Steak Pizza

Our weather in southwestern Ontario tends to be not as harsh as the rest of Canada but we still see subzero temperatures and a fair amount of snowfall each year.  That does not deter us or many in our region from outdoor grilling.  The grill is typically very close to the back or patio door, within an easy shovelling distance if need be.  Our grill is under a soon to be enclosed roof on the deck making it a three season room.

The weather was unseasonably warm so we grilled rib steaks.  Now, these were quite large steaks at an inch and a half thick as hubby does not like grilling thin steaks.  We buy our beef in bulk so the abattoir does a custom cut for our meat.  He likes his steak rare while I like mine medium rare but on occasion will eat rare.  

The real focus of this meal was the lightly seasoned rib steaks.  We served them with campstyle potatoes and a Caprese salad.  The sweet basil is homegrown mainly hydroponically and in the Aerogarden.  I currently have several basil plants on the go and honestly, you can never have enough basil!  

Campstyle potatoes is a rather simple, versatile dish always made in cast iron usually with potatoes and onions but sometimes mushrooms.  Cast iron gives the perfect caramelization for this dish!

I know many will think this funny but we always have left-over steak.  That's just the nature of the beast.  On the other hand, we love cooking once but getting two or more different meals out of what we cook.  We try very hard to minimize food waste so lef-overs are used within a couple of days or froze for later use.

Left-over steak can be used in so many ways.  One of our favourites is as a sandwich in pita bread.  This time I made sourdough flatbreads for steak pizzas.  These were a bit of a spin on the Margherita pizzas.   Toppings included red onion, sweet basil, fresh tomato, steak and of course lots mozzarella cheese.  The end result was a delicious meal with very little effort.
 

Peperoncini Peppers

It is quite interesting to me that certain foods are very much regional.  The reason being the growing conditions and local food traditions but in this day and age of globalization, it is still surprising that some foods are only available in certain regions.  When I was growing up the closest I came to a hot pepper was the hot banana peppers the couple I baby sat for grew.  I begged my Mom one summer to help them harvest and she finally caved in even though she was against it.  I loved everything there was about that harvest!  To this day I firmly believe in order to truly love food, you need to get comfortable and knowledgeable to how it is produced.

During our first visit to our vacation home in the sunny south we ordered a pizza from Papa John's.  It came with a wonderful pickled pepper that I did not recognize which is rather funny given I grow upwards of 30 pepper (5 varieties) plants each year.  When we arrived home in Canada I got curious so did a bit of inquiry.  The pickled peppers were peperoncini, a variety I had never heard of before.  To me they look almost like a cross between a habanero and a banana pepper.  They have a bit of heat mixed with a slight bitterness.  Oh my gosh, they kick pizza up a notch!

I finally found pickled peperoncini in the grocery store so I bought a jar.  That meant of course I had to bake homemade pizza, another excuse to test out my new natural gas oven.  My pizzas usually start out with my favourite pizza dough topped with home canned pizza sauce then the toppings get a bit interesting.  This pizza was topped with a 9 cheese shredded blend left over from making lasagne for hunt camp, tomatoes, broccoli, smoked turkey, pepperoni, and sautéd butter mushrooms.  I served the peperoncini on the side to cut and add to the pizza slices as desired.

Now if I could only find anchovies since I discovered them on a road trip.  I just loved the saltinest and flavour the anchovies imparted to the pizza slices so can't wait to try them at home.   Apparently they are hard to find here (aka none of the local grocery stores carry them) so perhaps I will find them our next trip to the city.  On the other hand you can bet your bottom dollar I will be hunting down peperoncini pepper plants for my new garden.  Jars of home pickled peperoncini peppers are already visions in my mind!

Easy Pizza Appetizers

Fresh baked bread does not keep long so it is best to make only what you can use within a day or two.  It can be wrapped tightly then froze if desired but I prefer to keep my freezer space for more expensive foods like meats and fish.  A few days ago I baked my first batch of homemade bread in my new natural gas oven.  I made the dough for a 1 lb loaf then divided into thirds.  If you look at the resulting loaves, there is purposely a size difference.  The reason being each sized loaf was destined for a different use. 

There wasn't a huge difference in size between the to larger loaves.  I used the mid-sized loaf to make easy pizza appetizers.  These are very similar to Bagel Bites without the high cost.  In fact, the homemade version comes in at under 5¢ per piece compared to the commercial version at 20¢ each.  The toppings can be a creative as desired but we like them rather simple. 

I cut the loaf into half inch slices on a slight diagonal.  This gives a bit more surface area for toppings.  Once the bread was sliced I arranged the slices on a Silpat lined baking sheet for topping. 

I topped the fourteen French bread slices with homemade pizza sauce and a blend of four fresh grated cheeses.  I kept the toppings simply as this was a snack for my husband and a friend while they were watching Sunday afternoon football and a larger meal was planned for dinner.  Honestly, any topping is fair game so this is a great way to use up some those little bits of left-overs.  Other toppings that are good on these easy pizza appetizers include: homemade bacon bits, ham, green pepper, green onions, olives, ground beef and onion.  The nice thing is you don't need much of any one topping either.  For those who enjoy anchovies, one anchovies per appetizer would be delightful!

I baked the pizza appetizers in a pre-heated 400ºF oven until the crust was light golden and the cheese was bubbly.  These were a quick, easy yet tasty afternoon snack.  

If you don't bake your own bread, the French baguettes in the bakery section of the grocery stores can be used for this same purpose.  In fact the baguettes are perfect as a base for garlic bread, cheese & bacon appetizers, and bruschetta.  It's easy to whip up a quick snack or appetizer simply by having homemade French bread or store bought baguettes on hand!

