Sourdough Pizza Crust

I recently made a batch of sourdough crackers and decided to try using some of the dough for bread sticks. It had the consistency of pizza crust, so I tweaked the recipe slightly and made a pizza with the next batch. Turbokid loved it and even ate the crust, something he rarely does.

Vegan barbecue "chicken" pizza - barbecue sauce, vegan chicken, sauteed zucchini, chopped roma tomatoes, and Daiya mozzarella cheese.

Sourdough Pizza Crust

1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Kneed just until dough is smooth, adding a little more flour if the dough is sticky. Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit in a warm location for at least six hours and up to twenty-four. The dough can be refrigerated after the proofing time if you're not able to use it right away.

Preheat oven to 375C. Lightly grease a baking sheet, then roll the dough onto the sheet into the desired shape and thickness. You can roll up the edges of the dough to give a thicker edge crust.

Bake crust for 8-10 minutes, then remove from oven and add sauce and toppings. Return to oven and bake another 10 minutes, until crust is golden.

Plum Crumble for One

The problem with desserts is that it can be difficult to find baked desserts that serve just one or two instead of a dozen. It is almost as difficult to find desserts that are low sugar without resorting to fake sugar. This crumble satisfies both of those needs. It is single serving (but can easily be doubled) and only contains a teaspoon of sugar to cut the tartness of the plums. Also, unlike recipes making larger amounts, it only requires a couple pieces of fruit instead of a whole bag.

If you don't like or don't have plums, any other stone fruit can be substituted. You can also substitute the almond butter with peanut butter, or another nut or seed butter.

I confess I had this for breakfast instead of dessert, but since it is mostly fruit and oatmeal, I don't need to feel guilty about that.

Sorry on the blurriness! I didn't realize the focus was off until I uploaded it. By then, I had already eaten the crumble.

Plum Crumble for One

3 plums, sliced
1 Tbsp water
1/4 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tsp sugar or maple syrup
1 Tbsp almond butter
1 Tbsp coconut oil

Preheat oven to 375F.

Place sliced plums and water in a small baking dish.

In a small bowl, mix together the oatmeal, flour, sugar, almond butter, and coconut oil. Sprinkle the mixture on top of the plums.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly browned.

Zucchini Bread

I found myself with a surplus of zucchini this week. I could only find one of my bread pans, so the excess batter became muffins. This recipe makes two loaves of bread or about 18 large muffins. Turbokid screamed "Cupcakes!" when he saw the muffins and devoured two of them.

Zucchini Bread

2 cups grated zucchini (about two zucchini)
3 Tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 medium ripe banana)
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp baking soda
3 cups white whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two bread pans.

In a small, stir together the ground flax and water and let sit for about 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl, combine the grated zucchini, flax and water mixture, coconut oil, mashed banana, sugar, and vanilla. Stir in the salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda, then add the flour and mix well.

Pour batter into the bread pans. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Muffin variation: This recipe makes approximately 18 muffins. Bake for 20-25 minutes.