Quick Pizza Dough from Scratch (or, Zero to Pizza in an Hour)

Yield: 2 10-inch pizza crusts

Make pizza from scratch!

2 3/4 to 3 1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (one package)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water (120-130 degrees)
2 Tbsp. cooking oil

In a mixing bowl combine 1 1/4 c. flour, yeast, and salt; add warm water and oil.  Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.  Beat on high speed for an additional 3 minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much remaining flour as needed.  On a lightly-floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a moderatly stiff dough, about 5 minutes.  (I do this step in my stand mixer - I attach the dough hook and add the remaining flour about 1/2 cup at a time until it's well incorporated.  Once I've gotten a stiff, not too sticky dough, I let the mixer do the kneading.  If it's too dry and flaky (like, maybe I accidentally added too much flour there at the end), I add some warm water one teaspoon at a time.)

Divide into two pieces; cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Shape each piece into a 10-inch pizza crust; add sauce and toppings/cheese of choice.  Bake at 425 for 14-18 minutes, or until crust is brown and cheese is bubbly.

I've been absent for a month and a half ... and I return with pizza.  I bet you thought that I was working on some really amazing culinary creation, which would explain my lack of posts.  But, no.  Pizza.  Delicious, easy, homemade pizza.

What's that?  Wondering what I've been doing?  Well, I'm so glad you asked.  See, I have these two kids I get to hang out with, who are really awesome and precious and energetic and talkative.  That's what I've been up to, instead of cooking and blogging.

We have been filling our summer days with so many wonderful things that DON'T involve hot kitchens.  Let me just be real: we have eaten a ridiculous amount of hummus and cheese sandwiches.  I couldn't bring myself to blog a sandwich recipe, but I'm pretty sure that 5 out of 7 days a week involved hummus and cheese on a tortilla or bread (or crackers if I really wanted to be zippy).

We've been eating a lot of picnic dinners at the playground that's right next door to our community garden plot.  Enter sandwiches again (and how could I keep sharing sandwich recipes?  Really.  No one wants those.)

We were out of hummus (oh no!) but still needed a picnic dinner, so in came the pizza.  I didn't have the forethought to make my go-to pizza crust in the bread machine, but I remembered a recipe my friend Cindi shared in a group cookbook we did back in 2010.  The pizza came together - from thought to hot-out-of-the-oven - in less than an hour.  Not bad!

So, that's why there's pizza.  Because it was quick, and portable, and delicious, and easy for the kiddos to grab between sliding and swinging at the playground.

A few other things from the summer:

All of a sudden, Little Sister decides she'll master climbing up into her booster chair.  Like, she wasn't doing it, and then she was.  These kids.  Stop the crazy changing already!

Tomatoes!  And baskets.  Both endeavors are keeping me so happily busy.

And just a few more: special time with some really, really special people ...

Homemade Christmas: Fabric Game

Here's a DIY tic-tac-toe game out of fabric and felt!  This was a little gift for the nephew and niece.  I don't have a great tutorial, but here's a winging-it version:

Materials:
1 30"x30" square of blue felt
4 2"x30" strips of white felt
1 20"x20" square of red felt
1 20"x20" of brown felt
1 yard of fabric
2 6"x6" squares of cardboard
Thread, scissors, and sewing machine

For the tic-tac-toe board:
-Lay the blue felt on the fabric and trim back fabric to 2 inches all around.
-Lay the white strips on top in a tic-tac-toe board fashion, and sew through all layers (white, blue, fabric).
-Iron the fabric down 1/2" all around.  Fold it up over the edges of the blue square, and zig-zag stitch it all around to finish the edges.

For the letters:
-Cut an "x" and an "o" from the 6-inch squares of cardboard.  Trace around the letters to make 5 x's on the brown felt and 5 o's onto the red felt.
-Layer the felt on the leftover fabric.  Sew around the traced letters through all layers, then cut out the letters.

