Quick Easy Pizza Sauce Recipe

Posted by admin on January 28th, 2011
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Pizza Palazzo Wood-Fired OvenWe have developed a hankering for a Pizza oven. 
It has dominated our thoughts and cooking . 
It’s even taken over our fridge with photos, pictures and recipes all over it.  

Pizza is an ideal food for vegetarians because it is so flexible and adaptable to all tastes can be quickly made and even more quickly consumed.    

We have also developed a liking for making bread, foccacia, pizza dough, ciabatta and almost everything soft, springy, doughy and delectable !    Consequently, the  freezer now contains some of our earlier experiments into the world of breadmaking  and today was an ideal time to use some of these as bases for our pizza but we needed a quick and easy pizza sauce to kick it all off and here it is. Fast, delicious and easy to add your own personal herb preferences and the same sauce is fantastic with pasta too.
Quick Easy Pizza Sauce
Olive Oil (around 2 tablespoons or several good sized  sploshes)
4 – 6 garlic cloves  - finely sliced and chopped 
a small handful of basil, torn up
Oregano or herbs of your choice 
Can of chopped tomatoes or fresh tomatoes – finely chopped 
Cheese – any kind, whatever you have on hand – mozzarella is good or Feta
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper  

How to:  toss and stir fry garlic in the olive oil add basil and oregano, add tomatoes and turn the whole thing down and simmer for at least 5 mins to develop the flavors, add salt and pepper to taste and 1 spoonful of sugar to balance the taste if you prefer to (optional but improves the taste)  

Pull out either a pizza base, or (a home baked) Pita bread and top with a good sized spoonful of the pizza sauce, add more herbs of your choice to pizza topping, – try pizza thyme – and fine slices of cheese torn up or crumbled feta cheese and bake or grill in a hot oven until crispy and cheese if melted.   Excellent baked in a pizza oven or ultimately a wood fired pizza oven if you are cooking at home look around for a pizza stone or even a large terracotta floor tile as this will make the base nice and crispy every time.   
Enjoy and think up more toppings as you munch.  

 Old Stone Oven 4467 14-Inch by 16-Inch Baking StonePizza Palazzo Wood-Fired Oven  Old Stone 4461 16-Inch Round Oven Pizza StoneBialetti 3 Piece Pizza Stone Set The Art of Wood-Fired Cooking Build Your Own Earth Oven, 3rd Edition: A Low-Cost Wood-Fired Mud Oven; Simple Sourdough Bread; Perfect Loaves




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Moroccan Tea quick, easy and refreshing

Posted by admin on December 3rd, 2010

Worried about all that caffeine or tea ?  Just want a refreshing change that  tastes great and is good for you.

This  mint tea is very refreshing and tastes just as good hot or cold.  If you are serving cold add ice cubes.

The recipe serves 4 but the amount can be extended or reduced for the number of people you want to serve this treat up to.

2 Green Tea bags  - I like to use Fair Trade, organic or similar

5 large springs frresh mint

1/4 cup caster sugar   –  don’t use raw or brown sugar as it will darken the tea

Place tea bags, mint and sugar in a teapot or jug that will hold 4 cups.  Add boiling water.  Stand for 5 minutes.

Serve with a small sprig of mint.   It looks super good served in a glass mug or cup.

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Quick and Easy Recipe to Make Bread at Home

Posted by admin on November 28th, 2010

Bread, crunchy, crusty, fresh from the oven – don’t you just love it ?

Breadmaking is easy.  Making bread at home from scratch is so easy and it tastes divine. You know what’s in it and if you are worried about all the additives in commercially manufactured breads its even more of an incentive to give it a go plus you can add extras to suit your own tastes.  Try it – its easier than you think and you can make your own Artisan bread in less time than you think.

Quick and Easy No Knead Bread Recipe

Dissolve 1 Dessert spoon of Molasses in 3/4 cup of boiling water

Stir well then until it is all completely dissolved, then  add 1 cup cold milk and sprinkle on 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of active dried yeast powder.  Let this stand for around 10 – 15 minutes so the yeast can do its work and start to go frothy.  Room temperature is fine.

