That's Slaw Folks!

Yesterday, I wrote about salads. I could spend a lifetime writing new combination of unique dressings and fresh veggies. My favorite thing about salad is how versatile it is. All you need are a few simple ingredients to make it absolutely perfect. So, I thought I'd share a fantastic dressing and a few unique uses for it.


Ginger Chili Cashew Butter Sauce

1/4 c. cashew butter (any nut butter will work; try sunflower seed butter for a more "allergy friendly" version)
2 Tbsp. natural apricot preserves (anything would do, but I like the color and sweet/tartness of apricot)
1 Tbsp. liquid amino acids (or gluten free, low sodium soy sauce or tamari)
1 tsp. sriracha (add more or less depending on your tolerance for heat)
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic

1. Blend all ingredients together until they are smooth and well combined.

2. Add a bit of water to thin it to a pourable consistency.

3. Taste the sauce to make sure all of the flavors are balanced. There shouldn't be one flavor that is stronger than the others.

This sauce is so amazing! I love to use it as a dipping sauce for vegetable spring rolls. These spring rolls are simply rice paper rolls with leaf lettuce, shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, julienne cucumbers, julienne red pepper, fresh mint and basil leaves. I also like to dip carrot sticks and sugar snap peas in it. It can be used as a salad dressing with fresh greens or as a massaged kale salad.

I use this sauce to make a simple "Cheaters Pad Thai." When I have leftover spaghetti noodles, I quickly toss them with leftover veggies or rainbow slaw mix. Saute in a pan for just a minute with 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil. When the veggies are crisp tender, pour over your Ginger Chili Cashew Butter Sauce. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and snipped fresh chives or green onions. It's so good!

This also makes an excellent marinade for tofu. Tofu is fantastic because it pretty much tastes like whatever you put with it. If you don't do anything with it, it is bland and tasteless; but if you have a fantastic sauce like this, the results will be surprisingly good. I make up a  big bunch and keep it on hand when I need a quick tasty protein source. Just bake this in the oven at 300 degrees F for 45 minutes to an hour. These are wonderful on rice, in lettuce wraps and even rolled into sushi.

This is only a handful of ideas for you. Once you make this sauce, you will be compelled to put it on everything! But spring is sprung, so I thought I would make one more suggestion that is more picnic friendly. Packing up a simple picnic is the norm in my house. That's why I like to keep this fresh, healthy Asian Slaw on hand. Just add 2 Tbsp. raw apple cider vinegar and fresh snipped chives or green onions to the recipe for Ginger Chili Cashew Butter Sauce. Then I layer my slaw ingredients into a container, keeping the sauce separate. This is shredded red cabbage, shredded carrots, shredded broccoli stems, red pepper, cilantro, and sunflower shoots. This is both hearty and refreshing, cool and creamy, spicy and sweet. It's pretty much a perfect slaw!

I love my salad shaker!








Not a bad afternoon snack?! Try this with the marinated tofu. The flavors are a perfect match and you get a little extra protein.







Note: At some point, I will make a post on how to make your own nut and seed butters. It's easy and will save you a ton of money. But this sauce is so versatile, just use whatever you have on hand or whatever you like the most. Most of my recipes are what I call "bare bones" recipes. Use them as they are or play around with them.

So that's slaw folks!

Peace!
 - Ali

Spring is Sprung

It's hard to believe that April is nearly over. The lovely warm showers are already beginning to give way to some early flowers. People have been out and about on bikes and skateboards, taking walks and picnicking in parks (and up mountains!). I've been so busy lately... well, I just haven't had time to cook. So that begs the question, as a new food blogger, what the heck do I write about?

Last week I made a post about my unabashed love of chocolate. I decided to counter balance that this week with my not-so-subtle enthusiasm for salads. Don't worry... this will be fun!

As a kid, I didn't eat many salads. I don't mean I didn't eat salads frequently. I did. My parents taught me that vegetables, in general, are a good thing and should be eaten from time to time. I ate salads a couple of times a week with my dinner, and I never disliked them. I just never got very excited about them either. When I say I didn't eat many salads, what I mean is that I seemed to eat the same salad over and over again.

