We can all relate, halfway through cooking something and you find out that you are three eggs short or that the milk has gone bad, or that someone already enjoyed half the ingredients you were planning to use. What happens next could be the topic of a great sociological study. Some people will come to a screeching halt, have a half minute internal freak-out session, smile and add in the extra step of running to the grocery store to hunt down the missing ingredients. Then they will fall back into place upon their return with no one being the wiser. Their finished product will be more perfect than a North Korean drum line skip marching in unison. This is how my best friend handles these situations, with the true grace of a displaced southern lady. Others of us are deterred by our Ally McBeal-esque daydreams about the misadventures and logistics of such the epicurean odyssey that an unplanned trip to the grocery store would become, and are forced to "roll with it."
I was making what I had hoped would be pizza last night with my own children and realized that we had no pizza sauce, and no tomatoes to boot. My mind quickly went into the aforementioned Ally McBeal mode and (probably because the holidays were so close) I was picturing something akin to a 12 days of Christmas parody with stock boys a-leaping, car parkers a-fighting, and children a-begging for everything that Santa has already packed away for them! Seeing as I was completely unprepared for a debate regarding the pros and cons of the pre-Christmas ownership of a candy cane filled with M&Ms with my 8 year old, I decided that I definitely belonged in the "roll with it" group. I flipped through the virtual recipe book in my head for anything remotely close to sauceless pizza that my children would eat without making minion faces at each other across the table. I was at a loss. I had to change my plan, but "I'm just no good at that" I thought to myself.
I am the adult end-result of that kid who really didn't transition well between activities. Plans were set in stone in my mind and it was devastating if even one iota of my preconceived notions were adjusted. My poor parents struggled to teach me to "go with the flow", "bend with the river" and "change with the tide", but they only succeeded in most cases in making me wonder aloud why all of these metaphors involved water, which usually also caused an impromptu bathroom break for myself and at least one of my siblings.
As I ended my trip down memory lane, I could feel this wave of anger come over me. I was so upset! All of a sudden I felt a kinship with Dr. Bruce Banner. Was that a backstory that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had left out? He probably forgot the tomatoes too! My mind ran through the comedic - yet very plausible- possibility of the rants of the most unpredictable Avenger being the direct result of a household produce shortage. No wonder he smashes everything! He's only trying to "go with the flow!" "How could this happen?" I whined to myself, "Who could I blame?" my mind scrambled to make senseless links between our households "offenders" this week and our current lack of lycopene. "My husband was looking for a snack last night, perhaps he ate all the...tomatoes?...probably not. Wait! Wasn't my daughter out of paint colors last week? Maybe she crushed up some..." No that's a little far fetched even for me -- I could feel my breath increase, I could feel my lungs taking in the necessary air to unleash a primal scream in the very vain attempt to release this incredible pressure I had put on myself. "Pressure to make the perfect... pizza?" I thought. At this point all three kids were looking at me cockeyed, and I am certain their next step would have been to speed-dial my husband to inquire what exactly turns a person green and causes their clothing to rip into purple shreds had I not managed to utter an intelligible phrase: "This was NOT my plan!" Realizing they had not been witness to the last five minutes inside my head, I took that parent time out. YOU know the one, where you look at them using that juvenile "what?" look that everyone perfects in middle school. (As an aside - I am completely convinced that honing of this skill is the sole reason we are subjected to adolescence.) Then you give a smirk and simultaneously catalog your options at lightning speed. What a ridiculous notion?! I looked at the situation around me, three hungry kids, all scavenging the cupboards and fridge pulling out vegetables some kids wouldn't even touch trying to help...me. They didn't care about the pizza, they cared about me.
At this point I had pretty much forgotten about the pizza and I was focused on my kids, because I realized, they hadn't been a part of my plan either. When I graduated college, I had every intention of traveling the world, studying languages and people, no husband and kids were in that plan. I realized that I have no idea when or how that plan had changed, but I am ever so grateful that it did! Furthermore, if that big of a change could turn out this well, then surely not having tomatoes could be made into something even better too.
Long story slightly shorter, we used our dough as a Stromboli base, cut up spinach and sauteed eggplant strips. Added spinach and garlic to ricotta cheese closed the Stromboli and laid eggplant strips on top. Hulk Stromboli...it puffs up, but keeps it's form and serves a useful and delicious purpose. No tomatoes needed--Oh! and no minion faces.
This holiday, I wish you all well deserved rest, peace and some delicious memories made with those you love. At least that is our plan here...
~Barb
"Hulk" Stromboli Preheat to 375
Use any pizza dough recipe. Make dough, and set aside.
1 large eggplant cut into strips and flash sauteed with 1/2 the garlic below.
1 pack of frozen chopped spinach or 2 cups of fresh chopped spinach.
