Terre Pruitt's Blog

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Posts Tagged ‘parchment paper’

Full Belly Farm Pizza Dough

Posted by terrepruitt on October 7, 2020

We haven’t had outside prepared food since February or maybe March.  I really wanted a pizza . . . now I kinda want anything that I would normally have just to have a treat . . . for now we are not having takeout of any kind, so I am making pizza.  I don’t make the dough.  Dough and I have a love-hate relationship; I LOVE to eat it, but I HATE to “deal” with it.  It always just sticks to my hands and I can’t deal with that.  People say to use more flour but then I just end up with flour all over the place and dough stuck to my hands.  A friend who used to make pizza every Friday night says she uses a bit of oil.  I tried that and realized it works.  So I use more than a bit of oil.  At first I was just putting it in the bowl with the dough (bringing it to room temperature seems like a must) and flouring the pan, but then I decided to put oil on the pan.  My niece gave me the idea to use parchment paper to roll out the dough because I was ending up with dough all over my hands AND my rolling pin.  I have to put oil on the parchment paper so it doesn’t stick, but I am able to just wipe the roller off because there is no dough or even oil on it at all.  Parchment paper (and my niece) to the rescue.  So this isn’t really a recipe, it is just me showing how I “make” pizza.  And the terrible job shaping that I do.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia online, San Jose Virtual classes, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, Nia Technique, Yin Yoga, stretch classes, online exercise, Zoom classes, virtual yoga, City of San Jose online exercise, live classes via Zoom,I roll it out directly on my pans and my pans are soooo warped that I can’t make a nice shape, I have to make whatever shape is required to try to get the dough somewhat even.  Whatever the case and whatever the shape the dough from Full Belly Farm is delicious.

I take the one ball of dough and split it to make two pizzas . . . a his and a hers.

I LOVE mushrooms on my pizza and I prefer they get cooked FIRST, so I have to cook the mushrooms.  I don’t really LOVE tomato sauce so I usually just put that on my husband’s pizza.  I just use a bit of olive oil.  Most times it is just mozzarella and mushrooms, sometimes breakfast sausage.  But I asked for Ricotta (my husband does the shopping) and they didn’t have the regular kind and my husband bought some out of the deli case.  I don’t know about your grocery store, but things in the deli case at our supermarket tend to be the more “gourmet” kind of stuff and definitely more expensive.  This ricotta was sooooooo good.  It was so smooth and creamy.  Yum.  I wish I would have noticed the lid was upside down when I took the pictures.  I turned the tub so I could read the side but didn’t even notice the lid.  I was focused on the reflection of the pizza dough label.  (Ok, so I can’t take pictures NOR deal with pizza dough!)

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia online, San Jose Virtual classes, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, Nia Technique, Yin Yoga, stretch classes, online exercise, Zoom classes, virtual yoga, City of San Jose online exercise, live classes via Zoom,Our pizzas turn our pretty yummy.  And we get to pig out on pizza two days.  Even though the crust is really thin it is yummy.  Next time I am going to try a different approach to the dough and see how that goes.  I might even try rolling it out on something that is flat so I can maybe get an even crust.  I don’t know transferring the dough sounds too “iffy”.  We will see.

I wrote a post about DIY pizza in August 2018, I mentioned thinking the dough needs to be cold . . . it seems easier to handle but the instructions and my professional pizza making friends says it needs to be room temp so when I remember that is what I try to do.

So . . . how do YOU deal with pizza dough?  Do you make your own?  Do you roll it or do you stretch it?  What is your favorite pizza topping?

 

 

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The edges were getting too crispy on this so they were picked off before I thought to take a picture . . . then after it was cooked I completely forgot about taking pictures!

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Baked Avocado Fries

Posted by terrepruitt on September 25, 2017

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitYou probably know that avocados are a source of unique fat.  Not just good fat, but unique fat.  Not too long ago I made my husband some avocado fries. Ya know, anything that is cut lengthwise and breaded is called a fry even if it is baked. But basically it is just breaded avocado slices. But he liked them. I make them again last night. I had bought the avocado on Friday and meant to do it then, but something came up. So by Sunday the avocados were softer than I would have liked. I had bought two, not sure if I had planned on making them both, but by the time I got around to it one of them was too soft. But the process is really simple, as long as you don’t mind getting avocado on your hands and under your nails. I do, but . . . whatever.