It was a good salad; a basic salad. It generally started with iceberg lettuce, then I added broccoli florets, mushrooms, black olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, croutons, and ranch dressing. I'm relatively sure that this is what most people think of when they hear the word salad. There's nothing wrong with this salad, and as an adult I still enjoy it from time to time.

See?! It's pretty good!

But this is not the kind of thing that makes me leap to my feet with excitement. This isn't the kind of thing I crave all day long. This is what I eat, when I don't feel particularly creative.

Creativity can strike at any moment. Sometimes I will pass by a fancy restaurant and see something delicious out of the corner of my eye. I can overhear somebody mention something that they had, or read about a customary dish in a foreign country. Sometimes I will pick up a new ingredient I've never used before, and sometimes I'm trying to use up things that I already have on hand. In any case, I become absolutely obsessed with my new idea and cannot wait to go home and try it out. Most of the time, I am not disappointed and I'm even pleasantly surprised to discover new flavor profiles that I'd never tried before. The best thing is that when you experiment with salad, you are always doing yourself a favor. Salads are so good for you!

So here are just a handful of my favorite salads.

Fruity salads are very popular right now. There's something about the sweetness of  fresh fruits and the tartness of a good vinaigrette that just screams "spring is here!" I love to start with crunchy romaine lettuce and pile on whatever fruit I have in the fridge; in this case strawberries, mandarin oranges, and red grapes. You can get crazy with your vinaigrette, but this one is simply lemon juice and olive oil with a pinch of honey, salt and pepper. Then I sprinkled this with shredded coconut and toasted, slivered almonds. This is perfection!


Note: I know that most vegans would abstain from eating honey, and I respect anybody that does. I, however, do use honey. It is my one non-vegan item and some time I will write more about it; but not now. Just substitute agave, maple syrup or stevia for a completely vegan salad.

 I use a lot of fruit in my salads, but that does not mean they are not entirely unique. This one has a definite Asian flair and brings the beauty of probiotics and extra protein to an already healthy spinach salad.

I used to call this one Asian Orange Salad, but I dropped the moniker because I didn't want it to sound like I was feeding anyone a deadly herbicide with their greens. So maybe I'll just call this one delicious?! Spinach and red cabbage are mixed with shredded carrots, cranberries, mandarin oranges, edamame, and toasted sesame seeds with an orange miso dressing.


Orange Miso Dressing

1/2 c. orange juice
1/4 c. sweet white miso paste
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. liquid amino acids (or gluten free, low sodium soy sauce or tamari)
2 tsp. sweetener (honey, agave, brown rice syrup, or a little less stevia would work well)
1 clove raw garlic

1. Blend all ingredients really well in a blender.

2. Thin with a little water if necessary.

3. Keep this in the fridge for a week or 2.

Yeilds: 3 or 4 servings.


My inspiration for my Spring Salad came from my favorite springy vegetables. Mixed greens with shaved fennel, radishes, beets, shelled peas, and pea shoots with toasted sunflower seeds and honey mustard vinaigrette. It is a wonderful base recipe that can be made into a dozen other recipes. The honey mustard vinaigrette has 3 ingredients; about equal parts dijon mustard, honey and apple cider vinegar thinned with a little water to make it pourable.

Yet another simple salad, but perfectly balanced with a summery menu. All of the flavor comes from my roasted red pepper vinaigrette. I mix together some peppery greens, shredded carrots, cucumber, tomato, red pepper, black olives and toasted sunflower seeds. Then I blend together 1 roasted red pepper and some herbs into my honey mustard vinaigrette. It's that simple.


I call this one my Blushing Greens Salad because it is so pink and pretty. I use spinach, shredded red cabbage, shredded carrots, diced cucumber, diced avocado, pomegranate seeds, pumpkin seeds and grapefruit segments with a grapefruit dijon vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette, just add a splash of grapefruit juice in place of vinegar to my recipe for honey mustard vinaigrette.


