Sourdough Spelt Pizza Dough

So long turkey, bring in the pizza!

This is a great recipe for really good, authentic pizza dough. It takes a little time to prepare but it’s really fun for the kids to dress it with personal toppings.
Some of our favorite toppings are: fresh tomato, wild mushrooms, spinach or kale, prosciutto or turkey sausage, anchovies, olives or capers, various peppers, sun dried tomatoes, pesto sauce, thinly sliced potatoes, and a vast array of cheeses; goat cheddar or chevre, fresh grated parmesan, feta, Monterey or mozza .

And you must remember to add unrefined salt your pizza to bring out its natural flavour, as well as a nice drizzle of cold-pressed olive oil over top. Mmm…

Mix and match the toppings on different pizzas. It’s a good idea to make 2 or more pizzas, and then have leftover for lunches.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the perfect pizza is a HOT oven. We preheat our oven 15 minutes ahead to 500 F, turning down the heat to 375 just before putting in the pizza.

So get your crust ready tonight to have pizza tomorrow.

INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup sourdough starter
3 cups spelt flour
3 TBS olive oil
1 TBS salt
2 cups water
1 cups sprouted spelt flour (or you can use regular, if you prefer)
2 tsp olive oil

METHOD:
1. Combine starter, 5 cups spelt flour, olive oil, salt and water in a large bowl.
2. Cover loosely with a towel or lid and allow to stand in a warm place for 5-10 hours (overnight is best).
3. Next add 1 cup of (sprouted) spelt flour and work it into the dough, enough so you can handle it without it being too sticky.
4. Form the dough into a ball, and rub 1 tsp of olive oil all over it.
5. Place it back in the bowl and let it stand 20 minutes.
6. Then knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth and elastic, then place it back in the bowl, and allow it to double in bulk – about 1 hour. At this point you can use it to make pizza.
7. We bake our pizzas on cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper. This makes the crust super crisp and delicious. Pizza stones also produce good results. *Cook until your desired consistency and cheese is well melted.

This recipe makes about 1 large cookie sheet rectangular pizzas. If you are not going to use it all store in a freezer until you want to use it. Then, take it out to defrost, and roll out, and put your favorite toppings on and cook.

Surviving The Holi-daze Part II

Well, I don't know about you but we're ready to change things up a bit a move to some new recipes this week (see last week's yummy holiday recipes if you haven't already)

Here are a couple more yummy recipes that will serve your sweet tooth but not make you 'explode' (in the many ways we do) this holday season.

Enjoy and, whatever your celebration, may you be surrounded with love and nourishment at this festive time of year...

Fudge-Drop Fridge Cookies (a family favourite... from ours to yours)
½ Cup Organic Milk
½ Cup organic butter
6T Organic cocoa

1 cup unsulphured dried coconut

3/4 cup organic peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups unrefined sugar (‘Panela’ or ‘Wholesome Sweeteners’ brands)
1. Boil all of above for 1 minute (only 60 seconds) on low on the the stovetop.

2. Take off heat, add vanilla, coconut and peanut butter.

3. Lastly, add approx. 3 cups of quick oats until desired moist consistency is reached; gooey but not too soft (it should hold its form as a drop on a cookie sheet but should be quite moist).

4. Drop onto cookie sheet with parchment and put in fridge and cool into a fudge-like consistency.

makes approx. 40 'drops'

Brown Rice Shortbread (for those gluten-free folks out there)

1 cup soft organic butter
1/2 cup unrefined sugar (‘Panela’ or maple sugar)
1 ¾ cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup organic cornstarch or alternative

1. Cut butter and sugar into flour mix with pastry blender into dough (also with hands).
2. Blend until smooth and satiny.
3. Form into large ball and chill in fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Roll with rolling pin to ¼ inch think between 2 sheets of parchment paper.

5. Remove paper and cut shapes and place on greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 275 degrees C until golden (not brown).
Approx. 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Surviving the Holi-daze - Part I

Dazed and a maybe a little confused at this time of year? You’re not alone.
Feeling overwhelmed with your current commitments and now you have to add holiday celebrations/staff /school gatherings to the mix? Ugh. It’s enough to make you binge on the plethora of sweets surrounding just to get the instant energy hit to get through it all!
Don‘t despair, we’re here to help you not fall into that terrible and all too familiar trap. Instead make your own ‘guilt-free’ goodies. Indulge and enjoy yourself without the repercussions. Take a little time to make a couple of simple recipes for when you’re invited out or are having company in. Engage the kids and let them be a part of the holiday goodies preparation. Have fun with it.
Here are a few of my family’s favorites’ (quite easy when the nuts/seeds are pre-prepared and you have a good food processor):
This one’s really simple:

Oatmeal Shortbread
1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1 1/2 cup quick oats
1 cup organic butter (it’s worth it if you can swing it)
1 cup Panela (unrefined sugar)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. unrefined salt

1.) Cream sugar and butter then add the rest of the ingredients.

