The story of our cactus plants

My husband asked me to come out and see the flower on our patio table. He had brought a pot of cactus from the garden that had started flowering.

See, my mom loved her garden. She had such a green thumb. Most of the plants she had started from cuttings, beautiful carnations, begonias and herbs. In her later years, she had started a collection of cactus plants, dozens of them. When time came for her to move to an apartment she had a hard time separating herself from her plants, so my husband brought all the cacti to our house. My mom would visit and check on her plants and enjoy them. She would always tell us, "you are not taking good care of them."

After my mom passed away, in her memory we (my husband did the heavy lifting) transplanted all the cactus plants to clay pots and placed them front and center in the patio. It has been such a source of joy for me. Each time one has a flower my dear husband brings the pot as a centerpiece for our patio table.

Speaking of bread, pizza

I recently updated my foolproof recipe for bread

2 Tablespoons of virgin olive oil
2 cups of bread flour (http://www.ochef.com/97.htm)
2-1/4 teaspoons (1 pkg) active dry yeast (I get it from Costco, it is a 2 pound pkg. I keep it in the refrigerator)
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup lukewarm water (I mix 1/2 cup hot water + 1/2 cup tap water)

Place all the ingredients in the food processor (use the metal blade, I use a 14 cup size Cuisinart) starting with the olive oil so the dough will easily come out of the bowl.

Pulse 10 short pulses. It will form a ball. Mix for 1 minute and transfer to your counter. Flatten to a 5" disc and quarter it like a little pizza.

At this point, you can freeze each portion separately in plastic bag to be used at a later time. Each quarter will either make a thin crust pizza or a loaf of bread.

Preheat oven to 500°F for 15 minutes.

Let dough rise for one hour at room temperature.
Prepare cooking sheet--cover with foil, spray with canola oil.
Spread dough on foil. Be gentle. Let it rest a few minutes and stretch again till it fits a baking sheet.
Sprinkle 1 cup of Costco brand shredded "mexican blend" cheese, a cup of pickled sliced artichokes, half a medium red onion sliced thinly, sundried tomatoes, and drizzle olive oil.
Bake at 475°F for 15 minutes. Turn off the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes in the oven. Take it out and slice as desired.

My family enjoys this pizza. I like to keep one portion of dough in the freezer in case I have unexpected guests. From the time it's out of the freezer it will take 3 hours till ready to bake.

If you shape it just as a loaf, bake it for 10 minutes. Let it rest in the oven for 5 minutes and it's ready to serve.

I like to make the bread ready and bake it during dinner so I can serve it warm with the cheese course after the entree.



For thin crust pizza



Shredded cheese, artichokes, sundried tomatoes, red onions added.



Dough flattened, sundried tomatoes added.



This is the sundried tomato bread loaf

Why the blog?

I started this blog to share experiences, cooking, traveling--just daily life, things that happen to me and things I make happen. Plus it gives me something to do when I lose my husband to the greatest competition in our house--our pool. He’s always out "cleaning the pool" and I don't like to be ignored!
My daughter first suggested that I start the blog and she helped me come up with the name. It’s a play on "our daily bread." “Hots” means bread in Armenian. I hope you enjoy the blog and visit often.