i made pizza.

What prompted me to create a pizza was having some fromage frais in my fridge.I wanted to use it in a savoury manner.Thus, the idea of a pizza was born. No tomato sauce here, its a PIZZA BLANCA. An all white pizza. I really like this very much. The tart fromage paired real well with the salty cheddar. Plus, come sweetness from the onions and the inviting aroma from the basil...man it was devine!

After combining the 1st crust and allowing it to rest, i got paranoid that the yeast may be dead and I won't have bready crust and more like a a pancake thingy. SO i formed another dough. in the end, I had 2 sets of dough. the original dough was a wet dough while the 2nd one was alot less wet. I par-baked both and freeze the 2nd dough( its stillhhhj in my freezer) since i do not need to eat to giant pizza on my own. i could...but some control please!

crust:

3/4 cup flour(95-99g atta)

16-20g vital wheat gluten

1 tsp yeast

-combine, add water, mix well till u get a dough

-cover bowl with a wet towel, rest 30-45mins

-notes: dough is ready when u make an indent w your finger and it stays there; do not over-rise!

-notes: i like my dough slightly wetter

-on a non stick baking paper, flatten out dough into a pizza

-notes: dip fingers in water to prevent stick since this is a wet dough

-parbake the crust in a hot hot hot oven(250degreeC) for like 5-8 minutes

topping:

1st layer: fromage frais/blanc(abt 150g)

2nd layer: sliced onions, basil leaves, some salt

3rd layer: 1/3-1/2cup cheddar

-bake at 210degreeC for about 5-10 minutes, WATCH the oven!

-remove from oven, tear and eat up!

open sesame, its all yours

How to savour this pumpkin dish to the max.

1. remove the pumpkin cap, smell the aroma that escapes the interior of the stuffed pumpkin
2. lick the base of the cap so you get a taste of the stuffed stew, eat the cap
3. slide your spoon into the stuffed filling, scrapping the sides of the pumpkin and stirring it into the stuffed stew
4. scoop out the filling,
5. spoon in mouth, eat and partake in a succulent experience
6. finish off the meal by tearing and eating the stew soaked pumpkin skin. hands are welcome
   

For the stuffing, i used chayotes, onions and seitan with sage, rosemary and thyme which I cooked over the stove just a little since they get cooked again in the oven. I wonder If I could skip this step in future.

Next, I prepared the pumpkin by carving out the top into a cap and then scrapping out the seeds with a spoon.

Following that, I spooned the filling into the hollowed pumpkin and added some of the liquid used to cook the seitan.

Finally, I replaced the cap and prop the whole thing in the oven at 200degreeC for about 30mins and then 170degreeC for about 15mins. ( this works for about a 800-900g pumpkin). I tested by using finger to press on the pumpkin to see if its soft. Once it was soft, then I lowered the temperature.

A truly heartwarming satisfying dish.

a better cheesecake, cottonsoft cheesecake

This is the closest I was able to get to imitate commercial Japanese cotton-soft cheesecake. The cheesetaste is very apparent which is good since some cotton-soft cheesecake tend to boarder too much on a spongecake scented with cream cheese. Its also a little more dense the the other cheesecake I made which was more souffle-like.

I adapted the recipe from here.

125g cream cheese
90ml skim milk
50g pumpkin puree
120g cauliflower puree
30g flour(atta)
20g cornstarch
1/4tsp stevia(=1/4 cup sugar)
-combine all of the above together

3 egg whites
cream of tartar
-whip till peaked

-fold ino cream cheese mixture(in batches!)

-line a 7inch pan( make use that the sides are higher as the cake will rise) and wrap pan base with aluminum foil

-pour in batter

-place pan in a hot water bath, cover top with foil

-bake at 150degreeC for 45mins

-leave to cool on oven for 1 hour( i only did 10 mins, may explain why it shrunk some)

-unmould immediately upon removal from fridge and refrigerate before slicing

notes:

• next time, I shall remove the top foil earlier so the cake can brown
• leave longer in the oven upon baking!