2.) Roll into balls and press w/ fork to flatten gently.

3.) Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 15 minutes until slightly golden brown.

Cool and enjoy.

Merry Hemp Balls (see picture)
These balls are always a hit and have only unrefined sweeteners (that will not negatively affect blood sugar, in moderation) and healthy fats (that will not cause weight gain (if kept to moderation). They are especially nourishing when the nuts and seeds are pre-soaked (see below) so I recommend doing that ahead of time to cut down preparation time.
An all around great treat to have around the house for guests anytime or to bring to holiday parties.

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw organic pumpkin seeds
½ cup raw organic cashews
½ cup raw organic pecans
1.5 cups organic nut butter (organic peanut or almond)
½ cup pure maple or brown rice syrup/ raw honey
2 tbsp organic Blackstrap molasses (optional)
2 tbsp pure cocoa or carob powder (optional)
or ½ cup dark chocolate chips (to roll into middle of balls)
¼ cup whole hemp and/or flax seeds (optional)
Approx. ⅓ cup shredded unsweetened coconut/crushed almonds or pistachios/whole hemp seeds (for coating)

*All seeds and nuts above should be pre-soaked for at least 8 hours, for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients. Then, if desired, low-temperature roast them (slowly at approx. 150C) for optimal flavour and storage.

1.)Blend all dry ingredients in a blender or food processor, except flax/hemp seeds (keep whole) and any other ingredients you choose for coating the balls.
2.) Remove blended ingredients, put into large bowl, add whole flax and/or hemp and add ‘wet’ ingredients (sweetener of choice, nut butter).
3.) Adjust to desired moistness by adding additional maple syrup or honey or blended nuts/seeds.
4.) Roll into balls. *If you want chocolate chips, roll into centre of balls.
5.) Grind almonds or shredded coconut or use whole hemp seeds. Spread onto a plate or flat surface and coat the balls.
6.) Refrigerate (or freeze for storage beyond a few days) in a well sealed, opaque container. Chew well and enjoy.

*Yields approx. 50 balls, depending on size. You can double this recipe if desired as well as play around with a variety of nuts/seeds.

What You Need To Know About Cooking With Oils

At WeeMunch we believe that how you prepare your food is as important as what you eat. Last week we introduced you to The Jungle Effect by Dr. Daphne Miller. One of the appendixes in her book provides an excellent overview to oils, how to cook with them, store them and discard them. Here is the 411 you need to know about cooking with oils:

1. Store oils in a cool, dark place to protect from light, moisture and oxygen. This protects your oils from becoming rancid or developing a lower smoke point.

2. Avoid heating oil above its smoke point. When oil starts to smoke or burn, it releases carcinogens in the air and forms dangerous free radicals that should not be ingested. Throw out any oil that smokes, turn on the stove fan, and start over.

3. Do not reuse oils used for frying. Each heating causes the fatty acids to break down and release harmful free radicals into the oil.

4. Cooking oil should never be dumped down the drain. A single gallon of oil can contaminate as much as a million gallons of water. Improper disposal of oil can congeal in our pipes and cause serious plumbing problems, and more importantly it can harm fish, other wildlife, and destroy millions of gallons of drinking water. The best way to dispose of your cooking oil is to place it in a non-rcyclable container and throw it out with your regular garbage. It can also be recycled in soap or biodiesel fuel. Search for Household Hazardous Waste disposal centres to see if you can recycle your cooking oil locally.

No-Heat Oils/Fats

Nutritional supplement oils (store in the fridge in a dark container)
Fish Oil, Flaxseed Oil, Evening primrose Oil, Borage Seed Oil

Medium-Heat Oils (up to 350 Degrees F)

Great for sauteing, sauces, salad dressing, wok cooking (richer flavour)
Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, Unrefined Sesame Oil, Unrefined Peanut Oil, Butter, Walnut Oil

Medium-High Heats (up to 425 Degrees F)

Great for baking, sautéing
Butter, Refined Canola Oil, Refined Walnut Oil, Refined Peanut Oil,

High Heat Oils (up to 510 Degrees F)

Great for frying, sautéing (neutral flavour)
Refined Avocado Oil, Refined Almond Oil, Refined Super High Heat Canola Oil, Palm Fruit Oil. Refined Sunflower Oil, Refined Sesame Oil, Refined Safflower Oil (high oleic), Refined Extra Light Olive Oil