The Sweatshop of Love Blog

One of my favorite things about being back in Minneapolis for the winter is that all of my cooking materials are up here. I’m back with my pots and pans, my crock pot and gigantic stock pot, my emulsion blender, my bread maker! We are all back together again, and I’ve been cooking up a storm.

Bagel Sponge!

Making my own bagels has been on my list for a long time, and after visiting my friend Katie the other week right after she made her own bagels, I was re-inspired.

Bagels Boiling!

I found this recipe on pinterest and, without reading it, started working. And, JUST LIKE WHEN YOU DON’T READ AHEAD IN A KNITTING PATTERN, after I was about 8 minutes into kneading for 30 minutes, I glanced at the recipe and noticed it was divided into two parts: day one and day two.

Soysage, Egg, and Cheese Bagel Sandwich!

The bagels turned out great. A little dense, but very good. I’ll be making more soon, since PT and I are eating like 4 a day. I’m sure as hell trying a different recipe, though! A one day recipe.

Gratuitous Cute Pudge Rodriguez Pic

A couple other fun things to mention! I was included in Lisa Shroyer’s 8 Designers to Watch in 2012 list, which blows my mind. But, let’s be honest, it’s completely true. With Holla Knits launching in a couple months, my work with WORK+SHELTER and a trip to India scheduled, and the (secret) promise of a book, 2012 is going to be my bitch.

I was also included in this week’s Best of the Web collection on Pocketchange!

Slippers off and I’m back in the kitchen! This barefoot only rule is killing me, though. It’s cold up here!

I talk about pizza a lot. I eat pizza a lot. I make pizza a lot. I love it. If there were a breakfast pizza option it would be the perfect food.

That is why it came as a shock to me that I have never put my pizza crust recipe on the blog. What gives, Allyson? I use this recipe so much it’s taped to the wall in my kitchen.

Seriously Well Used Pizza Crust Recipe

Makes 2 9″ round cake pan sized individual pizzas, or 1 regular pizza pan’s worth of pizza. It is easily double-able if you are planning on eating a ton of pizza.

Ingredients

1 1/2 tsp yeast

1/2 tsp salt

Pinch of sugar

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Scant cup of nearly boiling water

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1. Heat water on the stove until warm but not boiling. Move to small bowl and dissolve yeast, salt, and sugar. Let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.

2. Mix flours and cornmeal in large bowl. Make a well and pour in yeast mixture and olive oil. Make sure the water has cooled before you mix it up with your hands! Kneed until mixed.

3. Cover with damp towel and let rise for 30 minutes. Meanwhile mix up your sauce and cut your veggies! If after 30 minutes your dough doesn’t look any different don’t worry! It turns out great whether it rises or not.

4. Preheat oven to 425. Press out dough into whatever pan you are using. Dress pizza and cook for 15-25 minutes depending on how thin or thick it is, and how crispy you want it. Just keep an eye on it!

Enjoy!

I get some weird-o cravings, and the other night I got a mean one for some cheesy baked pasta and chili. At the same time. So I got a little creative and threw some black beans and kidney beans into my pasta sauce, threw it in the oven and out came a seriously amazing dinner PT and I both inhaled like there was no tomorrow.

The next night all I wanted to do was make that baked pasta with beans again. It was blinding! I couldn’t think of anything else.

‘PT, what are you thinking for dinner tonight?’ I called PT desperate for anything to get my mind off the pasta.

‘You know,’ PT said. ‘I kind of just want that baked pasta we had last night.’

Done! Only the second time I wrote down the recipe for y’all.

Bakes Shells in ‘Meat’ Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

Ingredients (for 2)

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, diced

4 oz whole wheat shells

2/3 cups beans – I used half kidney, have black

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 14 oz (or 1/2 a 28 oz can, like I used) tomatoes – diced, stewed, crushed, whatever!

Oregano, crushed black pepper, fennel seeds, or whatever spices you prefer, to taste

Cheese – I used Parmesan but would have loved to use mozzarella – as much or as little as you want

Directions

1. Cook pasta till al dente. Drain and set aside if it is finished cooking before you are ready for it.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in pan or wok. Saute onion till translucent, add garlic and continue to cook on low till fragrant; about three minutes.

Bringing it all to a boil

3. Preheat oven to 400. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, 1/4 cup of water, and seasonings to the onions and garlic. Bring to a boil. Carefully stir in shells to coat.

4. Pour mixture into a 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish or pan and distribute evenly. Grate cheese over top.

Ready to go into the oven!

5. Bake for 10-14 minutes, or until cheese is browned and sauce is bubbling.

Seriously. Seriously?! Seriously.

