Are you planning a pizza party? I always seem to be. This is one of the best pizza dough recipes that I’ve worked with so far and I’ve made many-a-pizza-dough in my time, with just about every type of flour that you can think of. Usually, if I’m taking the time to make pizza dough at home I will bake something gluten-free, since I am gluten intolerant. But not today. I was out of most of my flours but still had this lovely bag of local & organic red wheat flour, hiding alone in the back of my fridge. I gave it go & indulged in my vices yet again. This dough is stretchy and forgiving. It is adapted from Jay’s Signature Pizza Crust from allrecipes.com but a few changes were made to accommodate some of our other household food intolerances. Honey was used to keep the dough sugar-free, maple syrup is also a great replacement. We also used sunflower oil over olive due to sunflower’s high levels of vitamin E, B6, selenium and folate.

The original recipe makes one huge pizza. I divided the dough into 3 equal portions and made two very large pizzas and used the rest to make some whole wheat hamburger buns on the fly.

If you are looking for gluten-free pizza dough recipes, take a look at some of these:

Gluten-Free Cauliflower Crust

Ingredients:

Healthy Pizza Dough: Let dough rise & double in size.

• 1 packet of instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 1/2 cups of warm water (110 degrees)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 3 1/3 cups organic whole wheat flour

 Directions:

1. Mix yeast, honey & warm water together in a large bowl and let the yeast mixture proof for 10 minutes.
2. Add salt & oil it the mix and stir in 2 1/2 cups of flour.
3. Remove dough from bowl and place it on a clean, well floured surface. I just use my countertop. Continue kneading in the rest of the flour. Once the dough is no longer sticky, place into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth or wax paper. You may need to use more or less flour and oil, depending on the temperature & humidity of your kitchen.
4. Let the dough rise for about one hour until it has doubled in size. Punch down the dough and form a tight ball. Let the dough relax for a few minutes before rolling out on a well floured surface.
5. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. If you are baking on a pizza stone, you may top the pie and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 10 minutes before pre-baking it an additional 15 minutes. Then top it and bake for another 10 minutes or so.
6. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 17 to 25 minutes.

Healthy Cast Iron Pizza Recipe

If you are looking for gluten-free pizza recipes, check out a some of these delicious experiments!

• Gluten-free Cauliflower Pizza
• 3 Easy Gluten-free Pizza Dough Recipes

Ingredients:

• 2 large leeks (cleaned well and chopped)
• 2 Bok choy bundles – separated the leaves from the stems and set leaves to the side
• 2 large cloves of minced garlic
• 2 quarts of homemade vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped hot pepper
• 1 tablespoon finely minced ginger
• 3 ounces chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon chili flakes
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos or coconut aminos (Healthy soy replacements)
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Be careful while chopping peppers. They can burn! Remember to wear gloves to protect your skin from Capsicum oils. After you have chopped all of your vegetables, get out a large soup pot. Heat the pot and then add the oil. Let the oil heat for about 20 seconds, then add the leeks, garlic, hot pepper and bok choy stems.

Let the veggies on medium low heat for about 5 minutes. Then add the apple cider vinegar, spices and 1T of liquid aminos.
Cook for about another two min.
Add the vegetable broth and water turn up the heat a little and bring to a boil.
Add more spice if you needed and stir in the bok choy leaves just before serving.

The whole thing should take less than 20 minutes to create. Serve with warmed homemade gluten-free bread.

I wanna be your friend.

So far we have gone two weekends in a row and they have been packed. Now that Kevin is done freelancing at SockEye, hopefully we can go during the week days and avoid the crowds. Who knows how long we will be in Portland and this is strictly a summer trail, so I want to get as many photographs and videos as possible before autumn. So if you are reading this and the weather is still warm, pack a picnic, a change of clothes and hurry scurry down to The Oneonta Gorge for one of Portland’s best (and pretty much free) day trips.

Check out this Guide To Oneonta Gorge for more information on how to get to the falls, what to bring and when to go.

We were attempting to find Oneonta Gorge and swim upstream to the waterfall base but we accidentally parked a little too soon and took the wrong trail. We ended up hiking the whole Horsetail Falls Loop which is a little under 3 miles. If you happen to ever find yourself doing the same, make sure to bring water and comfy shoes. Elevation changes about 600 feet during the hike and I saw several people panting and sweating, completely unprepared with that dehydrated look in their eyes.

If you are trying to find the Oneonta Gorge you do not need to hike on a trail! When you see the trailhead for Triple falls & Horsetail- keep driving until you see the tunnel and park there. Take the stairs down to the bank of the stream and walk towards the logjam. You will have to carefully climb over it before wading through the icy water of the gorge. It didn’t look too far until the base of the fall, perhaps half a mile. Kevin and I finally found the correct entrance after hiking most of the afternoon. The sun was about to set and it was getting cooler outside, so we decided to hold off on making the swim until this Thursday. Photos of Oneonta Falls to come later this week!

