Book of Yum

Lately I’ve been thinking about American cuisine and its characteristics, merits and demerits. Whenever the topic of American food comes up, it seems like one of several things happen. Either people start talking about Idaho grown potatoes, beef and apple pie, or they shrug their shoulders and start listing American cafeteria food- Hamburgers, french fries, pizza. Or, if they are me, they start thinking about all the international influences and fusion foods that co-exist here and finally shrug their shoulders without answering. You can learn a lot about someone’s eating philosophy by asking them to talk about American food. Personally, I love the international cuisines and diverse ingredients available in big American cities like San Francisco, New York, and Seattle.

I also love the sophisticated vegan and vegetarian products and options that are so easily available to us, although veganism actually originated in the UK in 1944 with the creation of the UK Vegan society so cannot be claimed as an “American” invention. But, it’s certainly relatively easy to be vegan or vegetarian in the US, in contrast to countries where vegetarian means you only want a little bit of chicken with that stir fry, and Japan where a dish without a fish product is like a sandwich without bread. (I know, I know, I’m speaking to the gluten free here, and I’m sure many a corn tortilla etc. is being defiantly brandished in my general direction. But just work with me here… ) Feeling that I really ought to put my sense of ethics into practice, some time after I had become a vegetarian I tried being vegan. And yes, I fell off the bandwagon, and have since reconciled myself to the fact that currently a more flexible diet is better for my lifestyle. I think they call it being a flexitarian, , or, as I call it sometimes, “wimpy half vegetarian.” Yup, that’s me. But whether or not I stuck to the vegan diet, the fact is, I learned a lot about food and invention from the vegan diet, which is now why I have half a bookshelf full of vegan cookbooks. My favorites are Joanne Stephanoik, Sarah Kramer, and that firebrand, Isa Moskowitz. I think vegetarian or vegan diet resources are fabulous for gluten free folks with other intolerances such as dairy or eggs, because it’s all about replacing these things with creative alternatives that yes, have a yum factor. Because whether you’re gluten free or vegetarian, taste matters. We have taste buds, and my theory is, we might as well make them happy and ourselves too!

So with that lengthy introduction- Lately I’ve been playing with pizza, and thinking about dairy and egg intolerances and seeing just how far we can push the boring old “American” pizza, with its Italian lineage but the marvelous ability to be transformed by local tastes and flavors. Definitions of varieties of Italian pizza have become something of a political issue, at least in Italy and some parts of Europe, while here in the states it seems like pizza variety, especially crust has become a point of regional identity. There’s thin New York-style pizza, Chicago-style deep dish pizza, St. Louis-style pizza (apparently it’s a cheese thing), thick crusted New England Greek pizza, Rhode Island Grilled pizza, and finally California-style pizza which Wikipedia describes as “pizza with non-traditional ingredients, especially those that use a considerable amount of fresh produce.” Source: Wikipedia (California Pizza Kitchen is apparently partially responsible for popularizing Thai-inspired, chicken pizza and other innovative combos.) Us gluten free people have our own take on pizza, sometimes informed by our pre-gluten free lifestyle. There’s Amy’s frozen pizzas (available with cheese or dairy free with spinach, my personal favorite), some people swear by premade kinnikinnick or by george etc. pizza crusts, others are fanatical about Chebe pizza.. And then there are the brave rebels who are happy to put pizza toppings on a gluten free bagel (kinninick etc), gluten free toast, corn tortillas, or even soccas, french style chickpea crepes. Then you get into the cookbook gurus- Bette Hagman and Carol Fenster both have dedicated considerable energy to creating yummy pizza crusts. Although I’ve tried many different crusts, my favorite is Carol Fenster’s recipe which she has thoughtfully shared with the public on her web site at www.savorypalate.com. I usually make it with brown rice and tapioca flour, and leave out the yucky gelatin. I like it because she incorporates flavorful Italian seasonings into the crust. It’s also fast, easy to work with, and has a nice “brown” crust. It’s super yum with red tomato pesto rubbed into the crust (even, or especially on the rim).

