So, a little bit about me. As the name suggests, I've acquired a bit of the travel bug. I suppose once you see something you can't see "back home", it makes one hungry to see more. Speaking of hungry, I am a total foodie. Because I have been fortunate enough to experience different cultures, I have grown to absolutely adore a good meal. I definitely have the "try everything once" mentality, and truthfully there's not much I wouldn't try again.
So, one might think with all this traveling and eating, I must be one rich lady! Alas, this is not the case. Which is one of the reasons why I do a lot of my own cooking. Thankfully for my stomach (and wallet!), I'm actually pretty good at it! I refuse to miss out on all the good stuff, so I'll just save myself some dollars and make it myself!
Another thing you'll notice is I cook with a lot of fresh ingredients. I make my own bread, my own pesto, my own hummus, etc. After getting really into health and fitness, and losing about 20 pounds (woohoo!!), I decided processed foods were just not for me. I've also realized farmer's markets are amazing! Plus, fresh food tastes soooooo much better! As I hope to help you find out :)
So, onto our first meal!
Shrimp, pesto, cheese and veggie pizza on a whole wheat crust
As I mentioned previously, I do make my own bread. And always use 100% whole wheat flour. Don't feel like you have to make your own crust for this pizza....because I admit, it is time consuming. However, it does taste delicious! And it's healthier ;)
Whole Wheat Crust
- 1 3/4 c. 100% whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp honey (I've recently discovered local honey is the best honey!)
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
- 3/4 c. warm water
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
Just a note on flax seed....this stuff is amazing. Not only do I add it to all my breads, but I add it to my morning fruit smoothies as well. Just ONE serving of the stuff (2 tablespoons) delivers 4 grams of fiber, 2400 mg of omega-3s, and is an excellent source for lignans. And what the heck are lignans? Apparently they're natural antioxidants. One serving of ground flax seed delivers the same amount of lignans you'd find in 30 CUPS of broccoli. Sweet.
To make the bread, first dissolve the honey in the water in a medium bowl, then add the yeast. Let the bowl sit for about 10 minutes, in which you'll see the yeast get all foamy. This means your yeast is good!
Next, stir in the salt and olive oil. Then add your flour and flax seed. When all your ingredients are combined and the dough is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl, dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead for a couple minutes. If the dough is a little too sticky, add just a little more flour. Roll the dough into a ball, oil your bowl with a little bit of olive oil, and toss the dough back into the bowl. Roll it around a little bit to coat it with the oil. Place a towel over the bowl and set it in a warm spot for about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
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| Dough rising in the bowl. |
After your dough has been allowed to rise, place it back onto a flat, floured surface. Press it into a flat circle shape with your fingers, then using your rolling pin roll it out to the desired size of your crust. Because I like crispy crust, I rolled mine out pretty thin. Drape over an oiled pizza pan and cut off any excess. Make sure to take a fork and place holes throughout to keep air bubbles from forming. Pop in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes then remove...now we're ready for toppings!
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| Ready for the oven! |
The toppings I chose for this pizza were
- lightly sauteed peeled and deveined shrimp seasoned with a garlic and Italian herb blend
- a whole, fresh tomato, sliced
- half a small onion, sliced
- homemade pesto
- mozzarella cheese
- goat cheese
Don't have a recipe for pesto? I used about 2 cups of fresh, packed basil leaves (Oh, how I love summertime!!), 1/8 cup of pine nuts, a couple cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, and enough olive oil to reach the right consistency (I guess about a little less than 1/2 a cup). Put it all in a food processer and pulse until smooth! So dang good!
Start with your pesto as your "sauce" and add the rest of the ingredients on top! Pop the whole pizza back into the oven for about 15 minutes....maybe a little longer if you like a crispy crust!
And dinner is served! One that's not too bad for you either ;)
Thank you so much for stopping in...hope to see you here again soon! And please, feel free to leave me your thoughts, or any other pizza combinations you can think up. Keep in mind...I love fresh mushrooms!
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