December 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
This month’s yoga practice:
6 Minutes
Take six to connect with your whole self.
Physical
Gentle yoga flow
Mental
I am enough, just as I am.
Spiritual
“Everything you could possibly ever want, have or need is right here inside of you.”
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza:
Plain Cheese
Makes 1 (13-inch) pizza
Ingredients
1 (250-g) dough ball
56 grams tomato sauce
50 grams low-moisture mozzarella, shredded
60 grams fresh mozzarella
5 grams extra-virgin olive oil, in a squeeze bottle
20 grams parmigiano-reggiano, finely grated
Directions
Preheat the oven with pizza stones to your oven’s highest temperature setting
Stretch out the dough
Spread the sauce evenly on the dough starting from the inside out, leaving 1 inch around the dough’s circumference for the crust
Distribute the low-moisture mozzarella evenly onto the sauce
Using your fingers, tear off quarter-sized pieces of fresh mozzarella and top directly onto the pizza, leaving about 3/4 inch between each piece
Bake the pizza directly on the pizza stone for 5 1/2 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned, checking the bottom and rotating it halfway through or an evenly colored crust.
Cut the pizza into 6 slices. Using a squeeze bottle, evenly top the pizza with the olive oil and then the parmigiano-reggiano.
More
Thin & Crispy Dough: head over to October’s post
Sauce: go to February’s post
😋🍕
November 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
This month’s yoga practice:
Grounding Chakra Meditation
Here is the first time I taught this grounding chakra meditation from my 200 hour teacher training.
Physical
Join me in this grounding chakra meditation to help you be present in your body and connected with the earth.
Mental
Being present and staying grounded is a life long practice.
Spiritual
I am grounded with my spirit.
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza:
Wiseguy
Makes one 10-inch pizza - we followed the Bianco recipe.
Ingredients
1 large white or yellow onion, sliced into thick rings
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
one ball pizza dough, rested and ready to shape
2 ounces smoked mozzarella, smoked gouda, or smoked cheddar, sliced or cut into cubes
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausages, or your favorite sausages, cooked (grilled, panfried, or roasted, as you like) and thinly sliced on the diagonal
coarse sea salt
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400˚F
Arrange the onion slices on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with the 1 tablespoon olive oil, then carefully turn them so they’re evenly coated with oil. Season with fine sea salt and pepper and pop them into the oven for 10 minutes. Carefully turn the onion slices and cook for 10 more minutes. Toss them well and cook for about 10 minutes longer. Scrape them into a bowl and toss them with the parsley. Set aside.
Place a pizza stone on the oven rack and increase the oven temperature to its maximum setting.
Grab a pizza peel and give it a nice, light dusting of flour. Shape the dough and set on the floured peel.
Hit the dough with the mozzarella, scattering it evenly and stopping about 3/4 inch from the edges. Add the caramelized onion slices, draping them over the spots where there’s less cheese. Finally add the sausage, arranging it to balance the cheese and onion.
Open the oven and, tilting the peel just slightly, give it a quick shimmy-shake to slide the pizza onto the pizza stone. Bake the pizza for 10 to 15 minutes, until the crust is a crisp and golden brown.
Remove the pizza with the peel, sprinkle with a pinch of coarse salt, and drizzle with olive oil.
Dough
Check out last month’s post for a dough recipe.
😋🍕
October 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
This month’s yoga practice:
Grounding Chakra Meditation
I’m currently in a 300 hour yoga teacher training and this was my first peer group teaching assignment.
Physical
Join me in this grounding chakra meditation to help you be present in your body and connected with the earth.
Mental
During my peer group’s teaching assignment we all had various distractions (loud neighbors/kids/etc.) but that is the practice of yoga to learn to be present and stay grounded throughout life’s distractions.
Spiritual
I am grounded with my spirit.
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza…
Thin & Crispy Dough
Makes 7 (250-gram) dough balls - we followed the Pizza Czar recipe.
Ingredients
500 grams high-protein bread flour
500 grams all-purpose flour
30 grams sea salt
600 grams water, at 72°F
150 grams starter (3 to 5 hours after feeding it at room temperature)
5 grams cake or fresh yeast (or 1.58 grams instant yeast)
80 grams extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the container
Directions
Weigh all the ingredients in separate containers. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours and salt and mix thoroughly with clean hands.
In another large mixing bowl, combine the water, starter, and yeast.
Create a crater in the flour and pour the liquid mixture in the center. Begin mixing with your dominant hand. Start in the center of the bowl and mix in a clockwise fashion until the dough comes together into a ball and the bowl is clean. After it has just come together, add the olive oil and mix until fully combined. Stop mixing and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Rest for 30 minutes.
