No Pizza tonight

After I posted the pizza recipe last night I became tired and distracted.  (I've been fighting off a virus) I forgot to make the dough!  Ugh, I will try again to remember tonight.  Maybe if I make it when I get home from work I won't forget.  I won't have time later this evening.

Tonight we have new parent orientation for my daughter's high school.  Yes, she started today.  It really brings me back to when I started high school.  The friends I made that first year I consider to still be my best friends today even thought it's been over 20 years since I've seen most of them.  I can't figure out what it is about that time in life that makes those friends so special.  I do know that the following years of high school did not yield such important people.  Perhaps it is because I moved away and no one could measure up to those special few.  I hope that my daughter will encounter that same experience of true friendship that will last a lifetime.

I've lived in Omaha now for 5 years which is the longest I've lived anywhere (consecutively in one city) since grade school.  I've found it difficult to put down roots here with out any family or close friends to be my anchor.  I really need to come to terms with the fact I will be here for some time.  I do not intend to move my kids in the midst of high school.  That means 6 more years here.  I wonder if I will feel like this is my home after that much time?  I've been avoiding having the back yard landscaped because I cannot imagine being here long enough to enjoy it.

Things to do:
make Pizza Dough
go to parent orientation
plant some trees and ....

oh yeah,
I need to remind myself that I need to make cinnamon rolls for Owen this weekend.  He's been asking for a week.  The long vacation we took really got me out of practice for thinking ahead which is required for anything that needs time to rise -and I am not sure I have all of the ingredients.


I created this blog to keep track of meals I make and what worked.  Now I'm finding that I'm using it to remind me of what I need to make...and doing a little reflecting along the way.  Another blog I created for a specific purpose turned out to function for the opposite purpose.  Funny how these things go.

No Knead Pizza dough

I thought I'd give this a shot.  It has to rise for at least 14 hours so you really have to plan ahead which is why I have never made it before.  I am a last minute chic so planning ahead is foreign to me, kind of like this blog.

Anyhow...this is what I will be doing tonight in the hopes of some delicious pizza tomorrow.

No-Knead Pizza Dough Ingredients:
2 oz whole wheat flour
16 oz all-purpose flour
*about 4 cups total
1/4 tsp dry active yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
2 tbsps olive oil
1 1/2 cups warm water, if possible, use bottled water as chlorinated water can retard the yeast growth
cornmeal as needed

Basically you mix to a sticky consistency and then roll out when it's ready.  We shall see.

Note: Rising times will vary based on the temperature. It should probably go at least 14 hours to develop enough gluten, but could take as long as 24 hours to double in size.

Juicin'

Ok.  So you may wonder why about a year ago my kitchen posts sort of fell off a bit.  I think it was because all of the baking I was doing was causing me to feel a little unhealthy.  I may be slightly sensitive to processed sugars and flour.  Having baked goods occasionally seems ok, but as much as I was baking...well lets just say things were not going well in the digestive tract.  American diets are over processed and the added baking wasn't helping mine.

I invested in a really good juicer. The changes I felt in my health were amazing.  I can't even begin to list all of the benefits.  I started juicing about 3 times a day.  If you are interested in getting as much micronutrients as possible, juicing is the way to go.  Eating lots of plant life is how you do it but many of us cannot ingest the amount we really want to reboot our lives so we juice it to condense it into a form that can be delivered very efficiently.

If you are interested I strongly recommend watching Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and/or Food Matters, I also enjoyed the The Beautiful Truth.  Take what you will from them as I cannot verify that all are completely factual but they are interesting to say the least.  Our society has come to think of medication rather than food for health.  I found it interesting anyway.

I don't juice exclusively.  I don't really need to lose weight but I do want to be as healthy as I can.  I did stop eating meat over a year ago and I don't really miss it much.  Anyway, I may post some of my favorite juice recipes here in the future.  My juicer is a cold masticating juicer ...helps preserve the phytonutrients and prevents some oxidation. 

I still drink coffee though...we can't get too crazy here.

Lunch in bed

Yes, I finally caught what everyone in my house has had over the last month. I'm home in bed trying to kick it fast because who has time to feel icky?

Anyway, lovely husband has just brought me lunch in bed! Amazing.

While it doesn't look that great it really is and I am so greatful.

Admiring Ol' Friends

There is nothing better than reconnecting with an old friend.  Especially ones you admire for being so open.

I am the kind of person who is rarely serious.  I think it's partially because I like to laugh but also it's a defense mechanism.  When I moved away from dear friends years ago I developed this knack as a way to not feel and not make real connections.  Since then I have moved so many times .....  So, what happens when trying to connect with an old friend who did really know you?  It's a little bit scary.

Luckily, my old friend is FEARLESS!  Thank goodness for my fearless friend who is always true to himself.  I admire you for being you and for the passion you bring to your life.

When did I get so whimpy?  I guess it's time to be real.  Not sure I know how so I guess I'll go bake some pumpkin muffin cookies.  Get a taste for fall now that the weather has cooled some here.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup shortening
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 can pumpkin

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together sugar, egg, shortening, and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Stir in the pumpkin.  Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven.