FAULTLESS FOCACCIA

If you like pizza, you’re sure to love focaccia and it’s easy to make. Focaccia is like a pizza without the sauce or cheese, but wait a minute, don’t fault it for that, it has it’s own virtues.  When you have a pizza, that’s what you have, but with focaccia, you can make a sandwich, or a faux pizza, or even make croutons for salad or a soup.

Here’s a way to make a focaccia that can make four sandwiches, or you can use it as dinner bread.

Focaccia:

1-½ cups of bread flour, or regular flour

½ teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of sugar

1-teaspoon yeast

Warm water about ½ cup

• Mix all together. Stir in enough warm water (about ½ cup) to make a soft dough.
• Knead the dough on a floured board for about 5 minutes. I do this in a small food processor for one minute.
• Put a little oil in a bowl, put the dough ball in, coat it with the oil and let rise one hour.
• Pre-heat oven to 450F.
• Put dough back on the board, flatten it and shape it to fit a greased 8”x8” or 9”x9” baking dish.
• Poke the surface all over with the tip of the handle of a wooden spoon to make small holes all over.
• Brush olive oil on the top surface and sprinkle some course salt on it.
• You may put some diced onion or minced garlic cloves, olive slices or shredded Parmesan cheese on the top.  A couple tablespoons fresh coarsely chopped rosemary is very popular.
• If you have a baking stone you can remove the shaped dough and place directly on the stone, using a big spatula coated with a little corn meal or else bake it in the pan.
• Bake the focaccia for about 10 minutes, till the crust is brown.  I use a baking stone placed on the top shelf, and when the oven temperature is reached, I put the focaccia on the stone, shut the oven off and turn on the broiler.  So that the broiler element stays on I keep the oven door ajar. It doesn’t take the entire 10 minutes under the broiler, so check it halfway if you try this.  I like the way you get a charred effect baking the focaccia this way.

 You can quarter the focaccia, and then horizontally slice each quarter to make four sandwiches.  Or cut each sliced quarter into strips and serve with a small bowl of herbal infused olive oil for dipping to accompany meals.  Focaccia is good to a fault.  Enjoy.

LUNCHES:LESS FAT PART ll

Today I will share with you some useful lunchtime suggestions to help slow down fat storage.

· One 12 ounce soda pop has 10 teaspoons of sugar in it. Nowadays it is not cane sugar, of which too much would be cloying, but corn sugar, which allows you to drink 32ounces as if it were water. I’m not sure about artificial sweeteners either; I think the jury is still out on their insulin- stimulating status. A better beverage would be a mineral water or skim milk.

· Put aside potato chips and other high fat salty chips, you don’t need the impending bloat in the middle of the day. If absolutely necessary, eat whole-grain crackers or baked tortilla chips.

· Soup can be a great weight-loss food to have, but not fat laden cream soups. Soups as a first course can be appetite suppressing, if they are broth and vegetable types, not cream-based.

· Salad bars can be great if you avoid the hazardous items many people put on them. Fresh greens are wonderful along with fresh vegetables, but go real easy on the dressings. A little lemon juice and a teaspoon of oil is enough for a salad. Even if you go back again for a second helping.

· Be dairy diligent because cheeses’ fat adds up. Watch out for sandwich fillings and spreads. Mayo has 11 grams of fat in a tablespoon. That combined with bread leads to fat storage.

· I like to make hamburgers, but am careful not to have one very often. I can eat one with a knife and fork, but most folks use a bun. To have a hamburger sandwich every day can be a problem.

. We love pizza, I make it frequently. But to me, the crust is important. I don’t go crazy with the cheese (usually Asiago and/or Provolone). The simple “Margherita” style is still the best. I portion Parmesan like I would a salt shaker, just a moderate sprinkle. Pepperoni particularly puts plenty of fat atop the crust, less would be more suitable.

· French-fried potatoes are like hamburger sandwiches, that combination of fat and carbohydrate. Best to enjoy them infrequently and if you do, you will really relish them.

· A great dessert would be something like fruit and cheese. Apples are easy to eat and the health benefits are enormous (the pectin alone for your skin is terrific). A small amount of cheese, if it is the only cheese eaten that day, won’t kill you or your diet. Yoghurt (unsweetened) and fruit is good too.

Eating should be an enjoyable, unrushed pleasure. If you can’t eliminate fat storing foods, please limit them. What’s that old saying? Everything in moderation. Yes, for a more abundant life.