special edition: shastya

so i thought i'd post a bunch of pics of our little darling just because everyone loves baby pictures! so what has shastya been busy with lately? oh, just eating, fashion/ruffles, alphabet blocks, topology optimization reading, and russian nesting dolls . . .

 

 

 

Pizza Baozi

I made my first attempt at pizza baozi (Italian Chinese fusion cooking)! They turned out delicious. They had a real Italian flavor, but not quite pizza. If I make them again sometime, and want them to taste more like pizza I will add more cheese, more tomatoes, and I will use pepperoni instead of ground beef.

I only had 1 cup of self-rising flour so I added some all-purpose flour, yeast, sugar, and warm water to my usual recipe.

Pizza Baozi:

Dough:

1 Cup Self-Rising Flour

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

2/3 Tsp. Yeast

1 Cup Warm Water

2/3 Tsp. Salt

3 Tsp. Brown Sugar

Filling:

1 lb. Ground Beef

1 Onion

1/2 Green Bell Pepper

1/2 Yellow Squash

1 Roma Tomato

2 Tsp. Minced Garlic

3 TB Mozzarella Cheese

1 TB Parmesan Cheese

1 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

2 Tsp Italian Seasoning

2 Tsp. Basil

2 Tsp. Salt

Apple Grape Dessert Pizza

Anthony was hungry for dessert so he came up with this dessert pizza recipe. Better than Pizza Hut dessert pizzas, his fluffy almost biscuit like crust was topped with homemade red grape and apple pie filling. Baby Shastya and I enjoyed watching Daddy prepare food.

Shari's Indian Spiced Lentil Pilaf

I just created a fantastic lentil dish this evening. We loved it. Shastya loved watching me make this dinner, and of course she wanted some of the rice. 

Lentil Pilaf:

1 TB Oil

2 Tsp. Salt

1 Cup Basmati Rice

1 Cup Lentils/ Masoor Dahl

4 Cups Water

15 Cardamom Pods

20 Black Peppercorns

1 Tsp. Coriander

2 Tsp. Mustard Seeds

2 Tsp. Tumeric

2 Tsp. Minced Garlic

1. Bring 1st set of ingredients to a boil. Cover and cook for 15 min. on low heat.

2. Heat 2nd set of ingredients/ spices while 1st set cooks.

3. Remove 1st set of ingredients from heat when 15 min. cooking time is complete. 

4. Stir 2nd set of ingredients into 1st set of ingredients. Cover and let sit 5 min.  Enjoy:)

Flavorful & Quick: Black Forest Ham, Gouda, & Fennel Omelet

I thought my ham, gouda, fennel flavor combination for an omelet was delicious. Anthony thought it was a little heavy on the fennel. If I make it again, I could always cut back on the amount of fennel I use, and I could cut said lesser amount of fennel into smaller pieces. From start to finish, the making and eating of our omelet was around ten minutes. We shared the omelet. It was jam packed with flavor. We didn't even need salt and pepper. After wolfing down his breakfast, Anthony rushed off to catch the bus.

Black Forest Ham, Gouda, & Fennel Omelet:

4 Pieces Black Forest Ham

1/3 Cup Chopped Fennel Stalks & Foliage

1 Slice of Gouda Cheese