Now it's time to quickly touch on my personal favorite green leafy vegetable. Kale! Oh, how I love kale! It is so very delicious and so very healthy. I blend it into smoothies. I juice it. I turn it into chips. I cook it with lots of garlic for a side dish or put it into my pasta dishes and soups. But lets not forget the ever popular massaged kale salads. These have been gaining momentum in the last year or 2, thanks mostly to the "whole foods" movement. I was originally scared to try and averse to doing something so utterly trendy. But I eventually gave it a fair chance, and it turns out they are neither scary nor too trendy.

Kale, on it's own, is much to stiff and crunchy to eat raw in a salad. You'd be chewing all day long! But if you make a yummy dressing and "massage" it into the stiff leaves, it will soften and wilt for you. This will make a beautiful, tender salad green. Here are just a couple of my favorite kale salads.

This is just my favorite honey mustard vinaigrette massaged into a pile of kale leaves with roasted beets, roasted butternut squash, cranberries, shelled peas, pea shoots, and pumpkin seeds. It is an incredible salad for spring or fall and is considerably more hearty given the density of the massaged kale leaves and chewy texture of the squash.

I debated weather or not to share this salad. It is absolutely the craziest combination of ingredients I've ever assembled. I actually refer to this as my Kooky Krauty Kale Salad. It is kooky, but last fall I became obsessed with this salad and couldn't get enough of it. So here it is.




I blend a small amount of tahini into my honey mustard vinaigrette, then massage it into the kale. Toss in some fresh, raw sauerkraut. I will post my recipe for this some time in the future. Add chopped celery, mandarin oranges, purple and golden raisins, and toasted sunflower seeds. This salad is altogether light and hearty, sweet and sour, crunchy and creamy. It's awesome!

So there you are! That's a whole bunch of different and somewhat unusual salads to try this spring. None of them are particularly difficult to make and all of them will give you all of the energy you need to get outside and play in the sunshine. I'm looking forward to planting my vertical garden and I know that I will be enjoying some serious hiking, biking, and kayaking this summer. Who knows? There may even be a bit of mountain climbing, spelunking, and road trips coming up. But I'll keep you posted on that. I hope you have a fantastic May, try something new, and make my salads!

Peace!
 - Ali

A Girl's Gotta' Has Chocolate!

I think sometimes people get this picture of vegans as scrawny, malnourished hippies who eat nothing but sprouts while planning their next PETA protest. I mean, I even thought that once. But this is not the case (most of the time). I think most of us probably have more than one reason to abstain from certain types of foods or live the lifestyle that we've chosen. Most of us are not judgmental and will not glare at you if you choose to eat a hamburger while we eat a salad. Most of us just want to be normal and enjoy life.
So what's more enjoyable than chocolate?

I absolutely adore (need) chocolate. Good chocolate! Real chocolate! Dark chocolate! The only problem with adoring and needing something in it's highest quality is that well... it's expensive! My mom used to tell me I had champagne taste and a beer pocketbook. She wasn't wrong. I do have expensive taste. I don't think that's a bad thing. But I also don't have the money to spend on every little thing that I want. So this is my way of having my chocolate and eating it too.

This is a picture of my candy bar mold. It cost me about $2. I got this one from Michael's Craft Store but you can find these almost anywhere. I love this thing! It only takes a few minutes and a bit of creativity to supply myself with a week's worth of delicious, healthy chocolate (It is! I swear!). You see, like most healthy people, I don't eat chocolate because it tastes good and is wonderful. I eat chocolate for the antioxidants. Obviously! Let me show you.

Total hippie fridge, right?!

Dark Chocolate Crazy Crunch Bar

10 oz. vegan dark chocolate
1 tsp. extra virgin coconut oil
Perky's Crunchy Flax Cearal (puffed brown rice or millet would be fine as well)
course ground coffee
roasted ground ginger
ground star anise
ground cardamom

1. Heat the chocolate in a microwave safe glass bowl for 15 seconds at a time, stirring well in between each time. It can burn easily so don't go anywhere.

2. Once the chocolate is just melted and becoming smooth, stir in the coconut oil. Allow this to come to room temperature, stirring often. This only takes 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Layer the crispy cereal, ground coffee and spices in the candy bar mold until it is covered but not heaping.

4. Pour the cooled dark chocolate into your molds and gently swirl with a toothpick (or your finger, depending on whom you plan to share with).

