Pizza Thursday Gets Deep

Summer is ending. Wah wah, fo sho. I start a summer seminar of sorts on Monday. It lasts a week and it is basically a prep course for teaching first-year composition. Then school starts the following Monday. I am not ready to take graduate courses or to teach freshmen, but I cannot really hit pause. I must suck it up.

Sometimes I eat my emotions. To make sure I don’t eat an entire order of cheesestix from the local pizza joint, I try to have fun with cooking at home and within limits. Well, I was very excited to find a recipe for Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza on Cooking Light‘s site. This is the start of a new tradition. Lars and I have decided to dedicate Thursday evenings to our favorite food: pizza. Each Thursday we will have pizza and most likely try out a new recipe. I hope you like pizza, readers.

What was interesting about this pizza was that it was made in a cast iron skillet. Even though we had problems with the dough, everything turned out fantastic. The recipe calls for mushrooms and Italian turkey sausage, but we used neither. We did use pepperoni. This could easily be a vegetarian dish, especially if jam-packed with veggies. The crust was crunchy on the outside and soft in the inside. The sauce was pretty fantastic, too. There may not be enough cheese for some, but my favorite part of pizza is the crust and sauce anyway. Did you know that I actually took the cheese off of my pizza until about high school? I don’t know why I preferred pizza cheeseless. Anyway, this was a real treat!

Bad Picture, Good Pizza.

For dessert I finally had a whole wheat snickerdoodle cookie with Double-Churned Yogurt Blends vanilla ice cream. This ice cream rocks, first off. Secondly, snickerdoodles and ice cream are a great pairing.

If you could invent an ice cream flavor. What would it be? Mine would be derby pie ice cream, of course.

Ginger Ale, please.

I was so, very sick last night. I was curled up in a ball with horrible abdominal/stomach cramps. It was a roller coaster of pain from 8:30 to 12:30 PM (although I felt slight pain the entire day). Luckily Lars is sweet and ran to the store  to get me medicine and diet ginger ale. I feel much better this morning. Much better.

But let’s start at the beginning. The day (up to the sickness) was a good one, for many reasons.

1. I made whole wheat snickerdoodle cookies.

I found this recipe on Whole Grain Gourmet and I am so glad I did. I thought about my snickerdoodle all day long, paired with a delicious scoop of ice cream for dessert. But, then I got sick. So, I’ll be thinking about this dessert until dessert time tonight.

This recipe made 32 cookies. I only baked 9, and froze the rest of the cinnamon-covered balls on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once the cookie balls froze, I put them in a plastic bag. So when I want a warm snickerdoodle, I just open the freezer door.

2. I made an awesome soup.

My go-to cooking expert, Cooking Light, provided a delicious recipe for Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Pesto. The soup was so hearty and filling. I can see myself eating a lot of this in the winter. Also, it is so easy.

Lars and I used our Multigrain loaves from Schwann's for dipping. Yum.

3. Lars got me flowers.

Lars was gone most of the day doing school work, but when he came back he had flowers.

Well, I am tempted to watch this History Channel special on the 7 Deadly Sins.

Snickerdoodle and ice cream…snickerdoodle and ice cream…

Wine that can make an emo smile…

What up party people? My day has been relatively exciting considering how emo and anti-social I’ve been this summer. I’m like the Daria of food blogging, which I don’t mind. Man, that show should still be on. And, Veronica Mars. And, Party Down. And, Dead Like Me. And, Freaks and Geeks. Focus, Ashley.

Okay, so my mother and I met my father at Patachou. This place is baller. Can a place have the best fruit cup in Indy? Because, they do. It always has more then one piece of pineapple. It was refreshing after my hot Tomato and Artichoke soup. This fruit cup almost replaced the Graveyard of Lost yet Good Television shows that currently takes up most of my mind.

My mother and I spent the afternoon “bonding,” which was demanded by my father (random, right?). My mother and I hit up Crate and Barrel and this wine shop in the mall. Look at my drinking finds!

First, I found this wine called Writer’s Block. I mean, come on! Isn’t this just perfect for a PhD student in English? I almost peed myself in the store. I mean look…writer’s block? That is hilarious. Just the sight of it melts my emo exterior. I may actually smile soon.

I also bought a mini wine glass. I don’t know why I need this, but I wanted it.

Afterwards, I headed to Starbucks with a cookie my mom bought me from the local bakery. It is a butter cream cookie, but I call it “I’m a mother f**king sweet cookie!” cookie. It sort of made my teeth hurt, “but that’s alright, because I like the way it hurts.”

Well, back to skyping with Lars about our new apartment.

Nursing a Sweet Tooth

Thanks for the kind words about the dentist. I don’t know what hurt more: the tooth or the hole in my bank account.

I was driving back to Ohio, and I thought I’d take a drink. Mouth still numb. Wet Lap. I got home around 2 and at that point I had only eaten a bowl of fruit. I ran inside, threw my stuff down, and searched for food. I found an Amy’s Spinach personal pizza in the freezer. I really enjoyed this, but I wish it had more tomato action. I love tomatoes.

