Sweet P's Pizza Recipe

Have I mentioned how much I love pizza? I just looked through my archives, and I don't think I've ever told you how much I love, love, love pizza (more than I love hummus). In fact, if I only had to eat one thing for the rest of my life, pizza would be it. Hands down. That's why I never suggest where to eat if we eat out. The Farmer knows I'll always say pizza. But this isn't about me loving pizza, it's about me teaching Sweet P to love pizza (and she does, by the way), too. So here's a healthy recipe for a toddler pizza (or a personal pizza for you!).

The Recipe: Sweet P's Pizza

Pizza dough:

What you need:

1 cups organic whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp yeast

1/4 tsp sugar

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup (or more) water

Place yeast and sugar in a mixing bowl with 1/4 cup warm water. Allow to sit for 5 minutes (the yeast feeds on the sugar and will start to foam). Add 1/2 cup of flour and stir (I use my hands). Add olive oil, remaining flour and water (more if you need it) and continue to form into a blob of dough. Flour the counter and remove dough from the bowl. Knead about 20 times, forming the dough into a ball. Place the dough back in the bowl, drizzle olive oil on the dough and then cover with a towel for about an hour.

Once the dough has doubled in size, pull off a piece the size of racquetball and roll out on a floured surface.

The toppings:

What you need:

Homemade or jarred organic tomato sauce

mushrooms

spinach

organic grated cheese

any other toppings you'd like

Preheat oven to 350˚. Spread tomato sauce onto the pizza, add mushrooms and spinach, then top with grated cheese. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Slice with a pizza cutter to create 6 pieces.

The first time I made the pizza, I used just cheese to see if she'd even eat it. Oh, she ate it all right. Then I added mushrooms. And the last time I made it, I stuck some spinach in the mix. She gobbled it all up every time. Well, first she ate the toppings and cheese off and then went back for the bread. The dough makes around 3 small pizzas. Keep the unused dough refrigerated. It'll last up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Basil Pesto Recipe

Pesto is, in a word, scrumptious. I love it. Love it on pasta, on pizza, on sangwiches (yep, with a g, just say it to yourself to get the full effect). So when we started growing basil, obviously, we knew we'd make pesto. After reading about storing it, I came up with a plan for freezing it. Here is the recipe, and the directions for freezing it.

The Recipe: Basil Pesto

What you need:

2 cups basil

1/2 cup pine nuts, walnuts or black walnuts

1/2 cup shredded/grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 fresh garlic cloves

pinch of salt

Combine basil and nuts in a food processor until chopped, use the pulse button. Add garlic and pulse a few more times. Pour in olive oil while the processor is on, using a spatula to scrape the sides every so often. Add the cheese until blended and resembles a pesto consistency. Throw in salt and pulse a few more times. Serve right away or store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To store:

Line a mini muffin tin with 12 small dixie cups. Fill the cups 3/4 full with pesto. Put a strip of plastic wrap over the cups and place in the freezer overnight. In the morning, peel dixie cup away from frozen pesto. Place frozen pesto cubes (won't really resemble cubes) in a freezer baggy. Put them in freezer for a later date. While I don't have a picture of the finished product, we've use our frozen pesto on pasta and a pizza and it's fabulous.

I've made 2 batches of pesto, one with pine nuts, one with black walnuts. There's a slight difference in the taste, but not much. The basil is too powerful. You can also either use shredded parm or the kind that you sprinkle on pizza. There is not really a difference.

So there ya have it! Pesto for the winter!

Home Sweet Home

We're back from our girls' trip and what a great time we had! Full of days on the beach, Gammie and the Aunties, bikes, boats and swimming pools. Sweet P did awesome on the flights (gotta love direct flights), she ended up sleeping for most of both of them.

We got back late on Sunday and I don't know about you, but it always takes me a few days before I'm back in the swing of things. The Farmer started teaching today and the weather is going to be in the high 70's (love that after "feels like 101" humidity in SC and here!). So we'll be venturing outside to enjoy what's left of the summer.

So we're here, just readjusting to "real life."

And don't think I forgot about the Fitness Challenge. I'll get there.