Personalizing Homemade Pizza

Homemade pizza compete with ingredients made from scratch have been a family tradition since our kids were young.  I'd put the dough into the breadmachine then my husband would form it into a large rectangular crust and each of our kids would top their piece as they wanted.  It was always a lot of fun!

My husband and I have kept this tradition when we make homemade pizza.  We usually use a homemade tomato based pizza sauce but not always.  The homemade pizza we recently made looked a little odd from its normal patchwork look but since the kids weren't home we went a little plainer.  My husband didn't want a lot of toppings on his just mushrooms, peameal bacon, onions and cheese while I wanted more (spinach, olives, fresh tomatoes).  So I made a kicked up  slice for me while my husband topped the rest of the pizza a bit more plainly.  He planned on taking the leftover pizza to the office for lunch the next day.  One of our kids is helping out in the office so I've been sending lunch for two.  Homemade pizza warms up so nicely so it's perfect for lunch.

I love experimenting with pizza toppings and so far I don't thing I've come across one that I don't like.  My piece was about 6 - inch square and filled with great toppings.  If you haven't tried this method of building a pizza with your family, you will be surprised at how easy and fun it can be. 

The easiest way is to set out small bowls of favourite toppings for each family member to use on their slice as desired.  Once the dough is formed and the sauce spread let the fun begin.  It's funny too because kids have one idea of what their pizza slice will look like but the look changes when the pizza is cooked.  You can even make it a bit more challenging by voting on who's pizza slice looks the best.  I think this is just such a family fun time event to be shared making wonderful memories while enjoying geat food!

Papa John's Pizza in Lakeland, Florida

It has been rather a standing joke that everywhere we have lived one of the first things we do is seek out a good pizza delivery service.  At home we can take our time but vacation homes the rules change.  We camped in a self contained RV for about 15 years.  Pizza consisted of homemade, quick pizza and very rarely take-out.  There are some areas we camped that pizza could have be ordered for delivery but we never did.  This vacation home is different because it really is the same as a permanent home only being used part of the year.

The second night we were there and being totally exhausted we ordered Papa John's delivery pizza.  What is really nice is this pizza can be ordered and paid for online so all you need to do is sit back and wait for delivery then tip the delivery person.

We decided to try Papa John's through a recommendation.  When we were out shopping we checked out the location and liked what we saw.  Their prices were good and ordering was about as easy as you could get.  We really like what we saw from the website so that was the final deciding factor.

We ordered an extra large original crust 7-Topping Pizza (beef, grilled chicken, mushrooms, ham, onions, three cheese blend, sausage) and BBQ chicken wings with special garlic and barbeque dipping sauces.  The total cost including delivery, tip and taxes was $25.  As a comparison we would pay about $40 for this order where we live at home (ON, Canada) so the price was more than reasonable.

The wings came with a nicely flavoured barbeque sauce along with 2 dipping sauces.  At $6.99 for the wings it was a good deal.  We will definitely be including wings with our next order.

The pizza was well worth the $12!  The crust was excellent as were the toppings.  It had a gorgeous eye appeal and even better flavour.  The rich sauce was nicely seasoned.  The pizza was wonderfully cheesy and I really liked that it came with a hot pepper.  This definitely is a pizza worth ordering.  The service itself was great with painless ordering and quick delivery.

I was really surprised that we were able to find a pizza delivery service that easily.  When we are at home pizza more often than not means homemade pizza from making the dough, homemade sauce and then topping from there.  At the vacation home cutting out a couple of steps might be desirable.

I'm debating buying a stand mixer for the vacation home that would be available for use to us and family but not anyone who rents the house.  So home baked yeast products will continue mainly as normal so homemade pizza will become a norm on longer stays there as well but our experience makes me feel quite comfortable ordering this pizza occasionally and recommending this pizza delivery service.

Quick Apple Dessert Pizza

If you have been following this blog you will already know I do a lot of canning and as such there are a fair number of canning recipes on this blog. What it not as apparent is how I use all my home canned products. One reason for this is a lot of them are used much the same as you would commercially canned foods. In essence home canned foods only differ from commercially canned in that they don't have a artificial colourants or flavourings, they don't have preservatives and since they are canned in jars there is a lot less chance of having BPA residues in the food. All metal cans used in North America have a plastic coating containing BPA that does leach into the food during the processing. Home canned foods are in glass jars with only the lid having this plastic coating but when properly canned food should not come into contact with the lid.

Apple Dessert Pizza

I can a few types of apple pie fillings each year. The method of canning does not change but the apple variety and seasonings used do. This puts a convenient, ready to use product in my pantry.

After Superbowl Sunday I was left with a couple of packages of Greek style (pocketless) pitas to use up. I use these to make thicker sandwich wraps in the summer. One of my kids gave me the idea of using them for quick pizzas that have become a huge hit at our larger get togethers. I usually make two types, one with sauce and cheese and the other with melted butter and garlic. I decided to do something a little different this time.

I used the pitas as the crust for dessert pizza. This is really easy to make. I used about a cup of home canned apple pie filling that had a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg to spread over the pittas then topped with a generous topping of mozzarella cheese. I baked at 180ºC/350ºF until the chesses was bubbly with just a hint of browning. It was a quick, easy dessert using something from the pantry as well as left-overs from the party.

Ranch Pizza

Homemade pizza is one of those family favourites I've been making since being a newlywed. Back in those days the sauce was usually tomato based and the toppings were simple. I didn't grow up with fast food and while our little village had a small restaurant I think about the only pizza you could get was frozen pizza from the grocery store. I was in my teens when a Pizza Delight opened up so was amazed at being able to order a pizza, pick-up only. Gosh did they ever have some really neat combinations! I can still remember the first time I had a Hawaiian pizza with ham and pineapple. It was love at first bite. They even made dessert pizzas! Unfortunately they didn't last long as the population simply wasn't big enough for them to turn a profit but they did open my eyes to the possibilities so by the time we had kids, family pizza night became quite interesting. I'd make the dough and the kids would choose how to top their own piece of pizza. Fast forward to now and thanks to the creativity and adventurous nature of our kids we have experienced some rather interesting gourmet style pizzas.

