herbaceous eggplant pizza

Herbaceous Eggplant Pizza

There comes a time when food from the garden finally comes in and you feel the need to get creative with your harvest. This recipe stems from that. I needed to use eggplant and tomatoes before they went bad, so I naturally did what any red-blooded American living in the south would do. I made a fancy vegetarian pizza. This, like any recipe that involves fresh dough, can take a while. I tend to do these types of recipes when I plan ahead of time. That way I have some dough prepped ahead of time for a variety of applications.
( I don't have a picture for this one, but trust me, its good)

Ingredients:
Dough:
see basic pizza dough recipe.
1/2 tsp. of garlic powder
2 tsp. of dried basil or Italian herbs mix

Toppings:
1 small to medium eggplant
1 -2 large tomatoes
1 large onion
2/3 cup of shredded cheese
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
2 TBS. of olive oil
1/2 tsp. of basil
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/8 cup of water
1/3 tsp. of white vinegar
3-4 TBS of za'ahtar
1/2 cup of finely chopped basil or 1 package or McCormick's bruschetta spice mix
1/2 tsp of cane sugar
1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes

Following the previously stated dough instructions, prepare the dough. Place the dough in the fridge or freezer for 20-30 minutes to rest. While its cooling start on the veggies. Grilling the eggplant brings out the best flavor but its messier and can be time consuming. A good alternative is to sauté it on the stovetop. Slice the eggplant, skin on, in thin slices. Dice the onion as well. Warm up the pan to medium high heat, and place the eggplant and onion in it. Allow the onion and eggplant soften up for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Next add the olive oil, stirring so that the oil evenly coats the veggies. After another 5-8 minutes, add 1/4 cup of water to the pan, and check the veggies. Once the water is absorbed or evaporated add the garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Let it continue to cook for a few more minutes, then shut off the heat.

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out as thin as possible without tearing it or making it unsuitable for transfer to the oven.

Mix all of the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl and pour 3/4 of the contents onto the pizza, spreading it out evenly. Add the veggies from the pan and diced tomatoes to the pizza. Sprinkle the cheese on top and then gently sprinkle the remaining sauce on top.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and if the pizza was rolled thin it should be done in 15-18 minutes with a crispy texture.

Eat and enjoy!!

a basic pizza recipe

The story: The recipe for this one goes back a ways actually. Some time ago, three or four perhaps, I discovered this really simple pizza dough recipe. It truly is easy. I began to experiment with the recipe in various ways, ranging from my extremely well received bread sticks, to my messy but tasty calzones. I even use this recipe as a base for a garlic and za'ahtar loaf. Anyhow the dough takes a while to rise, despite its simplicity, but its totally worth it. I've never had a complaint with this dough. Despite all of my experimentations the original intent of the dough is one of the best, so here we go.

the dish: pizza
dough:
5 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
2 packets of yeast
2 cups of water
Pizza toppings:
8-9 oz. of mozzarella
1/4 cup of Asiago cheese
1 large tomato
1/2 cup of red onion
1/2 cup of white mushrooms
1/4 cup of pineapple
1/3 cup of frozen spinach
1/4-1/2 cup of Di'Nicolla spicy marinara sauce
salt, pepper, and Italian spices to taste

The dough is the only part of this dish that requires much attention or thought. Take all of dry ingredients for the dough and mix them in a large bowl. You may want to proof the yeast before you mix it in, but its not really that necessary. Slowly add the water to the bowl, mixing until all of the water is in it. Now you kneed it. It may seem like the dough is a bit dry but if you keep kneading it, you will see that it works out just fine. If it doesn't seem right to you, which might happen due to ambient humidity or temperature, just add more water or flour till you're satisfied with it. After you've worked the dough for 10-12 minutes, spray the bowl and the dough with a little oil. Cover it with a wet cloth or paper towel, and let it sit in a warm place for 1 hour. After this hour, punch it down, and let it sit for another hour. After that hour, punch it down again and place it plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This will make the dough much easier to work with when its time to roll it out. When its time to roll it out, cut it into two separate pieces. This recipe makes two pizzas, or I guess one pretty big pie. Roll the dough out as thin as you can, even if it may seem a bit thin it will rise in the oven nicely. Place the rolled out dough onto a oiled baking pan. Now all you have to put on the sauce, veggies, and cheese. The only thing that you might want to do that is different, is only half defrost the spinach in a microwave. The extra moisture from the spinach will make the pizza quite delectable. Place in a preheated 450 degree oven for 20 or so minutes.

Eat and enjoy!

Mexican pizza, or the case of the spicy pancakes

The story: This recipe is a variation of an old stand by of mine, beans and rice. Unlike some versions of the dish, which tend to be just what it sounds like, my beans and rice tend to be a bit more complicated. I spend a couple of years cooking this every so often and by this point I think I've worked it out pretty well. This particular variation was more of a spur of the moment, saw an ingredient I liked at the store, kind of thing. The Mexican pizza variation was my first attempt at this and it's likely that I'll come back later and alter this blog with the little things that will make it a better dish.


The dish: Mexican pizza

1 can of black beans
1 medium Spanish onion
1-2 plum tomatoes
1 medium carrot
1/2 pound package of frozen spinach
3-4 dashes of red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp of fresh or powdered garlic
3-5 slices of Cheddar cheese or equal amount of shredded cheese
bottled jalapeño slices optional but good

1 package of corn tortillas
1 cup of white or yellow rice


As always the first thing to start with is the water boiling. In case you don't make rice very often its 2 cups of water to the one cup of rice. While you're waiting for the rice, heat up a good sized pan sprayed with oil. When the oil had reached a high temperature toss in the chopped up onion and let it soften and brown up. After the onion has cooked for 3-4 minutes, mix in the defrosted spinach and stir. While that is cooking, peel the carrot. Once the outer skin is peeled, continue peeling it into the pan. This will make the carrots cook quicker and be more tender. Next comes the beans. Drain most of the liquid in the can, and pour the beans into the pan. Stir the beans, and let them cook. Pour about 1/2 cup or so of water or vegetable broth as well as the vinegar. It helps to smush up some of the beans, the starch from the beans with help thicken the mixture. Lower the heat to a simmer, and let the pan sit for 5-7 minutes.

While the beans are simmering, take the corn tortillas and lightly spray them with oil. Lightly toast them in the oven or in a toaster oven. Layer the tortillas, beans, and rice. Then place the cheese on top and let it melt. A little hot sauce and a dollop of sour cream and Viola!

Eat and enjoy!