Pizza Dough

Well, here I go with another recipe to share.  This is one I have been using for a couple of years, but I am inspired to share it because it is one of my absolute favorite, fool-proof recipes (which says a lot for a yeast bread!).  Plus, my Mom is currently teaching my youngest brother how to cook and I thought I might convince them to try this recipe since Tim tasted its results when he visited.  


Here is why I love this recipe so much:
1. It takes so little time to make compared to most yeast bread recipes, yet without sacrificing in quality.
2. It uses simple ingredients I usually always have.
3. I can mix up the dough one day and bake it the same day, or the next day, or three weeks later and it works just as well any way!  Has anyone else ever tried to bake frozen homemade yeast dough for rolls or something and come out with a freezer-burned dense brick when it is all thawed and baked?  This has happened to me many times, but NOT with this recipe (granted, these are not rolls).  


Make-Ahead Pizza Dough (adapted from www.finecooking.com)
2 packages active dry yeast
3 cups very warm water
8 cups all-purpose flour (or sometimes, like today, I use half whole wheat/half all-purpose)
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside.  Mix together flour and salt in a mixer bowl (if you have a mixer - I use my Kitchen Aid).  Using a dough hook attachment, add the water/yeast mixture and oil in a steady stream.  Once all of the flour and liquid is mixed together, scrape the soft dough onto a floured surface and knead into a mass, incorporating all the flour and adding more if needed.  No, you do not need to knead the dough at this point. Cut into 8 equal pieces and roll each piece into a tight, smooth ball.

To use immediately:
Let rise about 45 minutes in a warm place (turn your oven on for a few minutes to warm it up, then turn off).

To use tomorrow:
Place dough balls on a baking sheet lined with a floured dishtowel.  Cover with plastic wrap, leaving room to expand.  Let rise in the refrigerator overnight and remove 15 minutes before shaping.

To use later (up to one month for optimum results):
Place dough balls in ziploc bags and freeze.  Transfer to the refrigerator the night before use, OR to the counter 1 1/2 hours prior.

Shaping and Baking
Press each dough ball into a flat cake, generously dusting each with flour.  Roll out until it is your desired thickness, about 9" across.  Add pizza sauce and toppings of your choice.  Bake at 500 degrees F on the lowest oven rack for about 8 minutes or until edges are golden.

Toppings Caleb's way: Start with a base of Tuscan Traditions brand hot spicy red spaghetti sauce, top with mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, bacon, pineapple, and massive amounts of sliced onion, sprinkle Italian seasoning, and (the most important part, he says) generously sprinkle red pepper flakes.

Topping's Elisa's way: Start with a base of homemade alfredo sauce (or ranch dressing), sprinkle garlic powder over the sauce, then add onions, garlic, chicken, fresh diced tomatoes, and green onions.  Top with a very generous sprinkling of additional garlic powder and Italian seasoning.

Harvest Cooking

When the two neighbor boys came to the door with a sack full of fresh-picked fruit from their apple tree, I was thrilled to do some fall cooking to store away for the winter.  Right now I have half of the apples stewing in the crockpot for applesauce, but Sunday I made apple pie filling.  I had never made filling like this ahead of time - I usually just slice fresh apples, toss them with sugar and cinnamon, and pop them into a crust-lined pie dish, but I was pleased with the moist results of this stove-top recipe.

Apple Pie Filling (adapted from allrecipes.com)
18 cups thinly sliced apples
lemon juice
8 cups water
4 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Right off the bat, I refused to peel the apples.  I grew up using an apple-peeler-corer-slicer contraption, which worked well on apples just the right size.  Left to my own devices (aka a knife), I opted to leave the skin on, especially since the apples I was working with were very small and would take a long time to peel.  And, as my Dad would say about potatoes (and I'm sure must be true of apples as well), most of the nutrients are found right in and beneath the skin, so why bother?  For those of you who are wondering, the filling turned out great despite my lack of peeling.  I urge you to do the same and save yourself the work!  

As you slice the apples, toss them in a bowl with lemon juice to keep them from turning brown (although the cinnamon tints the filling brown later, so I'm not sure if it really matters except perhaps the lemon draws out the apple flavor).

Fill a large pot with 8 cups water and heat on the stove.  Combine the sugar, cornstarch, and spices and whisk into the water as it heats.  Bring to a boil and stir constantly while boiling for two minutes.  Add the apples and return to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the apples are tender, about 10-15 minutes.  Cool for 30 minutes.