 

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Baked Avocado Fries

One firm avocado*
flour (1/2 – 3/4 cup)
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milk (1/2 – 1 teaspoon)
bread crumbs (3/4 to 1 cup)
seasonings**
olive oil
parchment paper

Options for dipping:

sour cream
ketchup
ranch

 

I used brown flour, panko bread crumbs, season salt, and garlic salt

**season salt, salt, garlic salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, use whatever you want

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Sprinkle a little olive oil on the paper/pan.

Put the flour in a dish that allows you to put a few (or all) of the avocado slices.  Sprinkle some of your seasonings into the flour.  In a separate dish scramble the egg with a little milk. Sprinkle some of your seasonings into the egg.  Put the bread crumbs in a dish that allows you to put a few (or all) of the avocado slices. Sprinkle some of your seasonings into the breadcrumbs.  Slice the avocado lengthwise, then cut off the skin. Dip each slice in the flour, then dip each slice in the egg, then coat each slice with bread crumbs.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFitPlace the floured-egged-breaded avocado slices on the pan. Space them apart so that they can get crispy.  Sprinkle some olive oil onto each slice.

Put the pan with the slices on it in the oven for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes check on the “fries”. Take them out and turn each one over. Then put the pan back in the oven for 15 or 20 minutes.

Once the coating is crispy. Take them out and serve them with your favorite dipping sauce.

This second time I made them my husband used just plain sour cream to dip his “fries” into.  I do not remember what he used the first time . . . I don’t know what that orange stuff is (pictured).  I bet it was left over from something.  So not something we bought, just something we had on hand.

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*You can use a very ripe avocado, it just makes the dredging and dipping a little more challenging.  The avocado needs to be firm enough that the slices will hold.  As I said, the avocados I bought ended up more ripe than I would have liked, but it worked.

Do you like avocado “fries”?

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Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , , | 26 Comments »

Roasted Green Beans

Posted by terrepruitt on July 28, 2015

You know how I love to roast veggies, right?  Well this is such a super easy one.  I usually don’t roast my green beans because they are not my husband’s favorite vegetable so when I cook them I like to do Green Beans, Onions, and Walnuts because I just love that.  Since my hubby is not that fond of green beans, I don’t cook them that often and I save my cooking of them for that recipe.  But recently I just wanted something to throw in the oven.  Like I normally do.  Wash it, season it, throw it in the oven, and walk away.  That is one reason why I love to roast veggies.  Well, we just happen to have received green beans in our produce box . . . so that is what I ended up roasting.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia at the San Jose Community Centers, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex City of San Jose, San Jose Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, PiYo, Nia TechniqueYou know I always love easy, and easy right now is what I need because we are having to spend so much time just sitting in the room with the cats.  I mean we don’t HAVE to, but we do.  I have found in talking to people who don’t have cats, that it is a common misconception that cats don’t like company.  People think cats are super independent.  While they might be more independent than dogs, they still like their people’s company.  They might not want you to even pay attention to them, but they like you to be in the room with them.  Especially when they are locked in a room and they can hear you out in the house, then they really want to be out there with you.  Cats like to be WITH you.  These girls have been in three different places since June 1 so we want to let them know that they are part of a family now, so my hubby and I spend a lot of time in the room.

Often I try to go into the room to work, because they are quarantined in my office, but usually once I go in they want to play.  Anyway . . . with the extra time I am spending in my office, it is nice to have an easy time with dinner.  And you know roasting veggies is my “go to!”

This isn’t so much about the recipe (because it is so easy) as the idea of roasting green beans.  It could be that someone hasn’t thought about doing it yet.

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Roasted Green Beans

1.5 pounds of green beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
garlic
pepper

Preheat the oven to 450° F

Wash and trim the green beans.  Line a cook sheet with parchment paper.  Put your beans on the pan.  Then drizzle the oil over the beans.  Toss the beans so the oil gets on all the beans.  Spread the beans out so they are one layer on the sheet.  Sprinkle the beans with salt, garlic, and the pepper.

Put the beans in the oven for anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes.  How long you cook your veggies is up to you.  You can check on them and decide how well done you like them.  Sometimes I like them not so done and sometimes I like them well done.  When roasting I am ok with them well done.  With other methods I like them less done.