I also had 3 tiny pieces of a dark chocolate bar I bought at Target. It is only 55% in Cocoa content. I usually like it very very very dark. I loved this bar, though. Inside it had dried raspberries  that had this sweet crunch to them. I cannot wait until I break off my next piece.

In an attempt to use up the food in my apartment before I move, I utilized the big pile of spinach in my fridge for dinner. I made a salad with grilled chicken and Annie’s Gingerly Vinaigrette. I was also able to use the random mandarin oranges in my cabinet. Fruits in green salads rocks.

The real highlight of my evening was dessert. I took one of my Oatmeal/Molasses cookies and crumbled it on top of vanilla bean ice cream. Yum! I still have more ice cream to eat before the move, boo. And, I still have that other derby pie to eat.

Whew, what a day! I need a cup of tea and an early bed time. I have a day full of baking (get ready for some serious cookie action), cleaning, and packing. Ew. And, I have to deal with switching over to a new insurance plan. Don’t you hate making phone calls? I do, especially when it concerns money. Boo. Maybe I can just mess with them, like this video:

Hope your hump day wasn’t bumpy!

A Midnight Poaching

So, it is Saturday night. I am finally watching the series finale of Nip/Tuck (that show that ended 2 seasons too late), and I decided to find directions for poaching eggs. Jenna @ Eat, Live, Run had fantastic and easy-to-follow directions. I’m sipping on a glass of wine and bored, so I thought, “I’ll just poach an egg now.” So it is midnight at this point. I have no plan on eating this egg, I just wanted to see if I could do it.

I poached an egg successfully on the first try. After Julie and Julia, I surely thought it would take all night. Maybe Julia hated Julie because she was so dramatic about everything…and because of her haircut. Anyway, I set the egg on the plate, cut it, and it passed the ooze test. Bed time!

Today was pretty relaxing/lazy because I wasn’t feeling too well. My meals are nothing worth exploring in detail, because they were repeats.

Strawberries in Kashi’s Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon Cereal (with milk).

Leftover soup and break sticks alongside a sliced Trader Joe’s chicken sausage.

Afternoon snacks include apple slices, and oatmeal cookie, and an apple cereal bar.

For weeks I have been craving spinach and artichoke dip, so of course I bought it when I spotted it in Trader Joe’s frozen aisle. I had it with dinner alongside pita chips. I also had strawberries, but don’t worry I didn’t dip them in the dip. Ha.

This was supposed to be a special treat, and…it wasn’t that great. To give Trader Joe’s a fair chance, I did built up expectations for this particular moment.

My evening involves a glass of wine, two oatmeal cookies, and Law and Order: Criminal Intent. I’m heading to bed relatively early, because this week is “Get Your Shit Together” Week. Also, who else is excited about Real Housewives: New Jersey or The Bachelorette? Ahhh!

Cleaning-Inspired Cooking

I was so out of it today, again. Then I realized I have been out of it this entire summer, because I haven’t been drinking my morning coffee. Hm, good to know.

For lunch I kept it simple. I sautéed one sliced chicken sausage link in olive oil. It was a delicious Spinach, Fontina, and Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausage from Trader Joe’s. I ate it alongside the Mediterranean CousCous from the Schwann’s man. It was a light, yet filling lunch.

After being all emo for half the day, I finally had coffee. I made half a package of the Starbucks Via Iced. I got a new cup! Well, Carrie from TV and Dinners bought it first, but I loved it too much. I spotted it at Target! Carrie has great cup-taste!

I am moving in early August and I have the daunting task of using all the food in my fridge and cabinets before then. I have a lot of flour and oats, so I made some delicious oatmeal cookies!

I used a great recipe from Whole Grain Gourmet for Healthy Oatmeal Cookies. The recipe uses honey instead of sugar, and molasses. If you like molasses, you will love these. They are darker than the average oatmeal cookie because of the molasses. She also recommended (and I didn’t notice until later) adding more oats. It is your call. I added 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. They are not overpoweringly sweet. I like them!

Oh, and she had a great tip. Spray the measuring cup before you pour the honey, so that the honey pours out of it more easily.

For dinner, I climbed around the cupboards again.

I found a huge 28 oz can of whole tomatoes. Among the many things Andy Warhol and I have in common, the biggest thing is our love for tomato soup. I’ve always bought canned soup, but never again. After researching recipes online and seeing how easy it was, I decided to just make-up my own recipe. I was mostly inspired by Cooking Light. The soup was very good for the first time. I will play around with it more to perfect it.

Tomato and Basil Soup

• 1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup of organic free range chicken broth
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh copped basil
• a sprinkling of dry basil (I was worried I wouldn’t have enough basil)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp olive oil

I opened the can and stabbed the crap out of the tomatoes and put it aside. I sautéed the minced garlic in the olive oil for about 30 seconds on medium heat. I then added the tomatoes, broth, salt, pepper, and dried basil and brought it to a boil. I reduced the heat and let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes. Then I mixed in the fresh basil. I put the mixture into the blinder and pureed it until smooth. Then it was ready.

I served it with an adaptation of my mother’s easy bread stick recipe.

