Yummy Yummy Yummy I Got Love In My Tummy

So, whenever I make food for other people, it usually never turns out, which is no bueno. Just my luck I guess. But here are some delish recipes we made recently for us, and they were flip'm good.

Homemade Tortillas

So back in the days of living in Japan, it was very, very hard to find Mexican food, including tortillas. So my friend Claire gave us this recipe for making homemade tortillas that we used quite often then, and still do to this day.

*6 cups flour (in this case I used half white flour and half whole wheat)
*1 Tbsp. sugar
*1 Tbsp. baking powder
*1 Tbsp. salt
*1/2 cup oil
*2 cups HOT water

Mix ingredients in order! Before mixing in the water mix the first 5 ingredients. The oil will make little "pockets" in the tortillas. After adding water, knead with flour. Divide into 30 balls. Let sit in balls for 5 minutes. Flour your table and roll out balls as thin as possible. Put in ungreased frying skillet on low heat. Flip when it bubbles.

Fajitas

Veggie Pizza

I've gotta admit I'm a fan of Papa Murphy's and I'm always trying to duplicate their pizzas. This is as close to their "Gourmet Vegetarian" pizza as I could get. Although, if anyone knows a rip off recipe for their dough, could you pass it along? Thanks.

For this I just made a simple pizza dough using part white and part whole wheat flour.
Topped with creamy garlic sauce (out of a bottle...don't judge me,) zucchini, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, roma tomatoes, onions, and cheese. The only thing missing was the spinach.



Fresh Corn Risotto with Basil, Tomato, and Lime

So, we like risotto. And plain risotto is mighty tasty. But we thought we'd switch it up a bit and make a different recipe. I got this out of the "Joy of Cooking" (a.k.a. our cooking Bible) so hopefully I don't get in trouble for breaking copyright laws or something.

Combine:
*1 cup diced seeded peeled ripe tomatoes (I got mine out of a can. How authentic, right?)
*2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil (Again, got this out of a spice jar. In that case you need to lessen the amount)
*1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (ha ha ha, lime juice out of a bottle didn't kill this recipe for me)
*1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Bring to simmer:
*5 cups chicken stock

Cut:
*2 cups corn kernels from 4 or 5 large ears (Okay, really people, I just got frozen corn. I suck, I know.)

Puree 1 cup of the corn kernels in a food processor. heat in a large saucepan over med. heat until foam subsides:
*2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Add and cook, stirring until translucent, about 5 minutes:
*1/2 cup finely chipped scallions (white part only)

Add:
1 1/2 cups Italian rice

Stir to coat with butter. Add:
*1/2 cup dry white wine

Cook, stirring, until absorbed. Add 1 cup of the simmering stock and cook, stirring, over medium-low heat until the stock is absorbed. Add the remaining stock 1/2 cup at a time, cooking and stirring until the liquid is almost completely absorbed before adding more. Continue adding the remaining stock, in 1/2 cup additions, stirring and cooking over med-low heat, until the rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the reserved pureed corn and another 1/2 cup stock. Continue to cook, stirring and adding stock as needed, until rice is tender but with a slight firmness to the center of the grain, 5-10 minutes more, or longer depending on the rice. Stir in corn kernels and the fresh tomato mixture. Season with:
*Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Spoon into warmed bowls (or plates in our case) and sprinkle with:
*Grated Parmesan cheese


Lemon Pancakes

Here's another gem I found in the Bible, "The Joy of Cooking."

Preheat griddle. Whisk together in a large bowl:
*1 cup all-purpose flour
*1/3 cup sugar
*1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
*1/4 tsp. salt

Whisk together in another bowl:
*3/4 cup sour cream
*1/3 cup milk
*1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
*3 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter
*1 large egg
*1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and gently whisk together, mixing just until combined. Fold in:
*Finely grated zest of 2 lemons

The batter will be thick and bubbly, similar to cake batter. Cook batter in 1/4 cup rounds. Serve with honey or sweetened sour cream or creme fraiche (don't ask me) or even vanilla yogurt.