Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

I love eggs. Who doesn't? Poached, hard boiled, scrambled, baked, you name it. They're the perfect portable snack, breakfast accompaniment and can even be the fancy main dish. They also have all the amino acids and protein your body needs. Ah, pure energy. Remember Rocky and his blender full of raw eggs...yeah eew! I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to eat raw eggs, but you get the idea. They are a great way to get high quality protein into your diet to help provide long-lasting energy and decreased hunger throughout the day.

When I was younger my Grandma used to make me boiled eggs. Sometimes she would serve them to me with little thin strips of toast for dipping into the egg yolk. I haven't done that in so long, but I remember it how much fun it made lunchtime. I don't know if this is an English thing, but I've since learned from Jamie Oliver that he calls it boiled eggs and soldiers, and it really does make an awesome meal idea for getting kids to eat their food.

The problem when it comes to boiling eggs of course is that you can easily over-cook them, which leads to an unappetizing gray-green colour that surrounds the yolk when you go to cut into it. That green stuff forms because the iron from the yolk reacts with the hydrogen sulfide in the egg white. The discoloured egg yolk is harmless to eat, but lets admit it, not at all appetizing. This used to happen to me quite often until my brother Matt taught me the proper fool-proof way to hard boil an egg. The other problem I used to have was when I went to peel them the shell would stick to the egg white. 

Now my boiled eggs come out perfect everytime.

A little trick I learned from Jamie Oliver for preventing your eggs from cracking while cooking is adding just a small pinch of salt to the pot of water. The eggs don't absorb the salt so don't be concerned about any unnecessary sodium.

What You'll Need

• Eggs (1-12 however many you need)
• A small saucepan
• Salt (optional)
• Ice cubes

1. Place your eggs in the saucepan and fill with enough cold water to just cover them. Add a small pinch of salt if using.
2. Bring the water to just a boil and then quickly lower the heat of the burner so the water is at a gentle boil. Let the eggs simmer for 5 minutes. 
3. Remove the from the heat, cover the pot,  and let the eggs sit in the water for another 5 minutes.
4. Discard the hot water from the pot, re-fill the with fresh cold tap water, and add a handful of ice cubes. Let the eggs sit in the ice bath for at least 4 minutes before removing them.

You can either peel them immediately or store them in the fridge up to 5 days for fast convenience.

Easy As Pie: 100% Whole Grain Pizza Dough

Happy Labour Day Monday!

It's hard to believe it's already here. I don't know why but I still get those back to school jitters around this time of year.

My plans for the weekend? I hope to get a nice game of golf in with my family and just generally some good relaxing. Maybe even a fire on the back deck.

Today, I wanted to share with you a recipe/ tutorial for making pizza dough. Clearly I'm trying to use up as many tomatoes as I can. Remember last weeks post for marinara sauce. Well it's to die for on pizza. I only have pictures of the dough, but don't worry the pizza is still to come!

I've been making my own pizza for a few years now, and it sure beats most pizza places that I've been to. The one thing that's changed though is how I make my pizza dough. Well actually, we never really made our own dough in my house before. But now that I do I will never go back to store bought dough again. And more importantly it's healthier for you and it couldn't be easier.

Get it? Easy as pie? I know, bad pun.

My favourite flour to use is whole grain red fife, a Canadian heritage flour. The dough comes out super light and rolls out very nicely. However, if you can't find red fife you can substitute either 100% whole wheat flour or mix 1 cup of all-purpose white flour with 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour if you like, but the whole grain is healthier, less processed and 10X more delicious. It also makes for an awesome thin crust pizza!

If you are looking for that go to recipe that you make over and over again then this is it. It's an easy no-fuss dough that can also be made ahead of time. You can freeze it or make it the day before and put it in the fridge until you're ready to roll! It keeps beautifully.

It's also a great weeknight meal when you've mad the dough ahead of time. All you have to do is roll it out and top it and it's ready in under 15 minutes. That will keep the kids happy. Pizza night! And you'll be happy it's not swimming in grease.

100% Whole Grain Pizza Dough (makes 2 thin crust pizza's)

Print, Email, or Text this Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup luke warm water (105* F)

• 2 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast (1 packet)

• 2 cups red fife flour

• 1 tsp fine sea salt

• 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, stir together the water and yeast until dissolved.

2. Mix the flour and sea salt in a separate medium sized bowl, then slowly add to the water and yeast, while stirring. Now add the olive oil and keep stirring until the dough becomes hard to work.

3. Knead in your stand mixer or by hand on a lightly floured surface for 1-3 minutes until the dough looks and feels elastic. (flours will be fully incorporated and the dough should stretch a little when pulled).

4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30-40 minutes.

5. Deflate and divide the dough in 2: If using right away, on a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece to fit your your pre-heated baking stone/ tray and bake at 500*F for 12-15 minutes.

Note: *If you'd like to use the dough the next day simple wrap each piece in some plastic wrap and store in

           the fridge until you're ready to roll it out. Its normal for the dough to expand a bit.

         *You may also freeze the plastic wrapped pieces of dough by placing them in freezer bags. They keep

           fresh for up to a week.

Did you have any fun adventures or plans this labour day weekend, before the kiddies go back to school?

Updated: As per request, this is a picture of the crust after baking. Enjoy!