the freezer.

Donburi Sauce (Tare)

3 1/2 c. dashi (Japanese stock)
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. mirin (Japanese sweet cooking wine)
2 tbsp sugar

Mix to combine.

HINTS

• If making ahead, pour into ice cube trays, let freeze and then pop out cubes and put into plastic bags for later use.
• Use instant dashi (dashi no moto) to simplify the prep. It can be found in the Japanese food section of your local Asian market. Low sodium chicken broth can substitute.

Here’s a concotion that I call 何でもいい丼 or the “Whatever You’ve Got is Fine Bowl” because, literally, whatever you want to add into your donburi is your choice.

1. Prep your ingredients. I cut the veggies (bok choy and carrots) into little pieces. My beef was already in thin slices.
2. Heat a small pot over high heat and stir fry your veggies and protein.
3. Add broth (I use about 1/3 c. for one serving) and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Pour over rice. DONE!

Eggs
We were gifted with about 18 farm fresh eggs by my parents last week. Giving unexpected food to you is an Asian parents’ way of showing you that they love you. And we appreciated them though it would have been nice if they had asked first — we already had over a dozen eggs in the fridge! A few egg salads, baked goods and other egg dishes, we still have over a dozen of those eggs left. Need to use them. Pronto.

Ricotta, veggies
I had planned to make a roasted veggie lasagna for my lunch for the week last week. I never got around to it so it will have to be done this week. The Hubster(tm) is not a fan of veggie lasagna so this is all for me. Woohoo! Lunch for a week and less groceries to buy overall.

Various leftovers
We have some leftover steamed rice, squid adobo and other stuff from my parents’ visit this evening. The leftover squid will likely be my lunch tomorrow as The Hubster(tm) refuses to eat it.

What do we need to buy?

Rice
Like most Asian families, many of our meals are built around rice and not having rice in the house is unheard of. The Hubster(tm) and I try not to eat a lot of rice but there’s no way we could cut it out completely so a 20lb bag lasts us quite awhile. Unfortunately, we’ve run out so I need to make a run to the local Asian market.

Here’s our menu for the coming week. Since I have to hit up the Asian market to replenish our rice supply, I decided to feature an egg-heavy menu centering around Japanese donburi dishes.

Baby’s Menu
Yogurt, Cheerios, saltines, banana, carrots & peas, chicken, pork

Breakfast Choices
Yogurt, cereal, peanut butter & banana on whole wheat, milk

Lunch Choices
Leftovers (for The Hubster(tm))
Roasted veggie lasagna (for me)

Dinner
Monday – LEFTOVERS: Beef mechado (Filipino beef stew) OR Meatloaf
Tuesday – Omurice
Wednesday – Oyakodon (chicken & eggs over rice)
Thursday – Nikujaga (Japanese beef & potato stew)
Friday – Yakiniku with stir fried veggies
Saturday – Stir fried veggies & chicken
Sunday – Tofu nabe with veggies

Menu Plan Monday at OrgJunkie

This post is part of Menu Plan Mondays @ OrgJunkie