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This evening I tweeted what I was having for dinner,

“Dinner from scratch: wh wheat oregano/rosemry pizza crust, garlic tomato sauce, spinach, mushrooms, kalamata olives, goat cheese, pepperoni”

and @blendlab asked if there were any leftovers.  It was too hard to transmit pizza over Twitteriffic, but I offered to share the crust recipe.

Here is the original recipe from the beautiful Giada DeLaurentiis, followed by my modification of the ingredients:

3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 envelope active dry yeast (equivalent of 2 1/4 tsp)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour, plus 1/4 set aside for kneading if necessary
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried rosemary
3 tablespoons olive oil

The original recipe called for a total of two cups of flour, but I find that using whole wheat flour results in more flour gluten, requiring less. I keep the extra 1/4 cup of flour nearby if the dough is too sticky when kneading though. I add the oregano and rosemary at the same time as the salt when following the same procedure as the original recipe. It’s tempting to add garlic or at least dehydrated garlic to the crust for flavor, but as it is an antifungal it will harm the yeast and the dough won’t rise as well. Lastly, I don’t use a food processor for making dough. I just use a large broad spoon, and get my hands into the dough as soon as the flour is stirred in.

Here is the procedure, copied and pasted:

Pour 3/4 cup warm water into small bowl; stir in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. Mix flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil; process until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. KNEAD dough until smooth, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 1 minute. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. PUNCH down dough. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight container in refrigerator. ROLL out dough according to recipe instructions. (Start in center of dough, working outward toward edges but not rolling over them.)

Makes two pizzas. Bake at 475F for 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Did I mention ever about how much I love working here?  Anyways, last week a client dropped off mini Crave cupcakes to the office, and much hilarity ensued.  Today we received more cupcakes.  I think we’re making our IRC chat friends jealous.

I saw the notification in Twitteriffic and was outraged but thrilled but laughing at the same time.

The original tweet:

The result, from Twitter is Penis:

UPDATE:  I wrote the kind people at Twitter Is Penis an email, and they even wrote back to me!

I was flipping through a Chatelaine magazine at my parents-in-law’s place and came across one of those quick-and-easy 30-minute meal recipes.  It was a turkey meatball soup that sounded easy enough, but it was missing some key ingredients like onions, garlic, and fresh herbs (aka flavor).  I did a search on Food Network.com and found an italian meatball soup by Emeril Lagasse, but it was missing another one of my key criteria for good eating: vegetables.  I took his recipe and added my own improvisations to include vegetative matter, fibre, and a leaner protein and this is the result.  Normally I take pictures of food I like to eat, but this stuff was consumed too quickly for the camera.

Italian Meatball Vegetable Soup

Meatballs:
1 lb lean ground turkey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan, plus more for garnishing soup if desired
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pinches crushed red pepper

Soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, crushed with your hands, with their juice (or I just used diced tomatoes)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon oregano
2 carrots, chopped
1 large zucchini, diced
14 oz canned beans (navy beans or mixed (kidney, garbanzo, etc.)), rinsed and drained
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup whole wheat small pasta
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

In a medium mixing bowl combine the ingredients for the meatballs and mix
until thoroughly combined.

Divide the meat mixture into tablespoons and roll into smooth balls in your hands. Set rolled meatballs aside on a plate or other flat surface.

In a 4 1/2 quart soup pot or large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium high heat until hot. Add half of the rolled meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Transfer the browned meatballs to a plate and set aside. Brown the remaining meatballs in the same manner and set aside.

Add the chopped onion to the pot and cook, stirring, until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, oregano and parsley and stir to combine. Return the meatballs to the soup pot and bring the soup to a boil. Add the carrots and zucchini. Reduce the heat so that the soup just simmers and cook for 30 minutes.  Add the pasta and beans to the hot soup, stir well, and cook for 15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked through. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in the chopped basil and serve.

Taken from the New Yorker.  Even better, this article is from THE FUTURE (check the timestamp of the article)!

3. Steal Cheryl’s famous potato-salad recipe. When Cheryl asks, “Why did you steal my recipe?,” say, “I don’t know, Cheryl, why did you break my heart?” Then laugh so she knows you’re just kidding.

…

7. Have you ever noticed how sun-dried tomatoes and top-grade peyote look exactly the same? Not a suggestion, really. Just saying.