• 1 pk Fast-rising dry yeast
• 3 c All-purpose white flour, (bread or high-glute is not right for, this recipe)
• 1 c Hot water (120F-to-130F)
• 1/2 ts Salt
• 1/2 c Mozzarella or other melting cheese thinly sliced
• 1 c Tomato sauce, -=OR= 1 1/2 lb -Fresh tomatoes, seeded, drained and roughly chopped
• 2 Garlic cloves (optional), peeled and minced
• 1/2 ts Dried oregano, -=OR= 6 -Fresh basil leaves, shredded
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tb Olive oil

Believe it or not, this pizza is ready in half an hour. PREHEAT OVEN TO 500F. (Mixing and kneading: 1 1/2 minutes.) Place the yeast and 1 cup of the flour in the bowl of a food processor and pulse once using the metal knife or the plastic dough blade. With the machine running, pour in the hot water (make certain it's hot when you use it). As soon as it's in, turn the machine off; add the salt and remaining 2 cups of flour. Next, pulse until the dough begins to hold together; then let the machine run continously until a ball of dough forms. (Assembly: 5 minutes.)

Lightly oil the pan with vegetable oil and dust with coarsely ground yellow cornmeal. Press the dough out into an 8-inch circle with your fingertips and then roll or stretch it out into a 15-or-18-inch pizza shell. Fit the shell onto prepared pan. Sprinkle desired toppings over dough, and finish with a drizzling of olive oil. Bake 15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the topping is bubbly. For a well-done crust bake 5 minutes longer. Makes 1 Pizza.

Technorati Tags : pizza, italian, recipe

An amazing soup recipe over at Apartment Therapy.

Technorati Tags : zucchini, soup, recipe, curry

Frank Bruni of the New York Times answers why he writes zero star restaurant reviews.

I do generally believe that zero-star reviews — some of which dub a restaurant “satisfactory,” as in the case of Freemans or Koi or Indochine or Mercer Kitchen, and others of which dub a restaurant “poor,” as in the case of Ninja — should be somewhat rare. There’s not always sense in drawing attention to something that you’re then suggesting people should avoid.

But the definition of one star as “good” would quickly lose any meaning if the review space didn’t occasionally present examples, and reviews, of restaurants that fall below that mark. That argues for zero-star reviews from time to time.

Moreover, the size and frequency of crowds at Freemans, which is still filling up even after its expansion, suggest that every week, curious people who’ve never been there are showing up, ready to spend what may be hard-earned money.

The restaurant is clearly already on their radar: I’m not introducing it to them only to tell them to beware. I’m discussing the cons and pros — in my view, based on my experiences — of a restaurant they may well be thinking about visiting.

Technorati Tags : Frank+Bruni, restaurant

Heidi at 101 Cookbooks has posted the best pizza dough ever. Today she posted a white whole wheat pizza dough recipe.

Technorati Tags : pizza, dough, recipe

• 2 c Drained, flaked, water-packd tuna
• 2 c Low-fat cottage cheese
• 3/4 c Sour cream
• 1/4 c Diced red onion
• 1/4 c Canned, diced green chiles
• 2 tb Salsa
• 3 c Cooked, drained noodles
• 12 Saltine crackers, crumbled
• 12 Dry roasted, unsalted cashew nuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In large bowl, combine tuna, cottage cheese, sour cream, red onion, chiles, salsa and noodles.
3. Turn into 2-quart casserole dish coated with non-stick spray.
4. Combine crackers and cashews and sprinkle over top.
5. Bake uncovered 30 minutes. NOTE: The amount of vegetable in this recipe works out to one tablespoon per person, therefore you don't need to use a vegie card for such a small amount. If you wanted to bring it up to 1 vegie card, you could serve this with 1/3 cup of steamed vegetables per person.

Technorati Tags : tex-mex, casserole, tuna, recipe

• 32 oz Jar spaghetti sauce
• 9 Lasagna noodles, UNCOOKED
• 12 oz Dry curd cottage cheese
• 1 Egg
• 8 oz Cheese, Mozzarella; shredded
• 1/4 Cheese, parmesan, grated
• 1 lb Beef, ground, or turkey
• 1 tb -Italian spices to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Brown ground beef and drain
3. Mix together ground beef and spaghetti sauce (add spices}
4. In Medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese and egg until well blended.
5. Spread 1/4 sauce on bottom of pan (approximately 7 x 11 x 3)
6. Place one noodle layer 3 across bottom of pan
7. Place 1/2 cottage cheese mixture on top of noodle, then layer 1/3 of sauce then the second layer of noodle.
8. Repeat, ending with top layer of noodle, and then top with sauce.
9. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
10. Cover tightly with foil
11. Cook 1 hour covered. Uncover and cook 15 min more
12. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting into serving pieces.

