Thursday, October 15, 2015

Marvel-ous Mini Pizzas




     We absolutely love having pizza-movie nights around here, and our love for Primal pizza and the DVD release of a new Marvel movie are the perfect reason to make up some personal mini pizzas. This recipe make 2-3 mini pizzas, according to how large you want your personal pizza. If you want to make a double batch, make each batch separately. This dough does not double well.

Ingredients:
Crust:
1/2 cup filtered water
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. onion or garlic powder
2 tsp. nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried marjoram
1 1/2 cups tapioca flour
1 large egg
2 Tbs. coconut flour

Sauce:
1 medium white onion, chopped
29 oz. (large) can organic tomato sauce
12 oz. organic tomato paste
1 Tbs. coconut sugar
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried marjoram

Toppings:
your heart's desire (we used uncured salami and grass-fed mozzarella)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover baking sheet or pizza round with parchment paper.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring water, olive oil, nutritional yeast, salt, onion or garlic powder, basil, oregano, and marjoram to a boil. Add the tapioca and immediately remove from the heat.

3. While the dough is cooling, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Sautee the onion in coconut oil. Then add tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, basil, oregano, and marjoram.

4. Heat sauce until it begins to bubble, then turn it down to simmer and cover. This makes a lot of sauce that can be used on more than just this pizza. This sauce also freezes well.

5. While sauce is simmering, place tapioca dough, egg, and coconut flour in a medium mixing bowl. Mix and let sit for 1 minute to allow the coconut flour to thicken. Once thickened, halve the dough and roll into two balls.

6. Place dough onto prepared baking sheet and cover with another sheet of parchment. Roll dough out into 1/4-inch thick pizza round.

7. Remove the top sheet of parchment and repeat with other dough ball.

8. Bake crusts for 10-15 minutes. Top with sauce and toppings. Return to oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.

Monday, October 12, 2015

Dorky Dates: Marvel Movie Marathon

 
 
     There is nothing quite like a movie marathon, and in honor of the video release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, we decided it was the perfect time for a Marvel Movie Marathon. Since we don't own all of the movies we decided to see, we started with a trip to our awesome local library. This can greatly reduce the cost of any movie marathon you intend to have. We wanted to stick to movies related to Avengers, so we settled on Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Avengers, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Then we got comfortable by pulling mattresses into the living room and loading them up with blankets and pillows and the kids' stuffed animals.

Cost
This date can cost $0 to however much you want to spend on movies, plus the cost of food. You can go through your personal collection, rent, download, buy, or check the movies out from your local library. After decided and getting the movies you want, it's time to think about food. A movie marathon will last hours, so it's good to have meals and snacks on hand and ready to go. And don't forget any special drinks you want to have on hand. Since we adhere to the Paleo diet, we don't drink soda, but we did have some delicious coffee and herbal teas on hand, along with plenty of water.

Getting Comfy
You really need to think comfort when you settle in for a movie marathon. You need a place to sit or lay for every person who plans to indulge in the activity. We put mattresses, pillows, and blankets on the floor near the couches, so we could sit or lay down, according to our desire at the time. This also afforded us plenty of room to wallow and change positions. If you include children in the marathon, make sure they have something to do if they get bored of watching the movies. Our kids had their stuffed animals, but they also have a video gaming system and Legos set up in the next room; that way, they could do something different if the mood struck them without messing up the atmosphere of the marathon.

Who Would Enjoy It
This is a very flexible date. It's fun for a couple, family, friends, or any mixture thereof. You can always tailor your marathon to suit your audience, but since this is a Marvel Movie Marathon, you may want to make sure that those you invite are into movie adaptations of comic books.

What You May Need
  • Comfortable places to sit or lay down
  • Pillows and blankets for snuggling and keeping warm
  • Your choice of movies (at least 3 for a good marathon)
  • Snacks, meals, drinks
Special Considerations
  • The first consideration is what movies will you include? We went solely with Avenger-themed movies. We started with Captain America since he was the first Avenger. Then we watched The Incredible Hulk because we had never seen it, so we were unsure if we were going to like it as much. We moved on to Iron Man then Thor, finally ending with the two Avenger movies. This worked well for us because it seemed a logical progression, and Ray and I both agreed on the order without any fuss. 
  • The second thing you may want to consider is food. Will your food be themed? Are you going to take this time to pig out on things you'll regret later, or do you want to eat healthy? Will you interrupt your marathon to make food, or do you want to prepare meals ahead of time? Or will you just indulge on snacks and finger foods all day? We had fresh fruits, nut butters, crudités, and "Cheesy" Paprika Ranch Dip for snacks. For drinks, we had water, coffee, and herbal teas. We decided to prepare breakfast and lunch the day before. We made a bacon and egg salad for breakfast and salad with shrimp and lots of veggies for lunch. For dinner, we took a break to stretch and make delicious Marvel-ous Mini Pizzas (recipe to follow).
  • The third consideration is movie marathon etiquette and rules. Will you pause movies for bathroom breaks? Will you pause for discussions, or will people be encouraged to keep their mouths shut during the movie? If you want people to stay quiet, will their be a time for discussion after the movie or during the credits while you're waiting for the P.S.? Will you watch the special features or wait until a different time when you're just watching one movie? Will you watch the movie with the commentary?
  • The fourth consideration is to think about taking a slight break between each movie to get up and move around. Remember that a movie marathon is about the journey, not the destination. If you run out of time, you can always continue on the next day, if you have the time, or you can cut a movie that you don't care as much about, if you don't have the time.