a peek inside the fishbowl

As some of you already know, I’m a big fan of making my own pizza dough. I use this recipe. It can easily be made by hand but it’s suuuuper quick with the help of a stand mixer. I usually make two batches and freeze the extra one (sometimes I cut it in two to make two thin crust pizzas) and it always works out well.

Last night I made a fresh batch of dough. I wanted to use up the last of some pulled pork – a heavier topping that isn’t the best for a thin crust pizza – so I didn’t divide the dough this time around. I did, however, shave off a smallish corner of it, roll it in a bit of extra flour, put it in a plastic baggie and pop it in the fridge for lunch the next day. That was today. I took the dough out of the fridge in the morning so it would warm up a bit. When I was ready to go I rolled the dough into a paddle shape, brushed it with a bit of olive oil and BBQ sauce and topped it with diced/cooked bacon and some grated mozzarella.

While I was prepping the toppings I preheated the oven and the pizza stone. Do you use a pizza stone? I’ve had ours for years and I will never make a pizza without it. It makes an excellent crust and as a bonus, it keeps pizza warm long after you take it out of the oven. Pizza stones aren’t very expensive and you can find them almost any store that carries kitchen supplies. If you decide to take the plunge and buy one (although it’s not that much of a plunge, really) there are a few things you might want to keep in mind.

• When I first got out the pizza stone I was enthralled with how nice and white it was. Well, don’t get too attached. It’s made out of a material that will darken as it bakes. Which reminds me…
• Never wash your pizza stone in soapy water or use any cleaners or detergent on it. The material is very porous and it will absorb it. All you need to do is give it a good scrub under hot running water.
• I bake my pizza at 475F and I pop the stone in the oven as soon as I turn it on (so it heats up along with the oven). The hotter the stone gets, the better the crust. If you can leave it in there an extra 20 minutes while you prepare your toppings, do it.
• In terms of process, you make the dough first (let it rise etc.) and roll it out on the counter. Preheat the stone. Then transfer your dough over to the hot stone. THEN quickly add your toppings. You can’t transfer a fully loaded pizza to a pizza stone.

So today I made my lunch using the pizza stone and the leftover dough. I wanted to add some diced tomato and avocado but didn’t want to eat hot tomatoes (I don’t like hot cooked tomatoes, go figure) so I added them after I pulled my pizza out of the oven. And you know what? A pizza with both hot and cold toppings is totally delish. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it before.

I also drizzled it with spicy honey. Which is something I am now going to pour over all of my food. I got the idea from here but would love to buy it locally.

It’s funny how much pizza toppings have evolved over time, isn’t it? When I was a kid, the only pizza toppings were pepperoni, green peppers, and mushrooms. I remember the first time someone suggested I try a pizza with pineapple on it. It seemed like such a bizarre thing to do but now it’s actually one of my favourite toppings for pizza (as long as it’s accompanied with bacon, of course). What do you put on your pizza?

Ages ago I bookmarked a post on the Ottawa Mommy Club website aptly named: Canadian Fried Dough Pastry. I’m assuming it’s called this because it’s not associated in any way with BEAVERTAILS®, which is a registered trademark.

If you’ve never experienced this delicious treat, you are seriously missing out. This hot, deep-fried, sweet pastry is available at many places in Ottawa and is almost always associated with some kind of outdoor activity, whether it’s skating on the canal (which is where we tend to buy them) or checking out the annual tulip festival.

Something must have come over me – or aliens must have taken over the person formerly known as Andrea Tomkins – because I’ve made this recipe twice in the space of one week. If you know me you know that I generally don’t like to bake and I don’t generally indulge in sweet things, but there it is.

If you have a stand mixer, this recipe comes together very easily. The more time-consuming part is rolling out each “tail” but a second pair of hands (even little ones) will come in handy at this point. The frying and sugaring is also quick. Here’s the thing, this recipe made SO MANY. Maybe we were making them on the smaller side; as each of our tails was about the length of a hand span. We stuffed our faces and gave some away to friends – and we didn’t even use all of the dough! (We froze the leftover dough, which I defrosted and made again on Saturday night at which point I discovered that they truly are best dipped in the traditional cinnamon/sugar mix and a post-sugaring squirt of fresh lemon juice.)

I made a second batch on Sunday afternoon with the intent of dividing up the dough and freezing it for future use. I am happy to report that we now have 31 golf-ball-sized portions tucked away in the freezer.

When we decide to make them again I’ll just pull a bunch out of the freezer and let them defrost on the counter. When I’m ready, I’ll roll ’em out and fry ’em up. At this point I figure I have enough to last us all winter long. (!)

The emotional manipulations of Making a Murderer: https://t.co/dKEQKGJAcG pic.twitter.com/k02A0SIIGw

— Slate (@Slate) January 15, 2016

• Fitness At 50: Minding The Middle, huffingtonpost.ca
• Texas Mother Teaches Textbook Company a Lesson on Accuracy, nytimes.com
• Science Says You Should Quit Your Demanding, High-Paying Job, fastcoexist.com
• All Hollowed Out, The lonely poverty of America’s white working class, theatlantic.com
• How Sleep Deprivation Decays the Mind and Body, theatlantic.com

On the nightstand: The Rosie Effect