Blueberry Yeast Buns (Jagodzianki)

Yeast Blueberry Buns are they healthy or are they not? 

It's a big generational debate whether yeast cakes and buns are good for us. Older generations in Poland consider them healthy. And they have a point - as yeast desserts in Poland are typically low in sugar, partially because yeast grows by consuming sugar and turning it into CO2 that creates the fluffy texture. And partially because we often add fruits that add natural sweetness.  However, these cakes and buns usually contain white four that is not exactly a health food. So I think it is a break-even! 

Ingredients

Makes: 16 buns

Yeast Dough

• 1 tbsp dry yeast
• 250 g milk of choice 
• 50 g sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 200 g flour
• 100 g butter
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract/paste (optional)
• 1 egg yolk (optional)

Blueberry Filling

• 350 g blueberries (both high bush and wold work well), washed
• 25 g potato or corn starch (it helps prevent dense, gluey streaks around fruits)
• 20 g sugar 

Instructions

1. Mix dry yeast with 2 tbsp warm water (37c). Let it sit for 5-10 min until you see foam forming on the top.

2. Warm up milk to about 37c. 

3. In the blender add warmed up milk, yeast, sugar. Blend it up and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

4. Move items to a dough mixing machine or a bowl, add flour, eggs yolks, butter, vanilla extract and mix until it is well combined. 

5. Move the dough mixture to a bowl and cover with a cloth. Let it sit for 60-90 minutes to rise.

6. Heat the over to 200c/400F.

7. On a lightly floured surface place the dough. Divide the mixture into 16 pieces and gently flatten each one out. Cover with a cloth and let them sit for another 20 min.

8. In a meantime, in a separate bowl mix whole blueberries with starch and sugar. Let them sit.

9. Take 16 pieces of the dough, flatten them so you can add about 1tbsp of blueberry filling. Close them like you would empanadas or pierogi and form little rectangles.

10. Prepared buns place on a baking sheet and cover with a cloth. Let them rest for another 30 minutes or until the over is warmed up.

11. Before baking you can brush each bun with egg yolk, if desired.

12. Bake for 17-20 minutes until lightly brown.

13. Let them cool off for about 15 minutes (the filling gets very hot!).

14. Enjoy them as a snack, breakfast, or a dessert.

15. If you tried this recipe - share it and tag @healthywithjoanna

Polish Christmas: Honey Cake (Piernik po Staropolsku)

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #PolishChristmas

Here is the 12th century recipe I found on the internet for the traditional Polish Piernik a while ago. Unfortunately it was years ago and the printed sheet did not have the credentials.
The spice mix I created myself as I was not be able to find anything similar ready to use in Canada.
I have to say that my son absolutely loves this cake; it is his favourite.

Ingredients:

0.5 kg rye flour

250 g all purpose flour

0.5 kg honey

4 eggs

250g sugar

250 g jar of jam (sour cherry, plum, or black currant are best)

250 g butter

3 tbsp unsweetened natural juice (sour cherry, blueberry, plum are best)

1 tbsp very strong coffee

1 tbsp unsweetened cacao powder

2 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp baking soda

2 tbsp lemon and orange peel

0.25 c dried fruits and nuts (optional)

Piernik spice mix 

Piernik spice mix:

10 coriander seeds

5 cloves

1 allspice

0.25 tsp grated nutmeg 

3 poss of cardamom

1 tsp grated cinnamon

0.5 tsp vanilla powder

0.5 inch fresh ginger, grated 

1. Heat half of the sugar, honey and butter in a pan (gas mark 2-2.2); mix occasionally. Let it cool off.

2. Egg yolks mix with remaining sugar for about 5 minutes; add flour, soda, baking powder. Then add honey mix, juice, jam, coffee, cacao, and Piernik spice mix.

Mix well.

3. If desired add finely chopped dried fruits and nuts. 

4. Beat egg whites until stiff. Then fold it into the cake mix.

5. Prepare the baking form by spreading a little bit of butter and flour so the cake does not stick.

Pour the cake mix in.

