30 Minutes or Free?

When we’ve had a long day and don’t have a plethora of things in the fridge, we nearly always have the ingredients for pizza. From start to finish, in just over 30 minutes – a healthier, less expensive version than takeout, and you can keep the tip for yourself.

Preheat your oven to 400F

In a small bowl or measuring cup, put 1/2 c or 125ml lukewarm water. Stir in 1 t or 5ml sugar, honey, or maple syrup. Sprinkle 1 T (15ml) yeast over top. Set a timer for 5 minutes and choose some toppings. 

When the timer goes, your yeast should be foamy. A few grains may still float on top, and that’s okay. Stir with a fork and add this to a larger mixing bowl, along with 1T/15ml olive oil. Sprinkle in whole wheat flour, stirring with a fork, until it forms a ball and starts to clean the bowl a little. Knead on the counter half a dozen times with another light sprinkle of floor. (Other flours work also – experiment!) Sometimes we add dried herbs or pepper to the flour. Grease the bowl and pop the dough back in. No need to wash, the bowl should be mostly clean. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 10 minutes.

In this case we started with a base of caramelized onions, but pesto or marinara work great also.

  
For toppings we added mushrooms and olives, and a bit of Beemster cheese.

 18 minutes in the oven and it’s done – we usually let it cool five minutes before cutting as no one loves that pizza cheese mouth burn!

  

Spring Forward and Wake Up!

Adjusting to the time change? Start the day with a spicy breakfast that will wake up both you…and your taste buds. With a busy week ahead, we need to make sure we are fueled-up and energized to make the most of every opportunity.

On the plate, a healthy and budget-conscious combo – leftover olive, onion and mushroom whole wheat pizza is topped by a poached egg. We sprinkled two salt-free spice blends on top; one lemony and the other with a hint of chipotle. Sliced blood orange add a few extra vitamins and enhance flavour with a citrus note. After a week of “road food”, we’re especially grateful for a taste of home.

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With a salad, this would also be a great dinner time combination for those of you who have given up eating meat for Lent.

Nice Ideas from Nice

As February begins, we start to consider more springlike foods – the occasional bursts of sunshine and milder temperatures seem to mitigate the wintry desire for comfort and cocooning. The Niçoise salad seems to perfectly capture everything we look forward to – and this adaptation combines winter’s preserves, like capers and olives, with the local hydroponic lettuce and tomatoes that are appearing more frequently at the market.

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We Had a Halibut Good Time…

No, no, we didn’t disappear. We went to England. Then France. (Okay, we did sort of disappear, but on purpose). It’s a long way for walkable feasters to go…but go we did, and what great food we ate!

Then, when we returned a week or so ago, it was time for a late celebration of The Daughter’s birthday. We were joined by a convivial crowd of loved ones. We wanted to serve something really special…so of course we rushed right to @Hookedinc, where we were sure to find something delicious. This is it. Two giant halibut fillets. We dressed them with a little olive oil, sliced lemon, capers, and salt-cured olives. Then we roasted them in a hot oven in a parchment packet for awhile, opening them up near the end to let some of the juices thicken up in the heat.

After that, another brief hiatus – this time to help Mom recuperate after receiving a new knee. But now we’re back, and harvest season is in full swing. We’ll be bringing you all sorts of treats, we’re quite sure.

Formidable!

Fish of a Certain Stripe

Mackerel. Slightly mineraly. Beautifully striped. A paradox to those who only know what to do with the pinky, meaty salmon, or the large-flaked cod. But mackerel is such a beautiful, special fish, it’s hard to resist.

The husband bought these beautiful fillets at Hooked. It wasn’t the most pleasant day, so grilling was out of the question. It was cool enough for the oven, though, so a plot was hatched. Pair the oily,mineraly flavour with some Mediterranean influences – olive oil, tomatoes, olives, capers, and oregano.

Everything went in the oven at about 400, for 20 or 30 minutes, just until done. We couldn’t have asked for a better end to the day.