Pizza

Veggie Pizza

I love pizza and have until now bought it from the various outlets and supermarkets. The pizza outlets do have slight variation in the quality of pizza they make. I go for the vegetarian options but keeping in mind my allergies I have to avoid mushrooms and bell peppers. T used to have deep pan pizza all the time and eventually discovered the thin crust which I like as it is less oily and nicely crunchy. However it is still pretty heavy on the cheese and sometimes I do not like that sweetness of the tomato paste spread on the base. So then I started buying readymade pizza base and putting my own toppings and baking it in the oven. This was definitely an improvement as I put in less cheese and just fresh tomatoes instead of the paste and fresh combination.

I had wanted to make the pizza from scratch for a long time but always put it off saying it was too time consuming, it needed a lot of kneading and my hands were not up to it or even its cold and the dough will not rise properly and oh yes! I do not have 00 Italian flour. Well since I have come to a warmer land I thought the main excuse of the dough not rising does not apply any more. My hands do not feel so bad and if they hurt after kneading will take a couple of days to rest them.

The first time I tried with ordinary wheat flour and used dried yeast that had been opened and stored in a glass jar. The taste of the pizza was good but the rise of the dough was not as anticipated so the fluffiness did not come up to expectation. Then I found the 00 Italian flour and decided to try again. I also bought sachets of dried yeast so that they were still potent. The pleasure of eating the pizza made from 00 flour is something else. I will try again with the plain flour and see if the taste can still equal that of 00 flour. Toppings can be whatever you can find or want to make your perfect pizza.

Ingredients

450 gms of flour (plain or 00 Italian)

1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons  salt

1 packet(7 gms)  of active dry yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons regular sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

Preparation

In a large measuring cup, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes to froth.

Put the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the middle pour the mixture of yeast, water, oil and sugar into it. Using a fork, bring the flour in slowly from the sides to mix into the liquid. Keep mixing till it all starts to come together. Then put it onto a floured surface and knead the dough with clean, flour-dusted hands, until you have a smooth and springy dough.

Wash out your bowl, dry it and oil it lightly. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it overso it is coated with oil. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or cling film and place in a warm room or an oven (not turned on) for about an hour or till it doubles in size.

Now put the dough on a flour-dusted surface and gently deflate it with your hands. (You can keep it, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge (or freezer) until required.) This dough will make 2 deep pan or 4 think crust pizzas. You need to roll out the pizza as thin as you want. Timing-wise, it's a good idea to roll the pizzas out about 15 to 20 minutes before you want to cook them.

Turn the oven to full and heat the pizza stone or flat baking tray for a good 15 to 20 mins so it is very hot. Since I do not have those big spatulas to slide the pizza on to the stone I carefully lift the stone out and place the pizza on it and add the toppings fast. I sprinkle of grated cheese (chedder or Devonshire or similar hard cheese), then sliced onions, garlic and chillies. Next put diced tomatoes and top it with some more cheese for that bubbly cheese effect. You can add basil leaves or a few drops of pesto, or some olives, mozzarella, sweet corn, pineapple and so on, whatever takes your fancy. I have seen sliced boiled potatoes and honey (in Malta) or aubergine and of course different cheeses like feta and boccacini.

Then transfer the stone back into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes for the thicker pizza and less for the thinner ones, until crisp and bubbling.

It smells heavenly while cooking and spread through the house. Hard to remember this is piping hot when it comes out of the oven and easy to burn your mouth in haste to eat.

The Solomon Effect by C S Graham

This is the third in the series with central characters Tobie and Jax. If you have read my earlier reviews Tobie, Ensign October Guinness, is working as subject for remote viewing. Jax, Agent Alexander, is with the CIA and sent on missions that are particularly dangerous by his CIA director as he has old scores to settle. A deadly conspiracy is the focus of this story.

