I'm never one to get into the whole new years resolutions. Every so often I open up my journal and check off my accomplished goals and add new ones. That's as close as I get to setting new years resolutions. As I opened up my journal today, I realized that one goal which I haven't been able to check off is blogging more. I have lots of ideas of things to blog about, but my mind is just lazy to have to find the words to express my thoughts. I wish I could just take all my thoughts and transfer them directly to this blog. Writing doesn't come easy for me, and no matter what I'm never satisfied with my style of writing. I teach my students multiple writing strategies, but I rarely use them in my own writing as I'm just too lazy to try
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| Twisting pretzels...what fun.. |
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| Zach got in on the action |
Another goal I've had in my journal for quite some time now is..."Making Isn't-It-Just-Easier-To-Buy-It recipes." The kind of recipes that my husband will say, "You can make that homemade?" When Zach and I were dating, I told him of the many foods that Heinrichs made from scratch, things such as root beer, pasta, caramels... To me, homemade root beer was completely normal. Who doesn't make it? Well, he made such a big deal out of it that I ended up tricking him into thinking that we also made banana gum and other seemingly impossible foods.
Since we live in Taiwan, there's even more of a push to make Isn't-It-Just-Easier-To-Buy-It recipes. For example, graham crackers are a true find if you discover them here. Who even makes their own graham crackers? This is the type of challenge I like.
By the end of some recipes, I realized I will keep on buying it. Ravioli was such a recipe. It looked so easy, but I was sorely mistaken. Whether it was the humidity or my lack of expertise, they turned into one big ravioli. Zach liked it, but I chose not to eat them. They looked so nice at first. Notice, I took a before cooking picture, but I couldn't get myself to take an after picture.
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| Delicious gnocchi |
Gnocchi, on the otherhand, was amazing. Berry Strudel. I thought making a berry strudel instead of an apfel would be yummier. It didn't taste bad, but nothing to be proud of. Still, Zach ate it. Pretzels...hmmm...As the Chinese say, they were hai Hao, (so-so). Zach enjoyed eating them. (starting to notice the pattern here?) They certainly were fun to make.
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| Ravioli...you look so good here |
This now brings us to my recent endeavor...pitas. I will say this was a hit, which is the only reason why I'm taking the time to actually write the recipe out. I got this recipe from Novel Eats, a vegan blog. If you're interested in going vegan, this blog had some tasty looking recipes.
Pita Bread
- 3 cups flour (white or whole wheat, or a little of both. I did half and half.)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 packet yeast (or, if from bulk, 2 teaspoons yeast)
- 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups water, roughly at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, vegetable oil, vegan butter, or shortening
Directions:
Mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup water and stir together with a spoon. All of the ingredients should form a ball. If some of the flour will not stick to the ball, add more water.
Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the ball on a work surface and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes. If you are using an electric mixer, mix it at low speed for 10 minutes.
When you are done kneading the dough, place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with oil. Form a ball out of the dough and place it into the bowl, rolling the ball of dough around in the bowl so that it has a light coat of oil on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size, approximately 90 minutes.
When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes. This step allows the dough to relax so that it’ll be easier to shape.
While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well. If you do not have a baking stone, turn a cookie sheet upside down and place it on the middle rack of the oven while you are preheating the oven. This will be the surface on which you bake your pita.
After the dough has relaxed for 20 minutes, spread a light coating of flour on a work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin or your hands to stretch and flatten the dough.
You should be able to roll it out to between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. (Make sure you don't roll them too thin. I rolled the first couple pitas too thin, and they didn't poof up.) They should be baked for about 3 minutes.
I also made a couple dips to put in my pita. For the falafel, I cheated and used a mix. Next time, I'll try to make my own falafel.
Tsatsiki (my all time favorite dip!)
1 large cucumber
1/2 t. salt
2 cloves garlic, minced (If you're not a huge fan of garlic, do only 3/4-1 clove)
2 t. fresh mint, diced
2 t. fresh dill, diced
1 3/4 c. plain yogurt (I substitute this with soft tofu, and it's great)
2 t. lemon juice
1 T. olive oil
Directions:
Peel the cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise, andn scrape out the seeds with a spoon.
Dice the cucumber (as fine as desired). Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain using coffee filters. (The first time I made it, I drained it with a coffee filter. I don't bother to do it as I feel it takes too much time for not much of a difference.) Add the garlic, mint, dill, and yogurt (or tofu). (If you're using tofu, I just put it all in the blender except for the cucumber. It makes it nice and smooth.) Stir in remaining ingredients.
Serve with chips, veggies, in pitas, or on sandwiches.
Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus
- This is a mixture of multiple recipes I found online. The measurements are all approximations. Season it to taste.
16 ounces chickpeas (I cooked my own chickpeas, and I used about 2 cups)
6 ounces roasted red bell peppers
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
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| Pitas with dollops of hummus and tsatsiki |
2- teaspoons oregano
1-2 tablespoons tahini (I didn't have any, but most hummus recipes call for it)
salt to taste
Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a food processor until pureed. Let set up for 1 hour prior to serving.
Serve with toasted pita bread.
There you have it. Delicious pitas and dips.
