Wednesday 24 June 2009

Pilfering the universe of anything joyous

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There isn't really a point to that title, I just quite liked the idea of using the word 'pilfering' and pilfering the universe sounded like a grand idea and joy is always a welcome state :0)

I suppose this post could be more aptly titled, though it would be a bit dull, 'Clearing the air, pizza and calzonery, busted shoes, and crafty projects GO!'

I find myself sitting in our lounge breathing in fresher air than I breathed yesterday. Thanks to the green allergy goblins that are abounding through London's airwaves and the hubster's battling with sleeplessness and hayfever, we have procured two new ionic air purifiers and it really has made breathing in the London air that permeates our flat so much more enjoyable. I loathe to imagine my blacklung as a result of only a few years in the big smoke. At any rate, we've now cleared the air and managed to secure a good night's rest for us both once again.

On a more interesting note, we have also been enjoying the experimentation that is pizza making (and also the art of folded pizza making- calzones!). It's a great filling and versatile meal, and who the heck doesn't like pizza?! Not to mention that it can be done on a shoestring. We managed to perfect our dough (recipe below) on a spinach and ricotta calzone that was absolutely goldeny deliciousness!!! See for yourself!

After binging on calzones for several weekends straight, we decided to unfold the idea and have a pizza with what was on hand the other night. Rummaging around I saw that we had a few large onions, tomato sauce, mushrooms, yellow cheddar cheese and spinach along with some spices and other necessities. I thought I'd see what google would come up with for spinach and mushroom pizzas and I stumbled upon a recipe that also incorporated carmelised onions. Rather than using a tomato sauce it used a garlic cream sauce which made for a nice break from tradition. Here's the link to that specific recipe which also goes into carmelising onions (good thing we had some vinegar on hand as well). We tweaked it a bit according to what we had in our cupboards (substituting garlic powder, frozen spinach for fresh and cheese types for example) and it still turned out amazingly.

I'm so not looking forward to stir-fry tonight after seeing these! They're great not only because of their adaptability and budget-friendliness but also because you can work it well for vegetarians and vegans alike. That's a plus for us since we have so many friends of both persuasions! Here's that gorgeous dough recipe. It's measured for one pizza base or for one calzone (so if you make 2 calzones double it!)

Pizza dough recipe:
175 g flour
1 tsp salt (we found that doubling that for 2 calzones was too much)
1 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp sugar (since we use activated yeast which requires sugar we don't add any additional)
1 tbsp olive oil (we use veg oil since we po'folk)
2-3 tbsp cornmeal/polenta to roll out

Okay so here's the dealio: Mix all that stuff together and add just as much water as is needed (just a bit at a time, likely only a few tbsp) and knead for 3 minutes. Leave covered for 1 hour or until doubled. Deflate it and then roll it out, using cornmeal to keep it from sticking in a terrible mess. Bake your goods with the oven whacked way up til it looks done. I'm a professional with these recipes, I tell ya. It's somewhere around the 20 minute mark.

In other news, we've managed to get our wedding photos all printed up now, so on with the next project of getting the photobook all put together. I'm sort of half looking forward to it and half dreading it but mostly just want the damn thing done with. I'm also working on another sewing project which I shall not tell much of here since one of the creations will be a gift for a friend.

Finally I'd like to salute my pink shoes. I purchased an incredible and bright pink pair of Diesel slipons a few years back at The Rack. The fabric is a sort of oriental pattern, very delicate and every time I wear them I get compliments, either by words or by looks of seething jealousy. I love it. But alas, I've been holding the wretched things together with staples as of late (introducing the shoes to the punk ethos) and their time has come to move on. I truly wish I could recycle them (or heck, just replace them with the same exact pair!) but I'm drawing a total blank about how that could be done. If you see any lovely shoes that might earn my love and replace these dear ones please do let me know. For now, RIP darling little shoes and the staples that adorn you.