The story begins with a massacre of the crew of a boat in a Russian port. One young boy escapes as he was hidden from the killers and swims to safety. The killers see the boy escaping and are after him to ensure he is silenced and cannot tell anyone of what had happened. The killers take over the salvaged U-boat and remove something from it. They rig it to blow up so it would appear that this was an accident. Who has hired these killers and is their puppet master?

Meanwhile in USA, the vice president in questioning why he was not informed about a salvaged U-boat and its link to a terror threat and demands someone is sent to find out what is happening. Secretly he has also asked that Tobie do a remote viewing of this U-boat to see if she can get some information. So Tobie joins up with Jax to find this U-boat and unearth its secrets. What is the nature of involvement of a General from special ops and the multimillionaire? What have they secretly obtained from that U-boat and what are they planning to do with it?

People are sent after Jax to stop him from discovering anything. Along with Tobie, he is picked up by the Russian agent, ex KGB, who wants to know what they are doing in Russia. They follow the trail to the U-boat and find that there was no gold in the U-boat as first thought but something definitely has been removed from it. Everyone connected with the raising of the U-boat is being silenced often before they have a chance to tell what they know. Jax and Tobie go from Russia to Berlin to Turkey to Lebanon back to Russia chasing the information about the U-boat’s secret. Finally it takes them back home for the final showdown.

There is intrigue and horror and fast paced action as the Halloween in 5 days’ time, is the deadline for the rumoured threat to come to fruition. Holds interest and makes you want to cheer on the good guys and will them along to save the world. It is always about saving the world is it not? I did enjoy it and strangely remote viewing seems to have got a bit sidelined in this third book.

The Secret of the Nagas by Amish Tripathi

This is the second book in the trilogy and meets the expectations set up by the first book. The characters are developed further making us empathise with their thinking. The war against the Chandravanshis was won and triumphant Suryavanshis with Shiva entered the city of Ayodhya at the end of the first book. The city is so very different from the Meluha cities. There is colour everywhere and people are all loud and noisy. There is no subdued behaviour like those of the Meluhans. There is poverty and wealth spread among the people.

However, while they are different from the people of Meluha they are not evil as Shiva had been led to believe. He finds this very disturbing and feels regret at the killings caused by the war. There is more intrigue as there is internal squabble for the throne of Ayodhya. Shiva is sent on a tour of the Chandravanshi kingdom to gather people together, which would make reforms easier. There are a couple of attacks by Nagas. Shiva sees firsthand what the raiding party has done and vows to find and punish these people.

Meanwhile, a son is born to Shiva and Sati in Kashi. Sait’s father brings for the grandson a year’s worth of somras and reveals that there is another secret factory for manufacturing somras. Shiva is told that the small kingdom of Brangas may hold the secret to finding the Nagas. So will Shiva find them? This common need to find the Nagas has the soldiers from both sides working together. Sati is left behind as their son is very young still. She has her own set of adventures in trying to find out what the King of Kashi is hiding. When a nearby village is attacked by lions, Sati offers to save the village but will she succeed? What are the Nagas doing in this village?

Will Shiva and Sati find the Naga city and uncover the big secret there? It is a fantasy tale and one should not look to equate it with the religious myths. The tale of old days, when the civilisations were flourishing in different parts of India with different cultures and beliefs, hold the reader’s attention throughout. It shows clearly our fear of the unknown and believing different is evil. Something which is even true today! The things we do not understand we equate them with magic and of course it must be bad! The thought provoking that started in the first book Immortals of Meluha is continued in this book. Now to wait for the last of the trilogy in a couple of months.

Immortals of Meluha by Amish Tripathi

The other day my nephew Rohan told me to check out this book which is the first of a trilogy. It is a work of fiction where the author proposes that there could have been a great human being who lived an extraordinary life and was passed into the realms of legends and myths and down into history as a God.