1 head of minced garlic separated 1/2, 1/2
1 small container of ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Spread out the dough in a rectangular shape
Combine the 1/2 garlic, spinach and ricotta
Spread mixture onto the dough
Coat with mozzarella
Close it up.
Lay the eggplant strips on top
bake at 375 for about 20-25 mins or until top is golden brown.
If you want to get really decorative, you can cut slits in the Stromboli and push eggplant strips part way in so the whole thing looks "tattered" after baking
I was making what I had hoped would be pizza last night with my own children and realized that we had no pizza sauce, and no tomatoes to boot. My mind quickly went into the aforementioned Ally McBeal mode and (probably because the holidays were so close) I was picturing something akin to a 12 days of Christmas parody with stock boys a-leaping, car parkers a-fighting, and children a-begging for everything that Santa has already packed away for them! Seeing as I was completely unprepared for a debate regarding the pros and cons of the pre-Christmas ownership of a candy cane filled with M&Ms with my 8 year old, I decided that I definitely belonged in the "roll with it" group. I flipped through the virtual recipe book in my head for anything remotely close to sauceless pizza that my children would eat without making minion faces at each other across the table. I was at a loss. I had to change my plan, but "I'm just no good at that" I thought to myself.
I am the adult end-result of that kid who really didn't transition well between activities. Plans were set in stone in my mind and it was devastating if even one iota of my preconceived notions were adjusted. My poor parents struggled to teach me to "go with the flow", "bend with the river" and "change with the tide", but they only succeeded in most cases in making me wonder aloud why all of these metaphors involved water, which usually also caused an impromptu bathroom break for myself and at least one of my siblings.
As I ended my trip down memory lane, I could feel this wave of anger come over me. I was so upset! All of a sudden I felt a kinship with Dr. Bruce Banner. Was that a backstory that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had left out? He probably forgot the tomatoes too! My mind ran through the comedic - yet very plausible- possibility of the rants of the most unpredictable Avenger being the direct result of a household produce shortage. No wonder he smashes everything! He's only trying to "go with the flow!" "How could this happen?" I whined to myself, "Who could I blame?" my mind scrambled to make senseless links between our households "offenders" this week and our current lack of lycopene. "My husband was looking for a snack last night, perhaps he ate all the...tomatoes?...probably not. Wait! Wasn't my daughter out of paint colors last week? Maybe she crushed up some..." No that's a little far fetched even for me -- I could feel my breath increase, I could feel my lungs taking in the necessary air to unleash a primal scream in the very vain attempt to release this incredible pressure I had put on myself. "Pressure to make the perfect... pizza?" I thought. At this point all three kids were looking at me cockeyed, and I am certain their next step would have been to speed-dial my husband to inquire what exactly turns a person green and causes their clothing to rip into purple shreds had I not managed to utter an intelligible phrase: "This was NOT my plan!" Realizing they had not been witness to the last five minutes inside my head, I took that parent time out. YOU know the one, where you look at them using that juvenile "what?" look that everyone perfects in middle school. (As an aside - I am completely convinced that honing of this skill is the sole reason we are subjected to adolescence.) Then you give a smirk and simultaneously catalog your options at lightning speed. What a ridiculous notion?! I looked at the situation around me, three hungry kids, all scavenging the cupboards and fridge pulling out vegetables some kids wouldn't even touch trying to help...me. They didn't care about the pizza, they cared about me.
At this point I had pretty much forgotten about the pizza and I was focused on my kids, because I realized, they hadn't been a part of my plan either. When I graduated college, I had every intention of traveling the world, studying languages and people, no husband and kids were in that plan. I realized that I have no idea when or how that plan had changed, but I am ever so grateful that it did! Furthermore, if that big of a change could turn out this well, then surely not having tomatoes could be made into something even better too.
Long story slightly shorter, we used our dough as a Stromboli base, cut up spinach and sauteed eggplant strips. Added spinach and garlic to ricotta cheese closed the Stromboli and laid eggplant strips on top. Hulk Stromboli...it puffs up, but keeps it's form and serves a useful and delicious purpose. No tomatoes needed--Oh! and no minion faces.
This holiday, I wish you all well deserved rest, peace and some delicious memories made with those you love. At least that is our plan here...
~Barb
"Hulk" Stromboli Preheat to 375
Use any pizza dough recipe. Make dough, and set aside.
1 large eggplant cut into strips and flash sauteed with 1/2 the garlic below.
1 pack of frozen chopped spinach or 2 cups of fresh chopped spinach.
1 head of minced garlic separated 1/2, 1/2
1 small container of ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Spread out the dough in a rectangular shape
Combine the 1/2 garlic, spinach and ricotta
Spread mixture onto the dough
Coat with mozzarella
Close it up.
Lay the eggplant strips on top
bake at 375 for about 20-25 mins or until top is golden brown.
If you want to get really decorative, you can cut slits in the Stromboli and push eggplant strips part way in so the whole thing looks "tattered" after baking
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