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| Yellow Rose |
Another mostly cloudy day, but, the sun tried to shine through the clouds and it was not gloomy and grey. The morning was chilly and I put the gas heater on to warm up the house (then, turned it off and kept it off the rest of the day).
It was a struggle for me to go for my walk, today, but, eventually, I bundled up and walked for 15 minutes. I got tired after 10 minutes, but, paused the timer and sat down on the low stone wall between neighbor T's house and mine for a minute or two, then, set the timer back on and walked for the remaining 5 minutes. I have managed to walk for at least 15 minutes, Monday through Friday this week. It might not sound like much to some people, but, this is a big accomplishment for me! I am not sure if I will walk on Saturday and Sunday, as well, but, if I can walk on five of the seven days, I'll be happy.
Then, I spent another 5 minutes or so, checking on the garden plants, taking a couple of pictures, and picking snow pea pods. Today, I picked about 25 pea pods.
Afterwards, I made milk rice to celebrate the Sri Lankan New Year. I know I had planned to make it on Thursday, but, once I checked the time the new year dawned in Sri Lanka and the time that was recommended for lighting the stove and partaking of the first meal, it made more sense to make the milk rice on Friday. I took a portion of milk rice and seeni sambol, along with the snow pea pods I picked, over to neighbor S to share with her. Later, M enjoyed a plate of milk rice and seeni sambol, when he came to tend to the garden. There is a small portion left for Saturday's breakfast.
M bought me a small Serrano chili pepper plant and a box of long-lasting tea lights/candles (they are supposed to last for 8 hours, according what's written on the box). We planted the chili plant and some beans and M weeded, pruned, and tidied.
Afterwards, I watched the evening news and knitted a bit. I am making good progress on the sweater I am knitting, considering I only knit for about one hour each evening while I watch news.
There were leftovers from Thursday night's meal for dinner, but, I had a craving for pizza! I didn't want to go out to pick up pizza and I didn't want to order for it to be delivered, either. Instead, I decided to make a pizza. There was not enough time to make a traditional yeast pizza dough (it was already past 7:30 p.m.) but, I had seen several recipes online for a two ingredients pizza dough using yogurt and self-rising flour. Basically, you mix Greek yogurt and self-rising flour to make the dough. Sounds simple enough, right?
Of course, I didn't have self-rising flour because I have never bought any, so, I just used all purpose flour and added some baking powder and salt to make my own self-rising flour substitute. And although I had half of a 5 oz. container of Greek yogurt, I wanted to keep that as a starter for my next batch of homemade yogurt. What I wanted to use for this recipe was the last bit of the old homemade yogurt, except I didn't have enough of it (recipe called for 1 cup). Not a problem - I used what I had and added approximately half a cup of milk! Then, I mixed up the dough, kneaded it a bit, and let it rest while I got the other ingredients for the pizza topping ready.
Pizza sauce? I didn't have pizza sauce, but, I had some leftover pasta sauce in the freezer - I broke off a portion and microwaved it to thaw it. Yes, I know they are two different types of sauces, but, I was going to use what I have on hand.
As for the toppings, I like pepperoni on my pizza, but, guess what? I didn't have pepperoni. What I had is smoked sausage in the freezer - I cut off a piece and microwaved it to thaw it, then, sliced it (and microwaved it a bit more to cook it, a bit).
Mozzarella cheese? Don't have any! But, I have the Armenian cheese that neighbor S gave! It's a crumbly cheese, but, it would do just as well! I broke off a piece and crumbled it.
I was ready to make my pizza!
I took approximately half the dough and rolled it out to a circle, approximately the same size as one of my frying pans. A frying pan? Don't you mean a pizza pan? No, I mean a frying pan! I don't have a round pizza pan and besides, this pizza dough was going to be cooked on top of the stove!
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| Pizza Base "Baking" |
Once the bottom was browned (took about 5 minutes), I flipped it over so that the other side could brown, too, and I spread the toppings on the side that was already browned, covered the frying pan with a lid and let it cook for another couple of minutes:
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| Stove Top Pizza! |
The Armenian cheese didn't melt that much, but, that was OK.
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| Leftover Pizza Dough Flat Breads |
I will eat them as I would any type of flat bread or roti, with some chicken curry or something.
- Being able to share the milk rice with neighbor S and with M
- The power didn't go off!
- Being able to walk each day (Monday through Friday)
Well, you were certainly resourceful with your pizza making. I am curious about the crust. Did it have a biscuity taste?
ReplyDeleteThe crust was OK. A bit tasteless on its own; a bit like the crust of a mediocre frozen pizza! If there is a next time, I might add some garlic salt or something to the crust. I warmed up the leftover pizza in the toaster oven for my brunch, today, and the crust stayed crisp, which I liked. Maybe I'll try it again with the proper ingredients! :D
DeleteHappy New Year, Bless! Your pizza looks very impressive, and all the better for being made with what you have on hand. Well done with your walking too - but don't push yourself too hard!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Angela. It's interesting how so many different cultures/religions celebrate some sort of renewal and new beginnings around this time of the year, isn't it?
