Chewy, Flexible, Crunchy Gluten Free Pizza Crust!

I loooooooooooove pizza because I loooooooooooooove bread.  LOVE IT!  I can not stress my affection for bread enough.  During my trials of eating Raw Vegan, Gluten Free, and now Paleo, I can easily say chewy, artisan, crispy, wheat, gluten loaded bread is by far what I jones for the most.

When I have a "cheat meal," I try to keep some sort of goodness intact, so the other day I decided to make pizza with a homemade gluten free pizza crust when I came across this recipe on Pinterest.  I noticed in the post the blogger said she would eventually like to tinker with adding psyllium husk and reducing the starch level, so my first go around with this recipe, I did just that...but I wasn't totally "on" with my proportions.  Since it was my cheat meal, and I was willing to deal with the starch content, I decided to not be too concerned with the starch level and simply "improve" (IMO) on the original crust's texture by adding my new favorite ingredient, psyllium husk powder.  I love the "chew" this ingredient adds to GF breads.

Well, after some trials, the following recipe is an alternative to Zen Belly's recipe that I've come up with it...and I think it's amazeballs.  It's light, it's chewy, it's got some crisp to it, it rises beautifully, it stays thin crust, is easy to spread/shape, and has baking properties of "normal" bread.  Let me know what you think!  And, NO NASTY XANTHAN GUM!

Gluten Free/Grain Free Pizza Crust (nom, nom, nom, nom...)

• 2 1/4 tsp. yeast (1 packet)
• 1 Tbs. raw honey
• 1/2 cup of very warm (not scalding hot) water
  

• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 3/4 cup tapioca starch
• 2 Tbs. psyllium husk powder
• 1/5 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. kosher/sea salt
  

• 1 Tbs. olive or coconut oil or Ghee
• 1 egg white (slightly whipped)
• 1.5 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Directions:
In a liquid measuring cup, combine the warm water, yeast, and honey.  Stir until all is dissolved, and set aside to activate and become foamy (appx 10min).

In a stand mixer, or stand alone bowl with hand mixer, add the dry ingredient.  Quickly mix to incorporate.  Add oil, egg white, and vinegar to the yeast mixture.  Stir to combine, and then add to the dry ingredient in mixing bowl.  Mix all ingredients together.  The mixture will be VERY wet, but this is necessary because the psyllium husk will "gel" over time causing the mixture to thicken substantially.  Add pizza dough to a greased bowl, and set in a warm spot to rise appx. 1-1.5 hours.

 very wet after just mixing

much firmer after rising for a little over an hour

risen dough turned out onto parchment lined baking sheet.  See those bubbles and texture?!

Simply use your hands to spread the dough between parchment paper and plastic wrap (I used Press N' Seal") into your desired shape.  The plastic wrap will peel right off.

 (The crust needs to be pre-baked before loading with toppings.  Do so at a fairly high temp like 425F until the crust browns over.  You do not want to under-bake this crust.  The pysllium husk keeps the bread VERY moist.)

Once pre-baked, load it up with yumminess, pop it back in a very high heat oven, and finish off with a broil on top!  I like my pizzas well done, but I can assure you the crust was NOT over-cooked, was still VERY "foldable", but yet had a great crunch on that outer ring.

SO.  GOOD.

Humane or Inhumane?

Recently, I had to "put down" another fur baby, my Cinna.  I originally adopted Cinna after having to put down my "Del."  I lost both to cancer in a about a 2 year span.  Just when my heart was beginning to mend from Del, it broke again with the passing of Cinna.  I miss them both terribly.

Since the subject of euthanasia has been on my mind frequently the past two years, I've found myself contemplating the ethical, humanistic, religious, and emotional viewpoints that often accompany the subject.  In particular, phrases of condolence such as: "[the animal] is so thankful to you for ending his/her pain" and "it's the humane way to die" and "don't let them suffer; you can ease their pain" run over and over again in my head while in the throws of grief.

I, personally, believe in the validity of all those phrases of support and compassion, but I also know that some of those offering those phrases don't necessarily believe their own spoken convictions when it comes to care of the terminally ill in their own species.  I'm talking about Assisted Suicide, Human Euthanasia, and "The Right to Die," which is illegal in most states.  How come I have never received a "don't help them pass over" or "let them suffer as long as long as possible" or "the humane thing to do is to let them die slowly and suffer through the inevitable" when dealing with my sick pups?

I'm not here to point fingers or attempt to change one's preference or personal beliefs on the subject matter , but I would like to open conversation for the reasoning behind a person's different set of standards for the acceptance of euthanasia for animals but the non-acceptance of euthanasia for human beings.  And, to be perfectly clear, I'm strictly speaking of the acceptance of euthanasia in the context of terminal disease and suffering, NOT elective suicide provoked by Depression, other emotional health disorders, or "undesirable" birth defects or disorders.

In Love and Remembrance of Del... 

...and Cinna

"Good For You" Mayo

I mean "good for you" as in using high quality oils.  Check out THIS link for a informative guide on the goods and bads of oils.

I have a love/hate relationship with making mayonnaise.  It is either kind to me or a complete asshole.  Once you get a process down that works for you, STICK with it.  There are many different approaches to making mayo.  Here is mine.  It's really not difficult, but if I stray from these measurements, my food processor decides to hate me and will "break" the the mayo.

I've used avocado oil, walnut oil, macadamia oil, extra-light olive oil, and mixtures of these.  They all make great tasting mayo, but I would say the extra-light olive oil is definitely my least favorite, and the others are all amazing.  The picture below was made using half avocado oil and half walnut oil, and it was super yummy.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt (more or less to taste)
• juice of 1/2 small lemon
• 1 cup "healthy" oil listed above

In a food processor, add the egg, extra yolk, and lemon juice (have the dry mustard and salt set aside ready to go).  Pour oil into a liquid measuring cup.  Turn on food processor with egg mixture.  Through the lid's opening, SLOWLY begin to TRICKLE in the oil.  We're talking not even the tiniest of streams....quick drop by drop type movement.  Keep doing this until the emulsion begins to take place.  The color will begin to lighten, and the sound will become a more heavy "slapping" sound instead of a splashing one.

Once you see the emulsion taking place and becoming stable, you can increase the oil flow to a SLIGHT "stream."  Once you get about halfway through the oil, and the mayo has started to form, add the mustard and salt.  Continue slowly adding the rest of the oil until finished.  Voila!  Hopefully, you have mayo at this point!

Want to get creative???  You can flavor your mayo!  Here are some great add in's: chipotle peppers, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, a little sugar, Tabasco, lime juice or ACV vinegar instead of lemon, herbs like dill or parsley, curry powder, fresh garlic, and the list goes on!

Homemade mayo really is so superior to the commercial stuff, and when you use healthy oils in place of the unhealthy ones, it really can bean enjoyable treat for not just your tastebuds, but your healthful body, too :-)