Thursday, June 4, 2009

Deliciously Mango Sorbet

I had mangoes in the kitchen and thought a frozen treat might be delicious...And delicious it was! I will definitley have to make this again. I was very pleased. It has great texture and is sooo good!

Deliciously Mango Sorbet
4 Mangoes (Whatever variety is currently in season or available)
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup Coconut Water
3 Tabelspoons Lemon Juice

1. Chop mangoes up into small pieces. Next, place mangoes in your food processor. Process until smooth. Pour the rest of the ingredients into the food processor. Process until mixed well.
2. Pour the mixture into a container and put in refrigerator about five hours or overnight. (This step is optional but will speed up time in the ice cream maker)
3. Freeze according to your ice cream maker instructions. I suggest leaving it in the freezer overnight as it will have a much better consistency.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Originally Made In Italy #1


Mamma mia! I love italian food! Who doesn't? Me and my mother recently went to the local farmers market and got a huge box of tomatoes for $6! We weren't sure what we were going to use them for, so today we decided on pizza! I made the crust and sauce homemade.

Pizza Crust
2 packages active dry yeast (1/4 ounce each)
2 tablespoons sweetner (optional)
3 tablespoons olive oil, and more for oiling the bowl
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

1. Place the yeast and sweetner in a small bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water and whisk. Let the yeast mixture sit until it begins to foam. Add the olive oil to the yeast mixture and stir until properly combined

2. Place the flour and salt in a bowl with a stand up mixer fitted with a hook attachment. Add the yeast mixture. (If you do not have a stand up mixer, use a hand mixer and it will not mix all the way so as soon as all the liquid has been absorbed. There will be flour on the bottom so roll the dough in the flour until you've got all the flour into the dough).

3. Take the dough out and move it to a large bowl that has been lightly oiled. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let the dough sit in a draft-free spot until it has doubled in size. (1 1/2 to 2 hours).

4. Punch the dough down. Roll the dough into whatever size you want your pizza to be. For me, it made about 4 10-12 inch pizzas.

Pizza Sauce
2 Cans Tomato Paste (6 oz cans)
3 or 4 Shallots (If you have an onion on hand use an onion, but we were all out of onions, so we used the shallots)
9 Tomatoes
4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
Fresh or Dried Basil, Use around 2 tablespoons of dried basil OR 1/2 cup of fresh basil. (You don't have to use these measurements but this is what I used)
2 tablespoons of Fresh or Dried Oregano
Salt/Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons sweetner (optional)

1. Chop all of the tomatoes up, next throw the tomatoes into a ziploc bag and smash until thoroughly soft. Heat oil in large steel pan. Add shallots and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes until transparent. Add garlic and cook another minute. Stir in tomatoes, paste, oregano, basil, salt, pepper and bring to a boil. Then simmer, uncovered for about an hour. Puree in your blender or food processor.
2. Pour tomato sauce on pizza dough and cover with your favorite toppings and cheese.