Fresh From Oven

A couple of nights ago I decided to make pizza using my favourite pizza dough recipe. This dough makes a thick, deep dish style crust. I divided the dough in half to make two 12-inch pizzas. The first pizza was topped with homemade pizza sauce, ham, pepperoni, sautéed mushrooms and mozarella cheese. I decided to get a bit creative for the second pizza.

I used Sweet Baby Ray's honey barbeque sauce then topped with sautéed mushrooms, green peppers, red onions, shredded cooked turkey and mozzarella cheese. Oh now this pizza really did come out quite lovely! I must say this is one of the more unique ways I have come up with for using leftover turkey.

Ranch Pizza Slices

The ranch pizza was aptly named from the resulting flavours and the dressing used. I got the idea from a pizza we had at the kids that came with a spiral of ranch dressing on top and more ranch dressing for dipping. The Sweet Baby Ray's honey barbeque sauce added a deep, rich, slightly smoky flavour that paired nicely with the turkey. I drizzled the cut pizza slices with 3 Cheese Ranch dressing over the slices. The additional cheese layer in the ranch dressing really added to the overall flavour of the pizza. The end result was a great tasting pizza with a gourmet flavour!

Lou Malnati's Pizzeria, Naperville, Illinois

We have been in the Chicago area several times but have never had Chicago style deep dish pizza. This pizza is quite a bit different than the New York style pizza we are used to. We decided to try the Chicago style pizza on this trip so asked the valet for a recommendation. Lou Malnati's Pizzeria in Naperville, Illinois came highly recommended as being one of the best there is. So were were off to Naperville on a side trip.

Lou Malnati's Pizzeria

Naperville is a small, river port community located about 30 miles southwest from downtown Chicago. It was about a half hour drive from Joliet, Illinois where we stayed the first night. Lou Malnati's Pizzeria is located in the old Naperville fire hall. During the warmer weather the two original garage doors open onto outdoor patios with the main restaurant located on the main floor of the old fire hall. The atmosphere is quite pleasant with the staff being some of the friendliest you will ever meet. Our waiter Gino went over and above to ensure our visit was enjoyable!

Gino Serves the Pizza

We ordered the The Lou medium deep dish pan pizza with spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms for $17.25. With drinks and taxes our total bill came to $24.75 which wasn't bad without gratituity.

The pizza came in a 12 - inch deep sided pan from which our very friendly waiter, Gino served a slice each as we were ready for more. Now that is service! He really did make our dining experience very pleasant. I will say kudos to Gino for being an extemely good waiter who cares about those he is waiting on. Lou Malnati's is indeed lucky to have a waiter like this! He even took a picture of us with our camera so I have a nice memento of our visit that will surely make a wonderful scrapbooking layout.

A Slice

The crust definitely was different from New York style pizza. It was crispy on the bottom as well as the sides with the top of the pizza crust curling over just slightly. The pizza was loaded with some of the best tasting mozzarella cheese I've ever tasted! A knife and fork was a must as there was no way the pizza slices could have been without them.

Now the following is not meant to be refective of Lou Malnati's or Gino's great service because trust me this place is worth going to if you like Chicago style pizza. We had heard a lot about this style of pizza so were expecting something a bit more but can't put our finger on it although my husband came closest in the problem was the crust. It gets a full two thumbs up as far as flavour goes! While the flavour was top notch it was the texture of the crust that can be best describes as somewhat thin, cake like but extra crusty, curling over the top a bit. It definitely is a different type of crust than thin or regular crust New York style pizza. Good but differents!

Pizza Arca, New Hamburg, Ontario

A road trip always means a culinary adventure because you never know what you will discover. Many smaller communities scattered through-out Ontario have some of the best home style cooked foods you will ever taste and that is due the fact it cooked very much like you would cook at home. The food is fresh, cooked to order and usually a good value for your restaurant food dollar. The food is not fast food the service tends to be quite good, well worth the little extra time it takes to be served. Slowing down to the speed of life and enjoying a bit of face to face conversation while waiting for your food to be served is a great way to unwind from the fast paced lifestyle many of us lead.

Pizza Arca

New Hamburg is a smaller community located on Hwy 7 about 25 km east of Stratford, Ontario. Stratford is home to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and the esteemed Stratford Chefs School featured on Food Network Canada's Chef's School. The area in general is one of the oldest in Ontario so features beautiful, old archecture and picturesque smaller communities where it is easy to find several restaurants featuring good, old fashion home cooked meals. Don't let that fool you though as there are also several fine dining establishments such as Rundles Restaurant (average cost per person $110) in Stratford and Puddicombe House (average cost per person $60) in New Hamburg.
Pizza Arca is located at 98 Peel Street in New Hamburg, Ontario. If you are in the New Hamburg area this is definitely the place to buy pizza! This is a small pizzeria located in a small building that was a former private bank. Much of the exterior and interior details from the original use have been retained. Pizza Arca specializes in take-out only gourmet pizzas. You can call ahead with your order so your pizzas are ready when you arrive for pick-up or you can order then browse around the quaint little town while you wait for your pizza order.