5. Place in the fridge for at least an hour before unmolding. I like to gently wrap this in parchment paper and then put it inside a plastic sandwich bag. You can keep this in the fridge for a very long time or out on the counter for a week or so (provided it lasts that long).


Dark Chocolate Superfoods Bar

10 oz. vegan dark chocolate
1 tsp. extra virgin coconut oil
dried goji berries
chopped dried apricots
chopped crystallized ginger
toasted pumpkin seeds
cinnamon
cloves (just a tiny pinch)
cayenne pepper (just a tiny pinch)

1. Heat the chocolate in a microwave safe glass bowl for 15 seconds at a time, stirring well in between each time. It can burn easily so don't go anywhere.

2. Once the chocolate is just melted and becoming smooth, stir in the coconut oil. Allow this to come to room temperature, stirring often. This only takes 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Layer the dried fruit, pumpkin seeds and spices (going very easy on the cloves and cayenne) in the candy bar mold until it is covered but not heaping.

4. Pour the cooled dark chocolate into your molds and gently swirl with a toothpick (or your finger, depending on whom you plan to share with).

5. Place in the fridge for at least an hour before unmolding. I like to gently wrap this in parchment paper and then put it inside a plastic sandwich bag. You can keep this in the fridge for a very long time or out on the counter for a week or so (provided it lasts that long).

Dark and White Chocolate Monkey Bars

5 oz. vegan dark chocolate
5 oz. vegan white chocolate (recipe follows)
1 tsp. extra virgin coconut oil
dried banana chips

This one might be good with peanut or almond butter incorporated into it somehow. Haven't tried it yet... but not a bad idea, huh?!

1. Heat the dark chocolate in a microwave safe glass bowl for 15 seconds at a time, stirring well in between each time. It can burn easily so don't go anywhere.

2. Once the chocolate is just melted and becoming smooth, stir in the coconut oil. Allow this to come to room temperature, stirring often. This only takes 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Melt your white chocolate in a separate microwave safe glass bowl for 15 seconds at a time. Stir it until it is smooth. It will be slightly runnier than the dark chocolate so no oil is needed.

4. Add whole chunks of dried banana to the bottom of the candy bar mold.

5. Plop the cooled dark chocolate and white chocolate into your molds and gently swirl with a toothpick (or your finger, depending on whom you plan to share with). Shake the mold slightly to get out air bubbles and push the chocolate around the banana slices as well as possible. You want them to peek out a bit, but be held in there pretty snug.

6. Sprinkle broken up chunks of dried banana all over the top (which is the bottom) and then gently push to secure them.

7. Place in the fridge for at least an hour before unmolding. I like to gently wrap this in parchment paper and then put it inside a plastic sandwich bag. You can keep this in the fridge for a very long time or out on the counter for a week or so (provided it lasts that long).


Simple Vegan White Chocolate

4 oz. grated cocoa butter
1/2 c. sugar of your choice (cane sugar, coconut sugar or a little less stevia would work well)
1 Tbsp. coconut flour
1 Tbsp. coconut milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1. In a food processor, add your sugar and coconut flour. Process until it resembles powdered sugar.

2. Gently heat your cocoa butter in a microwave safe glass bowl for 15 seconds at a time, stirring well in between each time.

3. Whisk your coconut milk (I scoop the cream right off the top of a can of full fat coconut milk) and vanilla into the melted cocoa butter. Continue whisking in your powdered sugar a little bit at a time until everything is uniformly incorporated and smooth.

4. Pour your white chocolate mixture into a candy bar mold or spread on wax paper. Place in fridge to cool for at least 2 hours.


Tip: You can use any kind of chocolate you like for these recipes. Use your favorite brand of chocolate bar or baking chips, anything will work. But if you don't wish to shell out $6 for a 10 oz. package of good vegan dark chocolate (and trust me, I'm with you on that one), look at the cheapest stuff first. I know that seems odd, but ingredients like milk and cream and butter are often more expensive than canola oil or soymilk solids. As long as the product has real cocoa butter and cocoa in it's first ingredients, and it is called chocolate (not "chocolaty"), then you've just found cheap, vegan chocolate.

