Home Style Pizza

I will admit that pizza doesn't really qualify as quick, but it's pretty easy and relatively cheap depending on the toppings you pick. It's a favourite for us and we try to have it once a week (Pizza Fridays!). The measurements I give are more like approximations of what I usually add because for the most part I eyeball...well, all of the measurements.

What you need

1 1/2 c. warm water

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp yeast

1 tbsp salt

4 tbsp olive oil

Several cups of white flour

What to do

The first thing to do is dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Then add the yeast, cover and set it aside for about 10 minutes. The yeast will get all foamy on top. It it doesn't it means the yeast is dead and you have to restart or the pizza dough won't rise. It could be because your yeast expired or because the water is too hot (boiling water is waaay too hot!), but either way if it's not foamy it's no good.

Into the foamy yeasty mix, add the salt and oil. I use olive oil but whatever vegetable oil you have will work. Now start to add and mix in the flour. And keep adding and mixing. Keep adding until it's impossible to add any more...then add more. It should be doughy by now. Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead for about 10 minutes. To knead, fold the dough in half and turn 90 degrees, then repeat. The finished dough shouldn't be sticky but elasticy and smooth.

Fun filled fact: when you knead bread, the gluten in the flour develops into glutenin and gliadin. The glutenin develops elasticity in the dough which allows it to rise and keep a good chewy texture. The gliadin is the portion that prevents people with Celiac's disease from being able to enjoy wheat products.

Next you just have to leave it alone for a while. Cover and set the dough aside in a warm area free of drafts and it will start to double in size. Once it doubles, punch it down once and let it rise again. Rising will take somewhere around 1 hour but in general just wait until it doubles in size. I'll admit that I'm usually too lazy or in a rush to wait for dough to rise twice so I often skip the second round. You can also leave it in the fridge over night to rise a second time and then it's ready the next day!

So the dough has risen and now it's time for the toppings! Roll out the dough and move it to a pan that's either greased and floured, or sprinkled with cornmeal (this is our preferred way as its healthier for one, and produces a crunchier bottom crust). You don't want to see how sticky the dough can get after it bakes itself into a pan. Add the toppings and bake it at 350F for 30-45min or until it looks all delicious and golden brown.

Additional Notes:

Flavouring the dough: If you want to alter it a bit there's a few options. Milk can be substituted for water, and honey can be substituted for sugar. If you use whole wheat flour, go for the tasty substitutions or it looses a bit of flavour.

Awesome toppings: Our standard is ham, pepperoni, and goat cheese over the standard mozzarella and tomato sauce. This is one area to go wild with whatever it is you really like but don't go overboard. If toppings are stacked too thickly, the crust won't bake up as well and it can be pretty doughy on the inside.Try to keep it simple and somewhat flat for best results.

Photo trivia: If the finished pizza's crust looks really big, it's because we stuffed the crust with extra mozzarella. It's a fun treat.

Alternative dough uses: Left over dough makes great spice bread! Roll it out and top with olive oil and spices like salt and pepper, oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary and parmesan if you have it. The bread is great to dip in marinara, meat sauce, or tzatziki . For a desert try frying small squares of dough in oil (1/2 cm of oil in a pan is fine). Then sprinkle with a mix of white sugar and cinnamon for a poor man's beaver tail.

Broccoli Sausage Pasta

This is one of my favourite fast and easy dinners. It's not that much prep time, a very short cooking time, and tastes delicious! It's like being Rachel Ray but without being annoying (yumm-o!).

What You'll Need

1 large broccoli

1 pkg spicy italian sausage (~400g)

300g pasta of your choice (Large shells or penne work well)

8 mini bocconcini

Olive oil

Assorted spices

How to Make It

I start by breaking the broccoli down into florets. Small florets. If it's not bite sized it will be very annoying. I boil them for 6 minutes in salted water, then blanch them really quickly so they don't over cook. If you like crunchier broccoli 3-4min will probably be enough. Set the broccoli aside, but don't throw out the cooking water!!

Cut the sausage out of it's casings so it's ready to go. While you're at it, quarter the bocconcini too. From here out it moves pretty quickly. I flavored the bocconcini with some olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. By itself it can be a little bland and bitter.

Heat up a pan to med-high heat and throw in the sausage. Try to break it up into pieces as you go. For a bit of extra flavor and spice we added a dash of worchestershire sauce and tabasco (for more spice, add more tobasco or red chili flakes).

In your now slightly broccoli-flavoured water which should still be at a rolling boil, throw the pasta in for 8 minutes. If you start the sausage at the same time, they should be ready together. When you're done cooking the pasta be sure to reserve about 1/2 to 1c cooking liquid.

So that's about it! All that's left is to combine everything in a pot or bowl and serve up! I like to add the sausage and cheese first so it all combines, and then the broccoli. It's good to alternate adding bits of sausage and cheese with some pasta water which will be absobed by the pasta and make a delicious sauce. For two people, there should be enough for a lunch the next day, and the longer this sits the better the flavour gets.

This is the finished (tasty) product!

Lastly, a few notes from doing this quite a few times;

It originally started out with broccoli rabe instead of just broccoli. It's good, but the broccoli rabe can be very bitter if it's not boiled long enough, and the longer it's boiled the softer it gets. A vicious circle. If you want to try it, maybe leave out the stalks and only use the leaves and florets which are pretty good.

It also originally had parmesan cheese. We switched it out with the bocconcini for a bit of colour and texture. However I really like the parmesan in it as well. If you opt for parmesan, grate maybe 1/4c or more if you like (I'd go for more) and throw it in at the end. It makes for a really nice smooth sauce.