Gourmet Pizzas

On this particular road trip the kids picked up 5 large gourmet pizzas at a cost of about $65 so averaging $16.25 per pizza. Pictured are the pizzas: Hawaiian (1), Cheese (2), Pepperoni (3), Mediterranean (4). The crust was regular, nicely crisped. The tomato based sauce had a rich, nicely seasoned flavour. The Hawaiian pizza was topped with ham, pineapple and mozzarella cheese. The Cheese pizza was sauce and mozzarella cheese only. The Pepperoni pizza also had mushrooms. The Mediterranean was my favourite with black and green olives, bacon, red onion, mozzarella and Feta cheeses. [edited] Not pictured is the Arca Special. (Please see comments).

Eating Out on a Road Trip in Southwestern Ontario

Have you ever had one of those weeks where things just kind of piled up then the unexpected happened? Now it might start innocently enough with deciding to splurge for pizza delivery because the weekend was a planned work at home weekend. Such was the case on Thursday evening when my husband and one of the kids decided to hook a new audio system and didn't feel like a traditional dinner so we ordered out. Ordering out is quite rare for use because we pay premium delivery charges since we are rural. From there things snowballed to unexpected but welcomed travel. The problem with this kind of week is cooking quickly becomes the last thing on your mind. Well it was on my mind but life got in the way and sometimes that becomes the priority :)

Pizza & Wings

Thursday night we ordered pizza and wings from our favourite pizza parlour. The intentions was this would be our night out (but in) because we had a work weekend planned that included two smaller home renovations projects.

This was a lovely pizza topped with ham, mushroom, pepperoni and extra cheese. The sauce is quite tasty on a somewhat thinner crust. It was as always an excellent pizza! We always order the wings with the sauce on the side. I like the extra hot sauce while others like either medium or honey garlic sauce. Ordering the sauce on the side allows everyone to have their choice of sauce.

Quarter Pound Cheeseburger

Thursday saw a bit of an unexpected phone call that would see us on a weekend road trip. We had to pick up a few items for this trip so did the necessary shopping on Friday then stopped at our favourite burger joint. Now this definitely is not fast food but it is well worth the extra wait. The quarter pound burger comes topped with cheese served with sliced onions and pickles. Ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper is available on the tables. This burger is so large that it is takes a lot of effort for me to finish half of it!

It is nothing fancy but the restaurant has an excellent, cosy atmosphere. The food never fails to please either. It is not fast food but it is good food. We always bring doggy bags home.

Wendy's

When we are on the road we prefer to stop at trucker's restaurants that offer small sit down restaurants usually with a buffet. This allows us to take a much needed break while enjoying a nice meal. Saturday morning found us on the road fairly early so instead of stopping at a truck stop we ended up stopping at a Wendy's on the highway. Wendy's is one of the very few fast food restaurants I like because they offer so much more than just burgers and fries.

The food was good but unfortunately the service was not! I kid you not, my husband stood in line 36 minutes to get the food. Had it been me I would have walked away. Apparently they only had one register opened with a huge line so then they opened another where those just arriving got service before those who had been standing in line. The service here gets 2 thumbs down and something we will remember in the very unlikely event we are ever tempted to stop there again.

Wiener Schnitzel

Saturday afternoon was extremely busy especially for the guys. We (the girls) stayed home to entertain the grandbabies. Later we did a bit of sightseeing with the kids then took them to a quaint little restaurant called The Old Country Restaurant for dinner. The restaurant is located at 105 Peel Street in the picturesque town of New Hamburg, Ontario. The feature home cooked food in a nice family style restaurant. When they say home cooked they mean home cooked! The service was excellent and the food even better. The restaurant has gone onto our list of to visit again.

Their house specialty is Bavarian Style Wiener Schnitzel. Wiener Schnitzel is a thin piece of veal coated with bread crumbs then fried. My husband and I both ordered the Wiener Schnitzel. It came with a choice of potatoes, vegetable, homemade soup of the day or garden green salad for $9.95. We both chose baked potatoes but he ordered the soup of the day (beef noodle) while I ordered the salad. This would be a very easy and inexpensive meal to duplicate at home!

Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza

Part of the fun of traveling is discovering new eateries! After an afternoon of shopping the we stopped to pick up pizza. This was any kind of pizza parlor as we know them. Instead of the regular pizza parlors where you order your pizza then wait for it to bake to take home this pizza parlor assembled the pizza for you then wrapped it along with baking instructions. The nice thing about this is even if you run into a bit of a delay getting home the pizza is still piping hot when served.

Papa Murphy's

We stopped at Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza located at 815 South Main Street in West Bend, Wisconsin. The pizzeria is located in a small strip mall with plenty of parking (1). It is small and has no baking facilities on site. You can call ahead with your order or order on site. On the wall behind the counter there are racks for prepared pizza dough (2) and orders ready to be picked up (not pictured). Baking instructions are included with your order and for good measure there is a large disclaimer poster on the wall (3). Essentially they are not responsible for burnt pizza due to your cooking skills.

You can watch your pizza(s) being made. That's the start of our stuffed pizza (arrow, 4). Oh my did it ever look yummy! The pizza comes on an oven proof coated cardboard tray so all you have to do is unwrap and pop in the oven. The wrapping is a simple plastic wrap to protect the pizza until you get it home. We ordered 3 pizzas to feed 6 people.

Mediterranean & Cheese Pizzas

Each pizza was cooked individually according to the instructions. I was quite impressed that it was as simple as turning on the oven, unwrapping the pizza then baking. While the pizzas were baking we were able to unwind and relax then eat as each pizza came out of the oven.

The cheese pizza pictured on the top had a medium thick crust. It was topped with a tasty, aromatic tomato sauce and almost a full pound of bubbling cheese. This is a popular choice with the kids' teenagers. We really enjoyed this pizza that shone in it's simplicity. There were no fancy toppings or flavours. It was just the pure essence of pizza that really made this pizza delicious!