So that's it! Beautiful, fancy chocolate bars that won't break the bank. You can be as creative as you like; using a wide variety of chocolates, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, cereals, spices, whatever. And what looks better than an original chocolate creation when you have visitors or you're gift giving?

I really hope I've left you feeling inspired to try this. Happy chocolate making!

Peace!
 - Ali

Taco Time!

I don't think I'm the only one with a taco obsessed family. It's really a perfect family friendly food. When I was a kid, it seemed really special. There was something about making my own food decisions that I always liked (such as; do I want cheese or a lot of cheese?). Back then, taco night generally started out with a pound of ground hamburger, some spices, shredded iceberg lettuce, cheese, salsa and sour cream. These things got stuffed any way I wanted into a crunchy shell. That was so much fun!

Now, I am gluten free and vegan. Almost none of my meals start with a pound of ground hamburger, cheese or sour cream. So one might think that my tacos would be seriously lacking. One might think that vegan tacos suck. But they totally don't!

The best part about tacos is that they are already, pretty much gluten free. I buy hard shell and soft corn tortillas. Don't bother getting anything fancy, like soft white or multigrain. Just plain, cheap, corn is perfect!

The next part is figuring out what kind of filling you want. I have 2 favorites. The first is totally cheating! I generally don't encourage people to eat processed foods, and I don't like to eat fractionated soy products. Having said that, it's kinda' awesome! I saute some onions and other mixed veggies (for example: carrots, celery, peppers, or whatever) with Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo.

Simple, you're done. Do whatever you want at this point. Serve with lettuce, black olives, green onion, salsa, and maybe some Daiya Cheddar Cheeze. Yummy! There's dinner.

But I like to make things a bit more healthful (complicated). So here is my favorite option. Tempeh! First of all, it's cheap and relatively easy to find. Second, much like tofu, it's extremely versatile. It pretty much has no flavor apart from a mild nuttiness, so it kinda' tastes like whatever you put on it. Last, I like it for it's nutritional content. It's loaded with protein and fiber, healthy monounsaturated fats, B vitamins, Manganese, it's low in sodium and is cultured to make it a probiotic food; great for digestion.

If you have a problem with soy for any reason, you can find black bean and garbonzo bean tempeh products as well as recipes for making your own here: http://www.lalibelafarm.com/tempeh.htm and http://www.culturesforhealth.com/tempeh-starter.html

Tempeh Tacos

Ingredients:
1 package plain tempeh
1/2 finely chopped red onion
1 finely chopped carrot
1 rib finely chopped celery
1/2 finely chopped red pepper
2 Tbsp. low or no sodium taco spices
(I used Mrs. Dash Salt-Free Fiesta Lime)
1-2 Tbsp. liquid amino acids (or gluten free, low sodium soy sauce or tamari)
Cooking Instructions:
1. Chop the tempeh into little cubes. Crumble a bit into a pan with a couple spoonfuls of water. Cover and alow to steam on medium heat for about 10 minutes.

2. Add your chopped veggies and alow those to soften with the top off. Begin to stir and break apart the chunks with a wooden spoon.

3. When the water evaporates out, add your spices and liquid aminos. As it browns, it will begin to resemble taco "meat."

Yields: this should feed about 4 people each 2 tacos

Once your taco filling is made you can get really creative. The picture above is a double decker taco with refried black beans on a soft corn tortilla around a crispy blue corn tortilla with my tempeh filling, corn and black bean salsa, avocado, and vegan "sour cream." Recipes follow.

Just about this time last year, I was having a picnic fiesta in the park. This is how I chose to pack my picnic:

Tempeh Taco Filling. Check!
Corn and Black Bean Salsa. Check!
Pickled Raddishes. Check!
Shredded Red Cabbage and Cilantro. Check!
Vegan Sour Cream. Check!
Sliced Avocado and Limes. Check!
Crispy and Soft Corn Tortillas. Check! not pictured
Crispy Sweet Potato Strings. Check! not pictured
Green Tea Sangria. Check! not pictured

You can have this tonight for dinner or plan your own picnic fiesta in a park! The best thing about this is that it is unassembled (so it travels remarkably well), and it's vegan (so it keeps incredibly long).

I love crispy tacos best!
Yum!








