Easiest Bread Ever: Foccacia

I know you're thinking it's too hard. It's easy to just buy it. Granted, you will have an easier time if you have a stand mixer, but even if you choose to hand knead the dough, it's still an easy task. Not to mention you can get out any stress or tension from all that kneading! And trust me, once you start making your own bread, there's no going back! It's so easy, you'll be mad you haven't been making it all along! It's simple, easy to customize, and beyond delicious. Ask anyone who has ever had mine. They are all spoiled now. Even my husband says he is going to start making this bread! I like to throw in fresh herbs from the garden, but I'm telling you, dried herbs are perfectly wonderful in this bread. No need to splurge on buying fresh herbs if you don't grow them. Now here's my super simple, fool-proof recipe!

Herbed Foccacia bread:

1 tbsp honey or sugar
2 cups warm water
1 tbsp (or one packet)dry active yeast
1 tbsp kosher salt + extra for sprinkling on top!
2 tbsp olive oil + extra for basting bread
1 tsp dried oregano or a pinch from the garden
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp minced garlic (or garlic powder)
5-6 cups unbleached, all purpose flour (I like to do half whole wheat flour also. Makes it wonderfully nutty and adds nutrition!)
1/4 minced onion (optional)
6 or so cherry or grape tomatoes (optional)

Start by "proofing" the yeast, making sure it's still alive and active. You have no idea how disappointing it is to make a bread with dead yeast. Trust me, proof the yeast. To proof it, you put the sugar, warm water, and yeast into your mixing bowl and let it sit until it's poofy looking. You'll know what I mean when you see it. The yeast feeds on the sugars in the honey or the table sugar and get bigger. Once it's going, I like to add the salt, half the olive oil, and the herbs at this point. If you have a stand mixer, you will need to start the whole adding flour part with your regular flat mixing attachment, and then you'll need to move to your dough hook once it's nice and mixed. If you're using a wooden spoon, don't worry about that part. ;)

So now at this point, you'll start adding the flour, cup at a time. If you're using the onion and garlic option, you'll need to have them already cut up and sauteed a bit before this part. You'll need them to be going into the mixture at the same time as the flour so that they can be well incorporated. There is a good bit of variation in the amount of flour needed because it can depend on the exact amount of water you use, the weather, the way you hold your tooth, and whether or not the bread gods are smiling on you that day.. Anyway, just keep adding flour until it starts to form a ball in the center of the bowl. Then you'll need to keep kneading the dough for a while to develop the glutens, making a crispy outside and soft fluffy inside to the bread. I let mine go on the second setting in the mixer for around 5-7 minutes. Once it's nice and mixed comes the easy part- Cover the bowl and the dough with a warm, wet towel, and let it be.

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 450. Given about 15-20 minutes, the dough will have become huge and puffy, and you're ready to bake! I bake mine in an oiled, enamel coated dutch oven if I'm serving it immediately, because it makes the crust so perfectly crisp that it's irresistible! If you're baking it for later, you can bake it in two big loaves at the same time on a cookie sheet or whatever you want. Flatten and use your finger to create indentations all around the dough, so it doesn't puff up too much. I then baste it with olive oil, more kosher salt, and rosemary. Bake it for around 20 minutes, or until golden and lovely! It will make two large loaves or 8-10 individual sandwich sized rolls.

Enjoy your bread making! Mix it up! Love it and feel accomplished! :)

Southwest roasted salad

I have done so many wonderful variations on the roasted romaine salad since I learned how to do it, that I figured I'd share a few delicious and easy (I don't have to mention healthy, you know that if you're reading about it on my blog, it's healthy.)

Mexican inspired roasted romaine salad: This is a single serving. But it should easily double or quadruple to suit your needs.

Cut, rinse, dry, and roast the romaine just like the previous salad. I sprinkled a bit of chipotle powder and garlic powder along with the salt, pepper, and olive oil. Just to keep the mexican theme flowing.

Now for the thing that makes this different: the corn.

In a saucepan, get about a teaspoon of olive oil heating up with a shake or two of chipotle powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Once it's nice and hot, and you are smelling the spices really well, add about 2/3 of frozen corn. If you have an onion, go ahead and chop it up and add it at this point as well. Saute everything until it is hot and smelling fabulous. This is when I add about a quarter of a cup of hot salsa to the mix. I let it cook for a couple more minutes to get some of the water out.