6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180c for about 60 minutes.

7. Let it cool off before removing from the form.

8. Enjoy!

Healthy Lunch Box Series

Many of the snacks found in kids lunch boxes are packaged snacks, such as chips, pretzels, candy bars, granola bars, and cookies. While some are worse than others, and occasionally you might find something that is not loaded with fats, sugars, and chemicals. 

I want to show that preparing healthy snacks at home is not a rocket science and can become an adventure and lesson in healthy living.

Savoury Chickpea Flour Muffins

Who does not love muffins? Although often they are associated with sweet cakes, they can be a perfect savoury snack. Today's recipe is inspired by my exploration of chickpea flour recipes. While I tried many sweet recipes, I like chickpea four more in savoury dishes.

Chickpea Flour

I love chickpea flour as it is one of the healthiest flours, comprising of 25% protein, 14% fat, and 61% carbs. According to the nutrition data it is a great source of folate, B6, thiamin, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese, and fibre.

 Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups of chickpea four (aka besam flour)

2 tbsp flax, milled and combined with 4 tbsp water

1 tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp baking soda

50g sun-dried tomatoes, socked (reserve water)

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

10 olives, pitted and chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp organo

15 tbsp water from soaking sun-dried tomatoes

Preparation:

1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Add it to the muffin forms, to about 2/3rd of each form.

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 375F (177c) for 25 minutes.

4. Enjoy!

Carrot and apple muffin - vegan and gluten free option

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #muffin #carrot

Today my son asked for muffins. I asked what does he want in his muffin...he said carrots and apples!

So we pulled a big bowl and set my son in his muffin mixing position with a measuring cup in one hand and a spoon in the other.

Ingredients:

1.5 c millet, milled into a flour

0.75 c buckwheat flour 

4 tbsp flax, milled and mixed with 6 tbsp of water and set aside for a few minutes

2 sweet apples

2 medium size carrots

2 handfuls of raisins

0.25 c honey

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1.5 tbsp of cinnamon 

1 tsp vanilla powder

1 tbsp of grape seed oil

1. In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients.

2. Grate carrots and add to the mix. I grated them on the small eye grater.

3. Place cored apples in the blender and blend until you have apple sauce. Add to the bowl.

4. Add flax mix, honey, and oil to the bowl and mix everything well.

5. Add raisins and mix everything together.

6. Place mixture in the muffin forms.

7. Bake in a preheated oven at 177c for 30-35 minutes

8. Enjoy!

Oat bran orange and black cherry muffins

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

Today my son was calling for muffins and he picked the ingredients - orange and cherries. I picked oatbran and vanilla powder. So we whipped up some incredibly good muffins.

Makes 10 muffins.

Ingredients:

1 c oat bran

0.5 c buckwheat

0.5 c all purpose flour

4 tbsp flax, milled

1 tsp vanilla powder

10 frozen cherries 

1 orange, peel and 1 cup orange juice

0.25 c honey

50 g butter, melted 

1 tbsp baking powder

0.5 tsp baking soda 

1. Mix all ingredients, starting with dry ingredients.

2. Bake at 177c for about 30 minutes.

3. Enjoy.

Vegetarian Moussaka

#healthyeating #easyfoodcreationg #vegetarian #moussaka

One of my favourite dishes is moussaka. However, with meat prices, especially lamb, are going through the roof lately. I decided to find an alternative cheaper and healthier option.
I successfully replaced lamb with beans, mushrooms, yellow pepper and tempeh mix.

