Saturday, March 31, 2012

Homemade Pizza

This recipe is partly from a magazine, and partly an Amayla creation. We randomly chose the vegetables to include on the pizza. I won't lie, it was delicious. My favorites are spinach and zucchini, and Kayla loves mushrooms. I am sure it would have been good with anything. Perhaps a pepper and onion concoction? The magazine used asparagus, but that's not one of Kayla's favorites. Mmmm... veggies. For the crust, we simply bought a pre-made whole wheat crust. But I am sure you could make it from scratch, or buy the dough ball that rolls out.

The point is, this is easy to experiment with! And, to each their own :)


Time: 15 minutes prep, 8 minutes in oven
Servings: 4, one serving is one quarter of the pizza
Calories: 300-350 per serving
Ingredients:
     Whole wheat pizza crust
     1 zucchini
     1 small can of mushrooms
     2 roma tomatoes
     2 handfuls of spinach (why yes, this is an exact quantity)
     2 stalks of green onion
     2 Tbs EVOO
     3 cloves garlic
     1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
     Salt, pepper, garlic powder
Directions:
1) Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees!
2) Slice zucchini into thin circles, and then quarter them. Dice tomatoes. Rip up spinach. Chop green onion. Combine all vegetables in a bowl, and add the mushrooms. Toss with 1 Tbs EVOO, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3) Combine 1 Tbs EVOO and garlic in a small bowl. Put pizza crust on cookie sheet, and brush it with the oil with garlic. Cover with  the mozzarella. Cover with the veggies. Perhaps add some more mozzarella, and sprinkle with garlic powder :)
4) Bake for 8 minutes or until cheese is melty.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Punkport in Cali (Pt. 1)

Alright, for those of you unaware, my little sister Kendall visited us for her spring break!  It was her first trip out to Cali, so naturally, Amanda and I wanted to show her the best time ever.  Result: multiple blog posts with many many many pictures.  So, enjoy the first installment (and Mem, you can officially stop asking for pictures!)...

Naturally, Kendall left a warm and sunny Kansas and arrived in Cali in the midst of one of the dreariest weeks I have seen since we moved out here.  To negate the rain, we decided that the first order of business should be an indoor activity.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium is supposed to be one of the best aquariums in the country, and it definitely lived up to its reputation!  Fishies galore, along with some hungry penguins and frolicking otters kept the three of us fixated for a solid 4 hours before we made our way home.



 
   

After a day in San Francisco in which I was a terrible photographer and totally forgot to take pictures, Kendall and I had a beach day.  Above, we are exploring the rocky cliffs near Santa Cruz.  The mother in me didn't want Kendall to be so close to the edge! 













As we made our way up the B-E-A-utiful highway 1, we stopped at a random beach to eat lunch and watch some surfers brave the cold and choppy water.  After lunch, we continued our drive up the coast and made our way to a marine reserve where we walked (gently, so as not to crush the hermit crabs) around the tide pools.  We gazed at crabs and touched anemones and watched seals sunbathe on the beach (again, forgot to take a picture of this...my bad).










Our day ended with a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge and a short trip up the neighboring hill for an awesome photo-op.  A successful vacation, so far...although my car would beg to differ.  More to come soon!