Split Pea Soup

One of my favorite soups when I was a little girl (and also when I was pregnant with my little girls!) was split pea soup. We'll find out tonight if it is also Gracie's favorite. It is such a simple slow cooker recipe.

Split Pea Soup

2 Tsp olive oil

8 small carrots - diced

1 onion - diced

8-12 oz cured ham - chopped - 

    I found Niman Ranch Smoked Ham at TJ's!!! saving half in the freezer for next time

4 cups split peas

12 cups water

cook on high until peas are soft

cook on low until dinner time

A Pizza Party

We had dear friends over last night for a pizza party so I thought I would share just exactly how we make pizza here in The Coffee Cottage. A few friends have asked for more recipes and how-to's.

So here goes...

First prep toppings.

I like taking a look at Delancy for inspiration and seasonal ideas. i.l.o.v.e.m.o.l.l.y. and have enjoyed reading her book, her blog and watching her dream restaurant become a reality.

Tonight we are having four pizzas (actually 2 topped half and half)

1. Gracie and Nyla's favs : mozzerela, artichoke hearts and black olives

2. The Crimini: shaved crimini mushrooms (use a cheese grater or mandoline), mozz, olive oil and thyme

3. The Margarita: mozz, sliced grape tomatoes and chopped fresh basil

and a new AMAZING pizza. I could have this again

4. The Romana: anchovies, garlic, sliced grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, oregano, grana

and this chili oil. Add more oil after cooking.

***Thanks Auntie Beth for the Sotto Voce Oils!!!***

Put pizza stone into the oven and Preheat the oven to 425.

Take pizza dough (I like TJ's whole wheat dough) out of fridge to rise (on flour) for twenty minutes wile oven and stone heat up.

Flatten dough into 12" circle and then carefully pick up and throw up into air to spread out without breaking dough. This takes practice but is incredibly fun and once you get the hang of it, it is like riding a bike...a skill you always have and a good skill to have in my opinion.

I like a thin crispy crust so I make a large pizza. Take HOT stone out of oven , sprinkle with course cornmeal, put dough onto crust and quickly top and get back into the oven as quickly as possible. Cook 15-20 minutes.

Being quick also takes a lot of practice. I like to be able to do this in a couple of minutes to get the best pizza possible. We have pizza almost every Friday night so we are efficient around here now but I had lots of torn crust, under cooked, overcooked pizza,  etc. for a long time.

I encourage you to try this at home. You may just never want to eat at a pizzeria again. After having the Romana last night, I probably won't. It is really that AMAZING!

Meatless Monday :: Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

For part of my new year's list of resolutions, we are going to have Meatless Mondays here in the Coffee Cottage. Not that it will be too hard as we were vegetarian for a long time and still have many meatless meals but I have noticed that we are eating meat more often than I would like. I want to be more mindful of our choices for food, for our health and for the health of the planet. HERE is the link to the Meatless Monday campaign if you would like to read more about the benefits and would like to join us. Leave a comment and maybe a link to one of your favorite meatless dishes below. 

Homemade Meatless Spaghetti Sauce (using the LAST of our summer tomatoes in the freezer)

Saute:

evoo

one package TJ's mirepoix (onions, carrots, celery)

one package TJ's sliced crimini mushrooms

garlic

herbs de provence

one can tomato paste

one can water

1/2 gallon bag frozen tomatoes from the garden

s+p

Bring to a boil. Crush tomatoes and try to remove tomato skins. Simmer until ready to eat. 

I may puree it a bit with an immersion blender so it is smoother over the w/w angel hair and so Gracie gets more of it in her stomach than on her face. 

We met a sweet family (Shannon, Michael, Catalina and Sydney) at Refugio and they commented that Catalina (age 5) who doesn't care much for veggies and won't eat spaghetti sauce if it "has stuff in it" so HERE is another favorite pasta sauce without "stuff." I hope our paths cross again!