Make sure the liquid is warm and not too hot, yeast needs a warm temperature to work properly

Put in a large bowl

! & 1/2 cups wholemeal flour

1 & 1/2 cups white flour

2 Tablespoons wheatgerm

1 teaspoon salt  

Add the liquid you did earlier with the frothy  yeast mixture and stir well. You may need to adjust the liquid or flour to get a reasonably firm mix. This is because all sorts of things affect the moisture in flour, temperature when you make it, humidity in the air etc.  Don’t stress just experiment.

The loaf above I did a quick knead on a floured board but you don’t really need to, I am just a hands on person and I like kneading bread and I tend to adjust the ingredients each time to experiment and have different flavored loaves.

Add the liquid you did earlier with the frothy  yeast mixture and stir well.  you may need to adjust the liquid or flour to get a reasonably firm mix.  This is because all sorts of things affect the moisture in flour, temperature when you make it, humidity in the air etc !  Don’t stress just experiment.

The loaf above I did a quick knead on a floured board but you don’t really need to, I am just a hands on person and I like kneading bread and I tend to adjust the ingredients each time to experiment and have different flavored loaves.  Put the dough into a well oiled clay or terracotta pot.  If you don’t have a clay bread baking pan then use a flower pot.  Keep it specially for the purpose of bread baking and you will have a cool shaped loaf.  Be sure to oil it well when you first get it and oil it each time you use it and then you will only need to brush the crumbs out as its best not to wash the pot all the time.

Place your bread in a COLD OVEN.

Turn the oven on at the lowest temperature for 30 mins and watch the mix rise to almost the top of the pot.  When it gets to just under 1cm of the top turn the oven up to 200 degrees Centigrade (400 F) and bake for 30 minutes.  Turn upside down on a rack to cool and leave for a few minutes then run a knife around to loosen the loaf and it should turn out easily.

Bread is cooked when it sounds hollow when you tap it so if you are not sure give it a few more minutes or pop it back in the oven if you think its not quite ready.

Extra ideas to try out

  • Add some bran, swap around the amounts of white and wholemeal flour.
  • Grind some of your own grains for the flour
  • Use rye flour, a mix of grains,
  • add sunflower seeds, linseeds,
  • raisins, mixed peel, and add another spoon of sugar for a sweet bread
  • Sundried tomatoes, garlic,
  • Olives, gherkins
  • Use gluten free flour

You can also use golden syrup, rice syrup, treacle, malt  or honey or brown or white sugar to dissolve in your liquid before you put the yeast in for added variety.  Use this recipe as a starting point and you will quickly see  what you can put into your bread is limitless.

Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day




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Carrot, Pineapple and Raisin Salad

Posted by admin on October 6th, 2010

Super fast quick and easy to make salad that is healthy and delicious and is also good to take for lunches as a salad or to fill a bread roll or Pita pocket  for a quick healthy lunch on the run.

  • Two large carrots – grated
  • Handful of raisins
  • 1/2 a tin of pineapple pieces (drained)  or use fresh if available
  • Sprinkling of cold pressed olive oil
  • Juice of one orange (lemon is fine too if you prefer more tart taste)
  • Seasoning to taste – salt and pepper, gomasio or your choice of seasoning
  • Combine all ingredients
  • Stir through and let stand for at least half an hour – better longer
  • Garnish with finely chopped Italian parsley or chopped chives
  • Extra delicious with pine nuts added

We make this often and its great with cold meats, or a crusty loaf and green salad and optional  extras can be added  like cashew nuts or  swapping  the pineapple for orange segments or exchanging  the orange juice for pineapple juice.  Use this recipe for a starting point and be experimental and see how many favorites you can come up with.

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Mussels a la River Valley Cafe

Posted by admin on September 11th, 2010

This is one of our favorite and most scrummy mussel recipes

Secret up until now :)

Just make sure you have lots of delicious, crusty French bread to soak up the Mussel broth left over !

