Hard knock life spelt pizza

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Kid 1 has a hard life. He thinks he has it tougher than little orphan Annie ever did. The following conversation we had recently, highlights this.

Kid 1: I think Kid 2 should start learning his timetables.
Me: But you just started learning them recently yourself, and you are almost 10. He only just turned 7!
Kid 1: Yes mum, but I want him to have a better life than me. Can’t you see I’m going nowhere fast?

Yes, we can see why he has lost all hope at the ripe old age he is. ‘How about we have homemade pizza for dinner?’ I ask. ‘Yeah!’ he cries. It’s a surefire way to cheer up a hard knock life child like Kid 1.

This pizza uses a mix of wholemeal spelt flour and a strong, high protein flour that is used for bread or pizza. It’s a great workout for the arms. The crust has a moreish nutty flavour but is still light from the pizza flour. I am a bit of a minimalist topping kind of chick but you can use whatever toppings float your boat. We are big fans of mushrooms. If you have never made your own pizza, go for it. Get your kidlets to help, if you can.

YOU NEED
Pizza dough
220g strong flour
200g wholemeal spelt flour (if you don’t have spelt, use plain wholemeal flour)
2tsps (7g) dried yeast
1 1/2 tsps salt
320 ml lukewarm water
2 tbl olive oil

Pizza sauce
1 tbl garlic oil
1 tbl olive oil
1/2 onion finely diced
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
Splash of caramelised balsamic vinegar or 1/2 tsp brown sugar

Toppings
400g mushrooms, finely sliced
250g shredded/grated mozarella
Fresh basil leaves to garnish (I had run out)

Equipment
2 large pizza pans (mine are 40 and 30cm). I prefer the ones with holes as they work better in a home oven, letting hot air onto the bottom of the pan and making the base crispier.

HOW YOU DO IT
Dough
Sieve the flours and salt into a large mixing bowl.
Dissolve the yeast in a little of the lukewarm water, then stir in the remaining water and add the oil.
Make a well in the centre of the flour mixtures, pour the liquid into the well and gradually work the flour in from the sides.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place onto a board that is sprinkled with flour.
Knead (use those muscles!) for about 5 minutes. (You may need to add more of the pizza flour if it’s too wet.)
Put the dough into a clean and slightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth.
Leave the dough to rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

The Sauce:
Whilst your dough is proving (rising), make the sauce. Sauté the onions in the oils for a few minutes until translucent.
Add the tin of tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar or sugar.
Cook on low to medium heat for about 20 minutes until it has reduced and thickened to a spreadable consistency.

Now you are ready to assemble the pizza!
Once you are ready, knock back the dough ( basically squash it), divide in half and roll out thinly on a well floured board. Place on your 2 pizza pans and add your toppings.
Cook 20 to 30 min until cooked. (I always check the bottom of the pizza to make sure it is cooked.)

(The dough quantity makes 2 large pizza bases.)

A cheergerm recipe

Why spelt? Why not? Seriously, this ancient grain contains 50% more protein than wheat flour. It also contains quite a lot of different vitamins and minerals. This cheergerm believes it is beneficial to eat from a wide variety of food sources. Please note, it is NOT gluten free.

Hey dude, don’t call me dude corn fritters

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Buying a new computer sucks. No matter how crap your old one is, it’s somewhat akin to ending a destructive intimate relationship. You may have to come to loathe them, yet you know their foibles and quirks. You keep coming back for more, even when they continue to let you down.

Hence, shopping around begun. The first two young men, at two different mega stores, were 20 something self professed computer nerds. (I prefer to call them enthusiasts.) Both had super long hair, tied back and both were battling errant flakes of dry scalp that adorned their tresses like fake snow at Christmas. (Bless them). They were fountains of information and happy to hear what I wanted and what my opinions were. (Even though my eyes were rolling back in my head due to a total lack of comprehension.)

Young guy No 2, in his excitement at explaining a new space age laptop and it’s amazing abilities, exclaimed to me ‘it has 12 gigabytes, dude!’

Dude!? I have always thought of myself as non-conformist and reasonably ‘hip to the jive’. Whilst I found this moniker slightly amusing, I had to admit that the inner Victorian within (lace stays and corsets done up tightly) was a little taken aback. Not being an actual ‘dude’ and all that. Let alone the fact that the normal sales assistants that one encountered, did not usually call their customers dude.

So, off to the third unnamed mega store. This third much, much older guy, allowed me to briefly explain my needs. He then condescendingly, proceeded to tell me what I needed. I dared to asked him a question at the end of his diatribe. His reply? A brusque ‘come back when you are ready to buy and I will tell you the answer.’

In the light of guy number 3, I was forced to reconsider my opinion. I think that now, I am more than happy to be called dude. I also know where I won’t be buying my new computer.

Enjoy this recipe dudes. (I imagine this may be a dish that those totally awesome computer dudes would enjoy). These fritters are a fab light, vegetarian (and gluten free) dinner.

Dude, don’t call me dude corn fritters

YOU NEED
1 small red onion, finely diced
1 corn cob, kernels cut off
1 cup besan (chickpea) flour
1 egg
1 tbl chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground chilli powder
Few grinds black pepper
Up to 1/3 cup water
2 tablespooons rice bran oil or vegetable oil

Place all the ingredients except the water in a large bowl.
Add the water slowly and mix to form a batter. You may not need all of the water, I used the 1/3 of a cup but it will depend on your chickpea flour.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frypan over medium heat.
Add ungainly large spoonfuls of the batter to the frypan. Cook 4 to 5 minutes until just turning golden, flip carefully and transfer onto a tray lined with baking paper.
Once they are all pan fried, transfer the fritters into the oven and cook 8- 10 mins until golden and crispy.
Serve with whatever you want. We enjoyed it with a dollop of plain yoghurt mixed with sweet chilli sauce and a simple rocket salad.

