Spicy Snacks, the word cloud

So, today I found this fun site, wordle.net where you can make word clouds from any string of text.
The cool part is the text size varies depending on the frequency of the word, making the fact that I eat lots of bread and rice very apparent. Also, the word "add" comes up a lot in recipes. Well, you can also edit the colors, font, and type of arrangement for the words.

And so I present the Spicy Snacks word cloud, about 100 words that frequent my blog.

"Classic" French Bread

"Classic" French Bread
---(The quotes are because I didn't learn it from someone that was French, and don't have proof that it is at all like real French bread, except that it's crusty like my favorite French bread.)

I used this bread for the pizza snack earlier, it's a very versatile recipe. You could make traditional style pizza with it too. Just spread out/roll out the dough in a circular/square (depending on your pan) shape and put pizza stuff on it, and bake around~ 350 degrees F. (until crust is brown on edges, check after 15 min, then every 5 min.)

• 1 1/3 cups warm water [75-85 degrees F or 24-30 degrees C] (it's the right temp if you can stick your finger in without scalding yourself --if it's too hot, the yeast will die, too cold, the yeast won't wake up)
• 2 tsp. Butter/margarine, softened
• 4 cups Bread flour (all-purpose, if you don't have bread flour, it's not the same, though.)
• 5 tsp. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 tsp. Bread machine yeast (if you're not using a bread machine, you can use the instant packets of yeast, but let that sit in water to bloom for a few minutes)

Place the water, butter, flour, sugar and salt into the pan in the order listed. (If you're doing it by hand leave 1/3 cups of the water out.)
[If you're using a bread machine, use your finger to make an indentation in the flour, so that no water seeps in, then put the yeast in there. Carefully put the pan in the machine, plug in the machine, and start the machine. Follow the machine's instructions and take out when it's done. You should be able to eat it anytime after it's done...]

If you're doing it by hand, bloom the yeast as described above with the 1/3 cup of water. Mix the ingredients in the pan until just together. Then mix the yeast in, water and all. Make sure it's well mixed (No obvious lumps). Leave it to rise for 20 min. Then knead the bread well. Leave it to rise again for 20 min. "Punch down" the bread. (Just give it a decent squish in the middle with a fist.) Let it rise for 55 min.
Once the mix/knead, rise, knead, rise, punch, rise process is finished, you can bake it. a 350-400 degree F oven depending on how crusty you want your bread or what kind of shape you're using, until it is brown on the outside. Then check it by inserting a knife or toothpick, to see if it's wet in the middle. If it still isn't baked all the way through, bake it at 300-350 degrees F, and cover it with aluminum foil to keep it from browning too much.

If you have questions about particular baking processes (like what to do for pizza, or buns, etc.), you can always comment, and I'll do my best to help you out.

Keep checking out this webpage, spicysnack.blogspot.com for mostly consistent updates! Delicious/quick/easy/spicy recipes is our forte!

Tacos

So today tacos were requested so this is it:

• 1 lb. hamburger
• 2 tbsp taco seasoning (recipe at end)
• 1 cup water
• soft tortillas or taco shells (in the recipe, ignore the warming/folding if you're using taco shells)
  
• 1 cup of diced onion (small onion)
• 2 tsp diced garlic
  
• shredded lettuce (to taste)
  
• diced tomatoes (to taste)
  
• cheese (mozzarella and cheddar, but you can use any you like)
• sour cream (optional)
  
• hot peppers, sliced (optional)
  

First, brown the hamburger and drain off the fat. Then add the taco seasoning, salt, pepper, onion, garlic, and 1 cup water and simmer for about 30 min. Put it to the side.
Next, warm your tortillas, so that they're pliable. You can do this by dampening two paper towels (soak them with water then squeeze most of it out), then put one on a plate(bigger than your tortillas) put a few tortillas on it, then cover them with the other paper towel.

If you want, at this step you can set it up like a buffet and just have everyone do their own. Or you can do it yourself. If you're doing a buffet set up the ingredients in this order, going along with the path you want everyone to move on:
Plates, tortillas (keep them covered with the paper towel so they stay warm and moist), hamburger, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, peppers.

Assemble like this:
Put a tortilla on you plate, spread some hamburger on it, then sprinkle your lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese on it, then put a dollop of sour cream, and sprinkle some sliced peppers on it. Then fold the bottom edge up and roll the tortilla from left to right.

For diabetics, this should be a great meal, as it's got minimal starch with plenty of protein and vegetables. try to keep the ratio of vegetable to meat/cheese at 2:1 when assembling.

Taco seasoning:
6 parts chili powder
2 parts cumin
1 part cayenne pepper (you can increase or decrease depending on taste)

Mix the amount you need together, if you have too much you can store it in an empty spice shaker and store it in the pantry or spice rack.

The cooked hamburger is very versatile, try eating it on a bun or in salad!