Tasty, Healthy Pizza Alternative

Truth be told, I love pizza. It’s one of my favorite indulgences. But, as Father Time marches on, I have come to realize I am not 22 anymore. Indulging in even one slice of pizza can equal 400 calories or more.

I have to watch what I eat, when I eat it and how much of it I’m consuming. And, that usually means no more than one indulgence a month. I was pretty bummed about giving up pizza altogether, so I needed an alternative.

Enter my salvation from a pizza-free diet: Lavash Bread. This recipe is so easy that it’s done in a matter of minutes. There is no pan required, no dough to let rise and the tasty results are a little over 100 calories for the entire thing-depending on how much feta cheese you require.

Hallelujah.

Here’s all the you’ll need to make your very own Tasty, Healthy Lavash Pizza:

Lavash Bread-I prefer Jospeh’s (they come 4 to a pack for about $2)
1 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Garlic Salt
1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/8 C Red Onion
6 Cherry or 3 Grape Tomatoes
1-2 TBS Feta Cheese
6 Medium Leaves of Fresh Basil

Preheat the oven to 425.

Tear off a large enough square of aluminum foil to place the lavash bread on. Pour about a Tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) in the center of the bread.

Using the back of a spoon, spread the EVOO out into a thin layer, covering the entire piece of lavash bread.

Sprinkle the entire piece of lavash bread with Garlic Salt.

Next, sprinkle the entire piece of lavash bread with Italian Seasoning.

Chop up about a handful (about 1/8 Cup) of red onions and distribute them around the bread.

Quarter the Grape Tomatoes or halve the cherry tomatoes and place them evenly around the lavash bread.

Add about 1-2 TBS of crumbled feta cheese. Place the lavash bread with aluminum foil underneath on the middle wire rack in your preheated oven.

Cook for 5-6 minutes or until the edges are turning slightly brown.

Add the fresh basil leaves and return to the oven for 1 more minute.

Slice up into manageable squares and enjoy. So simple, so inexpensive, so healthy and sooooo tasty.

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A Castle, A Beer & A Pizza

There are times when I obsess about and long for a flavor from the past. It is a hunger that cannot be quenched until I tastes of its goodness once again.

There are times when this is impossible-due to the nature of where the food came from.

I have been craving a food from the source of Salzburg, Germany-found only here at this castle.

After a vigorous climb to get to the castle (we were too cheap to ride the gondola up), Biceps and I sat down to enjoy this view…

…at the edge of the castle’s restaurant.

First things first, we ordered a tall Pilsner beer. Then, we ordered a pizza (cheapest thing on the menu) and sat back to watch the tiny cars below zipping around as our food was being prepared.

The pizza was absolutely amazing and ridiculously simple-spinach, tomatoes, mozzarella and a red sauce. I need this pizza. I want this pizza.

Blame my obsession over this fantasy pizza on the long trek to the castle, the fact that I had been subsisting on pastries and cheese for days at that point or that the scenery was unbelievably beautiful.

I don’t care. I know in my heart that my hunger for this pizza will not subside. Biceps, pack your bags. We are going back to Germany. The end.

Pickled Jalapeno Peppers

After making enough Jalapeno Pepper Jelly to feed a small army, I still had more jalapenos than I could handle. I then dehydrated a large freezer bag full and then blanched another freezer bag full.
But, I still had at least six more pounds of jalapeno’s to deal with. Since you can pickle cucumbers, okra and just about anything else, I decided I would try it on my jalapenos. So stinkin’ glad that I did.

(This tutorial may look like a lot of steps, but I am also showing the canning process that is applicable to any type of water bath canning-just in case you aren’t familiar.)

 

Pickled Jalapeno Peppers are tasty, a little hot and still crunchy. Throw a few in your chili, on top of nachos, hot dogs or even a pizza to add a little pizzaz. (If you don’t want them to be hot, simply remove the seeds and membranes).
The best part? They look fancy inside a mason jar and make inexpensive gifts!

 

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own Pickled Jalapeno Peppers (this recipe makes the 4 quarts shown):

3 C Water
9 C Distilled White Vinegar
2 TBS Kosher Salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
8 cloves of Garlic, peeled and left whole
6 Lbs Jalapeno Peppers-green & red (that’s about 180 small peppers or 60 large)

4 Quart Jars with lids and rings
Canner & canning utensils
Gloves

 

First things first, wash your jars, rings and lids in soapy water.

 

I am super particular about bacteria, so after I wash my jars, rings and lids-I put them in a large pot of boiling water, turn down the heat and let them simmer while I am making the jars’ contents.

 

Slap on your rubber gloves and de-stem the jalapenos. At this point, if you want less hot jalapeno’s, cut out the membrane and the seeds.

 

Slice the jalapeno’s to be about 1/4-1/2″ thick.

 

Peel the garlic gloves and apply slight pressure to each clove with your thumb. Don’t smash them to smithereenes-this is just to release a bit of flavor.

 

Now for the brine: Pour the 3 cups of water into a large stainless steel pot. Place the pot on a large burner on the stove.

 

Add the 9 cups of vinegar to the pot.

 

Add the 2 TBS of Kosher salt.

 

Finally, add the 1 1/2 tsp of ground Cumin.

Whisk all of these ingredients together and bring to a boil. Stir until the Kosher salt dissolves completely.

 

While you are waiting on the brine to boil, remove the hot jars, lids and rings with tongs.

 

Also, while you are waiting on the brine to boil, fill the canner up with water, about 3/4 of the way up. Turn the burner on high, set the canner lid loosely on top-don’t screw the lid on as pictured here!.

 

Put a clove of garlic (or two if the clove is small) in the bottom of the sterilized jars.

 

While wearing gloves, pack each jar completely full of jalapeno pepper slices.
 

Place the canning funnel over each jar. Fill the jar full of the hot brine, leaving a 1/4″ at the top of the jar.

 

Use a knife to remove any air bubbles.

 

Remove any excess liquid from the mouth of the jar with a clean cloth.

 

Place the lids on the jars and hand tighten the rings.

 

Using tongs, place the jars inside of your water bath canner.

 

Place the canner lid and process the jars for 10 to 15 minutes.

 

Remove the jars with the tongs, and set on clean dish towels on the counter. As the jars cool, you can hear a ‘ping’ which tells you the jars were processed correctly.

 

Store for 3+ weeks in a dark area. This allows all the flavors to get to know each other, mingle around, have some alone time and in turn-makes your jalapenos super yummy.

Keep opened jars for 6 months in the fridge-use only clean utensils to remove peppers. No fingers, please.
Keep unopened jars for a year.

This means you can make Pickled Jalapeno Peppers this summer after the jalapeno harvest and give to that special someone as Christmas gifts months later.

Easy, peasy, cheap and pleasy.

A Family Torn Apart by Pizza

‘Sally vs. Frank’

I have been serving as a jury member this last week, causing my life to somehow become legal in every way.
For example, Biceps tries to sneak a bite from my plate and I adamantly yell, ‘I object!’. Cowboy is currently awaiting trial for a misdemeanor-he bit my hand while I was petting him.

I just needed some time to cool off before the judgement.

All of that said, I found it only fitting to talk about some legal issues as they pertain to my touring lifestyle.

And as they pertain to pizza. Lovely, warm, cheesy pizza.

In New Haven, CT. there are two rivaling pizzeria’s:

Frank Pepe’s…(yes, that’s the most handsome man in the world-Biceps)…

…and Sally’s Apizza Restaurant.

With family ties involved, the story of the two pizzeria’s becomes very interesting.

Both restaurant’s are ancient and have lines of people waiting around the block before they open.

And both have a fantastic end product. Oh, this is making me so hungry just looking at it.

If you’ve never had a coal fired pizza….you have never lived.

Now, here’s the problem:

Frank’s nephew, Sal (Sally’s), split off from the family business and opened up his own pizzeria.

Sal then set up shop on Wooster Street.

Frank Pepe’s was already on Wooster Street several years before.

Tempers flare not only the Pepe family, but New Havenites, as well.

I say-stop the fighting-and try both pizzeria’s.

Do it because it’s the right thing to do.

Do it because you need to be impartial, leaving your prejudices at the door.

And do it because your tummy will thank you. Many times over will it thank you.

The world doesn’t have to be full of Sally’s vs. Frank’s. Let’s change this world to ‘Sally’s and Frank’s’.

Or at least Sally’s and Frank’s in the same day. Yum.