Party On, Pizza Lovers!

Party on, pizza lovers! It is the ideal food since the ancient Romans. Laborers in ancient Rome would dine on breads topped with meats, veggies and cheeses that resembled our modern pizza!

Mini Pizzas

Difficulty: 2 out of 10

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 - 20 minutes

Approximate Cost: $20.00 +

1 Package (2) Naan Bread

Pizza sauce of choice: Dressings, olive oil, and pesto spreads are good options if traditional pasta sauce is too boring for your taste buds.

Toppings of choice:

Pepperoni, olives, garlic, spinach leaves, mushrooms (sliced), ham, sausage (cooked and drained), the options are limitless!

Shredded Cheese:

Mozzarella is a good base choice but; parmesan, feta, cheddar, asiago, provolone are also great additions.

Place Naan bread on ungreased cookie sheet or baking stone. Spread sauce choice in a thin layer as close to the edge of the bread as you can. Sprinkle cheese(s), again keeping the layer thin and as close to the edge as possible. Add toppings (reminder: all meats should be cooked and drained before using); be reasonable here too, you can always go back for more, but a loaded pizza is just as cumbersome as an over loaded taco or sandwich. (I could do a whole blog about this issue). Once all toppings are evenly spread add one more thin sprinkle of cheese.

Place pizza(s) in center of oven and cook until edges are golden and cheese is melted. Cooking times and temperatures can vary depending on how you like your crust, and how much you loaded on the sauce and toppings. I settle on 350 for 20 minutes and get a crisp outer crust that is still chewy on the inside. A neat trick to learning pizza crust cooking, read the back of microwave pizza boxes.

Please remember: if you have a great recipe and would like to be a guest blogger on Nomdays, if you have a great or funny experience with cooking, or you want to talk about how awesome the recipes are, contact me or comment on this post. Thank you!

The Fire Breathing Caterpillar's Lament

I go through this often enough. I should know what is going on. I should know what to expect.Still, it does come as a shock sometimes; it is the difference between knowing a tornado is coming and being in one. I need to be okay with the allies as well as the enemies I have. I need to focus on the projects that will help me grow. I need to allow transformation to happen. I am in need of some important Jenn time. I need to remove everything else. It is cocoon time. It is transformation time. 

I know there are people out there who have only known me for a short while, or maybe think they have “known” me for a long time but really just see me. To these people, I am friendly, outgoing, wild, driven, thrill a minute, pirate Jenn! It is just a costume, a role. I am good at it. I enjoy the results of this role and the doors it opens for me and for those I care about. But, it isn’t the core, the real me.  

The real me is driven, in that plugging right along way. I am friendly, in that sort of quietly sit and listen, but hasn’t much to say. Not wild in the sense of a tiger or rhino, more like how wild grapes or blackberries grow; rambling, silent, twisting. When in cocoon mode, I am looking for those things in others. In other words, I am not looking for people time in general. Before I was a pirate, I was a winged imp, before that a storyteller and a mystic, before that a dragon, a watcher, a writer. 

That dragon part. That's the bit that might confuse some people. Dragons are violent, fire-breathing, harbingers of doom, right? When provoked, I cannot argue that observation, but most of the time not so much. This dragon likes to contemplate, collect shiny objects, enjoys watching felines and hatchlings play, studies books and listens to old wizards. I do not know many dragons who have the patience for princesses, knights, and fools; devouring them is just a means of saving the world from their nonsense. We are doing a great service, and even something that looks mighty, needs a break and time to grow.

 

What is transformation? We all go through times when change happens to mean more than just a new job, a new look, or a new relationship. Sometimes it is so much deeper. We are more vulnerable during these times. We are more quiet during these times. Okay, I am more vulnerable and quiet.

It is difficult to be around people during cocoon times. It is *really* hard to be around people who are avoiding or fighting their own transformation. Equally so, to be around people who have harmful energy. It doesn’t take much either. A harsh word or sharp glance can cut right through a transforming soul. People who are usually okay out in public might not feel it, but I do. I have to work extra hard to meet large gatherings on a typical day, in cocoon mode it is nearly impossible. People are trying. Noises are painful. Fighting it is exhausting. That returns me to the cocoon part. Dragon or caterpillar, I need a break, have for a long while. 

There is something great coming, I know this. But, for now, consider the more simple analogy of the caterpillar - grumpy, annoyed by silly questions and content to sit on my mushroom in solitude. 

Nomday: Potatoes and Planetary Doom!

As Nomday grows and changes, I am thrilled to add one more interesting twist. The film segment. Every Sunday evening, we host a dinner and movie with a few close friends. I thought it might be fun to mention the films as well as the foods on occasion. Films and foods will be of course related to one another. Like, this week’s:

The Last Starfighter Comfort Food

The Last Starfighter is one of those classic campy 80’s sci-fi flicks that makes every gamer geek keep trying for that high score, just in case, you know, it might help him save the universe. A little trivia about this film, Wil Wheaton might be in there somewhere.

So, what sort of food goes well with a story about a kid in a trailer park who becomes something so much more?

Homemade Mashed Potatoes

Serves: 8 to 12

Cost: $10.00

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Equipment:

Large cooking pot

Potato Masher

Strainer

Ingredients:

12 Large Potatoes

2 cups Milk

2 tbsp Butter

Salt & Pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until soft. (Note: if you do not like the peel on the potato, it will practically “rinse” off after boiling. Also, cutting the potatoes into chunks will reduce boiling time). Strain potatoes and return to pot. Mash potatoes with masher. Add milk, butter and spices to taste.

We had these with boxed macaroni and cheese and canned baked beans. Yes, t was a very special dinner, only missing the steamed broccoli and cheese. Enjoy! Happy Nomday!

Success the second complete! I am on a roll! This is no trouble at all!