The Mediterranean pizza pictured on the bottom had a thin crust and was topped with a tasty, aromatic tomato sauce, Asiago cheese, sundried tomatoes and spinach. The flavours on this pizza were mouthwatering delightful! The thin crust really worked well too. This will be one pizza I will be duplicating at home.



The belle of ball of the pizzas we ordered was the Chicago-Style stuffed pizza. The stuffing consisted of salami, pepperoni, Italian sausage, beef, onion mix and cheese. The top was garnished with roma tomatoes, green onions and cheese. It was interesting watching this pizza being assembled. That fancy crust detail took only a few seconds!

The Chicago-Style stuffed pizza had gorgeous eye appeal after baking (top right). I just love all the detail from the fancy edge to the garnish! Cutting into the pizza (bottom left) it was easy to see this was not going to be any run of the mill pizza. Doesn't that slice (bottom right) look yummy? Let me tell you this pizza was a total taste sensation!

The crust used for this pizza was not quite thin but not quite medium. I'm going to be testing out a few pizza dough recipes to find one that will work for making stuffed pizzas. Please check back for the test results and what I come up with.

A Bit of Kitchen Chit Chat

It's been a steadier, do something daily kind of a main preserving season this year. The kitchen has been a whirl wind of activity for much of September. The main focus has been on preserving foods to restock the pantry, using garden produce and rather simple, homestyle meals. At the same time we have still been able to get away for a meal out or a couple of days away.

Gourmet Pizza

Last weekend we decided to take a couple of days off to visit the grandbabies and their parents in the GTA. We decided to keep the travel time to a minimum by not stopping to eat on the road. The first night at the home of oldest and youngest grandbabies we enjoyed homemade French fries and deep fried chicken wings. It was a lovely, homestyle meal. The following day after a hot breakfast we were on the road again to visit middle grandbaby and parents. They took us to Home Depot® in the afternoon then we ordered delivered gourmet style pizzas and chicken wings for dinner.

We very seldom order in pizza at home because we are out in the boonies with the cheapest delivery charge in the $10 range. However, we make homemade pizzas from scratch quite often. What I love about ordering pizza in the GTA is the choice of toppings. I always get great ideas for our homemade pizzas! You can even choose from several cheeses rather than the regular mozzarella cheese! Pictured is one of the pizzas we ordered. It has Asiago cheese, Portabello, zucchini and hamburg on it. This really was a nice tasting pizza one that could easily be duplicated at home.

New Blind

We have been in this house a little over two years now and despite a lot of work that we have accomplished, window treatment has until now been pushed to the back burner. Our house is such that window treatment is not needed for privacy and for some windows hinders the massive water view so we've basically just left it. In the interests of energy efficiency though we are now dealing with this issue. We want window coverings that can help minimize heat loss during the winter nights yet be opened completely during the day to enjoy the water. At the same time we want something that reflects the flavour of the house.

We decided on California 2-inch wide wood blinds for the kitchen window. My husband spent a good portion of the afternoon hanging the blinds which were a bit more complicated than expected. I think they look rather spiffy! The next set of blinds to go up will be on the patio door in the kitchen. They will match but we aren't sure whether they will be the same style or vertical. Following that the window in the family room in front of the dining table is next that will be wood 2-inch wide blinds to match the woodwork. I'm looking forward to even lower heating costs this year!

Pot Roast

Doing a trip to the kids spending only one night is extremely tiring. We arrived home about 11 pm Saturday night to find that the router was acting up when powered up. So it was after 1 am before we went to bed frustrated with the whole situation. The following morning was spent trying to fix that problem then in the afternoon hanging the blind. Ee were both exhausted!

Honestly the weather has turned cold enough here that it really feels like winter. It is quite cool in the house so I put a sirloin tip roast into the countertop roaster for dinner. I kept it quite simple by pouring a little Diana Sauce® over the roast and topping with onion slices. An hour before dinner I added small, whole white potatoes and niblet corn. It was a simple yet homestyle meal that took very little effort yet gave that cozy, comfort effect with enough leftovers for lunch and dinner on Monday.

Continuing Preserving Tomatoes & Pizza Sauce

We are in the midst of processing tomatoes which will likely continue to at least the end of the weekend. It is a lot of work so I won't kid you by saying it isn't. I think one of the worst things about the tomato season are the fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). While these tend to be one of my favourite critters for scientific reasons I prefer them not flitting around my house! Oh well a few more days and the pantry will be filled will all kinds of great tomato products so they will be on their way.

Freezing Tomatoes

There was about 6 quarts of prepared tomatoes left over from canning the salsa and chili sauce so I decided to freeze them. By far freezing tomatoes is my least favourite method for preserving tomatoes. In my case tomatoes are home grown or free. They take up too much valuable room in the freezer that can be best used for meats and other produce that doesn't can well. Canning tomatoes makes the anti-oxidant lycopene more accessible to the body so they are a healthier product than frozen tomatoes. At any rate, I froze two 1 large zipper style bags of the left over peeled and chopped tomatoes. I like zipper style freezer bags for shorter term storage usually under 1 month. For storage longer than than my choice is vacuum sealing.

Tomato Purée

There was a half hamper of tomatoes remaining so I decided to make pizza sauce. Many sauces start out using a tomato purée. The quickest and easiest way to make a tomato purée is to use a food mill or strainer. Pictured is my manual food strainer. Tomatoes are fed through the hopper at the top. Turning the handle (lower right) forces the tomatoes through a screen that removes the skins and seeds that are discarded through a tube while the purée falls through the shoot. The tomato purée is then ready for freezing as is or turning into sauces for canning or freezing.

