Making dough

I may be unemployed, but I'm still making dough. Pizza dough, that is.

Monday nights at the Casa are Pizza Night. When I was working, I would either get delivery or buy a frozen pizza at the grocery store. But a few months ago Man of the House bought a bread machine and I decided to experiment with making my own pizza dough.

I like assembling the ingredients, putting them in the bread maker and then walking away. In 90 minutes, I have enough dough to make three personal size pizzas. I can control the amount of cheese and toppings and I like the crispy texture of the crusts. We eat two of the pizzas and the third makes a delicious lunch later in the week. The dough can also be used for bread sticks or to make calzone.

Man of the House found the bread machine at a thrift store for 8 bucks. We've gotten a fantastic return on that investment. I see bread machines at thrift stores all the time now (that's the way it always happens-- I hunt for something for months, never find it, and when I finally do, that same object starts popping up everywhere!). If you don't have one, I highly recommend nabbing one at a yard sale or thrift store and giving it a try.

I have an old bread machine recipe book that I refer to frequently, but of course, there are plenty of resources for bread machine recipes on the web:

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/bread/bread-machine/
http://www.food.com/recipes/bread-machine

Additional uses for pizza dough:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/popular-ingredients/new-ways-use-pizza-dough-10000001635058/index.html
http://www.listmyfive.com/b3aea7c5/The-Top-Five-Uses-For-Pizza-Dough

First pie and the summer bucket list

This year I made a summer bucket list. I thought of all the things I plan to do each summer, like take a nap outside or blow bubbles every day, but never seem to get to. This year, I was determined to cross each item off the list!

The biggie on my list was making a pie from scratch. Yep, pie crust and all. The perfect opportunity came when my produce exchange group decided to have a pie-themed potluck to celebrate our third anniversary.  I would make a pie to bring to the potluck!

I started later than I should. Then I realized I didn't have enough peaches. Luckily I had blueberries I was intending to make jam from. I consulted my copy of  "California Home Cooking" and started on the crust.

It was much harder than it looked. I had difficulties rolling out the dough. I was clumsy at getting it rolled out to a consistent thickness and it ended up more oblong than round. Maneuvering the crust onto the pie tin took co-ordination skills I have never developed. The clock was ticking away. Man of the House, alarmed by my muttering and swearing reminded me that I could just skip Produce Exchange. But I was determined!

The pie came out fragrant but less than perfect. I packed it carefully and took it to the potluck where I announced this was my maiden pie making venture and feedback was most welcome. The group was very encouraging and came forward with lots of good tips. I had a sliver of the pie and it was delicious, if not beautiful. Ah well, delicious is half the battle...

What is on YOUR summer bucket list?

http://www.amazon.com/California-Home-Cooking-Celebrate-Abundance/dp/1558321195/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346169078&sr=1-1&keywords=california+home+cooking

Under Pressure

A few years back, my mom gave me her old pressure cooker. She had gotten it not long after she and my father married. At first she was dubious about using it after hearing horror stories of pressure cookers exploding.  One of the sounds of my childhood is the shhhshhhing sound of the pressure regulator.

I've made polenta, cooked meat, made batches of beans very quickly. I have a small collection of vintage pressure cooker cookbooks as well as a more modern volume. I've replaced the ring and the pressure valve and the pressure cooker is set for more years of service.

I like my slow cooker, but the speed of the pressure cooker can't be beat. I like to whip up a big batch of beans Sunday afternoon and use them throughout the week in burritos, as side dishes, in salads, in bean burgers. Any leftovers freeze very well for later use. I can adjust the salt to my taste and I don't worry about exposure to BPA.

When I cook with the pressure cooker I usually first consult my big Pressure Cooking book by Ida Bailey Allen. But there are plenty of other resources on-line:

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-cooking/pressure-cooker/
http://www.food.com/recipes/pressure-cooker
http://www.gopresto.com/recipes/pressurecooking/index.php

A Little Help from My Friends

Last night, very spur of the moment, two dear friends stopped by with pizzas. I whipped up a salad, Man of the House opened a bottle of the good vino and we ate and talked and laughed.

With the ups and downs of the past few weeks, it was good to relax with good friends, to enjoy the simple pleasures of conversation and food. These are the things that make life glow.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Last Thursday, after 14 years of employment at my company, I was laid off. I had seen this coming for a while so I was not especially surprised.

We had a good run, my company and I. But now I am eager to see what is next for me. I have a book that needs to be edited and released and a ton of projects around the house to tackle. The tomato plants are starting to set fruit and the garden could use some attention. There is much to be done before I start the job search.

Knitting project

My father, who passed away in 1994, was very proud of his military service. Although he is no longer with us, from time to time I do something for service people in his honor.

My latest project, which I have been working on since March of 2010, is knitting helmet liners for troops heading to Afghanistan. The project is easy with just enough shaping and changes of technique to keep it interesting. I take my knitting everywhere I go and have knit during City Council meetings (call me Madame Defarge!), on the bus, while sitting in the dentist's chair waiting for the novocaine to kick in. I have knit about 30 of these helmet liners.

The project is coming to a close this week. I have 1 1/2 more liners to knit and then I will go on to other projects. I am ready to start something new, but I will still be a little sad to finish this project. When I knit the liners, I tried to send positive vibes through my fingers into the yarn and I hope the soldiers who receive them feel an extra bit of warmth when they put them on.

Rainy Day

It rained most of Sunday so I channeled Cat of the House and spent hours curled up in bed. I read a book cover to cover and re-energized by the relaxation, I tackled the hall closet.

The hall closet is where I keep all sorts of odds and ends-- Christmas decorations, a box of family photographs, yarn and fabric, out of season clothes. I try to go through it each year, getting rid of items, reorganizing the boxes so they fit better.

Little by little I am getting rid of superfluous junk to create more open space. It seems that energy flows more freely through the house when there are fewer piles of papers and homeless items for it to get snagged on.