Pardon the blur on this picture. Yesterday, I snapped a few pizza shots, before putting it on the table. Perhaps I should have tweaked it in Aperture 3.

Yesterday, was the day to satisfy my craving, and so homemade pizza(s) were on the menu.I made two; cheese and veggie with no cheese. Years ago, I stumbled upon a truly delightful cheese-less pizza. The vegetables included introduced a mild sweetness which worked wonderfully with the tangy pizza sauce. I fell in love with cheese-less pizzas, and immediately wanted to run home and try to duplicate it in my own kitchen.

Over the years, I’ve tested quite a few veggies on my cheese-less pizzas. My favorite ways to prepare them are with oven roasted vegetable; Sweet onions, oven roasted garlic, Red bell pepper, shitake mushrooms… Those vegetables work so well together, and make a pizza that’s bursting with flavor.

Pizza is normally made once per month in our household. Because I make a variety, my daughter gets to sample a lot of different pizzas, but I think her favorite is the cheese pizza. She still scarfs down the cheese-less pizzas too.

Bonding at mealtime

I’d put the pizzas in the oven about an hour before it was time to get my daughter,  so they were still hot when we arrived home from her school. Pizza smells greeted us, upon opening the house door. “Pizza!” was my daughters happy cry. She put her schoolbooks away, and quickly returned so we could eat our meal.

The kitchen is one of my places to get creative; mealtimes are a time for both of us to unplug.  She gets a break from the demands of school, and she has my full attention. She quickly filled me in on the days events at school, while she quickly demolished several pieces of both pizzas (cheese and veggie). That girl can eat! I guess she’s a lot like myself, her metabolism is high — so she can eat anything.

Colorful pizza crusts

We both like flavorful crusts, and I’ll add a variety of things (usually seasonings) to the crust. Nothing overpowering, more like a nice complement to the toppings on the pizza.

Occasionally, my daughter asks me to color the pizza crust. I’ll ‘dye’ the crusts with the appropriate colored vegetable juice. One time my daughter wanted an orange crust. I added a bit if carrot juice to the dough. Then she wanted a cranberry colored crust. I added beet juice. Green was another request, juiced greens were added. You get the picture… Although some of the ingredients might sound weird, and not too appealing at all (if you aren’t big on those vegetables) but the crusts are delicious. The flavor doesn’t overpower the pizza crust. Also, the seasonings added (to the crust) complement the pizza. )

These days, I rarely order a pizza, because my daughter is used to the freshness of our homemade pizzas, and it can be hard to find a restaurant that duplicates that.

Ok, so now my pizza craving has been satisfied but now I’m craving hummus with Creamy Dhal or a Dry Chana Masala.;)

Question: What are some foods you enjoy making?

We all experience cravings, right? The past few days my daughter has been craving dark leafy greens. Raw or cooked?  It doesn’t matter; my eight-year old daughter loves eating dark leafy greens.

I’m an early riser (usually awake by 4:00 am — today I was awake at 2:30 am). After a few hours of work, I decided to make her some homemade hash browns. What began as hash browns turned into a completely different dish. By the time, I was through I had prepared a lightly sauteed vegetable dish. It was delicious, nutritious, and simple to make.

What’s in this dish? Kale, carrots, onion, tomato, carrots, ginger, curry, and a sprinkle of sea salt all make an appearance in this dish. The kale was especially tender since I’d picked them from our garden this morning. I’m happy that dark leafy greens can be planted/harvested during the cooler months. It means that my daughter and I eat fresh greens for most of the year.

It’s interesting to see how my daughters taste buds have developed (as she’s gotten older). If I’d have prepared this a few years ago, the added ginger and curry would have been too spicy for her, but now she quite enjoys the extra kick.

Because the kale leaves were huge,  I used only about two leaves in the above dish. The rest has been set aside to include into a smoothie.

My daughters cravings for greens had been satisfied, and she went off to school happy that I’d remembered her request. I’ll eat greens anytime, but recently I’ve been craving a homemade pizza. I’m thinking about making one later today.

Question: Recently, have you had any food cravings? If so share in the comment section.