The story in this first book begins with a small tribe in the Himalayas on Mount Kailash and the leader of this tribe Shiva. There is a lot of unrest and constant battling with neighbouring tribes and when a foreign delegation came bearing invitation to live in their kingdom it seems a good opportunity to escape. The new life in the kingdom of Meluha, the home of Suryavanshis, should surely be much better. The descriptions of the places and the culture of the people are well written. The people live long lives and are honest and productive. All very constrained and behaviour restrained as per the years old traditions and principle of life handed down from Lord Ram who was a principled king and set up this ideal society. They were waiting for a saviour who was supposed to come from a foreign land who would help them to overcome the evil people, the Chandravanshis, of the neighbouring kingdom.

Is Shiva the man they are looking for? If he accepts this challenge, is he going to be able to fulfil the prophecy? What can he do about his attraction to the princess? He can see how the culture and society it helps create is near perfect. However, the flaws he can see are things he feels should change to improve the lives of the people. The king and his ministers persuade Shiva to accept his destiny and help to destroy the evil that is the neighbouring kingdom. During this time there are a few terrorist attacks made in Meluha which are attributed to the enemies who it appears have been allying themselves with yet another clan of evil beings, the Nagas.

There is also a love story woven in here as eventually Shiva manages to win the princess and marry her. The final straw that decides Shiva to follow his destiny is the battle with a small group of terrorists who destroy a temple and kill all the priests there. Then we get a look at the modest Shiva’s intellect as he plans the battle strategy in detail. So will this planning help in winning the battle with the Chandravanshis? What will the people and their culture be like as they are thought to be evil? How will Shiva handle this huge challenge and will he be able to fulfil the prophecy?

It is a good piece of fiction and written in a fairly fluid manner. There are hooks in the story that keep you gripped. It is fascinating to see the use of today’s language in a story set in many thousands of years ago. Is it too fantastic? If so why? Just because we think that those times were backward? It also compels you to think about the fundamental issues of good, evil, freedom, interdependence in society, honest, trust and so on. I am eager to read the continuation in the next part of the trilogy.

The Babylonian Codex by C S Graham

This is the second book in the series with Tobie and Jax as the central characters. Tobie has the ability to carry out remote viewing and is helping the Arts Crime team in searching for the antiquities stolen from Iraq. Jax is the CIA agent who she turns to for help when her life is in danger.

The story opens with the death of the American Vice President while on the World Economic Forum. There is a young journalist who has been trying to get to VP with warnings of danger which are ignored but he is seen in a photograph taken at the time of death. But was this a heart attack or part of an intricate plot leading to something much bigger. The FBI is interested in finding this man and make out that he was a threat and maybe even involved in the death somehow. Nordstrom, a personal assistant to an international financer appears to be directing this action. They also discuss the threat the remote viewer poses during the search for stolen Iraq treasures.

In the remote viewing Tobie describes some old parchments with Biblical illustrations which were not actually part of the targets provided for the viewing. She also sees a building on top of a hill and 2 men in conversation. The FBI agent who has been sent to watch what happens is taken aback by this and starts to kill off all the people there. Tobie manages to escape and run out of the building. A lengthy chase ensues and eventually gets her on to the main road and a lift. She ends up at Jax’s house and asks for help. What has the stolen antiquities got to do with what Tobie saw? Are the documents a part of stolen treasures which were kept secret? Is so how were the 2 men she saw connected to these treasures? And what is the meaning of ‘the event that will remake the world’? 

The story takes them across to Europe and looking for the journalist before the FBI manages to kill him off. How does the richest TV preacher fit into this story or shall I say another major conspiracy theory were the ultimate is to establish a new order of the world based on strict religious principles from an ancient Christian manuscript? Jax and Tobie are also now targets and trying to stay ahead and alive. They need to find that parchment and what understand what it says in order to figure out what the plan is. Like the first novel the plot is complex and all the threads are woven beautifully. This story also is fast paced and keeps you griped with suspense. Scary to think that something like this could possibly be true!