Uncover the dough and mix by stretching and folding the dough onto itself for 5 minutes.
Lightly oil a large container. Add the dough and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rest for 2 hours at room temperature. Then gently fold the dough into itself. Re-wrap and let it sit at room temperature for about 3 hours.
Remove the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour your hands and, using a dough cutter and scale, portion it into 250-gram dough balls. Form each dough into a tight ball by folding it in on itself, being careful to handle the ball quickly and gently to not transfer much heat.
Place the balls on a lightly floured 13-by-18-inch baking sheet. Lightly flour the surface of the dough balls and cover them with plastic wrap. Proof at room temperature for 5 hours or until the balls double in size. At this point you can use them or transfer to the refrigerator and rest for up to 48 hours.
Pizza
Check out last month’s post for a white pie with prosciutto, arugula, cherry tomatoes recipe.
😋🍕
September 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
This month’s yoga practice:
Yoga for Teens
Here is a 20 minute practice that was my final teaching assignment for teen’s yoga teacher training.
Physical
The way we feel shows up in our body and we can move our bodies to affect the way we feel.
Mental
Our breath is a powerful mindfulness tool.
Spiritual
A yoga journal is a great way to practice self kindness and compassion.
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza:
White Pie with Prosciutto, Arugula, Cherry Tomatoes
Makes 1 x 12” pizza - we followed the Pizza Bible recipe.
Ingredients
1 (250-g) dough ball
6 ounces (170 grams) whole-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
6 thin slices (about 4 ounces/115 grams) prosciutto
1 1/2 cups arugula
12 cherry tomatoes, preferably multicolor, halved (or quartered if large)
Garlic oil
Small piece Parmigiano-Reggiano, for shaving
Directions
Preheat oven using the thin & crispy setting on the Breville Pizzaiolo
Stretch out dough to 12” on a flour dusted surface
Top dough round with the mozzarella
Bake for about 2 minutes
Transfer to the cutting board and slice into six wedges
Drape a slice of prosciutto over each wedge, crumpling it just a bit to give it some height
Distribute the arugula evenly over the pizza
Arrange the cherry tomatoes over the arugula
Drizzle with garlic oil
Use vegetable peeler to shave Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top
Dough
Check out our April post for a dough recipe.
😋🍕
August 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
This month’s yoga practice:
Pre K - Kindergarten Yoga Introduction
Here is a 20 minute practice that was my final teaching assignment for children’s yoga teacher training.
Physical
Kids need a lot of physical activity and yoga is a great way to get them moving.
Mental
The mental practice of yoga is great for kids to learn at an early age.
Spiritual
My oldest son just started kindergarten and I was happy to hear that they learn about mindfulness in school. The practice of looking inward is so important and something I work on daily.
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza:
Margherita Pizza
Makes 1 x 12” pizza - we followed the Pizza Czar recipe and used our new Breville Pizzaiolo
Ingredients
1 (250-g) dough ball
56 grams (1/4 cup) tomato sauce
6 basil leaves
40 grams (1.5 oz) fresh mozzarella
13 grams (1/2 oz) parmigiano-reggiano
15 grams (1 tablespoon) EVOO
Directions
Preheat oven using the wood fired setting
Stretch out dough to 12” on a flour dusted surface
Spread sauce evenly, leaving 1 inch around circumference
Tear basil and place on top of sauce
Tear off mozzarella chunks and place onto the pizza
Dust with parmigiano-reggiano, and drizzle with olive oil
Transfer pizza to oven and bake until crust is spotted brown and cheese is melted, about 2 minutes
Dough
Check out our April post for a dough recipe.
😋🍕
July 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
This month’s yoga practice:
Yoga With Other Humans
These past two years I’ve been mainly practicing yoga by myself. I started checking out some yoga studios in town and I forgot how much I love practicing with other humans. This month I invite you to support your local yoga studio or get some family or friends to join you in your home practice.
Physical
There is a feeling of connection when a whole class is moving together.
Mental
Can you resist the urge to compare yourself to others in yoga class?
Spiritual
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza:
Sicilian Grandma Dough
Makes 2 (900-gram) Sicilian pizzas (we followed the Pizza Czar recipe)
Ingredients
900 grams high-protein flour
100 grams whole-grain flour
30 grams sea salt
720 grams (3 cups) water
100 grams starter
60 grams extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Weigh all the ingredients in separate containers. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flours and salt and mix thoroughly.
In another large mixing bowl, combine the water and starter.
Create a crater in the flour and pour the liquids in the center.
Being mixing with your dominant hand. Start in the center of the bowl and mix in a clockwise fashion until the dough comes together, at this point add 60 grams of olive oil and continue to mix until the dough is fully incorporated. Stop mixing, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside for 30 to 45 minutes.