But lately I’ve been thinking… especially since I’m living in California- I ought to be a little more adventurous with my pizzas than the standard Neapolitan pizza with tomatoes and cheese. How about a really international, dairy free, potentially vegan pizza where the toppings are as adventurous as you dare to make them? Unfortunately, gourmet pizza places generally have nothing to offer me, but reading the menu makes me drool- not because I want any of the yucky gluten, but because the best ones sound like a gorgeous salad minus all the boring lettuce. artichoke hearts, calamata olives, pine nuts, roasted red peppers, mushrooms… This is what I’m talking about.

Some time back a member of the SillyYaks yahoo gluten free group posted a terrific recipe that was inspired by a South African recipe. I was intrigued because it used roasted eggplant and mayonnaise to create a creamy, cheesy topping. Mayonnaise might sound pretty unconventional, but it’s actually a very common topping in Japan, along with seafood and sliced boiled eggs. So, I was willing to give it a try. I grilled the eggplant and garlic, blended it with mayonnaise, and then used it as a topping with grilled vegetables. I added cheese for DH’s half, but it was equally good without- and the mixture of grilled, smoky vegetables and creamy sauce on a pizza crust was actually very good. At the time I added some premade tomato pesto, which also enhanced the flavor. I knew this would be a recipe to return to.

So, Friday night I made my eggplant “Cheese”, Saturday night I made the pizza crust (vegan, from Carol Fenster’s Cooking free pizza mix recipe), grilled vegetables and baked it in the oven until done. It was really good- but since I didn’t have any pesto, I felt like it was missing a certain something. Saturday I made my favorite dairy free pesto recipe. Then I roasted broccolini in the oven with olive oil, grill seasoning, and chopped garlic. I made one more pizza crust, baking it for ten minutes and spread pesto as a base and then covering it with toppings. One side was artichoke hearts and roasted broccolini, with pine nuts, and the other side was artichoke hearts, calamata olives, roasted red pepper, spinach, and pine nuts. I dabbed little gobs of pesto and eggplant mayo on top, put it in the oven, and enjoyed. Mmmmm, yummy. It might make Italian chefs cry into their apron to see their beloved pizza reinvented to be vegan, gluten free and crammed full of toppings, but it made me and my taste buds Very, Very happy. I hope you will like it too. The basil pesto is really very versatile, and good on all sorts of things… sandwiches, pasta, blanched vegetables. Just like with pizza, the possibilities are endless.

Eggplant Mayo Pizza with Grilled Veggies Main Course  Sauces & Condiments  African

The whole big pizza Ingredients Eggplant Mayo cheese Sauce 1 lg eggplant (roasted and skinned) 4 baked garlic cloves 1/2 cup mayo (vegan, regular mayo, or japanese for flavor) salt & pepper Toppings such as: tomato pesto, spinach, portabello mushrooms (grilled), red peppers (grilled), olives, marinated eggplant, pine nuts, and red onion, spinach, fresh basil. Favorite GF pizza crust (I like Carol Fenster’s pizza crust) Directions Blend sauce ingredients in blender. Bake the pizza crust. Top it with grilled veggies and pine nuts, fresh basil etc. Then dabble with globs of eggplant mayo as if you were placing slices of fresh mozzarella on top, and bake until the top is pleasingly brown or at least looks hot and you don’t want to wait any more. Notes The kind of mayonnaise you use makes a huge impact on the flavor. I think Japanese mayonnaise is the ultimate due to its rich, creamy, egg flavor, but it does contain msg so you may or may not want to indulge. Lowfat Mayonnaise may contain too much vinegar so you would want to somehow counterbalance this if you used it. Vegan mayonnaise (I used veganaise this last time) has what to me seems to be a slightly flat, off flavor, and is rather high in calories. Use sparingly and make sure that there are plenty of other flavors to counter this element- and enjoy it for the creamy richness it adds to the dish. Homemade mayonnaise would probably be the cats meow in this dish, but I for one am not ready for that much food commitment. When I am, and finally give it a try, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Rating:  7 Original Source:  SillyYaks message board Recipe ID:  1021 Added:  February 22, 2007 Last Modified:  February 25, 2007

