A Little Pizza Pizzaz

I made gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan pizza crusssssst! Oh yeah, oh yeah! Woot, woot! *insert happy kitchen dance*
You may or may not realize that I am gluten-free.  I also try to avoid refined sugars like they're going out of style (which they are, btw) and nasty processed, dyed cheeses (hence the creamy goat cheese and raw mozzarella you see pictured above).  Also, for those of you who care, it is GUM FREE!
And do you know what is on that lovely, chewy, thick WHOLE GRAIN crust? Fresh, homemade, local, vegan pesto!
And to top it off, Sam even liked it!

Here's what creation phase looked like:

Mmmm flour mix, olive oil, yeast                                       mozz and goat cheese                                              pesto, spinach, tomatoes 

And here is the dough rising, just like my Mama taught me:

 Sam put on the toppings and cut it up to eat. Yum!


Now that you're good and hungry, go make yourself something delicious!  And whether it has animal, gluten, or veggies in it, make it organic and, if possible, local! Enjoy creating, ducklings :)

A Ratio Revelation

 

 

I've just stumbled across something that has changed my life.  Or at the least, my kitchen's life.  One word:

Ratios.

If you're a chef, a restaurant conisseur, or just really really into baking, you know what I'm talking about.  If you're like the pre-60 minutes ago me, then you haven't a clue as to what you are missing.  A word of caution here - if you're happy in your blissful state of every-day cooking ignorance, like to keep things straight and simple, and you don't ever deviate from the recipes in your most trusted cookbook, then stop reading now.

No, seriously.  No offense and  none taken.

Ok, now for the rest of you.  Maybe this is just for me actually, as I do feel a bit behind the boat on this recent revelation I'm celebrating with you all.  Did you know that it does not matter what amounts of food you need to make just so long as you know the ratio for that particular creation?

For example, according to Shauna over at Gluten-free Girl and the Chef, which is where I was given this epiphany, cakes are a ratio of one.  That's it.  Simple straightforward one.  

All of baking is comprised of four components: flour, liquid, eggs, and fat.  Every baked creation is a ratio of these four components, then sometimes salt/baking soda or powder/sugar is added - but not always.

So, going back to our cake example, Shauna explained that perfect, traditional cake, is simply equal parts each of flour, egg, fat, and liquid.  Traditionally, the fat is butter and the liquid is milk.  Also traditionally, the flour is AP baking flour, but of course, as evidenced in Shauna's name and as you'll soon realize here with me, our flours are always of the non-gluten variety.  

By the way, on that note, GF is a huge, flavorful, free world and DO NOT let anyone convince you it is anything but!

Not only are there cakes but also for pancakes, crepes, muffins, breads ... you get the idea.  So please, swing on over to Shauna's blog and check it out!  She really is amazing and I'm sure it won't take you long to fall in blog-love with her.

Hmm? What's that? Oh, you thought this was my first blog post and you're confused at the lack of 'previous posts' link down below?  Well, that's because it is my first post!

Anyhoo, I thought about doing a lame, boring, self-centered first blog post all about me, my interests, blah blah blah.  But that's not really who I am.

Who am I, then? Well, keep reading and you'll find out the way all good things in life are meant to be discovered - through experience (hi, Dad)!  After all, blogging is born out of a desire for relationship - whichever side of the keyboard your might find yourself sitting on.

So, welcome.  I'm so glad you're here! And yes, darlings, I do respond to comments and emails.

xx,

Katie