I think I know what PT and I will be eating tonight!

I have just come around to squash soups. Actually, I’ve just come around to squash. They are kind of scary, right? But a combination of thriftiness and a need for more local eating has brought many of them into my life. Every Midwestern girl should know her way around a squash.

There are lots of recipes out there for some kind of squash and some kind of apple soup. They have weird ingredients, or a million ingredients! I based this recipe off this Keep it Simple Foods recipe for Butternut Squash and Apple Soup , but I’m here to tell you that you can use any kind of squash and any kind of apple. I’ve made this a few times now, each time with a different squash, and it always turns out well.

Squash and Apple Soup Recipe

Ingredients (makes 2-4 servings, depending on size of squash)

1 Squash

1 Apple

1 Small Onion

1 tbsp Oil (any kind)

1 Garlic Clove

3 cups Stock

Seasonings: Black Pepper and Cinnamon, to taste

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half and place both halves face down in a pan with about 1 inch of water. If you are using an acorn squash or other small squash, bake for 45 minutes. If you are using a butternut squash or other larger squash, bake for 60 minutes.

2. After squash is cool, skin and cut into chunks.

3. Heat oil in large pot. Cook diced onion until translucent. Add garlic, diced apple, and squash chunks and saute until apple is soft, about 5 minutes.

4. Add stock and bring to a boil. Your soup will look like this!

Chunky Soup

5. If you don’t have an emulsion blender you can use a potato masher to mash the crap out of the soup. Just keep it simmering, mash it down, let it simmer, mash it down, until you have the soup consistency you like.

PT, Armed and Ready

If you DO have an emulsion blender, blend till your heart is content!

6. Mix in seasonings to taste and serve!

Yummy Soup!

Tuna Goodness

When I was little my mom always had to work late on Thursday nights, so my dad was in charge of dinner. He always said we could have anything under the sun. Sometimes we took advantage of his declaration and went to our favorite restaurant Sam’s Joint, a small chain of restaurants in West Michigan that apparently doesn’t have a website. But a lot of the time we just wanted Tuna Helper.

I did a little googling and they have like 12 different verities of Tuna Helper now! Different cheeses and seasoning flavors. I’m pretty sure we had one choice in the early ’90s, and that was Fatty Mc’Fat.

(A 12 pack of Fatty Mc’Fat on Amazon!)

So last March I got a weird craving for Tuna Helper and made some without the box, which has pretty much everything you need to make Tuna Helper but some milk, butter, and a can of tuna. Since then I’ve made it for PT and even dinner guests. And now you, too, can make Tuna Helper without the RIDICULOUS sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol content. Yay!

Ingredients

Ingredients (for 2)

4 oz Whole Wheat Pasta, any shape

2 oz shredded cheese, cheddar or pepper jack are great

1/4 – 1/2 cup milk

1 tbsp margarine or butter substitute

About 2 cups of broccoli

1 can of tuna, drained

Sprinkle of cheesy popcorn seasoning

Fresh cracked pepper to taste

1. Get your pasta cooking as directed but set timer to go off three minutes before pasta will be done.

2. Chop your broccoli, grate your cheese, open and drain your tuna into the cat’s bowl while the pasta is cooking.

Tuna Helper Makes Happy Cats!

Pudge Rodriguez likes the tuna water and Velma likes the tuna, so while Pudge is chowing down I slip Velma a few tuna flakes.

3. Add the chopped broccoli to the boiling pasta when there is three minutes left of cooking time.

4. When the pasta is cooked turn off the heat, drain the pasta and broccoli, and return to pan. Add 1/4 cup milk, butter substitute or margarine, grated cheese, tuna, and, that is right, a sprinkle of cheesy popcorn seasoning.

Popcorn Seasoning

You still need a tiny fake cheese taste! When I first started making it I stole fake cheese packages out of packaged cheesy potatoes or something, but when I stumbled upon this popcorn shaker I knew it would be perfect! You obviously don’t use a lot, this stuff is a heart attack in a bottle, but a 1/2 tablespoon goes a long way.

Ready to Rock

The heat from the pan, pasta, and broccoli melts the cheese as you stir. Add more milk if you want it a little creamier.

Serve and LOVE!

Dish it out, crack some pepper over it, and you are done!

I can’t help it. I love this stuff. This version is a ton healthier than using real Tuna Helper, with the whole wheat pasta and the broccoli and the (mostly) real cheese. It is quick and simple and you can do the dishes while you are cooking it! Which is something I always look for in a recipe: small amounts of down time that forces me to clean my kitchen.