Dairy Free Basil Parsley Pesto Sauces & Condiments  American

Yummmmmy Pesto Ingredients 3 cups basil leaves, destemmed, and packed tightly 1 1/2 cups parsley leaves, destemmed 1/2 cup pine nuts 1/3 cup rice wine or cider vinegar 1/4 cup water 1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes 1/2 cup olive oil 4 cloves roasted garlic salt and pepper Directions In a food processor, place the basil, parsley, and pine nuts, and pulse a few times to roughly chop. Add the vinegar, water, and nutritional yeast flakes, and process for 30 seconds to combine. While the machine is running, add the olive oil and continue to process until smooth. Add roasted garlic, process again, and add salt and pepper to season. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Use to flavor soups, salads, grains, side or main dishes, as a dip or spread for veggies or bread, or as the base for salad dressings or other sauces. Notes ———————————— The fresh dairy free basil pesto I made the other day really DOES improve with age, and I am loving it on pasta, as a topping on Bette Hagman’s french bread, etc. When you first make it, there is a kind of flat undertone which fades as the flavor deepens with time. Highly recommended for basil pesto lovers! You won’t miss the cheese in my opinion, and I love cheese.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  http://www.veganchef.com/bppesto.htm Recipe ID:  1024 Added:  February 24, 2007 Last Modified:  February 25, 2007

In the gluten free world, two authors have emerged as the undisputed masters of gluten free baking- Carol Fenster and Bette Hagman. I love Bette Hagman’s breads based on her four flour blend, which incorporates bean flour and sorghum for amazingly light and elastic gluten free breads. But I’ve also owned Carol Fenster’s cookbooks for years- and while many of her books have been quite successful, her recent book “Cooking Free” has caused a great deal of buzz on gluten free message boards and web sites. Part of the appeal is that she has developed a very flexible flour blend which you can adapt to your personal taste (and allergies). After first ordering this book, I tried a bread with her blend using sorghum, potato starch, tapioca and corn flour, which she said she used most often at home. I felt that the bread was heavier than Bette Hagman’s recipes using bean flour, so decided that the next time I made a recipe I would definitely use bean flour.

Last night I started some Vindaloo Vegetable Stew from my “Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker” cookbook, and had some for breakfast and lunch with basmati rice. Noticing that we didn’t have much rice left for dinner, I decided to spice up the meal by following the Northern Indian tradition of serving flatbread with meals- so I dipped into Carol Fenster’s “Cooking Free” and decided to try the recipe for Herbed Flatbread on page 26. I’ve been a longtime fan of her pizza crust, which is earthy and nutty and uses italian seasonings to flavor the dough. I was attracted to her flatbread recipe because instead of Italian spices it used an intriguing blend of caraway seeds, fennel seeds, dill weed, ground cumin, dry mustard and minced dehydrated onion. The recipe sounded both savory and like it would complement my tomato based spicy vindaloo nicely.

It found it quite easy to make. I spun the ingredients in the mixer and then patted it out in a jelly pan, flouring the dough and then patting it down with a freezer type ziploc bag that had been sprayed with cooking spray. This method ensured my hands didn’t get all gummy and also that I didn’t have to drown the poor defenseless dough in flour. Then I brushed some locally produced olive oil (bought at the wonderful European dairy and produce shop The Milk Pail in Mountain View) onto the dough, and sprinkled some course kosher salt on top, baking the bread for 15 minutes.

The smell of delightful seasoned bread filled the house and I couldn’t wait to take it out of the oven. It was beautifully browned and was flaky when I tore off a piece to enjoy. The recipe said it served 12, but in my opinion only if those 12 were the “nibble on a raw spinach leaf and call themselves full” type. For my, um, healthy appetite, it could serve three. This time when I made her flour blend, I used Sorghum, potato starch, tapioca starch, and garfave bean flour- and it was just perfect, adding elasticity and lightness to the finished product. I think I’ve found MY favorite blend- and this recipes is a real keeper- I’d give it 9/10, but you should try it yourself and see what you think!