Homemade Christmas: DIY Pure Vanilla Extract

I read a post about homemade vanilla extract from The Traveler's Lunchbox in the summer, in a brief moment of thinking about Christmas gifts.  I remembered then that a friend of mine had hosted a make-your-own-vanilla party a few years ago (that I wasn't able to go to but reaped the benefits of) ... and I just knew I had the makings of a fun Christmas gift.

Ya'll - it was so easy!  Jar ... vanilla beans (I found the best price on ebay) ... vodka.  That was it.  The only hangup was that I had to start it months before I was ready to gift it.  But it literally sat in a quart-sized Mason jar on my shelf, untouched (except for the occasional shake) for months!  That, my friends, is an ideal project from a DIY perspective.

I ordered these little 2-ounce Boston round amber bottles from Amazon.  The vanilla beans came from ebay (I started with 1/4 pound of beans to one bottle of vodka).

These make fun and easy little stocking stuffers, hostess gifts, and neighbor gifts as well!

Homemade Christmas: Baby Doll Carrier

Here's one of our main gifts for Big Sister - a baby doll carrier for her favorite little fuzzy kiddos.

We got the idea at one of her friend's birthday parties - we thought it was so cool and knew right away that it would be the perfect gift for our big helper!

We have an Ergo baby carrier, so I used that as a rough guide for this carrier.  There are some good tutorials out there (since it's pretty likely my vague descriptions aren't extremely helpful).  Here's a free one like a Baby Bjorn, and a reasonably priced one on Etsy from 3BeansStudio like an Ergo (it's even padded!  Nice touch).

The center rectangular panel is 9"x12" finished.  Each of the straps is 1" wide, finished.  I appliqued the dark blue rectangle on the center panel and the ribbon on the straps.

I purchased the buckles and strap adjusters from a craft store in the notions section.  A lot of baby doll carriers I saw online used ties or velcro, but our girl is so into buckling things and adjusting things that we just had to go with the big-kid version for her.  I like the idea of velcro because it is easier for self-play, but she's getting old enough that buckles are a part of the experience that she would definitely want.

I am so excited to give this to Big Sis!  I will post some pictures once she has a chance to use it.

Cleaning with Citrus Vinegar

White vinegar is one of my very favorite cleaning agents.

First and most importantly, it's non-toxic, which is great when there are little ones who figure out how fun spray bottles are.  One spray in the mouth of vinegar, and she's not likely to try it again.

Secondly, it's so. stinkin'. cheap.  Seriously!  Like, $2 for an entire gallon.

Furthermore, it's versatile.  I challenge you to name another single ingredient that can de-grease a stove, curdle milk, and condition hair.

That being said, sometimes when I use vinegar to clean I get overwhelmed by the vinegaryness of it.  My most recent solution is to steep citrus peels in white vinegar in the fridge for a few weeks, strain out the pulp, and then pour the citrus vinegar into a spray bottle.  Then, it doesn't smell so pungent.  It's mildly pleasant, if I do say so myself!

I did this with orange peels a few months back, and it has made cleaning delightful less of a boring chore.

I am currently steeping some lemon peels in vinegar, and can't wait to start cleaning with that when my orange vinegar runs out!

No word yet on cooking with this vinegar.  I think if I am going to do that, I should get organic citrus fruit, and do a little more research on how shelf-stable it is.

Cart Redo

I love metal carts.  I found this one last fall for $5 at a thrift store, and it was just the right size for a narrow space in the nursery.  It was black, and somewhat rusty, but perfect for the space.

I covered up the rust with a hand-me-down tea towel with embroidered strawberries on it.

And then not too long ago I got a decorating itch.  I wanted a project that wasn't too big or expensive - so I settled on a $4 can of spray paint for the little cart.  I chose a sage green paint, pulled the cart outside, and went to work.

And that was it!  I let it dry in the garage for 24 hours before bringing it back inside.

I know every DIY-er says this, but paint really is the cheapest way to give something a new life!  I love the green, and I am also happy to know that decorating itches are not always expensive.