Making Pizza with My Family

I just recently took a little time off work to be with Jo in Sydney.

He says I don't blog enough and that I should put up recipes of my cooking like I used to. Okay okay.. he is right... haha I rarely get the chance to cook and photograph at the same time; so this was a fun project we did together! He understands how busy I am; but he keeps reminding me of important aspects of my life I sometimes easily take for granted.

I had such a fulfilling holiday! I got some work done in between; visited my favourite Sydney spots, got to see my friends; watch Jo graduate at uni; hung out with family, play in the kitchen and leisurely test out a couple recipes for Delectable... it was exactly what I needed!

Before I left; I thought it would be a good idea for Jo and I to make a mother's day lunch for his mom. She cooks for us ALL the time; and though she does let me be sous chef occasionally; I thought it would be nice if Jo and I could make her something for a change. Omma (mom) makes the most ridiculously delicious rice and homemade Korean dishes; ridiculously... I pile on the pounds each time i visit! She's just too good! Resistance is futile.

Instead of trying to guess what she'd like to eat; we asked her what she wanted us to make.

She said "Thin crust gourmet pizza"

....oh ... wow.. for 2 seconds she caught my face going blank! Hahaha and then I thought of instant dry active yeast..and *phew* my complexion gained colour again. She did a little laugh; and said it was okay if I don't know how to make pizza. Well, I knew HOW.. i've just never on my own made it again out of pastry school. *scary*

We went grocery shopping for a brand new pizza pan and gathered a little basket of ingredients.

Jo was so enthusiastic about the idea; he loves pizza! well.. i do too.. and so does Omma; so i guess it was the perfect suggestion!

I've made pizza dough in school once in the past; and I suppose it is pretty easy to wing a recipe like this. The whole process is really really simple to recreate at home.

1 sachet active dry yeast (70-80 grams/0.25 ounces)
1/4 tsp sugar
3/4 cup luke warm water
1 3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp salt

1. Weigh sugar; flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Activate yeast in luke warm water as measurements. Allow to fizzle for 5 minutes or so. Make a well in the mixing bowl center; pour in the yeast + liquid mixture; stir to form a rough ball as below.

2. Knead dough ball for 2-3 minutes till dough is elastic and smooth. Flour hands a little to make it workable; do not dust too much flour on the kneading surface. Divide dough in half. One recipe makes 2 thin crust pizza's approximately 14 inches in diameter.

3. Lightly oil surface of pizza pan with olive oil and press out one dough ball to form a small disc. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.

4. Press out dough disc to reach corners and form a thin base crust. If it continues to shrink inwards; allow to rest; and press out again.

5. Toppings!! tomato base first; and then meats; veges... top with cheese and Italian herbs. Remember to thinly slice your components and never pile the pizza too thick! a little cheese goes a long way ;)

6. Bake in preheated 170 degree oven for 40 minutes; till crusts are golden; cheese is bubbly and deliciously melted; ahhh!! i love pizza! haha

We were tempted (more than a couple times) to pop an 'instant' pre sauced pizza base into our trolley at the supermarket; but thank goodness we didn't succumb! This recipe is MUCH much Yummier!

Jo measured the ingredients while I activated the yeast.

It was really nice to be cooking with Jo again. He's a chemist; a perfectionist at recipe measuring haha. As I watched and photograph him kneading the dough; I recalled how much he used to help me in the kitchen when I had just began venturing into the cake business 3 years ago in Australia. He's sweet, kind, intelligent, funny, helpful, loves cake and makes excellent pizza from scratch... i'm one lucky lucky girl!

Guacamole - Recipe

Hello my friends! How are you? I've been meaning to write something lately but the nausea hasn't allowed me to! I am actually taking a brave step at this very moment, trying to write about food... when I don't really feel like it... But I want to keep my promises and share with you a recipe....So, I chose an easy and delicious one (very healthy too!): Guacamole!

I know there are many versions "out there" and some are authentically Mexican, although, with Guacamole I like to keep it simple, fresh and really really natural... I can tell you that if a guacamole recipe calls for "Taco Mix" is not authentically Mexican then... and you should discard it immediately

The way I make guacamole is really simple and here are the ingredients you need:

(serves about 5 people)
2 Avocados (Hass) - (See the final note to know how to pick a good avocado)
2 Red Tomatoes (they can be roma tomatoes)
1/2 white onion (if it's too big use a little less)
1/2 lime (juice, always use fresh juice) - you can add more to taste
1 cup of chopped cilantro (fresh cilantro only)
salt to taste
(optional serrano pepper) I usually do not add the pepper because my daughter loves guacamole, so that's why it's optional, it depends if children or people who can't tolerate any heat will eat it too, if you are going to go for it then start with 1/2 a serrano pepper and experiment with that, add more if you think you can handle it.