Makes about 9 – 12 depending on the size you make them!

A cheergerm recipe

Vegetarian Tacos and Derriere’s

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Not too long ago, Kid 2 sent me his first text from his fathers mobile. I read it in trembling mumma anticipation, what did it say? ‘Bum’. Yup, that’s what it said. Ahh the eloquence of 6 year old boys.

That event has no bearing whatsoever on this recipe post. Unless you can connect the poor trampled heart of a mum, to the cooking of two different batches of bean taco mix because the little twerps darlings can’t handle any chilli. Cant handle the heat? Then get out of the kitchen lads, hang about, it’s only me in here anyway…

Anytime I ask Kid 1 what he would like for dinner, tacos is the standard reply. Believe me, finding a meal that everyone will eat in this house can be a nightmare challenge. It’s a great sharing meal where we get to sit down together and share our deepest thoughts. (Past topics have included who would win in a battle between a giant man eating crocodile versus an anaconda, the various ways to break wind and why rolling your brother in a doona and sitting on him isn’t such a great idea.)

It’s not really difficult, just split the mixture into two before adding the requisite spices. (Mild for the kids and spicy for the grown ups.) I love to ‘cheat’ and use Herbies Mexican spice blend (this is not an advertisement I assure you, I just love them!) There is also a quick ‘make your own spice blend’ in the recipe below.

VEGETARIAN TACO’S FOR GROWN-UPS AND KIDLETS

YOU NEED
2 tbl rice bran or olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 small red pepper, diced
1 medium zuchinni, diced
300g mushrooms, diced
2 tins 420g red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 ear of corn, kernels cut off (or 1 cup frozen corn)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbl Herbies Mexican spices blend or make your own by combining: 1/2 tsp red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp salt
1 lime or lemon
2 tbl chopped fresh coriander
Taco shells, gluten free. (The Yak and Cheergerm can down 4-5 each of these bad boys, the kids 2 to 3 each) cook to packet instructions just before serving.

Serve with
Grated cheese (as much as you like)
1 diced tomato
1/2 shredded lettuce

Sauté onions and red peppers in oil until translucent in medium saucepan.
Add zucchini, cook for 2-3 minutes
Add mushrooms, cook 2-3 minutes
Add beans and corn. Combine then remove about 1/3 to just under half of the mixture and place in smaller saucepan.
Add oregano and cumin to the smaller saucepan cook for 2 mins, then add 1/3 of the tinned tomato and add 1/2 cup water.
In the big pot, add the spicy spices, cook 2 mins, add remaining tinned tomato and 3/4 cup water.
Cook both sauces over low to medium heat until they have reduced and thickened, about 20 mins.
Heat the taco shells in the oven according to packet instructions.
Add a generous squeeze of lime or lemon juice to both pots just before serving.
Stir the coriander through the ‘grown-up’ version and the kidlet version if you so fancy (my kids won’t eat fresh coriander….)
Serve with taco shells, tomatoes, grated cheese and shredded lettuce.
We usually have some leftovers for the next day. Yum.

A Cheergerm recipe

In our house there is a division as to whether the cheese goes into the taco shell before the bean mix or last, after the bean mix. Anyone with an ounce of common sense knows it’s last. Right?

You say frittata I say…

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You say tomato I say tomato
I eat potato you eat potato
Tomato tomato potato potato
Let’s call the whole thing off

Never could resist a Gershwin tune. There ain’t no denying that sometimes, differences in relationships, can leave you feeling a little bit like ‘let’s call the whole thing off’.

Particularly when you are married to (and cooking for) a coeliac vegetarian.

Some nights, dinner feels, a little, well…….difficult. So, a fridge scrounge is in order.

Some say frittata, some say Spanish omelette, some say …..chuck whatever bloody vegetables you can find into a frypan and turn them into a delicious dinner for for a Silly Yak and tired Cheergerm.

All you gotta do is let your fridge, imagination and taste buds dictate what you pop into your fritatta. (Within reason of course.) Try red onion, zuchinni and asparagus. Sometimes, I will throw in a tablespoon of either smoked or sweet paprika into the veggies and cook the mixture out for a minute before I add the eggs.

Delectable herb combinations include mint with peas and zuchinni, coriander and chilli for a slight Asian twist and if you are feeling extravagant (and are not a vegetarian) throw in a wee bit of smoked salmon and finely chopped fresh dill in with the beaten egg mixture.

ZUCHINNI, POTATO AND BASIL FRITTATA

1 onion, sliced
1 small red capsicum, diced into 1 cm dice
2 small Desiree potatoes. (Or 1 large), cubed and par cooked until just tender.
2 small zuchinini cubed
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
Salt , pepper
Garlic oil and olive oil, 2 tbls each
1/2 cup frozen peas
6 eggs
3 tbls milk
3 tbl grated Parmesan
3 tbls basil, chopped

Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius.
Using an ovenproof frypan, sauté onion and red capsicum in the oils for a few minutes. Add chilli flakes and cook for 1 minute.
Add zuchinini, sauté on medium heat for 5 mins.
Add potato and cook for a further few minutes until they start to turn golden.
Beat eggs and milk until combined.
Add Parmesan, black pepper, a pinch of sea salt and basil. Stir gently.
Add peas to the vegetable mixture. Stir to combine.
Add the egg mixture and quickly stir.
Cook the frittata for a few minutes without further stirring then transfer to the oven for 30 mins until golden and puffy.
Serve with a slice of your favourite buttered toast or crackers.

Depending on your appetite, this feeds two hungry people for dinner or if you ain’t so peckish there may be some leftovers for the next day. (Awesome!)