Whole Wheat Breads Sticks

• 1/2 package of Trader Joe’s Refrigerated Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
• butter
• garlic powder or salt
• grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 425. I rolled out the dough into a circle (as if I was about to make pizza) after I let it do it’s rising/whatever thing (while I worked on the soup).  I baked it for 10 minutes. I immediately but the baked dough on a baking rack. I microwaved some butter for about 30 seconds, and then stirred in some garlic powder. I brushed it onto the dough (while it was still hot). I then immediately sprinkled the grated Parmesan on to the bread. After it cooled, I sliced it into strips.

Yum, yum. What a day of kitchen adventures. I’m actually having fun cleaning out my kitchen before the move. It is surprisingly inpsiring!

I have a date with the Lifetime movie My Stepson, My Lover starring Rachel Ward. You don’t know who Rachel Ward is? Um, The Thorn Birds: only the best mini-series ever!

Do you have any entertainment-related (music, movies, tv, etc.) guilty pleasures?

Has anyone been watching Top Chef?

1. I hate that one girl that tried to get school children drunk. She has a face I’d like to punch.

2. Stop complaining Top Chef contestants! My Top Chef would know how to make a damn pie! The punch-face girl (see #1) was like “I hope it is okay for not being a pastry chef” and the guest judge said “So what? My grandma isn’t a pastry chef and she knows how to make a pie.” Snap!

Local Food Finds

Hello friends. What a relaxing, yet unproductive day. Anna from Newly Wed Newly Veg informed me of this eatery in town: Jane’s Gourmet Deli. So, when Lars came home, I took him out to lunch. Anna was right; it was so delicious.

We walked in and I instantly fell in love, because it had a wall full of wine. It had such a cute gourmet food and wine shop! Lars and I decided to eat outside. I apologize for the pictures, we sat on a shady patio.

I ordered the Panini Rustica which was a hot sandwich with mozzarella, tomato, spring greens, and pesto. I was allowed two sides, so I chose a side salad and a chocolate crinkle cookie. The salad dressing list was great; I chose the Cabernet Sauvignon Vinaigrette. Um, a wine salad dressing? Yes, please. I was nice enough to share my cookie with Lars.

Lars ordered the Tuna Melt Panini with a side of potato salad and Creamy Chickpea soup. The soup was surely the highlight, it tasted like queso. I helped him eat that, because I am so nice.

After lunch, I decided to read at Starbucks. I got a grande iced coffee and a dried apple snack pack.

Then, I went to the Farmers Market! I bought some blueberries (from Delphi, IN and home of my grandma) for breakfast smoothies tomorrow, and grape tomatoes for our pasta tonight! Yippee for keeping it local!

I’m currently watching The Bachelorette. I love this drama!

What is your favorite Farmers Market find EVER?

AHHHH! Speed Post

Hey friends. I wanted to blog real quick about my afternoon/evening/night yesterday. I have had such a busy weekend helping my family send off my brother. I have so much blog reading to catch up on. I look forward to reading your blogs this evening! Love doing it, though!

For lunch I was excited to use my gluten-free pizza crust I got from the Farmers Market. It was delicious. It was rustic and crunchy. Yum. I wanted to give a shout-out to the creators of this awesome pizza crust: The Measuring Cup Gluten-Free Bake Shop. If you are in the Indy area, check it out.

I topped the pizza with Trader Joe’s pizza sauce (a decent buy), mozzarella, fresh basil, garlic, and olive oil. So good!

In the afternoon I wanted some alone time, so I went to Starbucks to read. I got a grande iced coffee and snacked on some fresh mango. 

For dinner we went to a local burger joint called Bub’s. I decided to try the Elk burger. I was nervous so I had a beer and covered the burger with lots of mustard and ketchup. I wasn’t a fan, but I’m also afraid I should have asked for it to be more done. I only ate 1/2.

When I got home I made myself a snack plate with fresh mango slices and one of my cut-out cookies.

Well I need to workout and make breakfast for my family Ahh! So much to do. Talk to y’all later! Have a great Sunday!

“Make him wait to eat your cake”

What  a relaxing day! I have to drive back to Indy, which takes about 1.5 hours, and it is always nice to relax before driving again. Sick of driving! While Lars taught his technical writing class, I went to a local coffee shop on campus and read more of Hanne Blank’s Virgin and read blogs. I also snacked on my last flourless peanut butter cookie and my last triple-berry cinnamon muffin. I’ll have to make more ASAP.

After his class, Lars and I hit up the local Mexican restaurant where they make their own tortillas (which makes all the difference). I got two shredded beef tacos with light cheese, lettuce, and pico de gallo. Mouth-watering goodness! I only was able to finish 1.5.

Oh, and guess what? I used to be a hardcore soccer player back in the day; almost went on to play in college. My high school has an alumni game on July 6th and I may play. I better start getting in shape NOW. Ahhh!

I found this witty article in the food section of the Huffington Post by Briana Rognlin: “Never Bake on a First Date.” It is really funny! Here is quote to entice you:

Whatever you do in bed, whatever gifts you give, whatever four-letter words you exchange, don’t be a fool in love or in the kitchen. Make him wait to eat your cake.

What is something you’ve baked for love?