I love pizza, I really do.  Not eating it as much as I love making pizza.  Why? you ask….because EVERYBODY seems to love a good pizza and they are all so happy to see you when you come with pizza.

Think about it.  Want to get your kids to help you clean out the garage?  Promise pizza at the end.  Want to have people over for movie night and need to serve a lot of people ?- get some pizza.  Want to make an interactive food experience for adults and kids? – host a ‘build your own pizza’ night.

But where does this obsession with pizza come from?  According to some online sources, the art of pizza dates back over 1,000 years.  The typical circular pizzas of today are traditionally known as Neapolitin pizzas from Italy.  They include a marinara sauce made from fresh, local tomoatoes and the mozzarella cheese from local buffalo (hence the term buffalo mozzarella).  See the excerpt below for “official” details about this type of pizza, according to Wikipedia:

Neapolitan pizza (pizza napoletana): Authentic Neapolitan pizzas are made with local ingredients like San Marzano tomatoes, which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius, and Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, made with the milk from water buffalo raised in the marshlands of Campania and Lazio in a semi-wild state (this mozzarella is protected with its own European protected designation of origin).^[1] According to the rules proposed by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana, the genuine Neapolitan pizza dough consists of Italian wheat flour (type 0 or 00, or a mixture of both), natural Neapolitan yeast or brewer’s yeast, salt and water. For proper results, strong flour with high protein content (as used for bread-making rather than cakes) must be used. The dough must be kneaded by hand or with a low-speed mixer. After the rising process, the dough must be formed by hand without the help of a rolling pin or other mechanical device, and may be no more than 3 mm (¹⁄₈ in) thick. The pizza must be baked for 60–90 seconds in a 485 °C (905 °F) stone oven with an oak-wood fire.^[2] When cooked, it should be crispy, tender and fragrant. Neapolitan pizza has been given the status of a “guaranteed traditional specialty” in Italy. This allows only three official variants: pizza marinara, which is made with tomato, garlic, oregano and extra virgin olive oil (although most Neapolitan pizzerias also add basil to the marinara), pizza Margherita, made with tomato, sliced mozzarella, basil and extra-virgin olive oil, and pizza Margherita extra made with tomato, mozzarella from Campania in fillets, basil and extra virgin olive oil.

Mamma mia!  Who knew there was so much official doctrine around pizza.  All I know is that I like it, and I especially like it when I can make my “off white” versions and nobody is worse for the ware.  This particular pizza included a lovely fine spelt flour purchased in bulk at the Davis Coop.  I wish I could say that it was a cost-effective pizza, but at $3/lb for the flour, I was really glad we were going for thin crust.

Pizza got just a little more dear to my heart that night because of the  comradare and laughter share while preparing and serving it.  What started as just a whim of an idea in conversation turned into a night with Matt, three friends, a bottle of wine and some fabulous appetizers made my Matt’s friend H.  Apparently H. always uses raw salmon in his food treats, and pizza night was no exception.  He glazed stone ground wheat crackers with tartar sauce, spred thinly sliced salmon and cucumbers, and they were GONE FAST!!!

But, alas, back to the pizza – for those wanting to make a good memory with a good off-white meal, I suggest you fall in love with pizza, and here’s how:

CRUST (modified from Dave’s Cave online recipes)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 6 cups spelt flour
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon freeze-dried Italian Herbs

TOPPINGS:

Sorry Italy, we are not big fans of the traditional marinara.  We top our pizzas with a shallot, leeks, and two cloves of garlic sauteed in EVOO for about 5 minutes.

Next, add a spread of goat cheese, mozzarella and any other cheese you like. 
Sprinle on some Boar’s Head pepperoni, or whatever else you like.
Finish it off with fresh basil and chopped heirloom tomoatoes that are added 1/2 way thru the cooking process.

AAaaah…another satisfied customer…..

happy off white living!!!

(Monkia, Owner of Hipcooks)

I can think of no better way to share time with a friend than hanging out in a refurbished loft-ish kitchen in Northest Portland cooking Indian food (without measuring cups – LOVE IT), and eating!!!

Lucky for me, my playdate dream came true last Wednesday when A. and I motored north after a long day of work for  some “Shortcut To Nirvana”, as the title promised.  Loosely translated – come learn how to cook Indian food in this savvy new kitchen set up in NE Portland.  Hipcooks, the brains behind the cooking brawn, is all about fun, creative, recipe-free cooking.  You can learn more by visiting Hipcooks Online. Lucky for me, Hipcooks owner Monika moved to Portland recently from Los Angeles, so now us Oregonians get to enjoy her hip approach to food and eating.

