Good News for Pizza Lovers!

The other day, a friend told me she had successfully baked her homemade pizza on parchment paper—which entirely eliminated the oh-so-awkward transfer of the pizza from the peel to the stone. Of course, I couldn't resist trying it immediately, so I did, and (drumroll please) she was right!


Preheat oven to 425. Simply spread some parchment paper over your pizza peel, sprinkle cornmeal, roll out the dough, and add toppings. Roughly trim the edges of the paper to about an inch from the crust, creating a circle instead of a square of parchment paper underneath the dough. Then relish the ease with which you slide the pizza onto the preheated stone!

The only disadvantage is that you can't crank the oven up as high, because parchment paper isn't meant to be heated above 425. But especially if you place the stone on the bottom rack, you should have no problem getting a nice, crispy crust nonetheless.

Just so no one sues me if the parchment paper somehow ignites in your oven, please keep an eye on it the first time you try this. Don't throw the pizza in the oven and leave for 40 minutes. (But really, who would do that??)

Jamba Juice's Blackberry Bliss?

I can't claim this is exact, but I don't think you'll miss the resemblance in flavor when you try it. The Blackberry Bliss is my husband's favorite at Jamba right now, so we had to give it a whirl at home. Plus, what's better is that it's WAY healthier! Thanks to the spinach and ground flax (which you won't notice!), you won't even feel guilty slurping this baby down!


First, puree the following in your blender:
2 cups spinach
1/2 cup water

Add the following, and begin pulsing.
1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries
1/2 cups frozen mixed berries
6 blackberries
1/2 cup pineapple
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup sugar (plus a couple of Tablespoons, depending on how sweet you like it.)
3 Tablespoons ground flax

Lastly, add water and blend to get the smoothie to the right consistency (I'll say about 3/4 cup, added gradually. But that will depend on whether all of your fruit was frozen or not.)

Let me know what you think!

Maybe this will help negate all the nutella I've eaten lately...