MICROWAVE VERSION USE 8 X 8 glass dish. follow above directions except cover loosely with wax paper. Microwave on high 18 min, turn dish and continue another 18 min. Let stand 5 min before serving. (Test for doneness - zap longer if necessary )

Technorati Tags : lasagna, pasta, recipe

• 2 lb Ground Beef
• 1 1/2 ts Ground Cumin
• 1 tb Chili Powder
• 1 cn (16 Oz) Tomatoes, chopped
• 2 c Small Curd Cottage Cheese
• 1 Egg
• 2 c Lettuce, shredded
• 10 Corn Tortillas
• 1/4 ts Garlic Powder
• 1/4 ts Red Pepper
• 1/2 ts Black Pepper
• 1/2 c Cheddar Cheese, grated
• 1/2 c Tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 c Black Olives, sliced
• 3 Green Onions, chopped

Brown ground beef and drain. Add cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper, pepper, and tomatoes. Heat through. Cover bottom and sides of 9 x 13 inch baking dish with tortillas. Pour beef mixture over tortillas. Place a layer of tortillas over beef mixture. Combine cottage cheese, cheddar, and egg. Pour over tortillas. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. remove from oven and sprinkle with lettuce, tomatoes, green onion, and olives in diagonal rows over the top.

Technorati Tags : mexican, lasagna, pasta, recipe

• 1 1/2 lb Turnips, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 ts Butter
• 1 Onion, thinly sliced
• 2/3 c Chopped celery
• 2 ts Flour
• 1 c Milk
• 1/2 c Grated sharp cheese salt and pepper to taste
• 3 ts Bread crumbs

Cook turnips in boiling, salted water to cover until just tender. Drain, Saute in butter the onion, green pepper, and celery until tender. Sprinkle with flour and cook 1 minutes. Add milk and stir until thickened. Stir in cheese, salt and pepper. Combine cheese sauce with turnips, place in baking dish and top with crumbs. Brown under broiler. May be prepared ahead and placed under broiler just before serving.

Technorati Tags : turnip, recipe, casserole

• 1 lb Hamburger
• 1 Envelope taco seasoning mix
• 1 cn Tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 c Water
• 1 c Grated cheese (more if you, want it)
• Bag baked tortilla chips

Saute meat in skillet. Add taco seasoning mix, tomato sauce, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered 15 min. Add tortilla chips; mix, being careful not to break the chips. Pour into a 2-inch-deep by 8 inch round or square baking dish. Bake in 400 oven 10-15 minutes. Top with cheese.

Technorati Tags : Mexican, taco, beef, casserole, recipe

The other day Jordon was commenting how much he missed his recipe from his youth. Here it is.

• 1 c Frozen peas
• 1 cn Condensed cream of celery soup
• 1/2 c Milk
• 1/2 c (2 oz) shredded Swiss cheese
• 1 cn (6 1/2 oz) tuna, drained and flaked
• 2 c Cooked corkscrew or other Macaroni (1 Cup uncooked)
• 2 Hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 1/2 c Crumbled potato chips

Place peas in small microwave-safe bowl. Cover with vented plastic wrap; Microwave on HIGH 1-2 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.

In 1 1/2 quart microwave-safe casserole, stir soup and milk until smooth. Stir in cheese. Fold tuna, macaroni, eggs and peas into soup mixture. Cover with lid; microwave on HIGH 5-7 minutes or until hot and bubbling, stirring once during cooking. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Sprinkle potato chips over casserole.

NOTE: Cream of Chicken or Cream of Mushroom can be substituted for the Cream of Celery Soup

Technorati Tags : casserole, tuna, recipe, seafood

Not always. 

Gonzalez's workplace looks like any number of packing sheds in California's fruit and vegetable industry, where the state that grows half the country's produce has for decades relied on a low-paid immigrant workforce to tend and harvest its crops. But this is no ordinary plant--Gonzalez's employer is a leader in the organic food business, an industry that prides itself on a gentler approach to the land and the people who work it. Her experience illustrates just how far the organic food movement has yet to go to fulfill its promise of a more socially just food system.

Technorati Tags : organic+food, ethics

So how healthy is your Starbucks coffee? A Starbucks venti Caffe Mocha has 490 calories or the same as a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese

A 24-ounce Java Chip Frappuccino with whipped cream has 650 calories, not to mention almost an entire day’s allowance of saturated fat.

Technorati Tags : Starbucks, coffee, sugar, McDonalds, health, food

Cookbook 411 has some wonderful bacon and egg tarts.

Technorati Tags : eggs, bacon, recipe