Sometimes things go a little off-course. We try to plan our days and futures down to the last minute, the picturesque vacation and the stable job. But we all know that things don’t always go as planned. Life happens along the way. And while it’s wise, necessary and responsible to plan for the future, it’s also important to take advantage of the opportunities along the way that we just can’t foresee.
Because sometimes it’s the unplanned moments that become the most meaningful. Pulling off the road to watch a sunset along the beach. Staying a little longer at the dinner you were planning to rush home from, to catch-up with an old friend and enjoy a few extra belly-aching laughs. Taking advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pack everything up and move across state lines or over an ocean. Giving the relationship that has all odds against it a chance.
Life constantly gives us the challenge of finding a balance of planning and predicting with risk-taking and spontaneity. Both are required at different times and for different occasions, as well as simultaneously.
Remember when I made the Apple, Pecan and Goat Cheese Pizza? Yeah, that was good. And left me with extra pizza dough, arugula and pecans. So I looked around the fridge and pantry, pulled out a few ingredients and made this Arugula Pecan & Fontina Flatbread. It wasn’t planned and I wasn’t exactly sure how it would taste, but ended-up being a perfect combination of ingredients that I would highly recommend. While this meal wasn’t life-changing or gave us all the answers about how to live, it did provide my husband and I with another opportunity to sit down at the end of the day and appreciate another one of life’s surprises.
Arugula Pecan & Fontina Flatbread
by Simply Life
Keywords: bake appetizer pizza/flatbread side vegetarian leafy greens pecans nuts
Ingredients (Dough makes 2 crusts)
For the Dough
- 5 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 1/3 cup warm water
- 3/4 tbs. salt
- 1 1/4 tsp. yeast
Toppings
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup shredded Fontina cheese
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Instructions
For the Dough
1. Combine bread flour and water and mix on low speed until blended. Set aside and let sit for 15 minutes. Add the salt and yeast and mix on low speed for 5 minutes. Place in bowl lightly covered in oil (dough may be sticky, this is okay). Cover and set aside for 20 minutes.
2. Uncover and punch-down dough. Cover and set aside 20 minutes. Uncover and punch-down dough again. Cover and set aside a third time for 20 minutes. Finally, uncover and pinch-down dough. Cover and set aside for at least 2 (or up to about 8) hours.
3. About an hour before baking time, preheat oven to 450 degrees with baking stone in oven. Divide dough in half. Refrigerate half for later use. Take other half and shape into a circle. Dust top and roll out with rolling pin. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes. Uncover dough and stretch out. Cover and let sit 30 minutes.
For the topping
4. While dough is sitting for final rest (and oven is preheated to 450 degrees), prepare toppings. Evenly spread onion over pizza crust, then sprinkle with goat cheese. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
5.Remove pizza from oven, top with arugula and pecans. Drizzle olive oil over pizza. Serve and enjoy!
~Has life ever veered off the planned course for you?