In the meantime, take two tablespoons of light sour cream and mix in about 1/4 of a teaspoon of chipotle powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper, a bit of skim milk to make it somewhat salad dressing consistency, and then let it sit in the bottom of your serving bowl, in the fridge, until the other ingredients are all prepared. You could also add a little salsa to it to thin it out and add a little extra zest.

Now it's time to plate it all up. I put the romaine in first, and mix it up with the dressing in the bottom until it's nice and mixed. Then I put the corn on the top. You can garnish with cilantro for a bit of flair! Delicious!


Mexican Inspired Roasted salad


1 heart of romaine, cut in half lengthwise, rinsed, and dried
2/3 cup of frozen corn
1 small onion
1/4 cup hot salsa
1/4 tsp chipotle powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoon light sour cream
cilantro for garnish

Roasted romaine salad

My new obsession is roasting greens for a new and interesting approach to the salad. This is a little creation that made a wonderful lunch for me, but you could certainly add a little more flair and make it into a wonderful dinner salad! Light and healthy, but hearty and warm, this salad has it all!

Roasted Romaine Salad:

1 boiled egg white. (I actually hate egg yolks, but if you like them, you can keep it!)

1 small head of romaine lettuce, cut in half lengthwise, rinsed and dried

6 seedless grapes, cut in half

6 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 corn tortilla, cut into strips, salted, and baked at 450 until crunchy

1 oz feta cheese (sub goat cheese if you like)

salt, pepper, and olive oil to taste


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle the two halves of romaine with salt, pepper, and olive oil and put it cut side down onto a greased (with olive oil, of course!) baking sheet. Cut the grapes and tomatoes and arrange them around the lettuce. Salt and pepper everything and put it in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until slightly browned and roasted looking. Once done, chop the romaine, and layer it in a bowl and top with cheese and the crunchy tortilla! You can sub toasted nuts for the tortilla if you like. It would be equally delicious and delightful! You will be amazed at the flavors that develop in the roasted romaine! I'm a serious foodie, and I know that this certainly wouldn't make it to my blog unless it were flavorful, healthy, and hearty!

Banana-berry cocoa ice cream

Ok, so it's not reallyice cream.. but it's a delicious, fruity, low calorie treat that will happily replace your occasional (or daily) bowl of ice cream! Feel free to get fun and funky with it. May I suggest a tsp of peanut butter in place of the strawberries for a fat burning alternative? How about blueberries? Sprinkle chopped almonds on top for a deliciously crunchy addition! The possibilities are endless! The only thing you can't skip is the banana, as it is what gives this ice cream its creamy and decadent texture! Otherwise you'll end up with a sorbet type dish, and if that's your thing, go for it. Personally I like it creamy!

Banana-berry cocoa ice cream:

1 ripe banana (go organic.. the taste difference is worth it!)

1-3 tbsp cocoa powder ( I say the darker the better!)

3-4 medium strawberries


In a smoothie maker/small blender, add the strawberries and the banana and pulse until smooth. You might want to chop up the banana first to make it easier to blend. Once it's smooth, add the cocoa powder and blend again until it's combined. Pour it into a small ziplock bag and put it in the freezer. If you want to eat the ice cream that day, you can make the process easier by squishing the bag every few hours to make sure it doesn't freeze up all the way. If you're eating it sometime in the future, just make sure you take the bag out of the freezer a bit before you plan on eating it, let it thaw just a bit, and then pulse it in the blender again until the texture is smooth and creamy! It will get there, trust me!

Smoky roasted chickpeas

Stand-by. This is your new go-to snack. Forget the potato chips because these crunchy little wonders will steal your heart and taste buds. You can soak and cook your own chickpeas for a more economical treat, or you can go easy and quick with canned ones! Just make sure you rinse all that extra salt off before you bake them! Enjoy!

Smoky roasted chickpeas:

15 oz can of garbanzo beans/ chickpeas

1/2 tsp smoked chipotle seasoning

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp olive oil or olive oil cooking spray

sprinkle of salt


Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. In the meantime, drain and rinse the chickpeas very well. Allow to dry or pat dry with a paper towel. Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray or olive oil, and lay out the chickpeas in a single layer. Sprinkle with seasonings and a bit more olive oil to coat well and toss with hands until well distributed. Bake at 450 for 40 minutes, making sure to check and shake the pan after 30 minutes to make sure they don't burn. Remove from oven and enjoy! They are crunchy and delicious! Not to mention healthy! Ditch the chip habit!