Ingredients:
2 larger potatoes
1 large eggplant
4 tbsp olive oil
250 g tempeh, cut into smaller chunks
250 g mushrooms
0.5 yellow pepper
150 g mixed beans (I used leftover beans I had on hand - chickpeas, cannelloni, kidney), cooked or canned
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
4 tbsp tomato paste
1tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp allspice
Cheese sauce:
1 egg
0.75 c milk
0.5 c cheese (I used smoked cheddar)


1. Thinly slice potatoes, spread some olive oil and a little bit of salt. Bake at 175c for 12-15 minutes.
2. Slice eggplant into thicker slices, spread some olive oil. Bale at 175c for 10-15 minutes.
3. Boil water; add tempeh. Boil for 2-4 minutes; drain and set aside.
4. In a meantime, chop mushrooms, pepper, onion, garlic.
5. Heat the pan and fry on a medium heat onion and garlic, then add mushroom, pepper. When mushrooms are getting soft add tempeh.
6. In a cup mix tomato paste with 0.5 water and herbs and spices. Add to the pan with vegetables and tempeh; mix well.
7. Arrange baked sliced of potato at the bottom of the baking dish; then add a layer of baked eggplant slices, then add about half of the vegetable mix. Follow by another layer of potatoes and eggplant, and remainder of the vegetable mix. On the to place any left over potatoes and eggplant.
8. Prepare the cheese sauce by blending milk with egg, then mix in the cheese. Pour on the top of the baking dish.
9. Bake at 175c for 40-45 minutes.
10. Serve hot.
11. Enjoy!

Simplicity at its best: Homestyle Cheesecake

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #cheesecake

Here is my favourite cheesecake. It is so simple yet demonstrates beautifully the whole essence of a good cheesecake - cheese!

Ingredients:

500g pressed cottage cheese or quark (look for a very low sodium variety)

7 eggs

0.75c sugar

80g butter

0.5tsp vanilla powder

1tsp baking powder

0.25c flour

A little bit of butter and a mix of 4 biscuits and 2tbspoatbran for the baking pan preparation

1.  Prepare the form by spreading the butter in the baking pan.

Blend biscuits and oatbran, spread evenly in the baking pan.

2. Place all remaining ingredients in a high speed blender and blend for 10 minutes until it is smooth. 

You may need to mix with a spoon occasionally.

3. Baking in preheated oven at 175c for 40 minutes.

Please note that cheesecake collapses after baking, it is normal.

4. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

5. Enjoy!

Artichoke Tart

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

I managed to grab some of the archicokes we bought on the weekend, finally! They vanish super fast in my household. I had the artichoke tart on my mind for quite sometime but usually I waited too long to make it and no artichokes were left to make it.

Ingredients:

Crust

0.75c all purpose flour

0.75c spelt flour (or whole wheat) 

50-100g of butter, depending how buttery you want it. I like it quite buttery.

1 tsp salt

0.5c water

Filling

About 12 Artichoke hearts

0.5 larger onion, thinly sliced

1c Mix of grated cheeses (I used smoked cheddar and Danish blue, about 50-50)

0.5c milk

1 egg

1 tsp rosmary 

Salt, pepper

1. Mix all crust ingredients in the processor its dough mixing bit. It takes about 5-7 minutes. You can melt the butter to s up the process.

2. Roll the dough and place in the baking form. Place in the fridge for about 30 min. 

3. In a meantime sauté onion with a little bit of butter for about 5 min or until it is soft and lightly brown. Add artichokes and cook for further 3 minutes.

4. Bake the tart at 200c for about 5-7 minutes.

5. Mix milk with egg, rosmary, salt and pepper. Then mix in cheeses and add artichokes with onions.

6. Place artichoke mix in the tart pan. 

7. Bake for about 30 min at 200
8. Enjoy!

Muffin time: Oat, Apple, carrot and pumpkin seed

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #muffins

Here is another super easy muffin recipe. This time we throw away flour, eggs, sugar, oil - typical ingredients in baked goods, and replace them with oats, honey, fruits, veggies, butter and spices.