What you need to do is chop all the ingredients (except the avocado and lime of course), mix them and set them aside, mash the avocados, you can make guacamole as clumpy or smooth as you like, do not blend it in the blender though, just use a fork, add the lime and salt and mix it all together with the tomatoes, onions and cilantro you set aside.

I leave the avocado last because it tends to get dark (oxidation), the lime will help prevent that oxidation, some people leave the seeds of the avocados in the guacamole believing this will keep it from darkening, the truth is that it doesn't, what happens is that guacamole gets dark from being in contact with oxygen, and the seeds kind of help the avocado around it (the one that touches it) to be in contact with oxygen, there is nothing special or magic about the seed, it could really be anything (even a light bulb LOL!) So, what would work better is some "Saran Wrap", place the guacamole in the container that you will serve it and cover it tightly with Saran Wrap, so the lime and the wrap will really help you keep a nice looking guacamole.

 Note: The "bump" on top of the pic is the "lime squeezer". By the way, get one of those if you don't have it.

There you have it, I hope you make it and enjoy it! you can have some tortilla chips to eat it as a snack or put it in your next "Real Tacos"

Note: To know how to pick ripe avocados click here 

Step 2

Pick that avocado up and examine the stem end. If the avocado is ripe, you will be able to pull the stem out very easily. If the stem is already missing, or your not sure how easy it was for you to pull out the stem, read on.

Step 3

Hold the avocado in your hand and gently squeeze it. An unripe avocado will feel like a stone. An over-ripe avocado will feel loose under the skin. A ripe avocado will feel the same as if you were to squeeze the palms of your hands.

Step 4

Know when the varieties of avocados are in season. Haas avocados are available year-round but at their peak from April to November. Fuerte are available from November to July. Reed are available from March to September. Booth, Lula and Taylor are available from the end of June through February. Zutano are available from October to May. Bacon are available from November through July.

Read more: How to Pick Ripe Avocados | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2300768_pick-ripe-avocados.html#ixzz0toOb1ohR

Provecho!

Paloma.

A guilt free Snack... WITH FIRE!

Hello my friends! I hope you are enjoying this blog so far! Today is a hot day in Wisconsin (it's been pretty hot this week) and it got me thinking of what I would be eating if I was in Mexico right now... and I know that for sure I would be stopping one of those "carritos de fruta ambulantes" (mobile fruit stands) which you can find in any street of Mexico, especially during Summer!

But... I can make my own here... at least it will be pretty close to it:

What you will need to make your own "fruta con chile" "fruit with chili powder" (yes, now you know where the fire is!) is:

Note: You can use any of the following fruits... or all of your favorite ones in the list below and mix them.... I highly recommend to use JICAMA (you will see what it is below) and cucumber too!

Cucumber (peeled and sliced)
 Jicama (peeled and sliced) (jicama = jícama = yam bean = Mexican yam bean = ahipa = saa got = Chinese potato = Mexican potato = Chinese turnip  Pronunciation: HIH-kuh-ma)
Slices of a fresh coconut
Cubes of Watermelon
Mango (in slices or cubes)
Orange wedges
Slices of pineapple

FRESH lime juice (about 1/2 lime per cup of fruit), 
Salt to taste
Chili powder (you can use ground bird pepper "chile piquin molido" or the bottles with chili powder  for fruit ... Brands "Tajin or Trechas")

and you are good to go!

If you are going to go for Mango... it's better if that's on its own with the lime, salt and chili powder and not mix it with other fruits... if you go for the other fruits (and the jicama root) they can ALL BE MIXED TOGETHER... it will look BEAUTIFUL! The amount of chili powder will be according to the amount of heat you can tolerate... so start with a little bit and taste it and add more as you like.

Here is an example of jicama with chile:

There you have it! The refreshing flavor of Mexico on your table! I hope you go for it and try it! Whenever I've been on diets and trying to lose weight I've found that eating "jicama and cucumber" like this really satisfies my cravings and I don't need "chips" and things like that.... Jicama has only 46 calories per cup and cucumber even less!!! cucumber has only 16 calories per cup... So... even if you are on a diet you can live the Mexican experience too!

Enjoy!

Paloma.