Ingredients:

  • Enough mussels for all your guest – naturally New Zealand green lipped ( large!) Mussels are preferable
  • Lots of chopped Garlic
  • Butter
  • White Wine
  • Lots of ground black pepper
  • Crusty French – or sourdough bread
  • Extras like chilli, coriander, capsicum,
  • cream or coconut cream

How to

  • De-beard and wash mussels
  • Heat butter in a heavy pan ( one that has a close fitting lid
  • Add garlic and fry until you get that delicious aroma
  • Add Chilli & capsicum
  • Toss in mussels with a BIG splash of white wine
  • Put lid on and give the pot a few shakes, check for any open mussels and discard these
  • Remove to a warm bowl or to the table
  • Stir cream or coconut milk into remaining juice, pour over mussels
  • Serve with bread – lots of it

Best eaten with good friends on a sunny deck or by the beach and a glass of wine

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Fennel Broccoli and Sausage Pasta Recipe By Leah Quinn

Posted by admin on August 23rd, 2010

healthy urban kitchen logo nutrition expertise and cooking tips for vibrant health and fat loss

Fun loving pasta eaters, rejoice! The fennel, garlic and broccoli go very well with sliced sauteed sausage and freshly grated parmesan cheese along with the crumbled goat cheese – ciao bella! Quick and easy meal to help sneak in some veggies to unsuspecting teenagers and hubbys everywhere!

Ingredients:

2 or 3 each hot and sweet sausage links, semi-frozen

  • 2 small crowns of fresh broccoli
  • 3-6 cloves of fresh garlic
  • 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
  • 1 or 2 bulbs fennel with their fawns
  • Olive Oil
  • Large pot of boiling water for pasta – try rotitini or penne
  • One large deep skillet, enough that when after cooking sausages and veggies, you can also throw pasta in.
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
  • A couple shakes of dried red pepper flakes
  • Freshly cracked pepper
  • Salt

Directions:

  1. Put pot on to boil for pasta
  2. Take out sausage from freezer, and slice links into 1/3 inch slices
  3. Put skillet onto stove, add small drizzle of olive oil and put sliced sausages in.
  4. Add red chili flakes and fresh cracked pepper – the heat from the skillet opens up their flavors.
  5. While the sausage cooks, mince up garlic and set aside.
  6. Rinse and break apart broccoli into small bite size pieces and set aside.
  7. Cut off frawns from fennel, and with the remaining bulb, slice thin and break apart to resemble onion slices. Set aside frawns for now.
  8. Once water has started to boil, add good amount of salt to water and a bit of olive oil.
  9. To cooking sausage slices, add sliced fennel and broccoli to skillet.
  10. Continue cooking broccoli, sausages and fennel allowing the fennel to caramelize along with sliced sausages.
  11. Mince up two tablespoons fawns from the fennel and grate up your cheese.
  12. Drain pasta when just al dente, but try and reserve up to 1 cup of pasta water.
  13. Add drained cooked pasta to deep skillet and add freshly minced garlic to the mix.
  14. Add 1/2 of the cheese and up to 1/2 cup pasta water and stir till all are combined. Continue cooking for one to 4 minutes. Add crumbled goat cheese.
  15. Serve up on plates, sprinkle a little of the minced fennel frawns and extra grated cheese. Ciao Bella! Mangia Mangia pronto!

This is one of those great tasting easy dishes, and the goat cheese once is melts creates a similar feel in your mouth to alfredo sauce but without a lot of the naughty added fat.

Leah Quinn, a multi-media artist and writer whose work specializes on food, health, feng shui, and self-improvement. leahquinn.com

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Top 10 Healthy Snacks You Can Eat to Get Weight Loss Fast By George Mike

Posted by admin on August 19th, 2010

If you want to lose weight more efficiently, you need to eat more to get it done. You may not believe it because it disagrees with the whole concept of dieting, but it really work. The truth is you need to eat more of the good food.

The sizes of the food you eat depend on your total daily calorie allowance. You may stock your metabolism by eating a snack or small meal around every 3 hours. In a day you may eat up to 5 or 6 small meals for instance breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner and evening meal.

It is advisable that snacks should contain between 100 and 200 calories each. You are probably wondering what kind of snacks could possibly contain 100 to 200 calories and at the same time satisfy your taste. You can agree with me that junk food options or any sort of processed snacks can lead to zero nutrition and full of empty calories. You will notice that processed snacks will not satisfy you and it cause a drop in blood sugar levels, which lead to unhealthy food cravings. The only way you can avoid this viscous cycle is to get foods that are naturally low in calories and nutrient dense.

