Pizza Night

I hereby decree that every Saturday henceforth shall be called “PIZZA NIGHT!” And we shall make and gorge ourselves on homemade pizzas and be delighted entirely!

So, if you don’ t know how to read ridiculous semi-medieval speak, I’ll let you know that tonight was the first ever Carroll Family Pizza Night (soon to be Bassett Family Pizza Night) Every Sat, we’ll roll up our sleeves, stretch out some dough and create the most delicious pizzas we can!

Tonight we made Margerita Pizzas, the traditional pizza that represents the three colors on the Italian flag with its toppings. The great thing about homemade pizza is that the crust is no longer tasteless and unimportant. The crust is tasty and an integral part of the flavor in my homemade pizzas. Here’s the dough recipe so that if you want to make this at home, you’re more than welcome!

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
(if you want this dough NOT to be whole wheat, just substitute AP or bread flour!)

.5 oz Fresh Yeast (Or .25 oz active dry yeast)
Pinch Sugar
.5 tsp Salt
10.5 oz Whole Wheat Flour
2 tbsp Olive Oil

This dough is made using the straight dough method. Mix your water and yeast until it dissolves. Mix together the flour, oil, salt and sugar until fully incorporated. Then mix this all together, wet into dry. Knead this for about 10 minutes. Let it rest in a wet, warm place (You should take a shower. Seriously, take a shower and make sure that you don’t turn the fan on. When you get out of the shower, just leave the dough on the toilet or counter until it doubles in size. The yeast LOVE the muggy environment. That’s exactly what a professional proof box is like!) until it doubles in size. Punch it down and stretch it out to your desired size.

Place whatever toppings you like. For Margerita pizzas, you use olive oil, fresh tomatoes, mozzarella ( I get the Organic Valley brand because the company doesn’t torture its cows!) and basil. I didn’t have fresh basil, so I used dried. I also put some freshly cracked black pepper and some Parmesan cheese on top.

Bake this either on a baking stone, in a professional deck oven OR if you’re like me and you’re poor, on the back of a cookie sheet. Crank the temperature in your oven to as high as it’ll go. Put your pizza in and bake about 10 minutes or until the crusts have puffed up and the whole thing is golden brown. When it’s finished, take it out and let it sit for about 5 minutes. THEN cut it up and enjoy. You don’t want to burn the inside of your mouth, do you?

r

Weekly Roundup

Here’s the goods made this week in the commercial kitchen of your DC writer, Robin. Feast your eyes, kiddies!

The goods are as follows, from left to right, top to bottom:

Whiskey Pecan Tartletts, Pecan Diamonds, Chocolate dipped Vacherines, Peach Cobblers, Chocolate Peanutbutter Pie, Linzer Cookies, Chocolate dipped Madelines, Cherry Pie, Key Lime Chiffon Pie, NY Cheesecake, Blueberry Pies, Lemon Tartletts, Spritz Cookies, Pear Frangipane Tart, Almond Macaroons

Capital Confections Cake Competition

Today in Austin:

Hundreds of cake decorators are gathering to show their goods at the Capital Confection’s That Takes The Cake Competition. From categories like “Multi-Tiered Wedding Cake,” “Single Tiered Specialty Cake” to “Confections Not on A Cake” or “Decorations Not on A Cake” we see amazing examples of cake decorating at its best.

I’ll be submitting my own humble cake this year under “Multi-Tiered Wedding Cakes,” entering as a culinary student (which is FREE, by the way) It features Tempered chocolate drawings, rolled fondant, piped royal icing and molded chocolate flowers. Bunny Blossoms are the focus here, as you can see bunnies being birthed out of cherry blossoms on the branches that climb up this cake. Tempered chocolate is poured on the top of the bigger layer to create some contrast and conveniently cover up any unsightly bumps on the smooth fondant surface.

Do you like the shot of the cake from inside my refrigerator. That’s apple juice, by the way… nothing funny.

Opportunities like this are popping up all over the place. Culinary Students in Austin are able to showcase their work and their talent in this great city in many events or competitions.

Here are some of the highlights of the day:

A New Look for Dolce Cakes

Let’s just say that it’s due time that Dolce Cakes found it’s identity.

More often than not, one would view DC and see it as just a baking blog. Perhaps a place for its owner to post beautiful pictures of her baked goods, a place to see some good food. DC has been the host of INK and the home for the occasional rant about nerdiness. Perhaps this post can be the turning point for the blog. It’s coming into its own and developing its personality as we speak.

Dolce Cakes is a vegetarian baking blog. Dedicated to promoting the respect and preservation of animals and their integrity. Determined to improving the awareness of its viewers to the reality of meat farming and of course to provide a good deal of vegetarian recipes. DC will primarily be a blog centered around baking but may occasionally provide information on savory vegetarian dishes.

You may have noticed little changes here and there over the last week. I’ve been redesigning the look of DC to improve its navigation and accessibility. Tags and categories have been added. Posts have been weeded, archived and in some cases, consolidated to make browsing easier. Please feel free to let me know if these things are either not helpful, not working or just plain annoying.

I look forward to sharing my opinions. If I cannot share them on my own blog, where can I share them? If you are faint of heart, you may not want to hear some of the things that DC might be reporting. If you are a meat lover and die-hard Veggie hater, you may also want to try to get your baking fix elsewhere. If you feel as though you want me to shut up or stop posting about vegetarianism and animal torture, then feel free. I will take your comments into consideration and may or may not alter my content.

The new blog schedule is as follows:
New blogs will be posted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Weekly updates on baking will be posted on Saturday.

Thanks very much for reading this, I appreciate each view that this blog gets, each reader that reads these words and hope that perhaps some of what I say doesn’t go in one ear and out the other. I hope that I can increase the awareness of the truths of this country’s eating habits and the risks involved. If I can help one person, that will be enough for me.

r

Save the Moos!

Everytime my fiance and I go on a roadtrip, or anytime that we even pass a cow feild I remember saying, “Hello, Moos!!”

As long as I can remember, I have thought that these creatures are kind and strong and to be respected. I just finished reading the chapters (In C. David Coats’ Old MacDonald’s Factory Farm) on the treatment of dairy cows, calves and beef cattle. I can’t say that I’m surprised, only disgusted. More and more I want to either find a dairy farm that doesn’t torture their animals or just start consuming ricedream and silk soy products instead of dairy. My compassion is too much for these animals for me to be able to support these practices.

For some reason, while reading all of these things, I feel like everyone should know what happens to these animals. I hold myself back because I know that people either don’t care or don’t want to admit that these things happen. For years, I disconnected the chicken on my plate from the chicken in the barnyard, or more accurately, the chicken in the tiny crowded cages. I didn’t want to admit that the meat I was eating used to be a living, feeling animal that had lived such a tortured life.

I’m not so ignorant to think that my vegetarianism is going to solve this problem completely, but I’m confident in saying that my efforts will not promote this. Not a single dollar of my money will go towards the industry that habitually tortures and destroys these creatures. I love that quote that I read lastnight:

“In point of fact, I am the very opposite of an anthropomorphizer. I don’t hold animals superior or even equal to humans. The whole case foe behaving decently to animals rests on the fact that we are the superior species. We are the species uniquely capable of imagination, rationality and moral choice– and that is precisely why we are under the obligation to recognize and respect the right of animals” Brigid Brophy

Because we are superior, we must protect these animals because the second that we believe that it’s okay and even right to torture, kill and disrespect these creatures is the second that we are brought down to the level of predator and animal.