 No wait! I love soft tacos best!
 Mmm... me gusta tacos!







Corn and Black Bean Salsa

1 c. frozen corn, thawed
1 c. canned black beans, well rinsed
1/2 diced red pepper
1/2 diced jalapeno (add more or less depending on your heat tolerance)
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp. lime juice (about a half a juicy lime)
salt to taste

1. Toss these ingredients together and alow the flavors to mingle. Easy Peasy!


Vegan "Sour Cream"

1 brick firm tofu
1 Tbsp. liquid amino acids (or gluten free, low sodium soy sauce or tamari)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
fresh herbs such as chives or cilantro

1. Add the first 3 ingredients to your blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Taste to make sure the flavors are balanced and appealing. Add herbs if desired.


Pickled Radishes

8-10 radishes, thin sliced
1 shallot, thin sliced
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. orange juice, fresh is best
1 tsp. nitrate free pickling spices
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt

1. Toss the ingredients together. Allow at least 2 hours to marinate. They are best left in the fridge overnight.


Sweet Potato Strings

1 sweet potato
olive oil spray or mist
cumin
paprika
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt

1. If you have a spiralizer... get it out! Otherwise, chop your sweet potato into matchsticks.

2. Layer your sweet potato "squiggles" or slices onto a pan lined with parchment paper.

3. Spray your sweet potato with olive oil and add a dash of your spices, sugar and salt. Toss gently and repeat until everything is just lightly coated.

4. Put this in your oven at it's lowest setting (mine goes to 150 F.) for at least 4 hours. Check every now and again to toss and make sure it is drying properly. You do not want any burned or blackened edges.

These keep for weeks once they are dry and crispy. Pack them into plastic sandwich baggies and keep in a cool dry place.


Green Tea Sangria

4 green tea bags
1 liter no-sodium soda water
1/4 c. sweetener (honey, agave, brown rice syrup, or a little less stevia would work well)
1 lemon, sliced
1 lime, sliced
1 orange, sliced

1. Boil 2 cups of water and add your 4 tea bags. Alow to steep for at least 10 minutes. While the tea is hot, add your sweetener. I used a mixture of agave and stevia. This should not taste sweet, but rather mild and pleasant with a strong green tea flavor.

2. Add your soda water and layer in the citrus fruits. Make it look pretty!

3. Chill the entire mixture in the fridge for a couple hours or overnight. Enjoy with friends on a hot day!


I really hope you try this. It might completely change your mind about how you do taco night!

Peace!
 - Ali

Pizza Night

So, we have pizza night altogether too often in my house. Since it is everybody's favorite food, it seemed the ideal place to start. For most people who avoid gluten and/or dairy products, it is the absolute, number one craved food that just never quite delivers the way it used to. Gluten free pizza crusts can be stiff and dry and horrible, while also usually being made with ingredients like eggs and milk. For those of us who avoid dairy, it can be much worse. I mean, I used to buy pizza that boasted it was made with a whole pound of cheese! So what's pizza without cheese?

The answer is Fantastic!

Before I start sharing recipes, I should quickly make a statement. I love to cook and bake. I've been doing it for years and over the years my cooking methods have changed and evolved and continue to do so. Most of my recipes are my own, but some are taken and revised from other people. I will make my best attempt to give credit where credit is due, and I will also attempt to add links when I can. Otherwise, you can assume that my recipes have been tried and tested and perfected in my own kitchen. This is the way I like to eat and feed my family and friends, but I am not a nutritionist and I cannot diagnose or cure anybody's ailments. I just want to share.

So the first thing I need to do is give you a proper crust recipe. I have tried dozens of recipes and this is the only one that I have ever liked; and I don't just like it. I love it! It is relatively easy and has most things that most gluten free vegans will have on hand. I can't swear that it will be perfect if you monkey with the recipe, but feel free to do what you want to do. This is the way I like it best.


Gluten Free Pizza Dough










 Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 1/3 c. plain nondairy milk (not vanilla!)
(I like hemp milk best, but almond or soy would work fine. Also, if you make your own or buy unsweetened milk then you need to add a tsp. of sugar.)