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Of course you can season them with whatever you would like.  Salt, garlic, and pepper is simple seasoning.  And sometimes that is nice.

Do you like green beans?  Do you like them roasted?  How do you cook green beans?

Posted in "Recipes", Food, Vegetables | Tagged: , , , , | 12 Comments »

Bruschetta Pasta

Posted by terrepruitt on August 5, 2014

You may have read my post regarding how much I loved Dinner of Herbs eggplant bruschetta recipe. I said I could put the eggplant mixture on anything. Well, I actually bought the ingredients to make the bruschetta, I even remembered the bread! But when I arrived at home I looked in my refrigerator and realized I had some zucchini I needed to use. Plus I had some mushrooms I needed to use. So I decided this would be a great time to put the eggplant and tomato mixture with a little extra over pasta. So I am just adding zucchini and mushrooms to the way I made the bruschetta.  Here is what I made:

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Ingredients:

–1 medium or large eggplant, cubed (very small)
–4 medium sized tomatoes, cubed
–1 lb of mushrooms, sliced or coarsely chopped
–2 zucchinis, grated
–3/4 of a large onion, chopped (tiny)
—olive oil
—two tablespoons of butter
—garlic powder
—onion powder
—salt
—pepper
—sweet basil
—balsamic vinegar
—Parmesan cheese, as desired
—1 package/box/container of pasta (I prefer linguine)

Heat the oven to 450°F.

Put the eggplant on a baking sheet. (I used parchment paper on the baking sheet.) Drizzle with olive oil. Mix it up, then spread the eggplant evenly, in one layer (the eggplant I used was too large to be one layer), over the baking sheet. After baking for about 10 minutes, move the eggplant around on the pan.  After another 10 minutes, gently stir/toss the eggplant and sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake for about an additional 25 minutes. Stirring or tossing if necessary to ensure even roasting. In between roasting the eggplant, spread 3/4 of the tomato out over a baking sheet. (I used parchment paper on the baking sheet.) Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder and onion powder. (Tomatoes are too delicate to be mixed as done with the eggplant.) Bake until the edge pieces are browning.  Stirring gently, if you want.  I ended up cooking the tomatoes for about 30 minutes.

Somewhere in between cooking the mushrooms and zucchini as instructed below, you might want to cook your pasta. I prefer my pasta hot. You can plan and cook accordingly.

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Once all the veggies are cooked to your satisfaction put half of the cooked and drained pasta in a large bowl, then add half of all of the cooked vegetables.  Add the basil, vinegar, any additional salt and/or pepper you desire.  Then add the rest of the pasta and cooked vegetables along with half of the raw tomato and onion.  Toss it all.  Taste it to see if you want more basil, vinegar, salt and/or pepper.  Put the rest of the raw tomato and onion on top. Serve the pasta sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

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This is the first recipe I wrote FIRST, then followed.  I made a few adjustments to the recipe as I was cooking, and noted them before posting.  I think layering the pasta, then veggies makes for easier mixing.  Of course, you can mix it anyway you’d like.  I loved this.  I loved the flavor as I did when I made the eggplant bruschetta.  What I would do next time is use 3 tomatoes instead of four.  The flavor of the tomatoes overpowered everything.  I am looking forward to having the leftovers, as I believe left over pasta is often better than the freshly made dish.  The flavors have time to meld.

This is an easy dish, there is nothing complicated about any part of the process, but with all of the chopping it is a bit labor intensive.  The separate roasting of the eggplant and tomatoes makes it a long process.  I didn’t want to roast them at the same time.  But if you chop while things are cooking . . . . .

I will probably make it again.

What about you?  Does it sound good?  Which of the vegetables is your favorite? 

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Baking Paper

Posted by terrepruitt on April 26, 2014

One of the best things for me — besides the potatoes — that came out of the Amateur Chef’s Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes recipe was the use of parchment paper.  I have always heard about parchment paper.  A lot of recipes call for it and a lot of people use it, but I never had.  I always thought it was a waste.  Why buy paper you are going to put in the oven just to use once?  I didn’t really understand it.  And I probably still don’t understand all of the benefits of it, but the benefits I do understand make it worth it — to me — to use it.  I love using parchment paper to roast/bake on!

