Pizza's Ready!!

So, I missed my Blogaversary! I've been blogging for over a year now - holy cow. How about a pizza party??
I've been making homemade pizza for many years. Pizza and pancakes....I could make them in my sleep! Want to try it? It's easy.

PIZZA DOUGH
Mix together 1 tablespoon yeast, 1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 cup warm water, and 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil. Let rest until bubby - about 5 minutes. Mix in 1 cup of flour and start to knead the dough together, adding more flour if necessary. Knead until smooth - about 3 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm place until double. I often preheat the oven and let it rise on top, being careful it doesn't get too hot.

This makes enough for 2 pizzas (about 12"). Grease the pan and spread the dough. You can let it rise again slightly at this point if you want a really puffy crust. Top with your favorite sauce and/or toppings. Bake in a hot oven at 450° until brown and crisp. Make sure you don't under-cook the crust in the center and, if you bake both pizzas at once, try to offset them on the racks so that one isn't right on top of the other (or rotate the pans halfway through). I have a great recipe for homemade pizza sauce around here somewhere. Let me know if you'd like to have it. It makes a huge batch for canning. I make it once a year and it usually lasts until I make it again.

Enjoy your pizza....but don't burn the roof of your mouth!

Suddenly

My efforts to thoroughly clean my house continue. I'm trying to get rid of clutter, focusing on paring down, make do with what we have for a more simple and frugal life.
It was going so well....until I spotted it. This book with the 10¢ sale sticker - "The Moon-Spinners". I remember buying it at a library sale a long time ago. A young fan of Mary Stewart's Merlin novels, my paperbacks were borrowed or misplaced years ago, all but a brittle copy of "The Last Enchantment." Suddenly inspired by the crisp cover, yet torn jacket and pages, the urge to create something new was too strong.
Rummaging through my stash, I found some burlap strapping (that I am going to use to fix an old rocking chair), the little antique rickrack (from a huge antique bolt), a piece of paisley fabric that was just big enough, and beaded handles that seemed to pull the whole project together.
No offense to book-lovers. It was just a fun little project. Not something I would normally attempt. The finished purse is available in my Etsy shop! Thanks for browsing.
Now back to cleaning.....and my only love, yarn.

MMM Cheesecake!

Yes, Martha, it cracked. It almost always does, but it was delicious!
Our yearly extravagance for Easter dinner - an Italian-style cheesecake with the crust baked-in.

Mom's Easter Bread

The Irish Soda Bread was the best-ever! (Well, I admit that I messed up the first batch and it ended up all over the oven and the floor as I was cleaning it up.) The second batch was perfect! LOL

As promised, here's my Mom's Easter Bread recipe. This old recipe card was written by me when I was in 7th grade.... or so. It's somewhat time-consuming, but you gotta love it! I'm dieting (and ate too much Soda Bread) so I'm not making this recipe this year. I'm sure my sister and Mom will be though!

EASTER BREAD

Ingredients:
12 cups flour, 9 eggs; 1 1/4 cups water, 1 1/4 cups shortening, 2 cups raisins, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons anise seed, 1 package dry yeast, 1/2 teaspoon anise flavoring

Soak yeast in 1/4 warm water. Beat 1 egg and add 1/4 cup water. Mix yeast water, egg/water mixture, and another 1/4 cup water. Add 1 cup of the flour to make a spongy batter. Mix until smooth. Let rise 2 hours or until triple in size.
Beat the remaining 8 eggs together, add the sugar, raisins, the anise seed, and the flavoring and set aside.
Put the remaining flour in a LARGE bowl. Make a well in the center. Add the shortening, the egg mixture, the yeast/sponge mixture and 1/2 cup water. Mix and work dough. Knead well. Place in a large, greased bowl and let rise until double. Punch down dough and let rise again. (This rising process may take awhile. Keep in a warm place, but not too hot, and be patient.) Form loaves. I don't remember how many loaves I get out of this size batch. Usually 4 - 6 medium-size loaves - depending on the size. Let rise, covered. Bake when ready at 350 degrees F - until done. Some people test by a thumping sound. I can just tell when they're done. They're dark/golden brown. Brush hot loaves with butter if desired.

Irish Soda Bread

Updated to add this soda bread recipe since the original one I linked to wasn't working anymore. This is the recipe I make every year from The Charmed Kitchen.

I wanted to share my favorite Irish Soda Bread recipe. Well, it's not MY recipe, but it's the recipe I make every year.

The Charmed Kitchen - Irish Soda Bread

Stay tuned for my Mom's Easter Bread recipe - coming soon! (Click here for Easter Bread recipe.)

Sweets for Easter

Here are some sweet Easter finds from my good friends at Etsy and ClevelandHandmade....

Faux chocolate? Absolutely!
These bunnies would make a perfect basket treat.
Visit LazyMamaDesigns at Etsy.com.


Here's an egg pillow, with a bunny friend too. So pretty!
Visit FloradoraInc at Etsy.com.


These peep cards are so perfectly cheery. Many colors and styles to choose from
Visit Handmade at Etsy.com.

Snow Days

With a fresh 10 - 12" of snow over the last few days, it's been GREAT skiing weather here. The kids have come a long way this year. I was remembering skiing out back by myself when they were too little, or too young to even want to come along. I would take the walkie-talkies and a little voice would crackle through saying "Mom, can I have a snack?" or "Mom, I can see you from my bedroom window!" Last night we all skied and had a blast. Tonight I'm blogging and making pizza, but the kids waited for Dad to get home and off they went! So, I'm hoping to get boots that don't kill my feet and maybe next year we can go ski some real trails.