Serves: 10

Ingredients:

2 c oats, grinded into flour

1 carrot, finely grated

1 Apple, corse grated

1/3 lemon, juice only 

100 g honey 

1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp baking soda

0.25-0.5 c butter, melted

Handful of raw pumpkin seeds

1. Mix all ingredients together. Let it stand for a few minutes.

2. Bake in a preheated oven at 177c for about 30-45 min depending how moist were your fruits and veggies.

3. Enjoy!

St. Patrick's cupcakes -Pistachio and Green tea Cupcakes with Avocado Icing

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #stpatricks #vegan

The upcoming St. Patrick's day got me thinking about "green" food and how I can create something new and delicious, and of course at least partially healthy.
I decided to try cupcakes this time, a small change to my usual muffins creations. This recipe will work equally well if you skip the icing so it is up to you.

Serves 7 muffins

Ingredients:
0.5 c all purpose flour
0.5 c oat flour (I grind oats rather than buying oat flour, it is cheaper and does not involve a lot of effort)
2 tbsp flax meal
6-8 tbsp green tea (liquid)
1 tsp green tea leaves, grounded (I used sencha but matcha would work too)
2 cardamon pods, keep seeds only
0.25 c brown sugar
1 packet of vanilla sugar
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 medium size zucchini
25 pistachios
0.25 c melted butter (you can use oil instead, typically I would use grapeseed as a replacement)
pinch of salt
Icing:
0.5 avocado
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water
0.5 ripe banana
1 tbsp icing sugar
(If you want chocolate icing add 1 -2 tsp cocoa powder)

2-3 tsp psyllium husk

1. Grind 20 pistachios, set them aside. Reserve 5 pistachios for decoration.
2. Prepare flax meal - mix it with 5 tbsp of green tea and set aside.
3. Grind zucchini with remaining green tea to a smooth consistency. Set aside.
3. Mix all dry ingredients well. Then add wet ingredients to mix everything well.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 177c for 20 minutes.
5. Let them cool before decorating with icing.
6. Prepare icing by blending avocado, sugar, lemon and banana. Once the mix is smooth add psyllium husk to thicken the mix.
7. Decorate cupcakes with icing, then sprinkle with crushed pistachios.
8. Enjoy!

Polish Christmas: Gingerbread Cookies

#easyfoodcreations #cookies #Polishchristmas

I made gingerbread cookies for the first time this year. I used a recipe that my mom gave me years ago; I believe it came from some Polish cooking magazine she was ordering.

I timed making cookies just right for Christmas, as they develop taste over time. We found that they tasted really good after 3 days; they tasted a little bitter right after baking. They were so good that they were all gone a day before Christmas Eve... nothing left for your guests. But I can promise to make them again next year, probably a larger batch.

Ingredients:

1.5c all purpose flour

4 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1 inch fresh ginger, grated (or 1 tsp ginger powder)

200g melted butter

2 egg yolks

0.5c brown sugar

Pinch of grated nutmeg

Pinch of salt

For icing:

1.5c icing sugar

3 tbsp lemon juice

1-2tbsp water

1. Mix flour, cocoa, ginger, nutmeg, butter, sugar, egg yolks, salt.  

2. Flatten the dough on the parchment paper and put in the fridge for about 1 hour, or 15-20 min in the freezer.

3. Roll the dough to about 3-4 millimetres thick. Cut shapes with cookie cutters.

4. Place in the preheated oven to 175c for 10 minutes.

5. Prepare icing by heating icing sugar with lemon juice, add water as necessary.

6. When cookies cool down, decorate them with icing.

7. Enjoy! Keep in mind they taste best after 3 days resting uncovered in the room temperature. 

Winter time: chicken pie

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #chickenpie

Here is an easy chicken pie with one of my top secret ingredients - Boursin Cheese. I often use Boursin if I need a quick sauce for some veggies and pasta. Minimal effort, maximum taste!

Unprocessed goat cheese works well as an alternative. 