Mix by stretching and folding the dough onto itself for about 6 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container with a lid and let it rest at room temperature. Stretch and fold the dough for 1 minute every 30 minutes for 3 hours.
Rest at room temperature (covered) for 30 minutes.
Using about 40 grams of olive oil, lightly oil two baking pans.
Lightly flour your hands, and using a dough cutter and scale, portion then shape the dough (two 900-gram pieces) into rectangles by folding the edges into themselves.
Transfer each dough to the center of a pre-oiled baking pan. Cover each pan with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Life the dough and press out any air from the bottom of the pan. Carefully stretch the dough to the pan’s edges. Using your fingertips, gently dimple the entire length of the dough. Cover and let proof at room temperature for 6-12 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
Par-bake or top and bake according to your chosen recipe’s instructions. Just add 10 minutes to the bake time if you skip the par-bake.
Sicilian pizza recipe
Check out last month’s post.
😋🍕
June 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
Tadasana Mama offers yoga and meditation on a donation basis 🙏
This month’s yoga practice:
3 Minutes
So, I keep signing up for yoga teacher trainings which is resulting in this entire website becoming a collection of my assignments. The latest training I signed up for is a children’s yoga teacher training. Our first assignment was to teach a breathing exercise and have a discussion about breath.
Physical
Cupcake breath.
Mental
When you’re feeling anxious, return to your breath.
Spiritual
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza:
Spicy Pepperoni Sicilian Pizza
Makes 1 (12-by-16-inch) pan pizza (we followed the Pizza Czar recipe)
Ingredients
1 half sheet pan (900 g) Sicilian Grandma dough proofed and ready to top
250 grams low-moisture mozzarella, thinly sliced
102 grams Spicy Grandma Sauce
50 grams Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated
2 pinches dried wild Sicilian oregano, stems removed
60 grams pepperoni, sliced (about 25 pieces)
40 grams extra-virgin olive oil, in a squeeze bottle
Directions
Preheat the oven with pizza stones to 475˚F
Cover the dough with the mozzarella in a single layer. Using a 2-ouce ladle, completely cover the mozzarella with the tomato sauce
Spread half of the Parmigiano-Reggiano evenly over the sauce and sprinkle with the oregano. Place the pepperoni evenly on the pizza, starting from the outside in. Remember: Pepperoni migration is unavoidable! Don’t be surprised if the slices aren’t where you left them. Using a squeeze bottle, drizzle with the olive oil.
Bake the pizza in its pan directly on the pizza stone for 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has begun to brown.
Remove the pizza from the pan with an offset spatula and transfer to a cooling rack. Top with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before cutting into 8 slices.
Enjoy your tray
J is from Scranton, PA where they refer to pizzas as “trays”. Enjoy!
😋🍕
May 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
Tadasana Mama offers yoga and meditation on a donation basis 🙏
This month’s yoga practice:
4 Minutes
My intention for the Yoga then Pizza practices was to add 5 minutes to the practice every month. This month was supposed to be a 25 minute practice, but life happened and I didn’t get around to it. I ended up taking Jane Austin’s Mama Tree Level One Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training. In the training we each took turns teaching a pose. I taught tree pose. So this month, take four to connect with your whole self by thinking like a tree.
Physical
Tree Pose.
Mental
Balancing poses can be challenging. Often one side of your body can balance “better” than the other. Try not to judge but just notice the difference on each side.
Spiritual
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza…
Box
We ordered some custom Yoga then Pizza boxes. For now these are just for fun, but in the future we hope to host in-person events. Stay tuned!
Dough
Head to last month’s post for a pizza dough recipe.
Sauce
Check out February’s post for a pizza sauce recipe.
Pepperoni Pizza
Go to January’s post for a pepperoni pizza recipe.
😋🍕
April 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
Tadasana Mama offers yoga and meditation on a donation basis 🙏 (donations from this practice will be passed along to Together Rising to “help meet Ukrainian families’ most urgent needs on the ground right now”)
This month’s yoga practice:
20 Minutes
Take twenty to connect with your whole self.
Physical
13 minute gentle yoga flow to DakhaBrakha.
Mental
7 minute grounding chakra meditation after the yoga practice.
Spiritual
I am birth and death and all the spaces in between.
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza…
Dough
We followed the Classic Pizza Dough recipe from Ooni: Cooking with Fire.
Makes 5 x 12in pizzas - equivalent to 5 x 160g dough balls
Ingredients
300ml cold water
10g salt
2g instant dried yeast
500g flour, plus extra for dusting
Directions
Place two-thirds of the water in a large bowl. In a saucepan, bring the other third of water to a boil, then add it to the cold water in the bowl. This creates the correct temperature for activating yeast. Whisk the salt and yeast into the warm water.
