Dinner & a Movie

Mom called me on Saturday morning because their evening plans had fallen through.

"Do you want to go with Dad & I to Lisa's Cafe for dinner & then to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? And before you decide, we gave a gift card so dinner is our treat."

Ummm...yes, please. I was just planning an exciting evening of Charmed on Netflix.

I love the salads at Lisa's, mainly because they come with this delicious breadstick. Yum! I got the tossed salad with Sweet Vidalia Onion dressing. I usually like vinaigrettes & wasn't expecting this to be creamy, but it was good!

Mom & I split the large vegetarian stromboli. They were nice enough to split it onto 2 plates, so that's half. Holy cow that was a lot of stromboli!! It was delicious, stuffed with crisp veggies & mozerella cheese, with a side of marinara sauce for dipping. I ate the piece on the left & saved the rest for lunch.

Oh, and those brown squiggles of cheese on the top? They were SO good.

Mom also got a side of asparagus, which she shared.

The Bup got the small vegetarian stromboli for himself, & it was the same size as mine! He, of course, ate the whole thing. No surprise there!

For dessert, Mom & I split a chocolate biscotti. It didn't seem like it was baked after they sliced it like biscotti usually is, but it was still yummy. We didn't have time for coffee, so it was probably better that it was soft & didn't need to be dipped.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was intense. We saw the Swedish version about a year ago & I read the book, so nothing was really a surprise. The intro was very artistic but super bizarre. It was fun to go to the movies since we rarely go. I think the last one we saw was Harry Potter!

Did any of you see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? What did you think? Did you like the intro?



Tower of Chard

This is what happens when you let your structurally inclined hubby chop the veggies for a make your own pizza party.

You wind up with a tower of chard.

It was my fault we had so much swiss chard to begin with. I went a little crazy in the garden because the crop is out of hand. Aside from the chard, we had white & red onions, tomatoes (some of the first from the garden!), a baby pattypan squash, and the choice of basil almond pesto, bbq sauce, or tomato sauce.

The other three ended up making strombolis and I had a pizza. This is why make your own pizza parties are so perfect. We all got a unique dinner and had fun making it together.

I got two questions in one comment in my last post to answer!

First off, a flax egg is indeed not an egg at all. It's one of the many substitutes for an egg that is used primarily by vegan bakers. I use it occasionally for a few reasons:

• I want my food to be vegan
• I want to be able to eat the cookie dough w/o consuming raw egg
• I'm out of eggs and can't get any farm fresh ones right away
• Flax has a lot of health benefits, including omega-3 essential fatty acids, which are important to consume. Americans in general consume far too many omega-6's and not nearly enough omega-3's, which throws off the proper ratio between the two. Omega-3's are commonly found in fish, but flax, chia seeds, and walnuts are all excellent sources in a vegetarian diet.

Second question: How do I store my homemade bread? ?

Usually in a plastic bag.

If the recipe I'm using makes 2 loaves, I"ll double bag one and freeze it. The remaining loaf is stored in one bag, with a little room to breath. I bought a nice bread loaf sized storage container that made every loaf grow mold quickly because it was so air tight. It's now pushed far into the back corner of my cabinet. I like to loosely twist the bag closed (or zip it most of the way, depending which type of bag I'm using) and tuck the end under the loaf. This method works for us due to the temperature in our kitchen (65-77 degrees, depending on the season) and the speed at which we eat the homemade bread.

I hope this was a good enough answer! 

Please continue to comment and I'll try to answer everyone's questions!

I'm heading to Pittsburgh for the weekend for my cousin's wedding. More posts when I return!

Oh Hummus

I think hummus is my all time favorite dip. Except if you count guacamole. :-) It's so versatile. Spinach flavor? You got it! Smoky flavor? Easy! There are so many things you can mix in to give it a unique flavor.

I'm not the only one who loves it! Angela wrote a whole post entitled Hummus, A Food Group.

Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus
adapted heavily from SmittenKitchen

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
1/2 cup lemon juice
8 halves sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup water

Combine ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Add additional water if necessary for a spreadable consistency.

Do you know what you should do with the hummus? Make stromboli.



I googled "hummus and broccoli stromboli" and got no exact results! It's an original! Apparently people put hummus on  their bolis but not in  them. After making it, I don't know why. It's going to be my new go-to stromboli.

I used this hummus to make two kinds of stromboli - one with dijon mustard and broccoli and one with bbq sauce, bell peppers and broccoli.

Hummus Stromboli
Makes 2 strombolis - Serves 4

1 recipe whole wheat pizza dough (see below)
2/3 cup sun-dried tomato hummus (or any preferred variety)
1 small head of broccoli, cleaned and chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
3 T Dijon mustard
3 T BBQ sauce
Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 400F. If using a pizza stone, put it in the over to preheat. If using baking sheets, spray with cooking spray.

Prepare dough and divide into two balls. Stretch each dough ball into an 18"x12" rectangle.

On one dough sheet, spread 1/3 cup hummus & Dijon mustard down the center of the rectangle. Top with 1/3 of the bell pepper, and as much broccoli as possible (about 2/3 of the total broccoli). Pull dough over toppings to cover and seal.

On the second dough sheet, spread 1/3 cup hummus & BBQ sauce down the center of the rectangle. Top with onion, remaining bell pepper, and the rest of the broccoli. Pull dough over toppings to cover and seal.

Carefully pick up the stromboli and turn it so that the seal is down. Place on stone (or baking sheet) and bake for 20 minutes. Coat tops of strombolis with either cheese or olive oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning. Bake for another 10 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and firm to the touch.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Makes 2 thin crust pizzas or 2 strombolis

1 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup spelt flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 T olive oil

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 5 minutes or until bubbly. Add flours, salt and olive oil. Stir until combined. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Let rise in a warm place in an oiled bowl, covered, for about an hour or until doubled. Separate into two and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.