Monthly Archives: February 2012

I’m convinced that there is something therapeutic about pizza. The warm cheesey goodness and rich tomato sauce comforts the soul in a way that few homemade dishes can rival. However unlike its other comfort food comrades, pizza can be a healthy and versatile option. For these reasons we eat pizza…. a lot.

So when I discovered a new dough and sauce recipe in my Jamie Magazine I couldn’t wait to get into the kitchen. Thankfully it didn’t disappoint. The dough was thin and crusty and the sauce was thick and rich. This is the kind of food love that could save a bad day in no time.

Pepperoni and Red Onion Pizza From Jamie Magazine

Ingredients    (Yes, I converted them from the metric system for you. You’re welcome)

Directions:

1. Combine the yeast, sugar and water in bowl and stir until frothy. Slowly incorporate the flour either by hand or using a dough hook on your stand mixer. Include additional water as needed.

2. Knead the dough for approximately 5 minutes. Then cover and allow to sit for approximately 1 hour or until doubled in size.

3. While the dough is rising combine the basil stalks (chopped) and garlic (thinly sliced) in a sauce pan. Cook until golden stirring frequently. Add the canned tomatoes and continue to cook until the sauce thickens, about 5 – 10 minutes. Allow to cool, then puree to a thick sauce consistency.

4.When the dough has doubled, remove from the bowl and separate into 4 pieces. We typically freeze half of the dough for later in the week. Then work the remaining two pieces into thin circles approximately 12 inches wide.

5. Add your toppings and bake in your oven which has been preheated to 450 degrees. Remove from oven, sprinkle with basil and allow to cool 3 to 5 minutes before cutting.

I have a secret, I love the British. With their bold prints, charming accents, rich traditions and wacky humor I just adore them. I even read the British news… daily. Embarrassing? Just a touch.

On a less secretive note I also LOVE to cook. Like so many others I find it therapeutic and the results aren’t too shabby either. So when I discovered that my favorite in laws had arranged for a subscription to Jamie Magazine for a Christmas treat I was  e s t a t i c. Seriously, inside I was squealing.

Cue more squealing yesterday when my first issue arrived. Even more fitting is that it is the Budget Issue! Score!

Obviously I haven’t had time to read the gem cover to cover, but from the first glance I’d say it is a winner. With its rustic vegetables, quirky commentary and vibrant pictures I’m all ready in lust.

So the most important question for you right now…where can you get a little Jamie for your own kitchen? Sadly my usual source has closed. (Moment of silence for Borders) I hear that you can also pick up a copy at your local Barnes and Nobel though. Of course you can always go to the source too: Jamie Magazine.

Just beware when ordering direct, there is some serious travel involved. While your issue comes plastic wrapped to ensure pristine condition all that wrapping must reduce its aerodynamics because it takes forever!  Of course my patience meter may not be a good reference since it almost doesn’t exist.

So without further ado I’m off to squeeze some reading into my day. We’ll be sure to post the results shortly. Until then!

Houston, we have tile. So while it may have only taken us a few hours to commit to a tile that we loved, it took an entire weekend to get said tile installed. Now that probably has to do with the fact that neither of us has ever laid tile before…so when you take that into account we’re thinking one weekend isn’t so bad.

Let’s go step by step…day by day… (Did you just sing the Step by Step theme song in your head too? Okay then, that one was for me.)

Step 1: Lay out your tiles to determine a.) that you have enough to cover the space and b.) where you’ll need to cut the tiles to actually make them fit.

Step 2: Rent a wet saw and cut tile to fit your space. That’s right, Ryan looking all pro with the heavy machinery.Yes, we set it up in our driveway. I’m sure our neighbors were just loving it.

Step 3: Mix thinset. Spread a thin layer of thinset onto your cleaned surface. Using the trowel skim the thinset to create grooves. Lay tile onto the thinset and press until level. Do NOT lift…apparently this creates bubbles and other horrible unmentionables. I only know because I was severly lectured prior to starting to never lift.

Oh yes and apparently I can check, “tile a room” off my bucket list. I’m totally a pro now. Notsomuch.

Very, very important note: do not forget to use spacers between your tiles. Ideally you would have colored spacers…not clear ones which are easily lost.

Ta da! You’ve made it to the end of day one. Isn’t it all shiny and gorgeous? I might have to move into the laundry room full time.

Moving on…

Day two was a bit of a drag…next time we tile anything…we’ll be sure to get knee pads. We were seriously hurting, but determined!

Step 4: Mix grout and apply to all of your perfectly spaced gaps. Skim off additional grout with trowel.

Step 5: After waiting for the grout to set, wipe off additional residue with sponge.

We’ll be wiping down our tile a few more times before the finishing touches, just to remove any left over grout residue.

Until then we hope your enjoying our laundry room transformation as much as we are!

We’re in the middle of Resolution Palooza over here. But all this home improvement has really got us dragging, especially during the week. So on one of my recent runs for some liquid energy I spotted this little bag of gold.

Apparently Starbucks bags used coffee grounds and sets them out for their customers to use in their garden. How did I not know this? More importantly how did I not know that coffee grounds were good for your garden, specifically nitrogen loving plants?

Oh yeah, you read that right. They’re FREE! Free garden food? Yes please.

Since we live in the desert our plants can use all the help they can get. So now our daily french press grounds are also going to good use. This may be our first and only step towards composting…but either way we’ll keep you posted.

We’re currently on the hunt for a nicer container to hold our grounds until they’re added to the garden. Thankfully it doesn’t have to be too big as the grounds should only be stored for two to three weeks before they start to loose their nutritional goodness.

So now we have another reason to drink our daily coffee…not that we needed one. And even better, one less thing goes un-wasted in our house.

Not so bad for a Monday after all.