I used to work at a bakery, a really delicious and famous bakery in Boston.  Every morning the chef would prepare small individual size pizzas for the lunch rush, and every morning I was surprised and delighted by his choice of topping.  My favorite was caramelized onion, gorgonzola and peach- the combination of sweet with savory and pungent has stayed with me to this day.

Today, I finally got to re-visit that palate.  This pizza is gluten-free and vegan and is absolutely delicious.  I made a cashew “cheese” with a sharp taste reminiscent of gorgonzola and substituted peach for a mango that I had on hand.  I think that I now prefer the mango- juicier and sweeter.

I loosely followed this recipe by doubling the amounts and substituting the rice flour for millet and dusting the dough with coarsely ground flax seed.  This is definitely the best GF pizza I have made to date.  I also liked baking the dough first and then adding the ingredients after removing the dough from the oven.

This one is a keeper.

Left-overs make the best next-day brunch.  Homemade bean-sweet potato burgers with spicy dill sauce and roasted potato wedges balance out a brunch of fruit and veggies. 

I’ve been experimenting with baking muffin recipes as mini bread loaves in my mini cast iron pan.  I love the results- its like eating the best part of the muffin, the crunchy top!  Elaine should have tried this in that Seinfeld episode, then there would be no need to get rid of all the muffin bottoms…

I’ve been craving coffee cake lately, a lightly sweet cake with a delicate crumb.  Achieving this whilst also being gluten-free proved to be a challenge. 

Starting with this recipe, I substituted the all-purpose flour with a mixture of brown rice and sorghum flours, arrowroot and potato starch.  I added a layer of strawberry-rhubarb pudding (made a few days ago) and topped off with a brown sugar-walnut streusel.  End result, while tasty with the perfect amount of sweetness, lacked that delicate crumb. 

Plan of action for 2nd attempt:

- change flour combo- 1/2 c br rice/ 3/4 c millet / 1/2 c arrowroot / 1/4 c potato starch

- no need for xantham gum- too chewy!

- use oil instead of earth balance (taste of earth balance interferes with overall taste)

- use pecans instead of walnuts (had run-out of pecans for this go-around)

My obsession with hot sauce has lead me to experiment with my own homemade versions.  I love sriracha,  so I thought this would be the perfect starting point.

This recipe involved “fermenting” the chopped peppers and garlic in a jar with apple cider vinegar and salt for a few days.  I let mine sit for 2 days and filled the jar with enough vinegar to almost completely cover the peppers and garlic.  I also removed most of the seeds for fear that the sauce would be too hot for consumption.

This hot sauce attempt resulted in a medium-hot and slightly-fermented tasting hot sauce.  Notes for attempt #2:

- leave all the seeds in (could have used some extra kick)

- try other types of peppers (I used fresno peppers)

- try other types of vinegar

- ferment for longer period or not at all

The freshness is amazing and I don’t think I will buy another bottle from the store again!