Ingredients:

5 chicken thighs, cut into small pieces

1 medium carrot, grated

6 small potatoes with skin on, cut into small pieces

0.5c peas

1tbsp dried thyme

1 garlic Boursin (or you can use goat cheese with pressed garlic)

2tbsp butter

Crust:

1.5c all purpose flour

8tbsp butter, cut into smaller chunks

5-6tbsp ice cold water

1. Preheat the oven to 220c.

2. To make crust, put all ingredients in the processor and pulse until it start sticking together. Divide into two. Roll one part, fill the pie dish. Place in the fridge for 30 min or so. Roll the other part and place in the fridge.

3.  Melt the butter, add chicken and vegetables. Cook for about 20 minutes. Add Boursin, still well until melted. Cook for another 10 minutes.

4. Take the pie crust out if the fridge. Add the chicken filling. Prepare the top layer of pie crust with your own designs.

5. Bake for 40-50 minutes.

6. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Have a break: Oatmeal banana pumpkin seed muffins

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #muffins

Banana muffins are probably the most popular muffins, yet I find most recipes are using regular flour and tons of sugar which is not necessary when cooking with already very sweet bananas. I decided to make the oatmeal variety with pumpkin seeds. I chose pumpkin seeds as they go so well with honey and oatmeal, which we often add to our morning oatmeal. 

I aimed to make 6 large muffins as more than that is too many for the 3 of us. With the quantities below I produced 7 large muffins.

Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas

1-2 tbsp raw sugar (optional) depends how ripe are the bananas you are using

2 tbsp honey

3-5 tbsp raw pumpkin seeds

1.5 cup traditional oats

1 tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp baking soda

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of vanilla powder

1 egg

1 tbsp butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 177c.

2. Put all ingredients except pumpkin seeds in a blender. Blend for a few minutes until smooth.

3. Mix in pumpkin seeds with a spoon.

4. Scoop muffin dough into muffin forms filling them to about 2/3. 

5. Bake at 177c for 17 minutes.

6. Let them cool.

7. Enjoy!

Island Delight - Coconut Muffins

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #coconut #muffins

Serves: 12 large muffins

Ingredients:

1.5 cup oat flour

2 tbsp oat bran

2 tbsp ground flax

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup coconut milk, unsweetened

0.5 tsp cinnamon 

0.25 cup honey or coconut sugar or brown sugar

1 egg

3 tbsp melted butter

1-2 handfuls of raisins

1. Mix all ingredients together with a spoon

2. Place in large muffin forms

3. Place in a preheated oven at 177c for 25 minutes

4. Enjoy!

Wholesome seed muffins

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #muffins #seeds #vegan

Ingredients:
5 tbsp sunflower seeds (pumpkin would work well too)

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp flax seeds

2 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp poppy seeds

2 tbsp flax meal

0.5 c water

1 c milk (I used coconut milk)

2 tbsp olive oil (you can use butter or coconut oil)

1 c all purpose flour

0.5 c coconut flour

0.75 c oats (I used whole but you can grind them)

5 tbsp honey

2 tbsp baking powder

0.5 tsp Salt

1 lemon, juice and zest

1. Preheat oven to 177c

2. Mix flax with water and let it sit for a few minutes.

3. Mix all wet ingredients

4. Add dry ingredients and mix well

5. Place muffin dough into muffin containers to 2/3 full

6. Bake for 35-40 min

7. Enjoy

Baking Basics: Rye Bread Starter

I did not post any recipes for a while so I have some catching up to do. Over the last few months I have been experimenting with "real" bread making using bread starter. To my surprise I discovered that it is a lot easier than expected. My first starter turned out great except that I needed to wait a little longer than some people claimed in their recipes. I made the starter again based on what I learned what works, how it works, and if something is out of balance how to know that and how to fix it. Today I am going to share with you how to make it by showing pictures day by and explaining what is going on.

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #breadstarter

Rye Bread Starter

DAY 1

0.5c cooked, room temperature water

0.5c dark rye flour (from Bulk Barn)

Place ingredients in a plastic or glass container with a lid (not air tight). For mixing use plastic or wooden spoon. Cover the container with a lid and place near the heater in winter or leave it on the countertop in summer to ferment.

For my first starter I used 1c of each and it took a long time to ferment. Using smaller quantity cut the time significantly. Also each feeding strengthens the starter so it is a lot better faster.

DAY 2
Today we are feeding the starter for the first time. It is best practice to do it at the same time of the day. This allows the starter to have enough time to ferment. This is especially important at the beginning when starter is not very strong. Once it gets stronger you can feed it twice a day; I will explain in the following days when you may want to do that.

At day 2 you will not see any bubbles yet nor you will smell anything - it is too early yet.

1tbsp dark rye flour

Add flour to the starter and mix well using plastic or wooden spoon.

DAY 3
We are anticipating that we will be making a bread within next 2-4 days hence we need a little more starter. We want to wait until we start seeing first bubbles to double the starter. If you do it too early you may lengthen the time required for fermentation.
Today we can see some small bubbles on the surface and it is starting to smell of rotten apples.

2 large tbsp dark rye flour
0.5c cooked, room temperature water

Add ingredients to the starter and mix well using plastic or wooden spoon.
Note: I made a mistake here on purpose to explain how to fix it. The perfect mix should be the same amount of water and flour.

DAY 4
Today we can see more bubbles but some separation of water and flour occurred. This is an indication that our starter is too watery and requires more flour.
The smell of the starter today is a mix of rotten apples and dirty laundry - we are getting close to a perfect starter.

2 large tbsp dark rye flour
Add flour to the starter and mix well using plastic or wooden spoon.








DAY 5
The starter is ready to be used; it is full of bubbled. It looks like a sponge and has a smell of fresh yeast.














Notes:
1. If you are not planning to use your starter within next few days you can store it in the fridge. When it is in the fridge you do not need to feed it. You will need to take it out and feed again 3 days before you want to make your bread.
2. You can keep your starter outside all the time but remember to feed it once a day.
3. If your starter is becoming too strong (too sour) you may want to dilute by:
a)  by adding more flour and water
b) by feeding it twice a day for a couple of days
4. Wait at least half a day after last feed before using the starter. Usually I wait one day when I have a new starter and half a day when starter is more sour.
5. When you are making bread with fresh starter you need to add proportionally more starter (usually I add 5 -6 tbsp). When your starter is older and stronger you will need to add a lot less (at times I use only 2 tbsps).

Good luck in making your starter. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Healthy Treat: Banana and sesame seeds muffins

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #muffins

Serves:12 regular muffins

Ingredients:
0.75c whole wheat flour
0.5c oat flour
1c rolled oats
1 egg
0.75c honey
2t baking powder
0.5t vanilla powder
0.5t cinnamon
0.25t nutmeg
2 overripe bananas
5T sesame seeds, toasted
0.75c coconut milk (or any milk you like)
0.25c olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 200c .
2. Mix all dry ingredients together first.
3. Add all wet ingredients, egg, and mashed bananas. Mix everything well together.
4. Fill muffin pans 0.75 of the way.
5. Bake for 25 minutes.

Fresh bread

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #bread #masterchefaustralia

I watched Master Chef Australia the other day and Chef Matt Preston was demonstrating a very simple bread recipe. The bread looked fantastic so I had to try it.

This recipe is enough to create one loaf of bread. You can use it to make buns as well, just keep in mind that they need to be baked for 30 min. Do not bake both together as your bread might not come out right if you open the oven before baking time is over.

Ingredients

1.5 t salt

1t dry yeast

500g flour (I used high gluten unbleached white flour; i used bread flour; the other time I used 200g rye flour and 300g white flour and it worked great too. The best result was with hard bread flour but all of them were very comparable)

475ml warm water

Optional - 0.5c Sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds 

1. Mix all ingredients with a spatula.

2. Cover with a clink film and put it in the fridge overnight.

3. In the morning, preheat the oven to 220c.

4. Dust generously a flat baking pan with flour.

5. Mix the dough couple of times and place it on the dusted  baking sheet or pan. 

6. Bake for 40 minutes. 

7. Enjoy!

Simply the best: Pizza with broccoli

This week I found broccoli at a very special price of $1, which is about 1/3 of its usual price. I could not stop myself from buying a whole week supply.
As a result this week I was serving variety of broccoli dishes besides using them as a side dish.

Today I am going to share with you my not so secret pizza recipe that is super easy to make. Another benefit is that and you end up with 6 pizza dough supplies, which for  us is approximately two months worth of supplies of quick and delicious dinners. When I tried to make this dough for the first time, about a year ago, I was amazed how good it was. In opinion of several people who tried it, it is of a top pizza restaurant quality. Every time I make it I am never disappointed with the results, it is consistently good and is definitely the best pizza dough I ever found, and I tried quite a few over the years.

The pizza dough recipe comes from the book "The Bread Maker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart. Overall it is a great book that explain principles of break making. You can find the book on Amazon; it is well worth having it in your cookbook collection.

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #pizza

Pizza dough (makes 6 pizzas):
4.5 c unbleached white flour (I used 2c white floor and 2.5c whole wheat and it worked well too)
1.75t salt
1t instant yeast
0.25c olive oil
1.75c water

1. Work the dough for about 15 minutes until it is very smooth.
2. Divide the dough into 6 even pieces, roll them into balls and put them into plastic bags coated with olive oil. You can freeze them for future use.
3. If you saved one portion put it in the fridge for a few hours. If you are using frozen one, defrost it in the fridge for 2 days before use.
4. Preheat oven to the maximum temperature.
5. Sprinkle some cornmeal or semolina on the pan or mat you are going to bake you pizza and roll your pizza with your hands until flat.

Tomato sauce
1c fresh tomatoes chopped (I often use 1 small can of  tomato paste, or canned tomatoes)
0.5 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crashed and chopped
1 T oregano
0.5t basil
some butter for frying onion and garlic

1. Saute onion and garlic with some butter, for a few minutes.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Cook for about 15-20 minutes at a medium low heat (gas mark 2.8-3), stirring occasionally.

Usually I set the oven to preheat to the maximum temperature and in a meantime prepare the sauce and chop all the vegetables I am using on my pizza.
Right before the oven reaches the desired temperature I take my pizza dough from the fridge and shape it into pizza pie with my hands. Then spread generous portion of the tomato sauce, and put toppings on top. For toppings this time I used: spinach leaves, tomatoes, yellow pepper, broccoli, and cheese.

1. Put assembled pizza in the oven for 15 minutes and immediately lower the heat to 177c.
I bake my pizza on the non stick mat that I place on the pizza stone (the mat works really well as it is easy to transfer pizza to a pizza plate after baking since it cools off really fast).
2. Enjoy!

Have a Break: Beet rice cookies served with rhubarb and apples compote

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Serves 8

Ingredients:
Cookies
1 c rice flour
1/4 c almond meal
1 whole egg
1 medium raw beet, chopped
50 g butter, soften
2 T rhubarb and apple compote juice or water

Rhubarb and Apples compote
1 rhubarb, chopped
2 large sweet apples, peeled and deseeded, chopped
1-2 T lemon juice
cinnamon
nutmeg
cardamom (optional)
4 cloves
3 c water

1. Prepare compote - place all ingredients in a pot and cook on a medium heat for about 1 hour or until apples are soft.
2. In a blender place rice flour, almond meal, egg, beet, butter. Mix until blended well and all ingredients are wet. May need to add water or compote to achieve right consistency.
3. Preheat oven to 165 c.
4. Form balls of a size of larger nuts and place them on a baking sheet or pan. You may need to add some rice flour if mixture is too wet. Flatten them with your palm and create an indent with a fork.
5. Bake for 15 minutes.