Favorite Recipes

Pizza Dough

3 1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 pkg (2 1/2 tsp) quick rise yeast

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. salt

1 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)

2 tbsp. olive oil

With a dough hook, mix all dry ingredients until combined.  Add the water and olive oil in a steady stream until combined.  Add more water as needed until the dough is tacky and mix about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a floured surface and make a ball.  Transfer ball to a oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise 2 hours.  Shape into two balls and transfer one to an airtight container in the freezer. (dough will last for 2 months; when ready to use-thaw for 3 hrs on the counter)  Let dough rest on counter for 15 minutes before rolling out into crust.  Transfer to a oiled pan, add toppings and bake at 450 degrees for 9-12 minutes.

*I took the advice of a baker and just added the dry yeast to my other dry ingredients, if you are worried about the yeast not rising, you can add it to the warm water with a pinch of sugar and let stand on the counter for five minutes prior to adding to the recipe

Soba Noodle Salad (via Simply Recipes)

You can make this dish a few hours in advanced, or even the night before and let the soba chill and marinate, just be sure not to add the peanuts, mint and basil until just before serving. It's a nice dish that can make either six large meals, or 12 well portioned sides.

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeño chile pepper, seeded and minced
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• Zest of one lime
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 12 ounces soba noodles
• 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large ripe mango, peeled and chopped into cubes
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts
• Lime wedges for serving (optional)

METHOD

1 Place the rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until the sugar and salt dissolve. Stir in the garlic and jalapeño, and allow to cool. Add the lime juice, lime zest, and sesame oil and mix well.

2 Cook the noodles in salted water, until al dente, according to the package instructions. Drain and then rinse well under cool water. Transfer the noodles to a large bowl and toss with the dressing.

3 Add the mango, bell pepper, basil and mint. Toss and plate. Serve with chopped peanuts sprinkled over the top and lime wedges.

Chicken Palava (African Peanut Stew)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken fillet
• 1 large onion
• 1 large yam
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 2 large garlic cloves
• 2 big, juicy tomatoes
• 1/2 pound fresh spinach
• 2 tbsp (peanut) oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp chili powder (hot)
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 4 tsp brown sugar
• 5 tbsp peanut butter
• 3 cups chicken broth
• handful of fresh cilantro
• roasted peanuts (chopped fine)
• sriracha hot sauce

After reading several recipes online, I used the recipe from KayoticKitchen as the basic recipe and made several modifications.

Cube  chicken and add to a marinade of sesame oil, peanut oil, ginger, garlic and chili powder.  Cover and refrigerate for  at least 1 hour.  In a stock pot, heat olive oil and sauté onions until translucent (about 5 minutes) and season with salt and pepper.  Add the cubed yam and sauté several more minutes.  Add the chicken stock, peanut butter, brown sugar and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour adding chicken stock as needed to thin out.  Once flavours have developed, add additional chicken stock, peanut butter, brown sugar  and sriracha as needed.  (I think I added about 2 tbsp of brown sugar, a tbsp of sriracha and a dollop of peanut butter).  Take off the heat and cover with a tight fitting lid.  Using an immersion blender, blend stock until smooth.  In a separate stock pot, add marinated chicken (no need to add oil, as there is oil in the marinade) and sauté until outside is brown and the middle is still slightly pink.   Add red pepper and sauté for several more minutes.  Add stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and add spinach.  Cook until spinach has wilted slightly.  Add to serving bowl and sprinkle with crushed roasted peanuts and fresh cilantro.