Pictured in the background is my treasured pie keeper. Years ago my husband and I did a lot of ceramics including this pie keeper. It will hold a deep homemade pie. This beloved piece was made by my husband as a gift to me. It is signed Merry Christmas 1985 with from him to me with both of our names and a lot of XO's. I think the glaze used was called oatmeal meant to accent the set of homemade dishes I made that are lighter in colour in a glaze called eggnog. Both glazes are speckled. I'll have to share pictures of those as well. I still do the occasional piece of ceramics when I want something unique and personal.

Drying Prep

A side product from making tomato purée is the waste that some will throw out. Throwing out is extremely wasteful so should be avoided if at all possible. The waste can be added to your compost pile where it will give back in the form of compost. However, the waste can also be dried then powdered for tomato powder.
The tomato waste consists of skin, seeds and sometimes a bit of pulp. It is a good idea to run the tomato waste through the food strainer again to remove any pulp you can. The remaining tomato waste is then spreadin a thin layer on a parchment lined baking sheet for oven drying or onto dehydrator sheets if using a dehydrator. The tomato waste is then dried at 145ºF until completely dry. Once the tomato waste is dried break it into pieces, place in a food processor or blender to powder the dried tomato. Vacuum seal your jars of tomato powder. Use the powder to enhance the flavour of soups, stews, meatloafs, breads and ground beef dishes. It is also good sprinkled on salads or used s a garnish.

Pizza Sauce

Homemade pizza sauce is one product that is a must have on your pantry shelves. I made a batch of homemade pizza sauce for canning with a yield of 10 - 250 ml jars. At our consumption rate I will need to made 2 more batches which amounts to about 1½ hampers of tomatoes. The 250 ml size (about 1 cup) is the perfect amount for 2 homemade pizzas. Pictured are the processed and cooled jars ready for labeling and storage. I think it looks lovely in the jars but then I'm a bit biased.

Canning seems like a lot of works and some days it is but I can't describe what it feels like to see the filled jars cooling on the counter. I honestly can't think of any home canned food that doesn't look wonderful in the jars, feeding your eyes and tantalizing your tastebuds before even opening the jars. That eye appeal just stimulates and inspires me not only to can but also to use all the great home canned food we make.

She Said (3) - Canadian Bacon and Pineapple Pizza

If you recall my husband and I are having a bit of a contest with each of us using a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens® New Grilling Book to create a meal. In total there will be 12 recipes, 6 of his choosing and 6 of mine. The contest ends August 31 so the first week of September I will post a poll where you can vote for the meal you liked best. The rules are all the ingredients must be used but the amounts can be altered.

Hubby's Pizza

My husband does not like green peppers or pineapple on his pizza. There were two Boboli crusts so we made two pizzas each topped as desired. My husband's toppings included sauce, peameal bacon, shredded ham and grated cheeses. He decided he would bake his in the oven to serve as a bit of comparison for my pizza that would be baked on the grill.

Canadian Bacon and Pineapple Pizza

Pork and pork products such as shredded ham and peameal bacon just go nicely with pineapple so when I saw this recipe I knew it was one to try. The pizza was topped as per the recipe but I added thin tomato slices and thin red onion slices. It just was crying for a bit more with respect to the toppings.

Canadian Bacon and Pineapple Pizza
source: Meredith Corporation, Better Homes and Garden New Grilling Book, 2005. Pp. 243

1 8-ounce can pizza sauce
1 14-ounce Italian bread shell (Boboli)
1 small green sweet pepper, cut crosswise into thin rings
1½ c chopped fresh pineapple
1 c finely shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Spread the pizza sauce over the Boboli then top with toppings. Place the assembled pizza on a medium high grill. Grill 15 to 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and the bottom of the Boboli is crisp. The edges of the pizza should be golden brown. Remove from the grill and cut into wedges.

Fresh Off the Grill

This really is a very simple recipe that gave good results. The pizza had a lot of flavour! I definitely recommend using homemade peameal bacon. I can't say I'm all that impressed with using a pre-made Italian bread shell (Boboli). These toppings would be ideal on my favourite pizza dough recipe.  Using homemade pizza dough will still allow you to cook the pizza on the outdoor grill. The Boboli came with two packets of sauce so we used those but really homemade pizza sauce would have been a bit better,

On a whole it was a good pizza that with a bit of tweaking could be better. I really liked the overall flavours and tones. So I will be using this flavour combination again.

Hubby's Weekend Cooking

I have often mentioned on this blog my husband's wonderful cooking skills. He makes one of the best burgers you will ever taste but his real signature dish is his breaded pork chops! This past weekend he decided to take over the kitchen! Here's what he came up with.

Rib Roast

Thursday morning I was rummaging through one of the chest freezers holding our new supply of organic, hormone free beef. I wanted ground beef but as I was looking for that I spotted a rib roast that somehow had two corners torn. This does happen with bulk meat purchases from time to time with the transporting from the abattoir to home freezer. It was hot and humid not really nice roast weather day so I put the roast into the refrigerator to thaw.

Saturday my husband wrapped the roast tightly and cooked it on the grill. At the same time he cooked potatoes seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper then wrapped in foil on the grill. The side vegetables were cauliflower with a little butter and nutmeg, sliced tomatoes and cucumber quarters. It was a lovely meal that kept most of the prep heat out of the house.

Breakfast

Yes I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day but I have to admit that during the week we very seldom eat breakfast especially a cooked one. I'm quite happy with a bit of homemade yogurt with my coffee or latte while my husband occasionally enjoys a toasted bagel. When we are on vacation or on the weekends we make up for it by having a hot breakfast.

There were left over potatoes from Saturday's roast dinner and half a ream of frozen bacon left from the omelet made the weekend before. In true frugal fashion he fried the bacon on the indoor griddle then set it aside to warm the potatoes. When the potatoes were warmed though he put the eggs on while I made the toast. Once plated we sat eating and chit chatting while watching the beauty of the water.