DeleteMy pizza making skills leave a lot of room for improvement, but, I satisfied a craving with what I had on hand. No additional money spent and no additional carbon added to the environment from driving to pick up a pizza or to have it delivered. :)
Thank you, Angela; I managed to get in a walk today, too. Maybe it'll become a daily habit if I keep at it. :)
I hope you are not in too much pain while you are walking. You certainly made me smile at your recipe for homemade pizza using only what you had at the time and happy it satisfied your craving, it looks good to me. I have never made yogurt bread dough and I have never heard of it before. The weather has changed for the better this weekend it's sunny and warm today so a very welcome change.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Eileen; I have learned to stop and rest a bit when I get any aches and pains while walking.
DeleteHa, ha, I can be a very creative cook when I have to be! :D I had the other half of the pizza, warmed up, for my brunch, today (actually, a small piece is leftover; I might have that as a snack, later). I thought it tasted fine. I shall try again with the proper ingredients, next time! :D
Glad you are having some nice, sunny, warm weather this weekend. It's sunny and warm here, too (69F/21C). I'm enjoying the sunshine and the warmth. :) Hope you have a lovely weekend, Eileen.
That's one very improvised pizza! But I can't see why it wouldn't be delicious. It certainly looks most edible! (Just don't show it to an Italian.) I don't think I have made a bread dough using yoghurt, but I have made the casing for samosas that way. I think we use plain or bread flour rather than self-raising, but basically the principle is the same, and you get a lovely thin pastry which is easy to roll, form and deep fry.
ReplyDeleteLOL, I think this has been the most creative thing I've cooked in a long time! Practically everything was a substitution! But the end result was not too bad. The leftover half was warmed up in the toaster oven, today, for my brunch and it was fine. The dough needs more work, though. Oh, I've not tried using yogurt to make the samosa dough! So, you'd use yogurt instead of oil? I must try that! I love samosas! :)
DeleteYour pizza creation was a masterpiece of ingenuity! Only a seasoned cook could make so many changes and come up with a great result. Belated Happy New Year, by the way.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for taking your good weather and enjoying it here in the previously frozen north. The snow is mainly off all the roads and driveways, including ours, with just a small icy patch on the path just in front of the steps to the front door. The bush and sheltered areas are still deep in places. The deck had a tiny patch of snow earlier and DH fetched out the table and chairs already. He offered to fetch a pizza yesterday but I had already planned a meal, so I picked up a frozen one today, which we will eat on the deck, again.
I'm sure your frozen pizza will taste a lot better than mine, but, I was very pleased with myself for making this pizza! :D It's probably the most creative thing I've cooked with all the substitutions, but, that turned out to be part of the fun! I wanted pizza and a lack of ingredients wasn't going to stop me from having pizza! LOL. Just call me "Bless the Creative"! :D
DeleteI warmed up the other half of the pizza for my brunch today and it turned out well; I used the toaster oven, so the crust remained nice and crisp. I might buy the actual ingredients and try it again! :D
No need to apologize about the weather! It's a sunny and warm (69F/21C) day, here, and I'm enjoying the sunshine and the warmth. Hope you have another sunny and warm day tomorrow, too, Bushlady. :)
Another lovely rose. I like how you made your pizza! Very creative to work with what you had. I make pizza using a mix for the crust, just add water, but I've wondered abut the self rising flour and yogurt version. Good to know it's so flexible! I like pizza with stronger cheeses than mozzarella, aged cheddar or swiss. I would expect that Armenian cheese to be very good on pizza, maybe not melt much but very flavorful. And Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Celie; I love seeing the roses bloom at this time of the year.
DeleteHa, ha, the pizza was a fun experiment! It turned out well enough. The toppings were good, but, the crust wasn't quite what I expected (well, considering I didn't have the called for ingredients, what could one expect?). The Armenian cheese went very well with the smoked sausage.
Thank you, Cellie; having a new year in April is like a reset button! I get to start all over again! :D
Good for you for sitting and then continuing your walk. I am proud of you! I have never had milk rice but have heard about it. I hope you have a wonderful rest of the weekend- xo Diana
ReplyDeleteThank you, Diana. The important thing is to keep going, even if one needs to rest. I pause the timer when I sit for a rest (never more than a minute or two) and then, restart it when I walk. So, I get that 15 minutes. I would like to walk for 30 minutes, but, I have to work my way up to that!
DeleteIt was a sunny and warm day, today, and I enjoyed the warmth. The weather forecast says that tomorrow will be another sunny day. Hope you, too, are having a lovely weekend. :)
Good job doing your 5 days of walking. And also for getting back up after sitting and finishing your remaining 5 minutes.
ReplyDeletehaha - what a good journey it was following you along as you made do with what you had for making your pizza. It looked delicious too.
And you also have some flat bread for other meals.
You were nice to share your milk race and onions with M and
neighbor S.
Thank you, Debra. I'm keeping up with the daily walks!
DeleteIt was quite an adventure preparing the pizza, wasn't it? The end results were tasty, but, I think, next time, I'll buy a pizza for take out! :D The flat breads were good!
It is customary to share the New Year food with neighbors and friends. :)
Stove-top pizza sounds fabulous.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't half bad! I'll use tomato paste, next time. But, it's something to keep in mind for the summer when it is too hot to bake a pizza in the oven!
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