Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Cross another one off the 31 while 31 list!

31 while 31 Update!

I made pizza from scratch last night!  Ok, I only made the dough and sauce, but that was what was on my list.  It was easy, if time consuming!  I used this recipe:  http://www.shutterbean.com/2011/knead-pizza-dough/ and it takes very little time of actual work to get it ready.  It does take 2 hours to rise but the actual working time should be about 5-10 minutes total and the crust came out great.

You start with the dry ingredients together and add the water to get the wet dough.


I had to add close to an additional 1/3 cup of water to get a good consistency on my dough.


Then you spread it all out on an oiled baking sheet and add the toppings and bake.  I made my own sauce so it took some additional time for that.


Here is the one with homemade roasted tomato sauce, from this recipe http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Roasted-Tomato-Sauce-352110, cheddar and capers:

Just a note on this sauce:  Michael made it with the plum tomatoes it calls for and it was amazing.  So amazing I hope we have time to make it every time we want tomato sauce.  However, the tomatoes have to roast for an hour so it takes some time.  I am thinking of making large batches and canning it.  This time I did not have plum tomatoes so I just used regular, but good quality, tomatoes and it was still delicious.  Roast the tomatoes for the full hour-it's worth it.

Here is the one with goat cheese spread, caramelized onions and aged balsamic drizzle:

Both pizzas were a success, though I only baked them for 15 minutes in the 500 degree oven-which was enough to get the crust crispy and brown on the outside and deliciously soft and chewy inside.  I will definitely use this recipe again soon for dough!

The total list:

1) Race a trail 5k-Spring/summer/Fall-DONE2) Knit a colorwork project-DONE
3)Knit an adult sized sweater. Picked out Thermal for this project.-DONE
4) Knit an entrelac project-will have to finish one I have started.
5) Run a relay race-DONE, my team Reached the Beach! (Pic at bottom)
6) Make lamb bacon
7) Make pasta from scratch
8) Take a finishing class for knitting-DONE at the Common Cod's weekend of volunteer taught classes-thanks Alanna!
9)Take a crochet class-DONE, at Gather Here in Cambridge. I made a granny square mostly there and finished it later and then used my crochet skills to do a border on a hat!!!
10) Take a sewing class-DONE, also at Gather Here, where I made an awesome bag I have been using for a bunch of things!!!
11) Take an exercise class I would normally avoid-maybe not trapeze as Sarah suggester, but something similarly out of my comfort zone.-DONE, I went cross country skiing recently in Stowe, taking a beginner class and while I am a very proficient down hill skier, cross country skiing is very different and something I didn't do so well at. It was a good challenge and I will continue to try.
12) Take Michael camping
3) Take Michael hiking
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
15) Make a good soy milk based ice cream-DONE, we made dulce de leche soy ice cream for the latke party my dad and step mom had last weekend.
16) Run another half-marathon-already picked out the Run to Remember!
-DONE, I also beat my previous time by 24 minutes this past Sunday! 
17) Make Pizza from scratch-dough and sauce. Cheese will have to buy-Done on September 3, 2012!
18) Make Madeleines...
19) Make
buttercream from scratch-DONE, we made a bunch of cakes and cupcakes for a Girls on the Run event and our running club banquet, including buttercream in a number of colors and two flavors, vanilla and chocolate.
20) Raise money for Girls On The Run as a Solemate for the Run to Remember.-DONE, Michael and I raised over $2,000 for Girls on the Run.  You can still donate at http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/randmrobertson/team-solemates-2012
21)
Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.

23) Knit something for charity.-DONE
24)
Make cider donuts.
25) Visit a new city-this will be hard, I've been to most I want to go to.
Thinking New Orleans.-DONE, technically done as I drove to Albany, NY for work a few weeks ago and dropped off a few things. Not exactly what I was thinking, but it is technically done.  Visited New Orleans in June!
26) Blog every week. I have completely abandoned it, and will try and do 52 before October 20th, so get ready for a plethora of posting.

27) Go to 4 concerts. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for us, which is sad.
1) Smashing Pumpkins; 2) Saw live Jazz in New Orleans; 3) Kelly Clarkson and the Fray and 4) seeing the Wallflowers soon!
28) Make sourdough bread from scratch
29) Dye my own yarn
30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language

31) Have a cocktail party


What is left and my plans for them:   

6) Make lamb bacon-I just have to figure out how to do this.
12) Take Michael camping-Maybe not doable
13) Take Michael hiking-Doable
14) Host/Organize a contest involving pie, maybe eating, maybe making?
18) Make Madeleines...check to see if I have the pan, if not, order
21) Learn three guitar chords-I can't promise I will remember them at the end of the year.
22) Learn rudimentary phrases in Spanish.

24) Make cider donuts.
27) Go to 4 concerts. This may not seem like a lot, but it is for us, which is sad. 1) Smashing Pumpkins; 2) Saw live Jazz in New Orleans; 3) Kelly Clarkson and the Fray and 4) seeing the Wallflowers soon!
28) Make sourdough bread from scratch-order the starter from King Arthur Flour29) Dye my own yarn-I have a bunch of yarn to dye blue30) Watch three foreign language films that are not a romance language
31) Have a cocktail party-in a couple weekends, evite already sent and planning commenced with a good head start!


26 is blog every week-getting to 52 will likely not happen, oh well!