Monday, November 16, 2009

small victories

A few months ago, I exclaimed to my co-workers that I had made pizza at home. I don't think they understood how amazing it is to have pizza that was actually good.

The recipe comes from the Betty Hagman book, but I'm a firm believer in the buckwheat flour (which is not what the recipe in her book calls for):

Thin Pizza Crust

Let sit until bubbly (about 10 minutes):

1 1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar

Add:

2/3 c. rice flour
1/3 c. tapioca starch
2 tbsp buckwheat flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp salt

The consistency will be similar to frosting. Spread on a buttered pan. Bake at 425 for about 10 minutes, then add toppings and bake another half hour or so until browned.

Part of the victorious feeling that came from this recipe is the discovery that rice flour and tapioca starch can be purchased in the asian section of the grocery store for about 15% of what the bob's red mill costs. So wonderful.

Another flour that is amazing is millet flour, although I have a harder time finding millet flour in the store so I've been using buckwheat more often.

Another victory: rice noodles. These are about the same price as regular gluten free pastas, which is nice. They taste fantastic and are delicious when made into Pad Thai.

This summer we made strawberry, raspberry, raspberry-lime, and amber raspberry jam, all of which were amazing. It's so nice to have a stock of jam that didn't come from the store. The raspberry-lime is by far my favorite.

Another summer discovery: half pecks of basil at the farmer's market. All summer we would go and buy a huge bag of basil (for only $8!!). I would make a huge batch of pesto, so we had fresh pesto all summer long. We kept a big container in the refrigerator... great for sandwiches, eggs, and pasta (of course).

So those are the victories of the summer: buckwheat flour, delicious crispy crust pizza, raspberry jam, pesto. Wonderful.

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