Instant gratification with a No- Yeast Pizza and a 3-2-1 Mug cake

And so I find myself at the computer, for the first time this year, opening blogger and posting on this much loved, but very neglected space. 

I started a new job last year and things got hectic. I applied and got a job as an Sp.Ed. paraprofessional in my son's school. While I have enjoyed training in India, this was an entirely new ball game. 

I've enjoyed every minute of my time teaching and working hand in hand with my colleagues and learnt SO much, much more than the subjects I taught! 

I also learned that I can wake up early, cook, pack 3 lunchboxes, get ready and out of the door to reach school in time, come back home, change and freshen up and head straight to the kitchen and get started on dinner and wind up for the night after looking up and prepping for the next day's lessons.

In short, I am doing what my mother did for us when I was a school going child, though she was not a teacher, but the routine was similar. 

Then, 3 weeks ago, things changed. We all saw the change coming. It was just a matter of when, not if. School announced dismissal on Friday the 13th., I know! how ominous is that?!

I handed out books frantically, got kids to the carpool curb and bundled them in their cars with a hasty, "stay safe now" warning. `

I made one last grocery run, picked up what I could find, not that there was much to get. The stores were all out  of TP or cleaners, out of beans and so many other things. People had gone into a buying frenzy.

Living in an apartment means one cannot stock up on a lot of things, and so, I find myself stepping out once in 2 weeks for what is absolutely necessary and always available for my neighbors who are seniors , if they need anything. I am not hoarding.

I am thankful that I get to work from home and stay safe. I have friends who have to report to work because they are pharmacists or nurses and I cannot help but feel anxious. 

I never thought I'd see mankind on it's knees because of an enemy they cannot even see. 

Being confined as we are, we try to make the best of it. The day passes in home school. Our school has been amazing on this front. on the 18th. of March, the homeroom teachers had their google classrooms set up and running. Students were logging in and completing their assignments, just like they would in school. If it weren't for all the teacher videos to watch  and homework to complete, I cannot imagine how utterly boring it would've been. After all, there's only so much TV one can watch or coloring to do... 

Being at home also means meals to plan, yes plan- something new for me, based on the ingredients at hand and rationing them properly.  

It also means I need to keep it interesting, the same old does not cut it anymore. 

So I attempted 2 new , well, not exactly new, recipes.

The first was a No-yeast Pizza. This was a new for me, no yeast. 

Lately, I have stopped eating pizza outside, I prefer making it at home, with the cheese I buy (that contains vegetarian friendly rennet). 

And so, this recipe had an instant appeal. I did not have to wait for the dough to rise. It was an almost instant recipe. You see the appeal? It can come in handy and also helpful for people who do not have yeast at home or are not into baking or are simply intimidated by baking. But at this time, when going out is an issue ( lock down in case of India and stay at home, in our case), this recipe is very handy. I love the fact that it comes together so easily and is easy to make. I'm definitely keeping this and making it often, even on busy weeknights ( when the world goes back to normal).

I doubled the recipe and that gave us 3, thin- crust 9 inch pizzas

I used 

2 2/3 Cups All purpose Flour to which I added 2 tsp Baking powder and 1 tsp salt. 

To the dry ingredients, I added 3 glugs of Olive oil and about 1 cup milk ( I use whole milk only) and kneaded the dough in my stand mixer  till it was nice and smooth. If kneading by hand, knead for 10mins.

Cover and keep aside for 15-20 mins.

While the dough rests, crank up the oven (the original recipe calls for 400F, I cranked mine up all the way) . I used my cast iron pizza pan and so preheated it for a long time.

Get the toppings ready. 

When ready to make pizza, make balls of the dough, I made 3, you can make 2 or 4. Your choice. 

Roll out the dough ball to a thin, even flat bread. Prick all over with a fork.

I pre-baked the base for few minutes and then did the final assembly. There was a slight oversight on my part and the base pre-baked a little more than it should have. Look at the pic below, not what you want.

 It is totally fine, absolutely edible, if that's on your mind. but what you want is  a light color on the base. Check the picture below. The top is barely done, but is dry and has a light color. So you want to pre-bake it just for a couple of minutes.

Once the base is pre-baked ( and I don't think this is necessary, but I prefer doing this so there isn't a soggy, doughy bite ), add sauce on top with your favorite toppings,I used onion and colored bell peppers and some jalapeno as that was what I had on hand. Add cheese and bake till the cheese is all melted on top and the base has started browning. It took me barely 5 minutes on my cast iron pan. 

Our meal ended with a quick dessert. 

Sometimes you have these crazy cravings for something sweet (in my case all the time, but we ill let that pass) and want something instant. 

Mug cakes are an amazing way to eat a small portion and quickly! 

But if you want this to be hassle free too, I have just the thing for you! 

See, I love mug cakes for the portion and ease of making, but it still involves pulling out flour, sugar, baking powder/ soda, oil, essence, water or milk... see where I'm going with this?

I found this on a Facebook group among some comments and stored up the idea. 

The last time I went to the store, a week ago, I picked up 

1 box mix Angel food cake

1 Box mix of any other cake you like or have at home.

Open and mix the contents of both the boxes together and store in any container.

When you want to make the mug cake, lightly spry or grease the mug.

Add 3 Tbsp of the cake mix

Add 2 tbsp Milk

Mix well 

Microwave for 1 minute

3-2-1! Done! 

Let the cake cool down slightly and enjoy.

My son likes inverting it onto a plate and eating it. He ate the first one plain.

The second one he smeared Nutella on top and declared it was just what was needed. 

 That's it folks! Stay safe, Stay indoors, Save lives! One day we will look back on this and say, we survived this.

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