You can use some of the filling immediately, like I did, and ladle it directly into a pie shell.  I was having difficulty with my pie dough this time, so instead of struggling with the top crust, I packed the dough into a ball, refrigerated it for an hour while I was gone, and used my large-hole grater to shred the dough on top of the pie in German apple pie fashion before dusting with cinnamon sugar and baking as normal.

 The recipe said it would make around five pies, but I used nearly a third of the filling to make one.  It could be that I didn't pack the apples tightly enough when I was measuring, or that I just like to pack my pie shells full of more filling than is normal.  I froze the rest of the filling in two plastic containers.  Once they had frozen solid, I popped the blocks of filling out of the containers and into gallon freezer bags so that I could use the containers for other uses in the meantime.

As a side note, the apple pie recipe I have used in the past makes pies that taste best hot, fresh out of the oven.  This one, however, was even better cold the next day because the filling was so moist.  I'm not sure I'll make them the old way again.  Enjoy!

Signs of Fall

Leaves turning colors

Homemade zucchini bread

The return of scarves and mittens

Cinnamon rolls

Stormy skies

Crocuses?  Yes, a whole row of them recently sprouted in our flowerbeds to our confusion.

Summer Snapshots

Summer for us began June 4^th, 2011.  Not only was it a magnificently glorious, sunny day, but it was the best day of our lives so far as we gathered with over 250 family and friends to commit ourselves to each other before God.

As we drove off from the wedding, we began our honeymoon road trip.  We spent the first night in downtown Seattle at the luxurious, historic Sorrento Hotel after a near-death (not really) experience on the Seattle waterfront involving a horse and a dog the size of a horse (story to be told at a later date).  The next day, we drove a couple hours to the Olympic Peninsula, where we spent three days on Marrowstone Island at the Honeymoon Cabin, a beautifully decorated little house nestled in a gorgeous foresty setting.  The best part was that the kitchen was fully-stocked with generous supplies for us to cook breakfast, bake sweet treats, and grill steaks!  

While on the island, we also enjoyed a 10 mile bike ride, along the way visiting the beach and historic Fort Flagler.  From there, we took the Port Angeles ferry onto foreign soil where we explored Victoria and took another ferry to Mayne Island.  While there, we stayed at the Oceanwood Country Inn and explored the island via moped.  We traveled back to my parents' home and crossed the state two days later to Deer Park.

We welcomed my brother Zach and his friend Andrew for the 4^th of July weekend.  Caleb’s family has organized a God and Country concert for the past thirteen years on 4^th of July, involving their entire family plus dozens of church and community musicians to make up a chorus and orchestra.  Zach and I have driven over to participate in this concert for the past three or four years, so it was different this year to be hosting Zach instead of traveling with him.  We had an old-fashioned picnic at the park during the day, then performed in the evening and watched the town fireworks.

In mid-July, Caleb and I hosted a Backyard Bible Club at our house, assisted by two ladies from our church.  Spread out across town, our church hosted Bible clubs at three locations in different neighborhoods to take VBS to the kids.  Caleb led the games and music while I taught the Bible lesson.  On our highest day of attendance, we had thirteen kids participate and a daily average of about seven.  

Overlapping a few days with the Bible club, my eight-year-old brother Tim got to come visit us for a week by himself.  We had a blast together and the week flew by as we worked in the yard, swam at the pool, and experienced many amusement park rides for the first time at Silverwood Theme Park (thanks to sister-in-law Rebekah for winning free tickets!).  As a hostess gift, Tim brought along some green bean seeds which he planted for us and of which we are still reaping the harvest.

At the end of July, Caleb and I led our church youth group on a mission trip to Rathdrum, Idaho.  We helped with Vacation Bible School, service projects, and a youth outreach event. 

Not long after arriving home from the mission trip, we left town again, this time to help staff Odyssey Children’s Camp.  Caleb headed up the music and recreation portions of camp while I led the 3^rd grade girls Bible study and operated the video projection system.  Although we were exhausted, we had a lot of fun!

August was a month of car searching and job searching. In-between, we enjoyed soaking up summer—fresh corn-on-the-cob, evening bike rides, concerts at the park, church picnic, and young adult group camping trip.  And now it is October!