I LOVE PIZZA! I could eat pizza everyday, for every meal and be happy. It has to be pretty damn good pizza though, like gourmet. So that is exactly what I will make!

I’ve been pining over making this recipe for some time now.

In San Clemente, Kevin and I lived in this teeny tiny apartment without an oven. We could see the sun setting behind the Pacific Ocean from our bay window but making homemade, gluten-free, cauliflower crust pizza was out of the question. We recently moved to Portland and during the transition we are lucky enough to be pet sitting for a lovely couple. They have a dreamy vintage kitchen, stocked with pots, pans, herbs and spices.

So last night I attempted this recipe for the very first time and while it did not turn out exactly like pizza, it was fabulous and we ate every bite. The “crust” crumbled and we had to scoop it into our mouths with a knife and fork. Kevin did a little dance while eating, which silently assures me that the meal was satisfactory.

I scanned the internet for quite some time before coming up with my own loose variation of a bunch of recipes. I wanted to try it without egg or added cheese, which most of the recipes I found included. The pizza was damn good but not exactly crust, ya know? Next time I will probably add a goat’s cheese in attempt to make everything bind together a little better. We topped it with sundried tomatoes, feta, olives, peppadews and lots of other delicious goodness. Living in Portland is amazing. The quality and variety of ingredients is almost unbelievable.

For the crust:

• 1 head of organic cauliflower (I used white. Next time I’m getting PURPLE!)
• 1 giant clove of elephant garlic (You can use  at least 4 cloves of regular garlic)
• A few sprigs of basil
• A handful of walnuts
• A dash of macadamia nut oil

Toppings:

• Feta cheese
• Oven roasted tomatoes packed in oil
• Pickled Peppadews – my favorite
• Oil cured black olives
• Broccoli sprouts

How to:

1. Preheat the ove to 450 and prepare all ingredients – wash cauliflower & basil, crush & peel the garlic
2. Roughly chop cauliflower into smaller pieces so it fits into the food processor, add garlic & pulse the food processor until the mixture resembles rice
3. Cook the mixture by stir frying on low for about 5 minutes, set aside to cool
4. Throw the basil in the food processor, pulse, add walnuts, continue to pulse until it is smooth
5. Combine cauliflower mash with basil & walnuts in a large bowl and work together with your hands
6. Slowly drizzle in the oil and mix  with hands until it resembles a paste-like dough, add more oil or a few sprinkles of water if needed
7. Flatten “dough” onto a piece of lightly oiled parchment paper on a pizza stone or cookie sheet (whatever you have)
8. Parbake for 15-20 minutes until it begins to brown – I wanted to flip mine but it was just too crumbley
9. Once parbaked, add sauce, cheese, toppings, herbs, whatever you like and then return to the oven until the cheese is melty and golden brown.

Like I said, the crust completely fell apart. It was messy and it was worth it. In the end it sort of resembled a bowl of fancy grits.
I will definitely be making a similar recipe again, this was a great base and could be perfected with a few minor adjustments. Perhaps add some soft cheese into the crust? Or some almond flour? Or an egg?  Next time I attempt this dish I will probably follow Megan’s recipe over at Detoxinista

Has anyone else experienced better luck with a similar recipe or concept?
What is your secret?

Now that I have ventured into the world of making my own gluten-free pizza crust, I feel like nothing can stop me! I will create the perfect homemade gf pizza dough! I will never again long for pizza or in a moment of weakness drop $28 for a glutenous pie that is sure to make me cry later.

Her beautiful daughter served us and made some recommendations, we followed them. Everything we ate was nourishing and 100% satisfying. It was exactly what we needed after a dreary day of driving through Eureka and recovering from pneumonia. Their kimchi was top notch. I had the spicy shrimp soup and it reminded me of a soup my Grandmama used to make for me as a babe. Rightfully so, the mother (probably also a Grandmother) was the only person cooking in the kitchen.
The mother & daughter had little outbursts of arguments throughout the cooking process, which made the place even more charming. I’ve worked in a family-owned restaurant before, it is a high stress situation. The portions were beyond huge and the prices were a little too low. We could have easily split one meal. Personally, I think it is a crime that they don’t charge higher prices. I felt guilty paying so little for such an amazing meal. If you do get the chance to stop in, make sure you leave a big tip to make up for the generous prices! I must also note that not another soul was dining there during our visit, which is a damn shame. If you happen to find yourself in that part of the world, you absolutely must find this little spot and support this family-run business!

Here are a few shots from the real DAY 1 of our journey. Our travels were delayed several days due to last minute obligations and me coming down with a terrible flu while packing to move.

Finding this spot along the river in the Sequoia National Forest was exactly what I needed to begin to heal after such a stressful time.
We missed the turn to the trail we were looking for and ended up at a little river crossing with makeshift bridges. I got some sun, talked to the trees and began the healing process.

We found half a dozen new secret spots during the last 2 days.
Videos will be edited and up shortly.

Time for some oil of oregano, cough drops and sleep. Good night.