Simple Greek-Style Pizza

This is for those with a taste for the strong and beautiful flavors of Greece. I really like this pizza dough recipe. It's one I haven't tried before and the texture turned out perfectly. It comes from these gal's website right here. My one complaint is that it only makes one pizza, which in a family with teenage boys is never enough! Next time I'll try doubling the recipe. I've also made a few alterations to the instructions, including baking at a higher temperature which creates a more authentic Italian crust texture.

Dough:
1 cup warm water
2 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 - 2 cups unbleached flour (I used 2 1/2 cups of unbleached bread flour)

Toppings:
Olive oil
Dried & ground herbs (your choice)
Feta cheese with tomato and basil
Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise
Fresh Tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Preheat the oven with pizza stone to 525ºF
Add yeast to warm water with a pinch of sugar until it bubbles. Add remaining ingredients with the first cup of flour and mix for at least a minute. Add more flour until the dough forms a smooth, soft ball, not too sticky, but not firm. Allow dough to rise until double. Stretch or roll dough to form a medium size pizza. Place on a pizza peel (or baking sheet) and brush with olive oil, then sprinkle with your favorite dried and ground herbs. Top with remaining ingredients. Slide onto stone (or keep on baking sheet). Bake, watching closely, until pizza dough it done.

Tangy Chicken Lettuce Wraps

The flavors in this heart-healthy chicken salad are addicting. This recipe is adapted from several other similar recipes I've seen on the internet, and similar to one from the Sonoma Diet.

4 cups of cooked, shredded chicken
15 oz roast peppers (either roasted at home or from a jar)
6 oz marinaded artichoke hearts
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup chopped almonds
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Combine all the above ingredients, chill in the refrigerator for several hours, wrap in dark green lettuce leaves and eat!

Roast Green Beans with Goat Cheese, Olives & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

This is a heavenly side-dish. It comes from the Sonoma Diet. The roasted green beans taste so sweet in contrast to the tart feta cheese, kalamata olives and sun-dried tomatoes.

1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and quartered lengthwise
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 450F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place beans on prepared baking sheet.

2. Drizzle the beans with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper; toss gently to coat. Spread the beans in an even layer. Roast for 10 minutes.

3. Stir beans. Roast about 15 - 20 minutes more or until beans are dark golden brown in spots and have started to shrivel.

4. In a large bowl combine dried tomatoes, pitted kalamata olives, fresh oregano and lemon juice. Add roasted green beans; toss gently to coat. To serve, sprinkle with 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese or feta cheese.

Adara's Pad Thai

My Daughter worked for the summer in Thailand in a refugee orphanage for ISV. While she was there she took a cooking class with Asian Scenic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai. I am the one who was privileged to eat the dish in the photo... and it was fabulous! Absolutely delicious.

For each serving:
2 tbs cooking oil
5 chunky pieces chopped garlic
several pieces tofu
several pieces sliced chicken breast
1 egg
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
dry rice noodles
1 cup chicken broth
chopped chives (1 inch)
bean sprouts
chopped roasted peanuts
chili powder





You want to prepare and lay out the ingredients in the portions you are going to use. Working quickly, add oil to the wok, then add garlic, chicken & tofu, and cook, stirring, for a few seconds until chicken is almost cooked through. Pour in the egg and scramble. Sprinkle in the sugar. Add the sauces and then the noodles, covering with the chicken broth. Allow the broth to be absorbed by the noodles until noodles are tender. Finally add the bean sprouts and chives, cooking for only a few more seconds. Serve immediately, topped with peanuts and chili powder to taste.







Adara at the Asian Scenic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai:

Whole Wheat Crackers

I'm convinced that I should have been baking crackers all my life. These are so delicious with cheese or alone, and made of all natural ingredients without the additives in store-bought crackers. If you want, you can sprinkle them with course salt before baking, but they taste just fine the way they are.

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 Tblsp Molasses
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg

Mix the salt with the flour. In a another bowl, combine the milk, molasses and oil. Combine wet and dry ingredients until the dough forms a ball. Kneads the dough on a floured surface until it feels soft, but not sticky. Don't overwork the dough.

Line two baking pans with baking parchment or a silicone baking pad. Divide the dough into three pieces and form each into a ball. Roll out each ball separately, using a rolling pin to about 1/8 inch thick. If the dough has not been overworked, this is very easy. If the dough is too elastic, allow it to sit for 15 minutes and come back and try again. (An old bread dough trick)

Make an egg wash with egg. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash. Cut the dough into squares and place on prepared pans. Bake at 350ºF for about 20 - 25 minutes until browned. Allow them to cool (they will become more crispy as they cool).

Dave's Indian Rogan Josh

Dave does a bang-up job adapting Indian dishes and playing with Indian spices. This is a traditional Indian lamb dish with a bit of added flare by Dave. In other words, it's Dave's own recipe and my vote is: delicious.

2 cups plain yogurt
2 tsp cornstarch
3/4 cup cashews
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2 onions, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
2 Tblsp olive oil
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2 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric powder
3 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground cumin seeds
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp Kashmiri pepper
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1 lb of cut up chunks of leg of lamb
20 oz tomatoes, diced
chopped cilantro


Blend yogurt, cornstarch and cashews in food processor and set aside. (Cashews are not traditionally in Rogan Josh, but Dave had a hankering for them anyway!)

In food processor, blend the onions, garlic and ginger. Add this mixture to olive oil in a frying pan and brown over medium-high heat. Add the next six ingredients (spices & salt) and continue frying for 3 -5 minutes. Add lamb and cook until browned. Add tomatoes. Quickly add the yogurt mixture before the tomatoes get too hot! This will keep the yogurt from curdling. Once it is mixed and smooth, bring it to a boil. Cover with a lid, turn heat to low and allow to simmer for 2 hours or until lamb is tender. You may want to uncover for the last 15 minutes to thicken sauce.

Turn off heat and add cilantro to taste. Serve with rice. Use more cilantro as garnish.