Book of Yum

Windmill Market
301 The Alameda
San Juan Bautista, Ca. 95045

One of my favorite things to do is to scout out health food or gourmet food stores for new gluten-free products. You never know what you’ll find on a strange shelf, hidden among the gluten-filled goods. I’ve found some of my favorite gluten-free products on these grocery store explorations. Yesterday DH and I decided to drive South of Gilroy, California to go for a hike. On our way back we were hungry, and rather than braving an unknown restaurant, we decided to stop in the adorable Windmill Market in San Juan Bautista, California. I didn’t have very high expectations, to be honest, but the exterior was cute and somehow I had a feeling that there might be something worthwhile inside. Imagine my delight when first thing in the door I found a gluten-free Mariposa brownie bar lurking in with their baked goods. As we went through the store, I kept finding more gluten-free goodies. They had a good selection of gluten-free baking mixes like Pamela’s Pancake Mix and Cake mixes, as well as a stellar selection of Bumble Energy Bars and Larabars. I almost cried in the freezer case when I found gluten-free Kinnikinnick vanilla donuts, gluten-free Azna Cinnamon Rolls, and even a gluten-free artisanal bread. However, the real star of the trip for me was the new Gluten-free Napoli Herb Old World Rustic Crust, in a sealed plastic bag in the Italian food section. It wasn’t frozen, it wasn’t refrigerated- and it actually looked like a gluten crust. This all-natural, dairy-free crust had the following description…

We hand-knead fresh parsley, basil and roasted garlic into our artisanal dough to deliver perfectly blended flavor in every bite.

I was given pause by the fact that they also make a gluten-based crust, but i resolved to check online to see if I could find out anything about their manufacturing process. I crossed my fingers and bought the crust. My bet paid off. When I checked the Rustic Crust web page it blankly states that the gluten-free crust is “made in the USA in a gluten free facility.” Music to my ears. Anyway, I made off with my crust and used it the very next day in a delicious Marguerita Pizza. (Topped with some organic, heirloom Tigerella tomatoes grown on my very own balcony, I might add. YUM!)

DH’s verdict? “Hey, this is as good as pre-made gluten-crust!” Yup. It was a hit. I liked it a lot myself- and thought that it was one of the few pre-made gluten-free crusts that I would actually buy again, if I can find it closer to our area. Tasty and so easy! If your local store doesn’t carry it you can also buy it through them directly, if you don’t mind paying shipping. These dairy-free crusts are a real find, and I’ll definitely seek them out in my local stores. (C’mon Whole Foods, don’t let me down!) The only catch is- they do contain soy flour AND soy oil so are not suitable for those with soy intolerance. If you can do soy, though, they are tasty little crusts and I highly recommend them! *Update: This formula also contains EGGS, but apparently they are working on an egg-free version, so stay tuned. (See comments for more info on this.)

Is it me or has there been an explosion of new, high-quality gluten-free products on the market lately? I’ve found so many new products lately I’m stuck in perpetual happy-dancing mode. What is YOUR favorite gluten-free product find? Share in the comments!

I wasn’t exactly intending to blog about tonight’s dinner, honestly. I mean, how many pizza recipes does one need? We’ve already had some pretty fancy pizza recipes here at the Book of Yum. But this week, due to a chaotic household, it just seemed better not to use the oven, and so when I was planning the menu I thought I’d try a new pizza technique- grilling the pizza crust. It’s a technique I’ve heard about many times but never tried myself, and I thought it was high time. It’s perfect, really, especially in hot weather when turning on the oven seems like cruel and unusual punishment. (Granted, it hasn’t been all that hot here… but it should be!) I have a lot of Chebe mixes left from the last bulk order I did with them, and during busy weeks, there’s nothing I love more than the “open the package and dump it in the bowl” style of baking. This time I made two small ones from the mix because I just love making more than one topping but still having separate pizzas. Then it was time to grill. I’m big into the propane grill, baby. Supposedly it is the DH’s, but I use it about 10 times more often than he does- I’m always grilling veggies or tofu or something because it adds so much flavor to everything. But what could a grill do to a pizza crust? The answer? A lot. I was worried that the crust might stick to the grill, but happily, it didn’t. And it baked so fast- far quicker than if you had baked it in the oven. Just a few minutes and one side of the pizza looked DONE, and even had sexy grill marks to prove it. I turned it over, let it grill for another few minutes, and then went happy with my toppings. To be honest, I had something of a little problem- largely, no pasta sauce in the house whatsoever. I did have half of the juice from a can of chopped tomatoes, and some tomato paste, so I made a very basic red sauce base. To my surprise, it worked just fine and actually tasted great. Then I grilled up a portabella mushroom basted with olive oil, garlic, and seasoning, and did the same to my sweet red pepper. With the addition of some sliced calamata olives and cheese, I had a great basic veggie pizza that matched my taste buds perfectly. But I still didn’t have enough red sauce for the second pizza, so I decided to go all out and try something I’d never had before- marguerita pizza. According to online sources, this is one of the first official pizzas and was produced by Italy’s Royal chefs in honor of Queen Marguerita in 1896 when she asked them to make her an assortment of pizzas resembling the bread pizzas she had enjoyed among commoners. Traditionally, the marguerita pizza contains “fresh sliced tomato, mozzarella, fresh basil, fresh garlic, onion and a hint of Romano (no tomato sauce).” (source: In Mama’s Kitchen) Sounded good to me! And in fact, it was absolutely delicious. I’ll definitely be making BOTH of these pizzas again, and I have a feeling that my grill is going to be even busier this summer baking up a slew of yummy pizzas. Oh, and since there was cheese AND grill marks involved, the DH loved this recipe too.

This pizza would be perfect for an Independence Day party, or just for a quick dinner before you see the fireworks. Looking for other gluten-free fourth of July recipes?

Try my Recipe for Grilled Sesame Vegetables
with this accompanying Ginger Peanut Sauce (Complete with pics from our 4th of July last year)
My World-Famous Grilled Sesame Tofu Recipe
a classic Gluten-Free Macaroni Salad Recipe
Japanese potato salad Recipe
Grilled Kabocha and Sundried Tomato Pate
GF Lemon Blueberry Muffin Recipe (Add raspberries and white frosting for a red,white and blue treat!)

Want another yummy pizza recipe?
Try my favorite Grilled Veggie and Smoked Cheese Pizza Recipe
Allergen Free Gluten-Free Pizza Recipe (with crust recipe)
Or this unexpected Zucchini Crust Pizza Recipe

Hope this helps you get some ideas for your Fourth of July Celebration! If you have links to your favorite recipes for the forth of July, share in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!

Gluten Free Grilled Chebe Marguerita Pizza and Grilled Veggie Pizza Recipe Main Course  Alternative Grains  Italian

Ingredients Pizza Dough: 1 pkg. Chebe pizza mix 2 eggs 1 tbsp. oil 4 tbsp. your choice of “milk” (dairy or non-dairy) Marguerita topping: Grated nonfat mozzarella cheese (1/4 packaged ball) or favorite non-dairy substitute 1 medium organic tomato Handful fresh basil salt Traditional topping- Tomato sauce: 3 tbsp juice from can of chopped canned tomato 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp. olive oil sprinkle of sugar and salt Veggies: 1 portabella mushroom 3 peeled garlic cloves 1/2 sweet red pepper 8 kalamata olives nonfat mozzarella cheese, grated (or favorite nondairy cheese substitute) Directions Combine Chebe pizza ingredients according to package instructions and knead dough into a ball. Separate into two balls. Take a gallon sized ziploc bag and place your chebe dough inside the bag and flatten it out (pressing on the OUTSIDE of the bag so your hands don’t get icky) into a nice circle in about 1/4 or 1/8 of an inch thick. Remove dough from bag and place on a plate, and reserve. Now make your second pizza. Turn on your grill to medium high heat and place your pizza crusts on the grill (without toppings) letting it cook with the lid open for a few minutes. You may wish to rotate the dough if your grill cooks unevenly. Turn your pizza crust over when that side has nice grill marks and grill the other side for another few minutes. Remove from grill and cover with toppings.* Grill for a few minutes on low, covered. When cheese has nicely melted, remove from grill and cut into pieces. Yummy! *For the marguerita pizzas, top the pizza with mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, a sprinkle of salt and a handful of basil. Drizzle with a little high quality olive oil and finish grilling. *For the traditional veggie pizza, crush your garlic cloves and put them in a small bowl with a tablespoon of high quality olive oil and your favorite pasta/italian seasoning herbs. Baste your portabella mushroom and red pepper and grill, turning when each side is done. Remove from heat and chop into pieces. Also mix your tomato sauce ingredients in another bowl. Top your pizza with tomato sauce, grilled veggies, and cheese, adding olives on very top. If you like, after the pizza has baked with toppings, you can broil it in the oven so the cheese gets all brown on top. Be careful not to burn!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Grilling technique from chebe site, toppings my own creation. Please do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1263 Added:  July 1, 2008 Last Modified:  July 1, 2008