Keto Pizza Crust (Fathead Dough)

 I am a Jersey girl, and if I am honest, the one thing that made me sad about going Keto is not being able to eat pizza. I have made some pizza crust alternatives with zucchini, and they were ok, but I decided to try a fathead pizza dough. I had very low expectations, especially since there were so few ingredients but HOLY MOLY...was I surprised! This pizza dough recipe is delicious. It bakes up well, is crispy on the edges, and you can pick it up and the pizza holds it's integrity. If you are skeptical, I enourage you to give it a try.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (plus more for topping)
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 1 egg (beaten)
• sauce & pizza toppings of your choice

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, microwave the cream cheese and mozzarella together for 90 seconds, stirring half way through.

3. Stir in the almond flour and beaten egg to combine (if your dough appears to be too sticky, add in a little more almond flour). Knead with your hands until a dough forms.

4. Place the dough in between two large pieces of parchment paper and roll the dough out into a 10" circle, or until it's about 1/3 inch thick. (*See tips in the recipe notes below for keeping the dough from sticking to the paper).

5. Remove the top piece of parchment paper, and place the bottom sheet with the dough on it onto a pizza pan or upside down sheet pan.

6. Use a fork to pierce lots of holes throughout the dough to help it cook evenly and prevent bubbling.

7. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until slightly golden brown.

8. Remove from the oven and top it with sauce, cheese and the toppings of your choice.

9. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. Gobble up.

Rose Hip Jam

 

On a walk near the water in Scituate this weekend we came across a huge patch of beach roses covered in rose hips. We had a lot of fun stuffing our pockets with hips. We ended up with quite a few and decided to make some jam. 

Rose hips are fun to find an pick, but they are a lot of work to process. I found a good audiobook and embraced the restful moment while I cleaned the hips. the tops, spikes and seeds must be removed.

Rose hips are also super good for you. They are packed full of vitamin C. If you are not making jam, I also recommend drying the hips and using them for tea.

Rose Hip Jam

Ingredients:

200 grams of rose hips, stems, thorns and seeds removed

350 ml water

3 tablespoons lemon juice

400 grams sugar

1 package (50 grams) powdered pectin

Directions:

1. In a medium stockpot combine prepared rose hips, water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer about 20 m inutes, or until the hips are soft and cooked through.

2. Using an immersion blender, pulse the soft fruit to a smoothness of your liking. 

3. Add the sugar and stir over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. When the fruit is boiling stir in the pectin, and keep the jam at a boil for a full minute.

4. Finish the jam by filling hot, sterilized jars with the hot jam and processing in a hot water bath canner for 10 minutes. 

Sourdough Discard Crackers

This is a great way to use discard. During the colder months when we were doing school from home these were a great snack to pop in the oven. I barely managed to get them off the pan before they were all eaten. Super easy, very tasty and definitely a keeper recipe.

Sourdough Discard Crackers

2 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup starter
2 tablespoons seasoning of your choice
salt

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Melt the butter and mix with the starter, then incorporate your seasonings.

2. Pour your batter out onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spread it thin.

3. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. Immediately score into the shapes you desire. Return to the oven for an additional 40 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Sourdough Country Loaf

This rustic loaf recipe has worked beautifully pretty much every time. My two pieces of advice are these: 1. Know your starter. Make sure you know that your starter is in the active phase. If it is not active this recipe will be dense, and you will have to use it for croutons. 2. Be patient. This recipe needs to sit around all day. It is great to do on a day when you will be around the house for a while. Learn how to incorporate it into your daily rythms. Don't try to rush it or take shortcuts. It won't work. Also, if you have a big family like mine, and you want to make two loaves at once, make two separate recipes in two bowls. Doubling this recipe was not successful for me, the dough is too massive and heavy and does not rise properly.

Sourdough Country Loaf

Ingredients:

200g sourdough starter, active
400g water
650g flour
20g salt

Directions:

1. Using a scale and medium sized mixing bowl, incorporate all ingredients using your hands. The dough will be sticky, that's OK. Cover the bowl with a damp towel for 4 hours stretching and folding 4-5 times.

