Various Recipes

Blue Cornmeal Pizza Crust

Made this yesterday afternoon for the potluck and party for Achieving Sustainable Communities at Emily's. Julia got all flustered when I tried to explain the recipe off the top of my head (and slightly off my head). So here is a more structured go. This is a rough translation of what I made:

Starter
4 cups warm water
2 cups white flour
2 cups cornmeal (blue, or any color, really)
about 1 Tbsp sugar

Stir up thoroughly and allow to rest at least one hour.

Dough
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup cornmeal
1-2 cups whole wheat or white flour
1 Tbsp salt

Stir in, adding wheat/white flour as needed. You may need to add more than this, but you want a soft, sticky dough to make the dough workable into a crust. Turn out on floured counter - feel free to use plenty of flour, white has the most flexibility - and need until even, 5-10 minutes. Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil into the bowl and spread around, toss in dough and coat. Cover bowl and allow to rest at least an hour or until ready to use

Turn out on lightly floured counter, sprinkle with further flour, and press or roll out as much as preferred. The crust bakes well as a thick, crunchy crust, but you can allow to proof before dressing and baking. Pizza will bake in 20-25 minutes on 425 F, but is sensitive to placement and other contents.

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Walnut Pasta Sauce

This is a semi-regular dish, though I define it and spiff it up a little for Zoey who asked for recipes.

1/4 c olive oil
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 an onion, diced
1/2 c halved or coarsely chopped walnuts
1 small tomato, chopped coarsely (easiest with a bread knife, in my experience)
--- Can sub with half a can of tomatoes
About 1/2 c fresh or 2 Tbsp dried herbs (oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme are recommended)
pinch of coarse salt and pepper
Cooked pasta (I always eye how much pasta I want, this would probably be enough for three normal people or two Calebs.)
Romano cheese

Heat oil in a pot, saute garlic and onions for about 30 seconds, toss in walnuts and saute for another minute. Add tomato, herbs, salt, and pepper simultaneously and allow to warm up and the herbs to saturate. Optionally, allow to simmer to saturate dry herbs and cook down (especially with canned tomatoes). Throw in pasta and allow to heat thoroughly, but not to cook anymore. When it is warm and steaming, serve and enjoy. Romano is one of my favorite cheeses and I recommend grating it over top.

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Easy Canned Black Bean Salsa

Salsa is expensive. Canned veggies are pretty cheap. For parties or lazy dinners, I like to make a little salsa to be enjoyed on chips or burritos.

2 Tbsp oil
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or thoroughly chopped

Saute together until tender.

1 large can tomatoes
1/2 can green chiles or jalapeños (to your own taste!)
cayenne pepper (to preference, I use 1/2-1 teaspoons, probably. I just shake it till it looks good)
1 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp oregano, dry
2 Tbsp parsley, dry
1 can black beans, drained

Add all the tomatoes and peppers (the peppers you may want to cook for a while for a different taste), allow to cook down somewhat. Add in the spices, which can be modified as needed (once again, this is more something I throw together) and the drained beans. Stir regularly while it simmers for about ten minutes. This freezes just fine, but three bowls at about this recipe were taken care of at the housewarming party. I have had fun adding a few more veggies here and there and, if you can, use fresh herbs; fresh herbs make everything better. Usually, the canned goods have enough salt so I don't bother with any.

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Egg & Potato Skillet

I made this just the other morning and Tim kept oohing and awing, so it might be worthwhile

1.5 Tbsp butter
1 potato, diced
2 eggs (Go for cage-free local if possible! This is an ethical recommendation.)
1.5 Tbsp dried herbs
Dash of salt
1/4 cup salsa
Shredded cheese added to preference

Saute potato in a pan until beginning to brown. Add eggs and scramble them together before adding salt, herbs and salsa. Allow the salsa to cook down a little, 3-5 minutes. When the potatoes are tender, serve. Dress with cheese as you like.

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The focaccia is a repost, but it is a pretty reliable recipe and thought it might appreciate some more attention. This can be baked as breadsticks or rounds.

Garlic Herb Focaccia

2 cups warm water
2 cups white flour
1-2 Tbsp honey
2+ Tbsp dry yeast

Blend in a large bowl and allow to rest about 30 minutes.

1 & 1/2 cups cornmeal
2 cups wheat flour (I'm using fresh hard red wheat)
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4-1/3 cup dried herbs (thyme, oregano, basil, parsley, black pepper)
four cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp salt

Add ingredients--begin with olive oil and garlic for ease, end with salt to preserve the yeast--and stir until slightly firm. Turn out on floured counter and knead together. The olive oil takes time to absorb, so it ought to remain sticky. Return to the bowl, cover, and allow to rest for at least one hour.

Flour for dusting
Olive oil for greasing
about 1 tsp course salt (optional)

Turn out on floured counter and knead, gradually adding just enough flour to prevent it from sticking. (You can use whichever flour you'd prefer; white for sweeter, wheat for heartier, cornmeal for sweet and slightly textured.) Divide into pieces (three or four loaves, probably), knead further and flatten into white circles or rectangles. Lightly grease baking sheets or pans (I've used round cake pans pretty successfully before), place loaves on sheets, then flip to grease both sides, and allow to rest. After thirty to forty-five minutes, indent the dough slightly and sprinkle in some salt. Let it rest about ten more minutes before baking at 400 F until golden brown, which is something like 30 minutes. Enjoy!