Monday, January 7, 2013

Cauliflower Crust Pizza



As I mentioned in the previous post, Lauren and I love to bake together. I also mentioned that we made Paleo Nut Bread, Cauliflower Crust Pizza, and Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies over Christmas break. 

This pizza was perfect, seriously delicious. I plan to make it again and again, and it was so easy too! Lauren originally found the recipe here, but of course we tweaked it. Her crust seemed very un-crust-like, so we decided squeezing the cauliflower in a dish towel would do the trick of getting the extra liquid out. This gets rid of every last bit of unwanted moisture and allows the crust to firm up. We also topped it differently since neither of us wanted bacon and we had no spinach in the house. Our toppings included kale, chicken, onions, and green peppers. Since I don't eat cheese, we made it without cheese, but feel free to add it if you want. For that matter, feel free to top it with whatever you want!



Makes two 9-inch pizza crusts

Ingredients:


Cauliflower Crust:

1 Head cauliflower
2 Egg whites
Spoonful of coconut flour
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning (oregano, marjoram, thyme, basil, rosemary, sage)

Toppings:

Tomato basil pizza sauce
Kale
Chicken
Spinach
Onions
Black olives
Green peppers

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Rinse and grate cauliflower into a rice-like texture using cheese grater
3. Put cauliflower "rice" in a large pot, add a small amount of water, and steam till soft.
4. Drain then put cauliflower in thin dish towel and squeeze out rest of liquid. Let cool.
5. Take your cooled down cauliflower and add spices, eggs whites and spoonful of coconut flour to bind it. Mix and separate into even portions.
6. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet. Mold each portion into a pie crust on your paper and place into hot oven.
7. Cook crust for 10-15 minutes or until it feels firm (it will depend on how thick you make the pies and how wet the cauliflower is.)
8. While crust is cooking cut up toppings and brown in pan over stove.
9. Take crust out of oven, add sauce, and layer your toppings. Put back in oven for 5 more minutes.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Paleo Nut Bread

Paleo Nut BreadI am not home from college very often, but when I am home you will undoubtedly find me cooking something new with one of my best friends, Lauren. Lauren and I have had many kitchen adventures together and always end up making the tastiest things- not without learning a lesson or two first.

This Christmas break we decided to make Paleo Nut Bread, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Cauliflower Crust Pizza. I originally found this nut bread recipe on A Tasty Love Story blog, and it caught my eye.

You may be wondering, "What in the world does Paleo mean?".... because I know that's what I was thinking! So, like any young scholar, I looked it up! Paleo is short for Paleolithic, and it is a type of diet. Other names for this diet are "the caveman diet" and "the hunter-gatherer diet." To keep it simple, if you can't pick it or kill it, then you can't eat it. The diet consists mainly of meats, fish, nuts, fruits, roots, regional veggies and leafy greens, and seeds. It excludes grains, dairy products, legumes, potatoes, and refined sugar. Just to clarify though, just because I'm making paleo bread, does not mean I follow this diet. I just thought it looked yummy, and it was!

This bread is packed with protein, calcium, fiber, healthy fats, and good cholesterol. Beware though, it's pretty high in calories (one loaf is 4,000), so don't go eating five slices in one sitting. One slice will fill you up for quite some time because of all the nutrients inside! 

Enough with the talking, here it is!
Paleo Nut Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups almonds
1 cup walnuts
1 1/2 cup seeds: *flaxseeds, *sesame seeds, chia seeds (use two)
3 eggs
4 egg whites

1/3 cup coconut oil
A pinch of salt

1 Tbsp honey

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 325 °F
 and line bread pan with parchment paper
2. Grind 1.5 cup almonds and 1 cup walnuts to flour-like texture.
3. Chop the last part of almonds a little less refined.
4. Grind seeds to flour like texture. If using sesame seeds, be sure to not grind too much as it will turn into tahini paste very quickly.
5. In a bowl combine all of the ingredients and stir well together. Pour batter into prepared pan
6. Bake in oven for 50-60 min. Let it cool before removing from the pan.


**The bread keeps moist and delicious up to a week in the fridge. You can easily freeze it as well.



Saturday, January 5, 2013

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

This one is a staple in the Hawkins' household. I can't even tell you how much hummus we go through. In the summers, when red peppers are in-season, we make our own. Last summer, I tried four different recipes, messed with the ingredient proportions of them all, and finally came upon what I like to call "the perfect hummus." Not going to lie, I brag about how good my hummus is a lot- but then again, so does my family- so it must be pretty dang good.

Eventually I will get my own picture. It's a working progress.

There are two keys to making this recipe delicious: roasting your own peppers, and using cayenne pepper. Peppers from a jar really cannot compare in taste to roasting your own. Also, the cayenne pepper adds a little kick- not a lot- just a little. We're not talking spicy here, just a little edge.

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves
1.5-2 cups cooked chickpeas (15oz can)
3 roasted red peppers
1/4 cup tahini
5 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
2 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste
1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
       

Directions: 

1. Roast red peppers by pithing each pepper and cutting in 3 pieces. Place on pizza stone covered in tin foil.
2. Put in oven on 2nd highest rack at 500 degrees on broil for 15 minutes until blackened.
3.Take out and wrap in tin foil for 20-25 minutes to soften skin. Peel and throw away skin.
4. Place all ingredients in food processer (I use our vita-mix) and blend until smooth.