Barbeque Rib Roast Pizza

The rib roast dinner on Saturday had been an unplanned meal. It was a larger roast as well so there were left overs. Saturday night as we watched a bit of television a commercial for a steak pizza came on. That became the inspiration for a different way to use up some of the rib roast.

I put in a batch of pizza dough just after 3 PM. With the heat and humidity the proofing went a bit quicker than expected. My husband took it from there. Instead of a tomato pizza sauce he used Diana Sauce® for the sauce. After spreading a even layer of Diana Sauce® he layered on thin slices of the roast beef and chopped onions then topped with mozzarella cheese. This mouthwatering pizza tasted every bit as good as it looked! What a wonderful and unique way to use up roast beef!

A Foodie Weekend

From February 13 to the 19^th there was something on the go every day and evening so my husband and I did not get a chance to eat together. During the week I made dinner as normal packaging up my husband's meal for the following day's lunch. We like going out for dinner Friday evenings so I found a community event with all you can eat pickerel that sounded good. Saturday night we were hosting our monthly larger event with the kids home so I kept dinner simple with homemade individual sized pizzas. I had several goodies planned for the event despite the bad weather that was threatening. In little time the weekend shaped up to be a foodie weekend!

Pickerel Dinner

If you have followed this blogs you will have already read how much we enjoy small community food events. Quite often these are hosted by community service clubs or charity groups as fund raisers. We like to support these efforts whenever possible. Not only does this give back to our community it gives us a nice social night out with good food and entertainment at a very low cost.

Friday night there was an all you can eat pickerel dinner for $12 per person. We went with another couple then stopped at their house for drinks and socializing afterwards. The meal included all you can eat fish, vegetables, French fries, pickles and coleslaw. Pictured is my plate and just take a look at that piece of pickerel! Each beautiful, meaty fillet was a good 12 inches long. I finished one with the fixings while my husband had three fillets. Oh and where they ever good! The nice meaty fillets were cooked to perfection. We will definitely be at their next all-you-can-eat event.

Individual Pizzas

Saturday afternoon I made pizza dough for dinner. Normally we make one or two large pizzas but this time we made 6 individual pizzas topped as desired. My husband even formed a small, grandbaby sized pizza for the little one. Toppings included sautéed mushrooms, pancetta, onions, green peppers, ham and fresh tomatoes. The pancetta was a nice addition.

Italian pancetta is salt cured pork belly that has been spiced then dried for about three months. It is not smoked. It is either rolled as ours was or straight with the fat on one side. Pancetta is usually very thinly sliced. It is more expensive (here $2.69/100 g) to purchase than regular bacon or you can make your own pancetta.

Cured Meats

Three other kinds of homemade cured meat were served during our get together. The kids brought home some Italian sausage (top) made by grandbaby's babystitter. This tasty, spicy sausage that was sliced quite thin. I think this sausage was cured then oven cooked similar to my easy homemade sausage as there was no casing present. The sausage had a nice, firm texture. I really must get the recipe for this sausage!

Two of our friends make homemade venison sausage that is just wonderful. Unfortunately they aren't parting with their recipes so I'm going to have to experiment. One of these friends brought venison sticks (bottom). These spicy, homemade meat sticks are simply delightful! Everyone loves them. They have the texture of the pepperettes (not pictured) that I also served. Perhaps he will share the recipe for the venison sticks.

Making your own sausage and meat sticks is really quite easy. You don't need a lot of equipment either. One reason for making your own is to season according to how your family likes it. Another reason is to take advantage of good meat sales and/or use meats from a successful hunt. In many cases homemade sausages and meat sticks are cheaper than store bought.

Nilla Dips

It always amazes me that sometimes the simplest treats like chocolate pretzels are the most popular at get togethers. Of course this makes entertaining a bit easier. I'm also pleasantly surprised that despite being asked not to bring anything a lot of our guests bring some type of treat. Over the holidays a box of Vanilla wafers made their way into the house. I decided to use them up Saturday night. What I came up with was ever so easy yet went over well.

I melted regular chocolate chips but next time I think I'll use chocolate wafers. Then I spread peanut butter on the bottom of a vanilla wafer and sandwiched another vanilla wafer on top. Once assembled I dipped the little sandwiches into the melted chocolate and set on wax paper to cool.

Normally I have a large batch of chili on the go for this particular monthly get together. The guys love it! Saturday night I decided to do something a bit different and make ultimate hot dogs. My gosh did these ever go over well! So it went for another foodie weekend.

Portobello Pizza

The past five days have been a whirlwind of activity with little time for cooking. Saturday we managed to siphon enough time to get to Sam's Club. While the purpose was not for stocking up on food I managed to pick up a few food items, mainly large containers of seasonings. I also picked up a package of beautiful looking portobello mushrooms.

Portobello mushrooms are the mature form of brown crimini mushrooms. These mushrooms are often used in vegetarian cooking. They are very impressive simply by size often reaching diameters of 6 inches. They have a bit deeper more pronounced flavour than the juvenile crimini mushrooms which is to be expected. Portebello mushrooms are ideal for used as a bread replacement because they have a lovely texture when cooked. Believe me you won't even miss the bread when you substitute porobello mushrooms!

There were four lovely portobello mushrooms in the package. Now generally portobellos are viewed as expensive but these worked out to $1.05 each I will tell you I really do not like buying any kind of mushroom in a plastic wrapped tray. Mushrooms are like sponges so absorb moisture. This type of packaging can cause the mushrooms to be soggy and soil quickly plus it is not very environmentally friendly. Mushrooms packaged this way should be repackaged into a paper bag for storage in the crisper.

I decided that an easy meal of portobello pizza was in order. Toppings included home canned pizza sauce, green peppers, tomatoes, onions, bacon and Asiago cheese. Essentially the portobello mushroom is used in place of pizza dough.