2 c. gluten free flour mix (I like Bob's Red Mill AP Gluten Free)
1/3 c. brown rice flour
2 tsp. xanthan gum (every gluten free kitchen should have this)
(It's expensive but it lasts forever!)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Italian herbs (I like basil and oregano)

2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. cider vinegar

Cooking Instructions:
1. Put your pizza stone or baking pan into the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees .

2. Heat the milk in the microwave so that it is warm. Combine the milk with the sugar and yeast in a small mixing bowl. Let your liquid mixture sit and “proof” while you get the dry ingredients ready.

3. Combine the flour mix, herbs, salt and xanthan gum.

4. Add the oil and vinegar to the yeast mixture, which should have some air bubbles by now. Then add all of liquid ingredients into the flour mixture and mix well with your hands.

5. Place the dough onto a heavily floured rolling board (I use brown rice flour) and knead the dough for a few minutes, working in the rice flour until you dough is pliable and not sticky. I actually don't over mix this one, so it stays a bit squishy inside.

6. Roll the dough out into a circle that is approximately 1/8″ thick. A bit more brown rice flour or cornmeal make this a little easier to maneuver) Move the crust to a hot pizza stone or pregreased pizza pan (a pizza peel or large cutting board makes moving the crust into and out of the oven much easier) and bake at 400 degrees until the top of the crust gets just a hint of color.

7. Remove the crust from the oven. Add all of your toppings, and then put back in the oven to bake until your toppings look done.

Yields: 1 huge squishy, chewy 14-16 in pizza or 2 thin crust 12-14 in pizzas
(I like to double the recipe and make 3 crusts; 2 for the 4 of us and one for the freezer.)

This recipe is modified from a very unique recipe I found at http://www.glutenfreecookingschool.com/archives/rolling-in-dough-homemade-pizza-crust/


So now is the fun part! In my house, the boys are quite carnivorous. One pizza is always pepperoni and cheese, every single time. My daughter and I love veggies on our pizza. She is not a vegan, but we avoid dairy together and she loves vegetables!

This pizza was half pesto, half marinara with red pepper, black olives, and baby 'bella mushrooms. This is actually really great baked up just like this and sprinkled with fresh herbs or even topped with a lightly dressed arugula salad. Of course, for my daughter, we had to make it cheezy!

So, vegans, have no fear! I blended my favorite Daiya cheese with the slightly cheaper Soysations and topped the veggie pizza with it. It was so super yummy, and cheezy, and perfectly chewy! I like to garlic butter the crust with a bit of melted Earth Balance, garlic salt, and Italian herbs. It's just like the pizza shops, only I'm eating it! Yay!

So I hope you enjoyed this first recipe post and try this recipe! You will not regret it! It is the perfect pizza party and if you plan ahead, you can do this at a moment's notice.

Peace!
- Ali

So... that was then. This is now.

It's been a couple years since I've tried keeping up with my blog. It's a hassle sometimes, and I never really feel like anybody wants to read my stupid ramblings. That is why I've decided to ramble less and cook more.

I'll quickly update you on my life. The last year sucked! I tried really hard to make the most of it and be optimistic, but it still sucked! Oh well, that is over now and so much has changed in the past few months. Things are really great right now and continue to get better.

First of all, I moved. It was not an easy move, but quite necessary. I am living in Oregon now and absolutely loving it! It is beautiful here! There are so many things to do all the time. It is a big outdoorsy city, and I'm already getting excited about all of the things I want to do and see. It's very exciting for me!

The Carnivore and I have new jobs, and we both like them a lot. I would like to start cooking professionally again or teaching or both, but right now I am a waitress and that is good enough for me. The move was quite expensive, and we have both been in recoup mode. So this works for now.

The kids are awesome! My daughter is already Miss Popularity in her new school. My son will be in Kindergarten in the fall. And, oh man! Am I excited to have my days back?! It's nice to spend all day, everyday with my son... but it's time for him to get around some other kids and start being a bit independent. He's ready for it too. He's such a smart little fella'!

So that's about it. I've got a fresh start and I'm ready to make the most of it. This will be one of my last lengthy, boring posts. Now it's time to get creative with my blog and really enjoy it. That was then, this is now. Let's make something fun!

Peace!
 - Ali