The top 10 Nutrient Rich Snacks are given below:

1. Dried Fruit like prunes, raisins, cranberries, dates and cherries – unsweetened.
2. Popcorn for example unsalted, no butter, margarine or air popped.
3. Veggies such as baby carrots, sugar snap peas, celery sticks and so on.
4. Nuts for instance pine nuts, almonds, cashews, walnuts.
5. Dark Chocolate.
6. String Cheese.
7. Whole grain cracker with Peanut butter or Hummus.
8. Fresh fruit & Berries.
9. Cottage cheese, frozen berries and honey.
10. Smoothie.

Finally, lots of these snacks are great for on-the-go or at your desk at work. Make sure that you develop a very good portion control if you really desire healthy snacks. By the time you have these healthy snacks at your disposal; it will help in avoiding any dietary difficulty.

To get weight loss fast, click here Six Pack Abs.     Article Source: EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Mike

healthy urban kitchen logo nutrition expertise and cooking tips for vibrant health and fat loss

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Vegetarian Snacks – with Avocado

Posted by admin on August 8th, 2010

healthy urban kitchen logo nutrition expertise and cooking tips for vibrant health and fat loss

Avocado with   ….  ?     Everything :) )   Some quick and easy ways to use avocado

Avocado Dip – mash avocado with sweet chilli sauce  and use as a dip for nachos or crackers

  • Avocado  - mashed on toast with freshly ground black pepper and sea salt from a grinder
  • Add a poached egg  topped with sprouts for a more substantial light meal
  • Splash a small amount of lime juice over mashed avocado and sprinkle with Gomasio or pine nuts
  • Add a splash of olive oil, paprika and pistachio nuts to mashed avo’s
  • Top avo dip with sweet chilli sauce with slices of tomato
  • Top Avo dip  with thin slices of cucumber
  • Mashed avocado with crumbled feta cheese sprinkled with chopped chives on cracker biscuits or Crostini
  • Rub Toast or Crostini with crushed garlic before adding Avo topping of your choice
  • Lemon infused olive oil is extra delicious with Avo and lemon zest sprinkled on top

There is a never ending  variety of breads to experiment with as a base – you will find your own favorite but half the fun is trying different combinations.

Remember to use freshly ground salt and pepper to bring out the best flavor

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Quick and Easy Cheese “Crisps”

Posted by admin on August 6th, 2010

The Fastest “Recipe” Ever –   almost embarrassingly easy !

Turn the oven on

Grate Parmesan ( if feeling super lazy then buy it grated !)

Spread small handfuls on a greased  oven tray (or covered with baking paper)

- spread out a wee bit rather than “clump” them up

Bake in moderate oven until nicely browned

Let cool then transfer to cake cooler

These will be crisp and delicious and great to dip into dips, soups, crumble over dishes and salads and is superb  with slices  of pear or apple

Try different cheese to see which one you prefer and experiment with the placement of the cheese “gratings” to get the most pleasing effect.  Best with more holes and less cheesy “dumpings” as they tend to be more crisp.

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Quick Herb Bread

Posted by admin on August 6th, 2010

This bread  is super fast to make and great to take on a picnic, take for lunch or a quick tea dish. It is  best served warm or on the day it is made but can taste equally nice toasted with toppings like you would use for  Crostini.

Ingredients:

2 Cups self raising flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1/4 cup chopped parsley,  (optional – add additional herbs of choice like basil)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup cottage cheese

2 Tablespoons melted butter

1/4 cup milk

1 egg

Grated cheese and paprika

  1. Put flour, salt, and mustard in a bowl and add chopped parsley and onion
  2. Mix cottage cheese and melted butter, add milk and egg and stir into flour mixture to make a soft dough.  Mix with a knife. Turn out onto a floured board and knead lightly
  3. Shape into a 3cm thick round
  4. Place round o a lightly buttered tray and mark it into six.
  5. Sprinkle the top with grated cheese and paprika
  6. Bake at 190 – 200 degrees C for 25 – 30 minutes
  7. Eat Warm

Great with a green salad, egg dishes, soup, and a great bread to experiment with adding different herbs, spices an is even great with grated veggies in it too like zucchini.

Try it, you will find its a favorite

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