Rhubarb Sangria

A summer night-- with the breeze gently blowing and the sun softly setting requires only one thing to make it perfection. Sangria.

Eric and I have been making Sangria for years. And though it's never the same. It's got a few basic ingredients.

Fruit + Red Wine.

Seriously.

We usually get a bottle of red wine-- wine that's on sale. Shhh. Don't tell.

And in a large pitcher we combine equal parts of red wine and fruit juice. And then add cut up fruit. Fresh peaches, strawberries, black berries, oranges, limes, lemons....

Recently,  I made rhubarb juice. Naturally, I thought it would be beautiful in Sangria.

Note the very large and very cheap bottle of store bought sangria. This rhubarb juice added a bit of tang and a bit of extra sweet. It kept the sangria light and airy.

Be care, these are easy to drink on a hot summer day.

Making Pizza Pie

I've been making Trailer Gypsy's quick pizza crust for a while now... I needed a replacement for the little bags of chemicals and magic (ok it's just dry bagged pizza crust) that costs too much money but is SOOOO easy. And the other quick pizza crust recipes I've tried taste like moonsand. Moist and gritty. And that is not how I like my pizza.

And I can honestly say.... I love this recipe. No moonsand. Just smooth and crispy pizza. Quickly. Who says things can't be quick, cheap and good?

Plus, we make two thin crust pizzas. One with just cheese, chicken and broccoli for the kids. And one with everything for the grown-ups-- this one was three cheese, Manzanilla olives and fresh spinach. Pizza is so versatile for this time of year when gardens are producing, farmers markets are bursting and the CSA box is a treasure trove-- any veggie you can possibly imagine could probably be a topping!

I did monkey with it a little bit. Here's the original recipe.

And here is mine with some tiny tweaks.... honey instead of sugar. High fiber flour (or all purpose flour), I just use high fiber flour. A bit extra salt for  a more rounded flavor-- in absence of extra spices (boo kids and their aversion to 'green flakes' on their pizza. For the record basil is not algae).

Trailer Gypsy's Pizza Crust

Ingredients:
1c. warm water - you want the water really warm, not lukewarm
1 Tbsp. honey
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast - that is how much is in 1 packet
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups flour - unbleached high fiber flour.
Spices-- I had to use 'hidden' spices. Nothing green you know.... onion powder, garlic powder....

Preheat oven to 425.

Mix water, sugar and yeast in a bowl until dissolved.
Add the olive oil, salt, and spices.
Add flour, stir until mixed well.

This will be a stickier dough than if you were making bread but it shouldn't be too moist either. Add more flour if you need to.

Let dough sit for at least 10 min. while you prepare your toppings.


On a floured surface roll dough out into two thin sheets. Will make about 2 medium pizzas.

Crazy Week Night Sweets

Eric, my husband and I have worked together at most jobs we've had for the last 10 years. Mostly in resturaunts, but even now we get up together, get ready together, get the kids off to daycare together and we then, walk through the front doors of our work together.

A few years ago we worked at this place that had the best "Sweets" or sweet potato fries-- I actually almost forgot about them until on a date night we ordered sweet potato fries at another resturaunt. And we were sorely disappointed, not enough sweet or salt. And with the long-lost taste of Sweets in my mind, I could not get over it.

So last night, when I was home with two sickies. I found that I needed dinner, quick! And the two sweet potatoes staring at me on the counter got me thinking again. 

So I made my own version, a baked version with more sweet, and more salt. Not nutritious... but delicious. These are quick and the kids will eat them!

Baked Sweets
1 Tbs brown sugar 
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 pounds sweet potatoes, unpeeled and cut into long strips
1 tablespoon olive oil Spray or grease a baking sheet pan. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix brown sugar, sugar,  cinnamon, salt with  sweet potatoes and oil in a mixing bowl. Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on prepared baking pan. Bake 25-30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender and a little crispy.

 Photo

Gluten Free Beef and Vegetable Soup

A few months ago, Truman (my son) was having stomach problems-- waking up in the middle of the night crying for hours about how his stomach hurt. As a mother, I felt so helpless. We tried a lot of things. Taking dairy out of his diet, going gluten free and so on. In a couple months, the episode was over and we still don't know what the problem was.

But I do still have a few gluten free foods leftover in the cupboard-- for instance, Qunioa Elbow Pasta. This pasta is amazing, because it tastes just like pasta should. It's perfect for soups, tomato based dishes and mac-n-cheese.

Gluten Free Beef and Vegetable Soup
1/2 lb. Lean Ground Beef
1/2 Medium Onion chopped fine
1 Can of Diced tomatoes-blended until smooth
6-8 Cups of gluten-free Chicken Stock (or make your own)
1 Cup frozen peas and carrots
1 clove chopped garlic
1 cup chopped broccoli
2 small potatoes chopped
1 box Quinoa elbow pasta


In your stock pot use 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute ground beef and onion until no pink is visible. Add garlic and blended tomato then chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Salt to taste. Add vegetables. Bring back up to boil. Add Quinoa pasta cook about 6 minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste.

 This soup is quick to make. Warm and filling... serve it with some GF crackers. No one will ever know it was all made without flour!