Saturday Sky and thankfulness.

Today is pretty warm out right now and supposed to get warmer, but not very sunny. By Friday next week, they are calling for a 100% chance of snow. Sigh. I'm not ready yet.

I am thankful that our bridal party bought us this table and chairs set. The chairs were not thankful so be sat upon, however and decided they did not want to stay together anymore so we bought ...

... this table and chair set. Isn't it great? I love it and so far, so does Girly.
I am very thankful for my new table that opens so easily to put in the leaf and chairs with padding make dinner so nice for my boney (who would have thought that having a bigger fanny doesn't mean extra padding) behind.

I am most thankful for our new mattress that came with one of the Serta Sheep. Girly likes it too. I gotta tell you, if you have trouble getting comfortable or always wake up feeling dragged out or have trouble waking up, get yourself down to the furniture store my friend, because what a difference a comfortable mattress makes! Wow! I don't feel like crap this morning and no achey spots. The trick is to lay on them all before you choose the one you want to buy.


This weekend is Thanksgiving here in Canada so I may not be blogging again until Tuesday. Although I have said that before. We'll see.

The things I am most thankful for are my family, his family and our family. I am also most thankful for great obsessions hobbies like Knitting, making knitting supplies, blogging and my readers. You help me to feel like my voice is heard and I am not alone even on days where I don't see another adult for more than 2 hours.

Now, some recipes for you. My gift to say thanks for listening.

(Tsp = teaspoon, Tbsp = tablespoon)

My favourite pizza dough. It's a "make the day before" dough. Very handy.

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp warm water
1 tsp granulated sugar
3/4 tsp yeast
1 cup flour (bread or all-purpose)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp olive oil or peanut oil

Mix water and sugar in bowl and sprinkle yeast over top. After 5 minutes, water should be very frothy and puffy. If not, there are one of three things wrong, your water was too cold, your water was too hot or your yeast is to old. (Store yeast in the fridge to maximize it's life span. Bring to room temperature before using.)

In a separate bowl whisk flour and salt together. I whisk because I don't have a sifter.

After 5 minutes add oil to water/sugar/yeast mix then begin to stir in flour/salt mix until you can't stir anymore. Turn out onto floured surface and knead in any remaining flour. Knead until dough is smooth and elasticy.

Form dough into a ball, lightly oil and place into lightly oiled glass or metal bowl (it will absorb any smells from a plastic bowl). Place in warm spot and let rise for 2 hours. (I like using my oven with the heat off and the interior light on.)

Punch down and put into fridge overnight. Take out of fridge about 1 to 2 hours before using to bring back to room temperature.

Roll or press out and top with sauce (I like those little cans of Kraft pizza sauce), your favourite toppings (I like hamburger, bacon and salami or chunks of fried chicken breast, green onions and sun-dried tomatoes.) and cheese.

Bake at 450*F in the middle of your oven for 20 - 25 minutes on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or lightly greased tin foil (matte side up).

Makes one large sized thin crust pizza or one medium thick crust pizza.


Black Pepper and Dried Pear Biscotti

2 cups flour (all-purpose)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon medium grind black pepper
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature (if using salted butter reduce salt by 1/2)
1/4 cup granulated sugar (you can substitute an equal amount of honey)
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1 cup chopped dried pears (I found some at a bulk foods store some grocery or specialty stores may carry them too.)

Preheat oven to 350*F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly greased tin foil (matte side up).

In one bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and black pepper.
In a mixing bowl, use an electric mixer (or a freaking lot of arm power) at medium speed to beat butter and sugar (or honey) until light and fluffy then add eggs and whites one at a time beating between each one to blend.

Turn mixer to low speed and slowly add dry ingredients until well blended. Add pears and stir until they are mixed in.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, divide in two equal parts and shape each part into logs about 12" inches long and about 1" or so in diameter (measure from counter to top of log). Place on lined baking sheet and flatten just a bit.

Bake at 350*F for 20 to 25 minutes until they are lightly browned and hard to the touch. (They will split on the top.) Remove from the oven (leave your oven on) and loosen logs a bit then let them sit for 10 minutes. Don't get impatient or forget about them or they will be hard to cut.

Slide onto cutting board and using a sharp serrated knife (a bread knife will work quite well) cut on a diagonal slant into about 1/2 slices. Lay flat on baking sheet and put into oven for 5 - 6 minutes. Flip slices over and put back in for another 5 - 6 minutes. Immediately place on wire racks and cool completely.

These are not sweet treats although they are very tasty. They are best served with a nice sweet wine or on a cheese platter as an appetizer.

I'm going to try out a nice lemon glaze and see how well it matches these. I'll let you know Monday how it works out.