Soup is good food

I am not much of a soup fan so if it aint great you wont see it here.

i made this with fresh chickpeas, a million times different than the dried or canned version . you can use dried or canned, but then add something green, like peas, fava beans, or limas. theres just a little chicken, you can opt out of it, its purely for flavor.

1 piece of chicken. dark meat will give better flavor but you can use what you like.
2 cup shelled fresh pois chiche (chickpeas, grabanzo beans, cheche)
one onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 parsnips, also peeled and sliced
3 medium waxy potatos (red or yellow) in large cubes (eighths is about right)
5 cloves garlic, crushed roughly with a knife
2 handfuls golden raisins (sultanas)
1 head leaf lettuce, such as romaine (not iceburg, what a useless lettuce )
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 chicken and 1 beef boullion cube (or two veggie if your a veg head)
1 tsp ras el hanout (see note)
salt
pepper
oil
two large tortillas

put a couple teaspoons in a soup pan.salt and brown the chicken quickly on one side. add all the veggies, garlic and boullion cubes. cover with water. add soy sauce, bay leaves, pepper and ras el hanout. bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are tender. remove the chicken, take of the skin, shred or chop and return to the soup. add the chopped lettuce and stir. remove from heat.

in a frying pan heat about a quarter inch oil. slice the tortillas into thin strips and fry until golden. one side only is ok. this will be your garnish. add a pile to the top of the soup bowls.


what is Ras El Hanout??? its a north african spice mixture consisting of paprika, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, and other spices. in general its a sweet spicy curry. you can substitute other curry powders if you dont have it. if you want it, which i suggest, you can get it at cost plus world market for something like $1.50. you can also find it at international food stores and many chinese markets. if you substitute do add about a teaspoon or so cinnamon. it will really give it a good flavor.

by the way, i just made this out of all the stuff i had in the house, knowing we all needed a nice portion of veggies. it was not from a book.

PIZZA

have some guts and try this. i dare you. this takes seven days to prepare the starter, but its not complicated. pizza is not as bad for you as you think, especially if you make it yourself and have control over the toppings and quality of ingredients.

ANDREA, when you make your sourdough this is something you can do with part of the dough.

Others. you can cut corners and use frozen pizza dough. it wont be as good though or as healthy.

Sourdough Starter

8 cups flour (you may use whole wheat flour too, or whole rye flour, i made it with white flour)
8 cups water

day 1. add two cups flour and two cups water to a big bowl that you don't need to use every day. should hold a minimum of 2 qts liquid. mix and cover with a cheese cloth overnight. this lets the natural yeast in and keeps bugs out. use a cheese cloth. they are cheap. the next day add one cup flour and one cup water. cover. repeat this process for 8 days. when starter has become foamy and then calmed, it is ready to use. not before.


Dough (makes a lot, so you can freeze some or make loaves of bread or whatever)

these are rough measurements as i have given up on recipes and go by feel now. also, you are supposed to be able to do this without yeast but i found it to need a little help from commercial yeast. you can omit the sugar and use only a teaspoon in the water as well, but i think it gives a little extra flavor)

1/4 cup water, warm
1 tbsp yeast
1/8 cup sugar or honey

6-8 cups flour
1tbsp salt
4 cups sourdough starter
oil

mix first three ingredients and leave for ten minutes until foamy. add starter. add salt. add flour, two cups at a time. until dough is slightly stick but easy to work with your hands. add more flour or more starter if needed, until it is a slightly soft rough ball of dough. sticky is ok, it will become less so as you knead it.

clean a large work surface and dry completely. spread a little flour on it, and flour your hands. if dough is sticky dust the dough with flour as well. knead for about ten-fifteen minutes. or until it is a slightly shiny and smooth ball. dust with more flour if it gets sticky.

lightly oil a large mixing bowl, the bigger the better. cover and let rest for 30 minutes. cut off two baseball sized balls and leave the rest in the the bowl, cover, and leave to rise.

take each baseball of dough and flatten into half the thickness you like your pizza crust to be. (it will rise as it cooks) you may use your hands or a rolling pin. brush edges with oil and sprinkle with garlic powder (optional)

top with your favorite toppings and jarred spaghetti sauce

bake on an ungreased baking sheet or two at 425 until golden.

toppings:

for a diet friendly or vegetarian pizza, crumbled italian smart sausages with yellow bell peppers and mozzarella

try a lox and caper pizza, cook the dough first. spread with a light layer of cream cheese. sprinkle with capers, sliced tomatoes, red onions and lox.

pesto, paper thinly sliced potatoes, and chopped roasted garlic

olive oil gouda and cooked mussels with red onions

crumbled hamburger, black olives, onions, tomatoes, salsa, cheese topped afterward with shredded lettuce and chopped avocado.

barbeque sauce, chopped chicken breast, mushrooms, and smoked mozzarella

olive oil, feta, chopped olives, marinated artichoke hearts

and of course, anything you can imagine.




you can cut each ball in half for mini pizza and have a pizza party with the kids. they would love topping their own pizzas.

you can also grill them over INDIRECT heat.

cut remaining dough in the same baseball sized ball. place on a cool baking sheet, separated. freeze. when frozen transfer to a freezer bag and you can thaw them and have homemade pizza any night of the week.