Every weekend, Russ and I make it a point to start our day with a run that winds up at Starbucks for a nice cold iced coffee. It’s a good way to kick off our weekend. This weekend was jammed packed with so many great events. Friday night we attended our first Greek wedding. Need I say more. So…much fun. Lots of dancing and celebrating the marriage of our good friends, Dan and Fotini! After our run on Saturday, I decided to whip up some homemade whole grain pizza dough. I found a recipe that suggested adding hot whole grain cereal to the dough recipe and I loved that idea. So I tried it a couple different ways. The recipe I will provide for you is a not a chewy crust but more thin and crusty. It makes great crackers too! See how thin it rolls out… {recipe below}
Saturday, Russ happened to notice that one of our favorite folk singers, Kate Klim, was performing locally in Massachusetts at Bennett Farm in Rochester, Massachusetts. We had no idea what this venue would be like but it seemed intriguing so we packed up a cooler, grabbed a blanket and hit the road.
And we were in for a big surprise… Bennet Farm was magical. The musical artists were amazing! The farm was beautiful.
Loved this beautiful big red barn.
There were many horses grazing. And of course, wonderful music!
We are BIG fans of Kate Klim! It was so great to see her perform again!
One of the headliners for this event…Rebecca Correia…
Bennet Farm is where she grew up. Lucky Rebecca!
And Matt Cusson… who was amazing too. This event happens yearly and is very family friendly. We will definitely check it out next summer because…Music under the stars works for me.
But for those who would like to learn more about our fabulous pizza lunch…here you go…
If you’d like to try the whole grain pizza dough for either crackers or pizza, here’s the recipe and a few pics of our Saturday lunch. We grill pizza in the summer so we don’t heat up the house and they always come out so tasty. I am not traditional pizza fan, so tend to create fruit and veggie combo’s with assorted cheeses and nuts. Maybe, you too, can step outside your pizza box…
Whole Grain Pizza Dough
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Bob’s Red Organic 6 Grain hot cereal
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-cup whole-wheat flour
1 envelope yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 TB honey
3 TB extra-virgin olive oil
- Place cereal in bowl and cover with 1 ½ cup boiling water-let sit to absorb most of the water-about 20 minutes-drain any excess water.
- Place the flours, yeast, salt and honey in medium bowl. Add in cereal mixture-should be lukewarm and mix adding in oil.
- Turn dough onto floured work area and knead ball of pizza dough until smooth.
- Place dough in oiled bowl in warm area to rise-about 1 hour.
- Divide dough into 2 balls-can freeze if not using.
- Roll out on floured work surface with rolling pin until thin and in desired shape—I rolled one onto a round pizza metal pan and a rectangle for a cookie sheet.
- Add toppings—and grill until crusty. Watch closely. If the pan does not fit inside the grill, top a brick onto grill which will prevent the grill top from completely closing and allow a large pan to grill. Turn pan as necessary to allow for evening cooking.
Pizza topping: This is where you get can get creative!
Kate’s combos of the day:
Apple, Cheddar and Walnut Pizza
Brush crust with olive oil and top with:
Mixture of sliced and grated high quality cheddar
1 Sliced Granny Smith apple
Handful of chopped walnuts
Drizzle of good quality honey
Summer Squash, Vidalia onion, Pine Nuts and Ham
Brush crust with olive oil and top with:
1 medium summer squash, sautéed in olive oil
½ medium Vidalia onion, sliced and sautéed in olive oil
½ cup part-skim ricotta cheese, dolloped over crust
½ cup grated part-skim mozzarella
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
4 Slices of Ham (thinly sliced-Prosciutto preferable)
½ cup chopped fresh basil—added after pizza has been cooked.
To make crackers, roll out dough extra thin and place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. Brush crust with a bit of olive oil, a dash of salt and pepper, seeds and your favorite chopped nuts. (I used chia seeds, pine nuts and pumpkin seeds) Bake at 450 degrees for about 12-15 minutes–watch to avoid over-browning and break into whole grain cracker pieces.
What makes your weekend great? For me, its good food, great exercise and listening to amazing music with family and friends.