2. The stretch and fold technique: Grab one side of the dough and stretch a small handful up about 6 inches then fold into the middle. Give the bowl a quarter turn and continue that motion three more times until all sides have been folded into the middle. Repeat this 4-5 times over the 4 hour resting period.

3. Shaping your loaf: After 4 hours your dough should be smooth and springy. Shape your loaf and turn it into a banatin or bowl with a well floured towel to rest for 45 minutes. While your loaf is resting heat your oven to 450 degrees and place a covered dutch oven in to preheat. For more information on how to shape a country loaf please see HERE

4. After your loaf has rested and the dutch oven preheated, turn your loaf out onto a piece of parchment. Score the breat to allow for a good rise. Place the loaf and parchment carefully into the dutch oven and bake: 35 minutes with the top on, and 16 minutes with the top off. Ramove from the oven and cool for at least ten minutes before cutting.

Sourdough Cobbler

COVID season has given us more time. Some of that time I have given to re-visiting my sourdough starter. Last year I attempted a starter, and somehow I managed to let it turn into something that smelled like diaper. Thankfully, this time was a bit more successful. We have created so many excellent recipes with our starter. I am also obsessed with not throwing any away, so I have some great sourdough discard recipes as well that I am going to add soon.

This one was an amazing surprise. It was born out of necessity. I had a lot of starter that needed to be used, and it was too hot to make bread. Plus, I had some fruit that had ripened quickly and needed to be eaten. This recipe gets four points for awesome...1. it uses brown sugar with the fruit, this was excellent. 2. The butter is cut into the butter like a biscuit mix, so the crust is light and fluffy. 3. There is a butter and sugar topping that provides a bit of sweetness and a crispy top. It went over really well in our house.

Sourdough Cobbler

Ingredients:

filling:

• 2 1/2 lbs of fruit
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar 
• 1 tsp cinnamon 

dough:

• 3/4 cup of flour 
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp butter
• 1 cup sourdough starter 

topping:

• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 3 tsp sugar

Directions:

1. Cut up your fruit and mix with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside while you create the dough.

2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing bowl. Using a pastry blender, blend in the butter until it is in pea sized pieces, then mix in the sourdough starter.

3. Spoon the fruit evenly over the bottom of a 10 cup baking dish, then cover the fruit with the prepared cobbler dough.

4. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, and combine with 3 tablespoons of sugar. Brush or drizzle the topping over the cobbler dough.

5. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the cobbler crust is lightly browned. 

Quarantine Recipe #5: Churros

As we explored Mexico this week we absolutely had to make Churros. I have never made churros before, and it was super fun! They turned out great, and disappeared fast!

Churros

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter cut into pieces
1 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
dash of salt
1 cup flour
1 egg

coating:
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan heat the butter, water, sugar and salt. Bring them to a boil. Add the flour, reduce the temperature to low and stir until just combined. Set aside in the bowl of a mixer to cool for 5 minutes.

2. When the dough has cooled beat in the egg. Be careful to make sure the dough has cooled enough, if it is too hot the eggs can scramble and cook.

3. Heat oil to fry the churros in a medium pot. When the oil reached 350 degrees it is ready. Move the dough into a pastry bag fitted with an extra large star tip.  Pipe 4 inch sections of dough into the hot oil. Cook the churros 4 minutes.

Remove cooked churros to a paper towel and allow to cool for 30 seconds. Roll the churros in the cinnamon and sugar topping and enjoy! You can enjoy your churros straight up or dip them in chocolate sauce.

Quarantine Recipe #4: Mole Sauce

This spring break we cant actually go anywhere, so we have decided to take a virtual world tour. The boys chose a country from each continent, then we learn about that country, listen to their music and make a recipe. Today was Mexico! Joseph made tostadas huevos for breakfast which were amazing. Then we decided to try Mole enchaladas for dinner. The mole sauce turned out amazing and I wanted to make sure I put it in the blog for later use. I hope you try it and enjoy it too.

Mole Sauce

Ingredients:
1 - 14 oz. can of tomatoes
3 oz. Chilis
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 garlic cloves
1 small onion
2 teaspoons cumin
1 cup cilantro
2 Saizon packets 
Dash of Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Process on high until smooth. 

2. You can warm the sauce in a pan or pour it on enchaladas before you bake them.