Mini Veggie Flatbreads

  The weather this week has been GORGEOUS! I'm not kidding, it's tshirt weather in southern ontario, I've never seen weather this warm at this time of year but I'm not complaining!

In my house we have a pizza day at least once every two weeks, but lately we have not had it in a quite a while and every so often I do like to switch things up so this time I prepped the dough and roasted off a few fun ingredients that were laying around (You won't believe how long you can store a butternut squash!)

I decided to prep a tray of ingredients, roast some nuts and seeds and make a garlic oil then assemble it all outdoors in the great weather, it was so fun!

I hope this inspires you to make some yummy flatbreads with stuff you've got laying around (soup does not need to always be the go to recipe when cleaning out your fridge)

The key is to prep ahead of time, I roasted the butternut squash, layed out the previously made roasted red pepper. Roasting eggplant is a little trickier just remember to salt the eggplant after chopping to remove excess liquid so they roast up nice and brown.  

Toast seeds and nuts on the stovetop in a dry pan on medium low, just until they smell nutty and have toasted a bit in colour. 

I went with Spanish paprika, sliced onion, lemon zest and a homemade garlic oil packed with fresh grated garlic as flavour agents. 

To make garlic oil use the pan after toasting nuts, set them aside on a plate and add some olive oil to the empty pan on medium heat, add tons of grated garlic and sautee just until you begin to smell the garlic (it should not even brown)  Set it in a small plate with a spoon and begin slathering away.

Some toppings can be added after they're baked like goat cheese, or Arugala greens.

Add eggs to the last minute of baking, simply move toppings around to create a sort of "nest" and crack the egg inside, it takes seconds for it to cook in the oven and remove immediately when white begins to set if you want the yolks to stay runny. 

Hope this was an inspiration for you to try giving your  pizza a little twist next time! Go wild with ingredients and ideas, this is just about what I had on hand and tried to make the most of. 

Keep it simple and the dough part really thin, then serve with a salad and enjoy! :)

Baby Octopus Stew

Baby octopus stew

This recipe requires only a handful of ingredients and the basics that everyone should have in their kitchen.

- Baby Octopus (fresh or frozen - thawed if frozen)

- Olive oil

- 4-7 garlic cloves, peeled, chopped and mashed using a bit of salt.

- Italian strained tomato sauce


Wash the octopus well. Add to the pot and cover with cold water.. salt the water slightly.

Let it come close to a boil then remove the water and add new cold water and repeat the process.

Once the octopus is tender (and you can cut the tenticles with a fork or poke through it easily) then it's done.

Remove and strain, set aside.

In a pot on medium heat add a few tablespoons of olive oil, add the garlic and as soon as it smells (just a few seconds in) Add the tomato sauce and let it simmer until the garlic is tender (10 minutes or so) Taste for salt and if it needs add some.

Add in the octopus and toss, cover and simmer a little longer until the octopus is tender and the whole thing smells great.

Enjoy!

The exact same stew can be used to make calamari rings, my grandfather used to make it for us this way, you don't need to blanch them in advance though so just poach them in the sauce until they're tender.
Serve with couscous.

One Pot Pasta

Here is a delicious and fun pasta recipe that uses only one pot.

Ingredients:

- Your favourite tiny pasta ( these little tubes are cute!)

- Your favourite beans (Here I used kidney because it was in the fridge - but it works great with white cannellini beans or any bean of your choice) The beans should be already cooked or use canned. Strain and rinse your canned beans.

- Olive oil

- Garlic

- Tomato paste (or a pure strained tomato sauce)
- Salt & Pepper

- Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1-In a medium sized pot on the burner set to medium.

2-Add olive oil and sautee some garlic (this depends on your taste!)

3-When it's beautiful and fragrant add your tomato paste and fry it around so it caramelizes (cooks that raw taste out of it)

4- Throw in your pasta (Yes, dry pasta!!) and fry it around.

5- Add enough boiling water from the kettle to cover the pasta (the pot is hot and the water hitting it can cause some steam so be cautious!)

6- Add all the other seasonings in, salt and pepper, a splash of worcestershire sauce.

7- Stir the pasta so it doesn't stick to the bottom and add your beans. Cover and reduce to Medium low.

8- You can peek and stir from time to time .. it will be done very quickly!

Enjoy !!