One thing I love about it is easy clean up — of course, right?  I mean you just put the paper down on the pan and roast/bake/cook on it and then when your food is done you just take it off the pan and throw it away.  As I mentioned I used to think that was a waste, but it saves me a few other things.  It saves me time . . . . I am not standing at the sink scrubbing a pan.  It saves water . . . . again, not standing at the sink scrubbing a pan.  Not even really having to wash the pan most of the time.  Some times I can just wipe the pan clean.  Sometimes I wash it, but it is so quick it is not even comparable.  Along the lines of washing, I am saving soap, if you want to go so far as to say that — it would be true.  So the clean up alone is GREAT.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaAlso the food tends to cook differently.  I say differently as opposed to better because not everyone might like the way it cooks.  It tends to help allow the food’s moisture to evaporate better.  Perhaps the paper helps soak it up then it dries.  Not sure of the science behind it, but I know that using foil does not allow the food to dry as much so the food does not get as crispy.  That is why I broke down and bought some when I was going to make the potatoes.  Actually I had bought some a long time ago I just never saw the real point in using (read “WASTING”) it.  So the food seems to get “crispier” than without the paper.  I like that!

One thing I do when I use parchment paper is I wet the pan a little.  The parchment paper I have comes on a roll so it tends to have that curved shape.  It also seems really slippery.  The paper always wants to move around the pan.  So I put a little water on the pan so the paper stays in place.  Then usually once the food is on it, it doesn’t slide around.

I usually use it for roasting veggies.  Tonight I am roasting sweet potatoes.

I always thought that parchment paper was good up to 450° F so that is what I roast/cook/bake at, but the box says 420° F, which I just noticed as I was taking a picture of it for this post.  Oh!

I know there are other uses for parchment paper.  I can think of a few, but what about you?  Do you use parchment paper?  What do you use it for?  Don’t you love it?

 

Posted in Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Amateur Chef’s Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes – Time Bake

Posted by terrepruitt on March 16, 2013

My last post was about how I have two late Nia classes in San Jose so I use my “Time Bake” feature on my oven.  I think something that would be GREAT to put in the oven to have ready when I get home is the Rantings of an Amateur Chef’s Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes.  I made these this week for the first time and I don’t think I will make potatoes any other way again.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, ZumbaBasically you boil the little red potatoes in salted water.  Then you drain them and let them cool.  Then you smash each one individually only so much as to make them a bit flat, but not so much they break apart and end up mashed.  Then you put them on a pan that is covered in aluminum foil AND parchment paper.  Oil and salt each potato and bake them.

I only used 8 potatoes.  The recipe instructions include placing the potatoes on a towel to dry and covering the potato with a towel for smashing, but I am not sure that is necessary.  I did it that way because I was thinking the towel helps soak up some of that water and less water makes for a crispier potato.  Plus I usually follow instructions when trying a recipe for the first time.  I will try it without the towel next time because I don’t need the extra laundry.  I will let you know if the towel is imperative.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, ZumbaThe initial cooking time (boiling) was longer for me and I didn’t turn it to simmer.  “Simmer” on my stove is almost off so I left it a little below medium and boiled them for about 40 minutes.  I used the foil and the parchment paper as per the recipe.  But my potatoes took a bit longer than 30 to 40 minutes.  BUT . . . . I also put asparagus on my pan.  The pan I was using is so large it takes up an entire rack in my oven and I didn’t want to put another pan on the rack above or below, so I decided my asparagus and potatoes could share a pan.  They both came out GREAT.  But the potatoes needed a few more minutes than the asparagus.

I was so excited to eat the piping hot crispy gems that I forgot to take a picture of them once fully cooked.  Not taking a picture was due to my excitement AND the fact that we were already eating the rest of dinner and so I was in a rush to get them from pan to plate!  But they were delicious.

The smashed potatoes would be a perfect thing to put in the oven on Time Bake.  But . . . . maybe not, huh?  Parchment paper.  That stuff kind of freaks me out in the first place.  I mean it is PAPER in the oven.  I don’t know that I would want that baking with me not home . . . . .

If you like potatoes these little smashed potatoes are GREAT.

Do you like potatoes?  Can you imagine these little crispy nuggets on your plate?

 

See comment below for an alternative way to make these — all bake, no boil!

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments »