Last year I forgot to write up the ingredient ratios for salsa. It was a really tasty batch too. This year, my local produce market had vine tomatoes on sale for $0.69/lb. I haven't seen prices like that since the early 2000s in southern California. Plus, Kerr jars were on sale as well and I picked up five cases of jars. Crazy huh?
The only thing I remember from last year's ratio was that I had more tomatoes than jalapenos which was my primary deviation from Harold Shifflett's video recipe. I also halved the salt.
Also last year, I made salsa with roasted hatch chilies. It was so tasty that it never got to the canning process. I ate it all. Whoops.
Batch #1 yield: 5 pints, one half-pint
No Knead Pizza Dough
This dough recipe comes from Jim Lahey's book My Pizza. It wasn't until the second ball of dough that I decided to take some pics and write up this recipe post. I am also still lacking basic materials to make pizza; but I have some great workarounds. No pizza stone? No problem. Use the reverse side of a heavy baking sheet as your "stone" surface. It won't take the open flame of the broiler, but that's okay because we're not using the broiler either. Pizza dough is extremely cheap and easy to make.
This batch makes 4 pizzas; each dough ball can be shaped into a 10" round.
Ingredients
500 grams (by weight) all purpose flour
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 c filtered water
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and yeast. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and stir to combine. Cover with a plate and set the bowl in a warm place in the kitchen.
18 hours later....
Dump dough out onto a floured surface. Shape into a large boule and divide into four equal portions. With each ball, flatten the ball with the palm of your hand, then fold each side to the center, one fold at a time. Gather the pleats at the bottom and gently roll into a ball shape. Dump each folded ball into a sealable plastic bag and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
For each pizza, start by putting one of the dough balls onto a floured surface. Use your knuckles to gently stretch out the dough into a 6" to 8". I have not been able to make a circle and the farthest I got was 10" by 8" rectangle.
Top with basic pizza sauce so that the sauce is within 3/4" of the edge of the dough. Add whatever ingredients you want on top.
Tomato Pie
After topping with basic pizza sauce, add fresh oregano leaves. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 F.
Margarita Pizza
2-4 oz fresh mozzarella, divided into blobs and scattered evenly on top of the dough
5 fresh basil leaves, to put on the pizza after it comes out of the oven
(optional) 1/4 c fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
Bake for 15 minutes at 400 F.
At 20 minutes (too long!), the mozz turns from melted to marshmallow burned (dark, crusty golden brown). But, the pizza crust has a crispy texture.
This batch makes 4 pizzas; each dough ball can be shaped into a 10" round.
 |
| No Knead Pizza Dough & a simple pizza |
500 grams (by weight) all purpose flour
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 c filtered water
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and yeast. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and stir to combine. Cover with a plate and set the bowl in a warm place in the kitchen.
18 hours later....
Dump dough out onto a floured surface. Shape into a large boule and divide into four equal portions. With each ball, flatten the ball with the palm of your hand, then fold each side to the center, one fold at a time. Gather the pleats at the bottom and gently roll into a ball shape. Dump each folded ball into a sealable plastic bag and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
For each pizza, start by putting one of the dough balls onto a floured surface. Use your knuckles to gently stretch out the dough into a 6" to 8". I have not been able to make a circle and the farthest I got was 10" by 8" rectangle.
Top with basic pizza sauce so that the sauce is within 3/4" of the edge of the dough. Add whatever ingredients you want on top.
Tomato Pie
After topping with basic pizza sauce, add fresh oregano leaves. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 F.
Margarita Pizza
2-4 oz fresh mozzarella, divided into blobs and scattered evenly on top of the dough
5 fresh basil leaves, to put on the pizza after it comes out of the oven
(optional) 1/4 c fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
Bake for 15 minutes at 400 F.
At 20 minutes (too long!), the mozz turns from melted to marshmallow burned (dark, crusty golden brown). But, the pizza crust has a crispy texture.
AB Guacamole
Despite how "healthy" avocados are, they are still a luxury good in my basket and I usually eat them raw with a dash of soy sauce when I do have them in stock. One batch of guacamole costs about the same as what it would at the grocery store; and the reason why I never buy it from the store is because guacamole is always laced with onions. The avocados make guacamole plenty green, so really there is no need to add cilantro, unless you like added greens to an already green dip.
This ratio is adapted from Alton Brown's take on guacamole, except it lacks onions and cilantro:
Ingredients
3 ripe avocados, pits removed
2 ripe red tomatoes, cores and seeds removed, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 green jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/2 tsp each: kosher salt, ground cumin, cayenne pepper
2 tbsp lime juice
Directions
1. In a large bowl, scoop out avocado pulp and mix with lime juice.
2. Add salt and spices. Mash together until avocado is all mashed up.
3. Add jalapeno and tomato. Fold into avocado mixture until well combined.
4. Let sit at room temperature for an hour before serving.
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| Guacamole Ingredients |
Ingredients
3 ripe avocados, pits removed
2 ripe red tomatoes, cores and seeds removed, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 green jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/2 tsp each: kosher salt, ground cumin, cayenne pepper
2 tbsp lime juice
Directions
1. In a large bowl, scoop out avocado pulp and mix with lime juice.
2. Add salt and spices. Mash together until avocado is all mashed up.
3. Add jalapeno and tomato. Fold into avocado mixture until well combined.
4. Let sit at room temperature for an hour before serving.
 |
| Guacamole: Ready to Eat! |
Basic Tomato Sauce (for pizza)
This recipe goes with the no knead pizza dough recipe. It is so basic that you wonder why it exists at all as a recipe. This comes from Jim Lahey's book My Pizza. At the time I made the sauce, I didn't have fresh tomatoes on hand.
Ingredients
One 15 oz can of organic diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Using your hands squish the tomatoes together. Squish! Squish!
Stir in salt and olive oil. Set aside until ready to use.
Ingredients
One 15 oz can of organic diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Using your hands squish the tomatoes together. Squish! Squish!
Stir in salt and olive oil. Set aside until ready to use.
Blueberry Lemon Bread
Cloudy weather is perfect for sipping hot tea. What makes this even better? A slice of cake. I'm not sure what the difference is between cake and this particular recipe other than the lack of frosting. I feel like I should eat another slice, but I will finish writing this post.
I am down to my last quart of frozen blueberries; picked last summer at Majestic Farms. Fortunately, blueberry picking season is just around the corner. The berries themselves are very sweet and I could have reduced the sugar in the recipe. If you are using frozen berries, thaw them in a measuring cup. 1.5 cups of frozen berries turns into 1 cup of thawed berries. Alas, onto the recipe..
Ingredients
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 c organic granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 eggs
1/2 c almond milk (or regular cow's milk)
zest of one lemon
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c fresh or thawed blueberries
Streusel Topping
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp organic granulated sugar
1/3 c all purpose flour
1/4 c (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 F.
1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and lemon zest.
2. Add eggs, milk and butter and stir together until well combined.
3. If you are using thawed blueberries, transfer just the blueberries (not the liquid) to the batter and gently fold it in until all the blueberries are covered.
To make the streusel topping, whirl topping ingredients together in a food processor.
4. Butter a loaf pan and fill with batter. Evenly top the batter with the streusel.
5. Bake for 1 hr and 15 minutes. The topping will be crispy and golden brown.
I am down to my last quart of frozen blueberries; picked last summer at Majestic Farms. Fortunately, blueberry picking season is just around the corner. The berries themselves are very sweet and I could have reduced the sugar in the recipe. If you are using frozen berries, thaw them in a measuring cup. 1.5 cups of frozen berries turns into 1 cup of thawed berries. Alas, onto the recipe..
 |
| A slice of almost perfection: blueberry lemon bread |
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 c organic granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 eggs
1/2 c almond milk (or regular cow's milk)
zest of one lemon
6 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c fresh or thawed blueberries
Streusel Topping
3 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp organic granulated sugar
1/3 c all purpose flour
1/4 c (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 F.
1. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and lemon zest.
2. Add eggs, milk and butter and stir together until well combined.
3. If you are using thawed blueberries, transfer just the blueberries (not the liquid) to the batter and gently fold it in until all the blueberries are covered.
To make the streusel topping, whirl topping ingredients together in a food processor.
4. Butter a loaf pan and fill with batter. Evenly top the batter with the streusel.
5. Bake for 1 hr and 15 minutes. The topping will be crispy and golden brown.
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