Place the flour in a large bowl and pour the yeast mixture into it. Stir with a wooden spoon until a dough starts to form. Continue mixing by hand until the dough comes together in a ball. Turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead with both hands for about 10 minutes, until it is firm and stretchy. Return the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
When the dough has roughly doubled in size, divide it into 5 equal pieces. Place each piece of dough in a separate bowl or tray, cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise for another 20 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Note: you can also cold-prove your dough, a technique that allows the yeast to work on the sugars in the flour for longer, helping the dough develop a deeper flavor. To do this, use half the amount of yeast listed in the ingredients, and leave the dough to prove (rise) in the fridge for 24-72 hours. Divide the dough and cover as described in the main recipe, then set aside (not in the fridge) for at least 5 hours, until it is room temperature. We're trying the cold-prove technique.
More
Tip: check out last month’s post for a tip on cooking with an Ooni Fyra oven.
Sauce: head over to February’s post for a pizza sauce recipe.
Pepperoni Pizza: go to January’s post for a pepperoni pizza recipe.
😋🍕
March 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
Tadasana Mama offers yoga and meditation on a donation basis 🙏
This month’s yoga practice:
15 Minutes
Take fifteen to connect with your whole self in this Spring “cleaning” of your mind, body, and spirit.
Physical
Gentle yoga flow.
Mental
One minute meditation after the yoga practice.
Spiritual
What do you want to awaken to this Spring?
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza…
Tip
We’ve been burning a lot of pizzas over here at the Jones Treehouse. But I think we figured it out and wanted to share this little tip with you if you are making pizza with an Ooni Fyra oven too.
When firing up our pizza oven we open the chimney all the way. And then after launching the pizza we only open the chimney partially. We’ve experimented with closing the chimney completely, but then the flames rush out through the back. And when we’ve kept the chimney completely open, our pizza always ended up scorched.
Pepperoni Pizza
We used the same pepperoni pizza recipe from our January post.
Sauce
Head over to last month’s post for a pizza sauce recipe.
Dough
Check back in next month for our pizza dough recipe.
😋🍕
February 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
Tadasana Mama offers yoga and meditation on a donation basis 🙏
This month’s yoga practice:
10 Minutes
Take ten to connect with your whole self.
Physical
Savasana
Mental
I am loved.
Spiritual
Sometimes doing nothing can be the hardest thing. We are all born into this world worthy of love. You don’t need to do anything to earn love from yourself or anyone else. Maybe try writing a love letter to yourself or someone you love.
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza…
Sauce
We made some sauce this month for our pizzas. We followed the Pizza Czar basic tomato sauce recipe.
Makes 1 quart (about 1 liter)
Ingredients
1 (794-gram/28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
5 grams (about 1 teaspoon) sea salt, adjust to taste
10 grams (about 2 teaspoons) extra-virgin olive oil, adjust to taste
Directions
In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, salt, and olive oil.
With an immersion blender, blend until the tomatoes are smooth and sauce is emulsified.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Pizza recipe…
We made the same pizza from last month but used our own sauce this time. You can check out the pizza recipe here.
😋🍕
January 2022
Practice yoga. Eat pizza.
Tadasana Mama offers yoga and meditation on a donation basis 🙏
This month’s yoga practice:
5 Minutes
Take five to connect with your whole self.
This was my first teaching assignment when I was in training, I decided to return to this practice for our first Yoga then Pizza offering.
Physical
Gentle yoga flow
Mental
I am enough, just as I am.
Spiritual
“Everything you could possibly ever want, have or need is right here inside of you.”
💗🧘🏻♀️
This month’s pizza:
Pepperoni Pizza
Makes 1 x 12” pizza - we followed the Pizza Czar margherita recipe and added pepperoni
Ingredients
1 (250-g) dough ball - we got ours from Great Gold
56 grams (1/4 cup) tomato sauce
6 basil leaves
40 grams (1.5 oz) fresh mozzarella
13 grams (1/2 oz) parmigiano-reggiano
15 grams (1 tablespoon) EVOO
6 slices pepperoni
Directions
Preheat oven to 932˚F (500˚C) - we have an Ooni pizza oven
Stretch out dough to 12” on a flour dusted surface
Spread sauce evenly, leaving 1 inch around circumference
Tear basil and place on top of sauce
Tear off mozzarella chunks and place onto the pizza
Dust with parmigiano-reggiano, and drizzle with olive oil
Bake pizza in oven rotating every 10-15 seconds until cooked evenly
Enjoy with…
Mike’s Hot Honey. We first tasted this delicious hot honey on the Hellboy pizza at Paulie Gee's and have been adding it to our homemade pizzas ever since.