Did someone say pizza?

We've had some wild and wooly weather here in Victoria lately! The winds have been keeping the SES busy with fallen trees etc, and Marty spent almost all day and night with them on Tuesday. We also helped another customer yesterday and today! It was one of those times we're glad to see the end of that computer and that project of wedding photos. ;)

Mom, you asked if the pizza's were home-made.. Yep! We can't get gluten free, dairy free and tomato free pizzas at the local store.. so here's how to make them:


First we start with the "No-Tomato Sauce"

Ingredients
2 ½ cups carrots (steamed)
½ cup beetroot (steamed)
2/3 cups water
3 Tbs lemon juice
1 ½ tsp salt
1 Tbs basil
1/8 tsp oregano
¾ cups chives (chopped)

Directions
Steam carrots and beets until tender.
Measure all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. (Or into a bowl and mix with a electric hand mixer.)

We use that like tomato paste. Then we cheat by using a pre-mix pizza-base packet from the supermarket. It's a mixture of gluten free flours and we just add the water and yeast. Makes life a little easier!

Roll out the dough onto pizza trays.. spread No Tomato Sauce on top..



Then add toppings. In our case, mushroom, mince, pineapple and chives/basil/herbs. Some would argue that it's not pizza without cheese, but they look like pizzas to us!



I never get to take a picture of the pizza after they're cooked, because they're gone too quickly! Luckily there is plenty of leftover sauce for the next day's gluten free pasta, gluten free lasagne.. or - of course - more pizza! We mean to try chicken instead of mincemeat next time, too.

This is all making me very hungry. I better finish tonight's dinner - roast meat and vegetables. Until next time!

Bread!

I just had to show off the bread we made the other day. Since we can't eat any store-bought bread anymore, we experimented, adapting a different gluten-free bread recipe to our own needs. This is the outcome!





It's almost unbelievable to see such a loaf - after all the loaves we've tried in the past, this is by far the very best bread we've made! Of course, the most important part is the taste.. and this loaf did not disappoint there either. It didn't taste overwhelming or heavy. It did have a different smell about it than "normal" bread, but we can certainly live with that. (The smell was caused by the olive oil - since replaced by rice bran oil to overcome this.)

Now, for the recipe:

Dry Ingredients:
½ cup potato flour / starch
½ cup tapioca flour
1 cup rice flour
1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup maize cornflour
2/3 tablespoon guar gum
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons yeast

Wet Ingredients:
2 tablespoons rice bran oil
2 eggs
about 350ml lukewarm water (blood heat)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

We sifted all the dry ingredients into a large bowl, made a well in the centre and added the yeast last. Then we added the wet ingredients (about 200ml (6.5oz) of lukewarm water at this stage), and let it stand for a few minutes. Then we mixed it all together, gradually adding more lukewarm water as needed to form a thick cake-mix consistency. Then we poured it all into a loaf pan (which is coated in an allowed margarine), and popped it in a 190°C (375°F) oven for about 30 minutes.

There isn't any kneeding or rising involved in making this gluten free bread, which makes things even simpler. It cut without crumbling to pieces, and we stored the slices in the freezer and used it for yummy toast for days afterward. We'll be making this bread again, for sure!

** This bread recipe has been modified replace the xanthan gum after a suspected reaction to it **

** We will use less sugar next time, as it tastes slightly sweeter than we're use to these days **