Cycling and Leftovers

today was an incredibly beautiful day - the kind of day that makes you long for spring. with the sun shining, not a cloud in the sky, and temps in the mid 50's, a day like today makes spring feel so close, within grasp. i can taste it, smell it, and feel it. i even saw a couple of daffodils poking up out of the still snowing grass along a fence at meadowvale.

all i could think about today was getting on the bike and cycling in the sun. dad and i packed our bikes into the back of his truck and headed north to an NCR trail crossing in white hall. we were excited to get on the trail for the first time in 2010. our hopes were soon dashed when we discovered much of the trail still covered in snow. slushy snow and bike tires don't go together too well so we decided to ride the roads instead. traffic was light and the hills were plenty. the ride was wonderful and it wet my appetite for many a spring and summer ride with dad on the trail. it's one of my favorite times together with him.

 

tonight was a leftover night in the wasti house. i had some red potatoes and a zucchini that had to be used. i tossed them with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and some onion and garlic mrs. dash. after roasted for 25 minutes at 425 degrees, i sprinkled them with a little pecorino romano and broiled 2 more minutes. i heated up the rest of the pulled pork and dinner was served.

i also got a new cookbook this weekend and can't wait to try some of the recipes. i love cookbooks, especially those with pictures:)

Julie & Julia

i saw julie & julia and loved it.

okay, i'm sure you aren't particularly surprised about this mostly due to the fact that i am a food blogger. but, i just saw it, last night. my wonderful mother-in-law invited both me and my mom over to see it after a wonderful dinner at christopher daniel. (i had the most fantastic, melt-in-your-mouth seared scallops with beurre blanc on heavenly truffle mashed potatoes with perfectly crispy haricot verts. i. ate. every. bite.)

but back to the wonderful movie, it was fantastic. i have read the book and while i didn't exactly picture amy adams when i read julie's writing, amy adams is just too adorable not to love. and don't even get me started on meryl streep. she was more than fantastic as julia childs. she has this wonderful way of completely becoming the character. meryl was born to play julia.

perhaps inevitably, the movie mad me reflect about my own little blog. at the moment, it's really not much more than a way for my family to keep up with what i have been cooking/doing. at times i wonder if i should really even keep doing it. of course the world would continue to revolve without my almost daily ramblings. there are some days, i just don't have anything to post. then those days pass and for some reason i need to write about a recipe. but, at times i feel like i almost need an inspiration to give my directionless little blog direction.

my mom and i joined a CSA this year and i am really excited. i am waiting with anticipation for my first pick-up (not until early june, unfortunately) to discover what locally grown, organic goodness i have to work with that week. i am excited to try new ways to cook old standby veggies and maybe even encounter a new veggie or two. the summer should find me easily meeting my 3 a day veggie goal. perhaps local produce will give me the inspiration i need . . . perhaps.

Thai Pizza

i love sleepovers with EA and RJ. it makes me feel like a kid again. E and i always have so much fun with them and are so proud to be their aunt and uncle:)

tonight, we made thai pizzas - a recipe i found in the recent issue of clean eating magazine. i have found so many good recipes in this issue. the garlic caper herb sauce was from that issue and i have some others dog-eared and i'll share them with you as i make them.

on to the pizza. there is a whole section on pizzas as well as a wonderful whole wheat pizza dough recipe. i made the pizza dough this morning so it had time to rise and such. when EA and RJ got here, i rolled it out and got to work.

i lined the baking sheet with parchment paper and spread out a little corn meal to keep it from sticking. then, i poked holes all over the dough with a fork to ensure it wouldn't puff up - i like my crust thin and crispy!

the thai sauce was really good. it had dates, tomato paste, garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice, and i added a little fish sauce all pureed together in the mini food processor.

after the thai sauce was spread out on the dough, i layered all of the chopped veggies on top.

the recipe called for chicken (which i omitted), red peppers, green onions, bean sprouts (went on after cooking to ensure crispness), and mozzarella cheese. i also added yellow peppers and mushrooms because i wanted to load up on veggies.

the pizza turned out so well. everyone liked it especially RJ. EA and RJ had bean sprouts for the first time and loved them. yay for finding veggies kids like:) E also made another pizza with just cheese in case anyone didn't like the thai pizza. needless to say, we wrapped up half the cheese pizza but only 2 small pieces of the thai.

i forgot to take a picture of the finished product due to my hunger levels and excitement for consuming. EA was kind enough to arrange the veggies on her plate in a nice design so i could take a picture of her piece:)

here is the sauce i made based on the recipe in the magazine.

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Thai Pizza Sauce (adapted from clean eating magazine)

1/2 cup dried unsweetened pitted dates, chopped and soaked in hot water 10 mins, then drained
1/8 cup tomato paste
3 tbs tamari soy sauce (i used low sodium)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp fish sauce

puree all together in food processor till smooth.

spread sauce on pizza dough and add desired toppings.

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i can't wait for this weekend. tomorrow and sunday are supposed to be sunny, mild, and in the low 50's! time to be outside and get some fresh air.

p.s. while i finish this post, RJ is intently playing wii soccer

 and EA is loving on roxy (a very happy dog)