Method: Place the mushroom on a baking sheet with gills facing up. Top with pizza sauce and desired toppings. Bake at 350ºF until cheese is bubbly.

You will need to use a knife and fork for eating portobello pizzas when eating a whole one. Portobello mushrooms have an intense enough flavour that they can easily accent stronger flavoured cheeses. One of the real beauties of homemade pizza based dishes is they are versatile. Use the toppings you want and leave omit the rest.

My husband wanted only sauce, cheese and bacon on his portobello pizza. I chose an Asiago cheese for this purpose as it has a bit more flavour that pairs nicely with the depth of flavour of the portobello mushroom. Bacon is another topping that pairs nicely with the flavour of portobello. Mine was topped with onion, green pepper, tomato slices, bacon, sauce and cheese. Both were quite lovely but very filling!

Portobello pizzas are very filling so don't let the smaller size fool you. Baked they are still a good 5 inches in diameter but are very meaty. Even though you are not getting a lot of carbs, the portobello mushroom itself is quite meaty and filling. One large portobello is more than sufficient per person for this meal. If anything it is more filling than the bread crust version. This dish would make a great appetizer as well although you may want to cut them into quarters.

Winter Vacation Highlights (3)

Our winter vacation is all about rest, relaxation and sun but this year we had a slightly extended agenda so the entire trip was a bit different. Much of our time was spent on the grounds of Cypress Lakes. We met up with friends the day after arriving and arranged to get together throughout the week. They are Canadian snowbirds who live in the Lakeland area from November to April. As a result three of our dinners were away from the Big Cypress Grill. On the Monday of our vacation we met with our friends for happy hour and they suggested eating dinner at Red Lobster.

Lobster Tank

When we are on vacation we prefer eating at unique restaurants but Red Lobster is one chain restaurant I don't mind going to on occasion. Honestly it has been almost four years since we ate at a Red Lobster! I only remember that because I scrapbooked the special occasion. Their food is fairly good, the prices are decent and the staff is always friendly.

The large lobster tank is the first sight to greet you when you enter a Red Lobster. I have to tell you I love lobster! Heavy rubber bands on the claws prevent the lobsters from fighting with each other as well as pinching the cook when being handled. Something you may not know is lobsters stop eating once they are caught. This results in weight loss and is one reason that unless there is a high turn over of lobster at the grocery store, frozen lobster may be a better deal. When using fresh lobster buy as close to being caught as possible. Fresh caught lobster is available for ordering online with next day delivery if you want as fresh as possible.

Berry Mango Delight

Strawberries were in season in the Lakeland area of Florida during our stay. They were huge, firm, sweet berries with a heavenly fresh strawberry aroma! Not only did we enjoy eating fresh strawberries, my husband enjoyed them in this fancy mixed drink. The Berry Mango Delight is a frozen combination of Bacardi rum and tropical mangoes swirled and topped with sweet, blended strawberries. The large cocktail served in pilsner glass was every bit as pretty as pictured in the menu! I had a sip and was pleasantly surprised at the cool, sweet flavour and creamy texture.

Mango and strawberry would be a lovely combination for a fruit smoothie sans the rum. A little rum extract would give the flavour of the rum to highlight the mango and strawberry flavours without the alcohol. I think a sprig of mint or splash of lime would add a lovely flavour as well in place of the rum. One thing to consider when seeing these types drinks on the menu is there are usually non-alcoholic versions available for those who want a fancier type cocktail without the alcohol.

Lobster Pizza

It's always nice to start an evening out with an appetizer. An appetizer sets the mood and gets the conversation going while waiting for the main course. One consistent problem we've found with appetizers is they tend to be a bit on the heavy, filling side.

We ordered the lobster pizza ($8.99) for the appetizer. This is a crisp thin-crust pizza topped with langostino lobster meat, melted mozzarella cheese, fresh tomatoes and sweet basil. The pizza served 4 easily with two good sized pieces each which was almost too much. The topping combination was quite lovely! This would be an easy to duplicate appetizer at home but I would cut the pizza into smaller wedges or even make the pizza rectangular then cut into squares for serving. The toppings would also be a nice combination for bruschetta or even crackers.

Island Citrus Rum Shrimp & Scallops

Dinner entrées include a tossed salad or coleslaw and biscuits. My husband ordered the island citrus rum shrimp & scallops ($17.50). The meal consisted of two skewers of jumbo shrimp and a skewer of sea scallops, grilled over a wood fire and topped with a spiced citrus-rum sauce. The shrimp & scallops were served over a bed of wild rice pilaf, a baked potato and asparagus. I thought the presentation of this dish was quite nice.

Scallops and shrimp are my husband's favourite seafood. He liked the way these were prepared and the sauce was quite tasty. This would be a nice sauce to duplicate at home especially as a shrimp dipping sauce. The wild rice pilaf would be another nice dish to duplicate at home.

Tilapia

I love fish and this vacation I was in the mood for fish! I ordered the half portion of wood-grilled tilapia ($10.99) served with a baked potato and steamed broccoli. Wood-grilling gave the nice sized piece of lightly seasoned tilapia a lovely flavour. The potato had been oiled then rubbed with sea salt. While we use sea salt on a daily basis, I found the skin too salty to eat. The broccoli was also seasoned with a herbed salt blend. Overall the meal was average.

There are three parts to eating in any restaurant and while the quality of food is primary, both service and atmosphere are important factors. Unfortunately the waitress forgot our salads! We thought he would bring them after the appetizer but he brought the hot food instead. About half way through the meal we realized he still hadn't brought the salads. In general the food was good but not outstanding, the atmosphere was nice, the waiter was friendly but forgetful. Overall what really made the meal was sharing it with friends.