Who doesn't love pizza? After countless years of shying away from the high-caloric goodness of dough and cheese, I've decided to give it another go.
Years ago I just couldn't come to grips with the back-side of a frozen, oven-ready pizza box--"Hello 300 calories a slice!" I didn't even want to fathom what our local pizzeria could offer me per pie as I'm sure the count would spike exponentially. On a quest to re-invent my relationship with pizza, paired with my newly found free time (sans TV), I gave it a go. Here's my low-cal solution to heavy cheese and tomato sauce goodness:
Home-Made Dough
1 1/2 cups of warm water
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. extra virgin oil
1 tsp. salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
Mix warm water, yeast, sugar + salt in one bowl. Flour in another bowl; create a well for warm mixture. Mix with spoon or hands + need till consistency is gummy. Cover with light olive oil and place back in bowl, cover for 45 minutes. Need and place back in bowl covered for another hour.
The 'pièce de résistance'--here's where the calories disappear! Top your home-made dough with figs, prosciutto, honey, arugula and a tiny bit of goat cheese. I PROMISE ITS SUPER-FANTASTIC! To boot, you've now eliminated about 150 calories a slice. Bake at 475 degrees for 14-18 minutes.
ALTERNATIVELY, if you don't have the patience to make pizza from scratch, I was just recently home (meaning Toronto) in December and TERONI on Adelaide makes an outlandish version (clearly!). TERONI is fabulous but they have "rules" which makes me secretly love the place more. They don't cut pizza, they do it old-school with wine in table glasses (+ add in a few others)...and if you don't like it--tough!
NOW SINCE WE'RE TALKING PIZZA + ITALIAN RESTAURANTS: I'll also plug the NOSE on QUEEN STREET EAST. Top dinner off here with a super-sized Joe Louis from 7-11 and you're all set ;)
WEEK ONE:
Similar to a DIET--now that I've said I don't want "chocolate", I want it that much more...
I swear it's almost a habit (or need for noise in sleepy CT) of turning on the TV when I get home. I know, pathetic! So last night I refrained from the tube and instead, headed to our local framer to pick up my latest art project.
One thing that NW CT has in abundance, is antiques. While searching through some of the antique shops that litter Rt. 44, Andrew and I found a 1931 MA plate that we thought was pretty cool. I'm not sold on collecting plates but, at the time, we had thoughts of creating a vertical art piece for the house--so this seemed to work. Insert OH, VT, ME, NY, RI, MO and ONTARIO, collected over the last few months and we were set. Below, a few pics of our most recent art piece. I love that our ONTARIO plate is bright red!
Plates: $20-$30/each; Framing: $400.
I LOVE THE CITY (AND I MISS IT EVEN MORE!) -- the excitement of busy streets, the cultural hot spots that continually change, live music weekly (thanks K+A), foodie finds or tried-and-true, go-to sushi joints, boutique shopping (or shopping that isn't an hour away) and in general, the CREATIVITY that seems to radiate around you when you live in civilization!
BUT ALAS, I moved to what could be deemed as the polar opposite of what I covet. I traded in my SUBWAY PASS and BLOOR STREET for the SLEEPY and UNDISTURBED FOOTHILLS of the BERKSHIRES. Although, I have to admit--I have found a soft spot for my new outdoor-esque lifestyle (maybe it's just the cool people I've met)!
SO WHY THE BLOG? Well, I needed some inspiration and since very little was finding me, I had to find a way to create it myself. After two years of denial over my move and trying to find my bearings in NW CT, I have found myself more interested in turning on the TV and letting it entertain me than learning ways to entertain myself (with my own talents and interests). I'm sick of living someone else's reality-tv-life and thought I would create my own (no matter how mundane). I've boxed up my inner creator/creative and am ready for it BACK!
ENTER 2011 and the start of RURALurbanist--I'm destined to take advantage of my six-year stint in CT. This blog will be dedicated to posts about my latest DIY art project, my newest gym work-outs (I love a good work-out fad!), running, my two-year old weim/lab, foodie inspirations, decorating and anything creative that falls in between.
SO HERE GOES...I'm giving up TV for 365 days! The RURALurbanist is UNPLUGGED, has her inner-creative DIVA IN CHECK and is ready to BLOG ABOUT IT!