The set up was perfect: Large semi-circle demo kitchen with small cooking stations set up around the countertop.  There were 16 of us in the class, and plenty of space to spread out, take a break, or dive right in.  Naturally, as soon as A. and I threw on our snazzy orange and yellow hipcooks aprons, we were already sheming of ways to create tasty Indian edibles, as inspired by the dishes in front of us.

What I Loved:  The fact that we went through all the spices to smell them, understand their place in our upcoming meal, and most importantly – how to identify them.  I also loved that the emphasis was on cooking from taste and feel, so we threw out the measuring cups from the get go and just trusted our judgement.  I also loved that we all sat down to eat, including our instructor Allison, which made the experience feel more communal.  The ingredients were all fresh, mostly organic, and it was just the right amount.  A. and I learned a lot about ‘yield’ for a class of 16, as we usually over-cook and over feed and are left over-whelmed after our cooking gigs.

I know you’re dying to know what we whipped up, so wait no longer:

Veggie samosas and Pakora with 3 sauces: Mango Chutney, Raitia, and “Green Machine” (RECIPE TO FOLLOW)
Fish Curry with coconut and fresh tomatoes
Chicken curry with stewed tomatoes
Sag Paneer, which turned out to be my FAV, even though I don’t normally like this dish

We even had a little mango Lassi (mango and yogurt drink) and homemade mojitos to zest up the night.

The cool thing about Indian cooking is the creative use of veggies and spices.  Like most traditional cultural cooking, Indian food dishes use spices that balance the palate and may have curative benefits.  Example:  spices like turmeric and cumin are healthy for blood circulation, blood pressure, and the liver.  Spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and garam masala may balance the spleen/stomach with their sweetness, and coconut (in healthy quantities) has anti-inflammatory qualities.  Good thing too because we did do a little deep fry action on the samosas, so we needed all those healthy bennies to counteract the fry effect.  Yes, I was a good girl and only ‘tasted’ the fried stuff.  I mostly dove into the sauces and the insides of the samosas.

I had never curried fish before, and that was a treat.  We used snapper, which apparently ‘holds its own’ against the robust flavors of the indian spices, and I really loved it.  Even better – it cooks FAST, as in 5 minutes once the curry sauce is pipin’ hot!

I want to give you two recipes, but keep in mind that these are not completely Hipcooks recipes and that I’m doing this TOTALLY from memory…..and God only knows that aint what it used to be!

GREEN MACHINE SAUCE – the green garnish sauce at Indian restuarants

1 large bunch of green onions
almost 1 large bunch cilantro
1 large handful of mint leaves
about 1 finely diced jalapeno pepper
about 1/2 cup of freshly grated coconut
Salt, to taste
grated ginger and garlic, to taste
Juice of 1/2 – 1 lime, but don’t make it too sour
a pinch or two of cumin and paprika, and maybe even a little chili powder

Mix all ingredients in a food processor.  Add a little liquid (water, but just a hair) if too thick, or add more onions/mint if too thing.  It should be on the spicy side.  Do not overdo the coconut or it will mellow out the flavor too much.

SAG PANNER – this is the green sludge like dish that I usually avoid because it is over-oiled and over-cheesed.  Make it this way and you avoid the whole ‘over’ anything and its a fresh, healthy way to get some greens

2  tbsp EVOO or coconut
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 package organic spinach, defrosted and excess water removed
6-8 oz paneer cheese (this is definitely a specialty food store purchase.  Paneer cheese is sheep cheese – Yay for me, as it is easier to digest!!)
1-2 tbsp cream
1-2 tbsp minced garlic
Juice of 1/3 – 1/2 lemon
Spices to taste: cumin, garam masala, coriander, sea salt, mustard seed, turmeric

In a medium saucepan, sweat the onions and garilc (cook until clear but not browned).  Add the spinach and stir.  Cube the cheese into 1/2″ cubes and add into the spinach.  Stir regulary, letting the cheese melt and become aromatic, but not get too runny.  You may need to turn down the heat.  Begin to add the spices and taste for flavor.  This should taste fresh, but also have a slightly creamy essence, hence the addition of a little cream.  You can add the lemon juice more toward the end for more of a zesty flavor.

Serve as a side or as a main if you add some chicken or other protein source.

Thank you to Alison, our chef extraordinare that evening, for opening my door to Indian cooking.  I’ve always wanted to learn and now I feel that I not only have a few recipes to play with, but some principles for Indian cooking that I can apply to future dishes.