Super Easy Flatbread recipe from Molly MacRae

 

 

Making flatbread is fun. There are some that you pat flat with your hands, some that you make in the palm of your hand, and some that you roll out or flatten in a press. However their made, forming flatbread reminds me of playing with playdough. The result of flatbread forming fun, though, is something delicious to go with your meal, or the base for an open face sandwich or pizza.

The recipe doesn’t call for seasoning beyond salt, but I added a sprinkle of za’atar to each flatbread before rolling it out. Za’atar is a blend of warm and toasted spices. The exact proportions, and the spices, depend on the variety you buy. It’s easy enough to make your own, too. Here’s a link to the za’atar recipe I used.

If you’re new to making flatbread, then this Super Easy Flatbread recipe is great place to start. Mix the dough, grab your rolling pin or a cylindrical drinking glass, and have some roly-poly fun.

 

You’ll find a free, downloadable, printable pdf of the recipe below the cooking directions.

Super Easy Flatbread

Adapted from Bob’s Red Mill 

Ingredients

1 cup plain Greek yogurt (plus more as needed)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups flour (I used whole wheat but all-purpose white or a mix of the two is fine)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Optional: 2-3 teaspoons of a seasoning mix of your choice.

3-4 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or olive, for cooking

 

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients (all but except the 3-4 tablespoons of neutral oil for cooking). Mix until a soft dough forms. If your dough feels dry, or cracks at the edges, add more yogurt, a tablespoon at a time, until it’s smooth and pliable.  

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide it into 8 equal portions and roll each into a ball. Working with one ball at a time, flatten each (and sprinkle with seasoning mix, if using) then roll it into a circle about 5 inches in diameter. Dust your surface and rolling pin with more flour as needed.

Over medium-high, preheat a griddle, cast iron skillet, or nonstick pan. Add a small drizzle of neutral oil to the pan and cook one flatbread at a time, flipping once, until both sides are golden brown and speckled, 1 to 2 or 3 minutes per side. Adjust heat as needed. Transfer cooked flatbreads to a wire rack.

Serve warm. Store leftovers in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a warm skillet or microwave before serving.

click here for a free, downloadable, printable pdf of this recipe

 

 Out now!

All Shell Breaks Loose

Book 3 in the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries!

 

On North Carolina’s Ocracoke Island, Maureen Nash sells exquisite seashells to locals and tourists—with Bonny the shop cat and the ghost of a Welsh pirate for company. And when needed, she steps in to help the police solve a murder . . .

Dr. Irving Allred is boasting around town that he’s about to get his hands on an authentic haunted sword. But minutes after Maureen hears the story, a woman walks into the Moon Shell, sword in hand. She found it while walking her bulldog on the beach—and its blade is stained with what looks like blood. Looks like it’s time to call the sheriff’s department.

Allred is furious that his prize is now in police custody—and even more agitated that an unknown buyer was trying to outbid him. He’s convinced the sword will lead him straight to the ghosts he’s been hunting. He’s not the only one on the Outer Banks who’s been searching for spirits, though. An odd visitor also showed up at Maureen’s shop claiming the ability to sense them . . . though somehow she didn’t seem to notice Maureen’s spectral friend hanging about.

When a man who’d been camping nearby is found cut down along the shore, Maureen starts providing some unofficial assistance to Captain Rob Tate by digging into the island’s maritime history. But it’s not the only mystery she’s facing—because the shop’s resident ghost is seeing ghosts himself . . .

 

Writing as Margaret Welch

Happy reading! 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries, the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries, and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Instagram or Bluesky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted Vegetable Kabobs with Lemon-Scallion Vinaigrette - #recipe

LESLIE: When I met Mr. Right, his kitchen consisted of a half-size fridge, a hot plate, and a grill outside the back door. We've upgraded the equipment since then, but our cooking still  involves a lot of grilling. And this grilled veggie combo is a lot of fun. Getting all the ingredients to cook properly at roughly the same time is easier than it may seem – and because this is a flavorful summer dish, you don’t need them all hot half a minute before serving anyway.

We debated what to serve alongside these veggies, and ended up grilling burgers, but it would also work well as a side for steaks, salmon, or chicken.

If gluten isn’t an issue for you, let me tell you my favorite new way to serve pita, cribbed from Walker’s in Billings, Montana, where we had a yummy dinner of shared small plates a few weeks ago. Brush your pita with garlic-infused oil and sprinkle with za’atar, the Middle Eastern spice blend. Some za’atars include sesame seeds; if yours doesn’t, add a few black and white sesame seeds before you grill. (My favorite real-life spice shop, World Spice Merchants in Seattle, makes both an Israeli za’atar, which is predominantly green, and a Syrian za’atar, a lovely dark red. We tried and loved both, though the Syrian version may have been our fave, and is more like what Walker’s used.)

A yummy alternative for the leftovers is to make a salad bowl, using multi-colored quinoa (gluten-free) or couscous (not so gluten-free) as the base, and adding the roasted veggies, seasoned beans, toasted nuts or seeds, chunks of avocado, and any other veggies, raw or pickled, hanging out in your fridge. Some crumbled blue cheese would be tasty, too.

Vegetable Kabobs with Lemon-Scallion Vinaigrette

1 large lemon, halved

1 teaspoon honey
olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions or green onions, finely chopped
2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 small yellow crookneck squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 bell peppers (red, yellow, or orange), cored and seeded, and cut into eighths
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

skewers (if yours are bamboo, soak for 30 minutes before using)

Heat the grill before you begin chopping. Grill the lemon halves, cut sides down, until charred, 4-6 minutes. Juice the lemon. Whisk in the honey (you may want to warm it first to make it easier to mix), 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust as needed. Stir in the chopped scallions.

Thread the zucchini, crookneck, peppers, and tomatoes on separate skewers. Start your grilling with the zucchini and crookneck; after about 5 minutes, add the peppers to the grill; after about 10 minutes, add the tomatoes. Total grilling time should be about 20 minutes. The squash and peppers should be lightly charred and the tomatoes soft and just beginning to blister. Test with a fork.

Place the skewers on your serving platter and drizzle the veggies with half the vinaigrette. Top with mint and serve, with the extra vinaigrette on the side.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

"Budewitz's finely drawn characters, sharp ear for dialogue, and well-paced puzzle make Jewel Bay a destination for every cozy fan." --- Kirkus Reviews

From the cover of AS THE CHRISTMAS COOKIE CRUMBLES, Food Lovers' Village Mystery #5 (Midnight Ink, June 2018, available in trade paper, e-book, and audio):  

In Jewel Bay---Montana's Christmas Village---all is merry and bright. At Murphy’s Mercantile, AKA the Merc, manager Erin Murphy is ringing in the holiday season with food, drink, and a new friend: Merrily Thornton. A local girl gone wrong, Merrily’s turned her life around. But her parents have publicly shunned her, and they nurse a bitterness that chills Erin.

When Merrily goes missing and her boss discovers he’s been robbed, fingers point to Merrily—until she’s found dead, a string of lights around her neck. The clues and danger snowball from there. Can Erin nab the killer—and keep herself in one piece—in time for a special Christmas Eve?

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. A past president of Sisters in Crime, she lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat, an avid bird-watcher.

Swing by my website and join the mailing list for my seasonal newsletter. And join me on Facebook where I announce lots of giveaways from my cozy writer friends.