Breakfast

I found a link to several recipes for quinoa on Pinterest.  I'm even going to try one for a potluck tomorrow night.  But the juices flowed and I came up with this breakfast:  I rinsed and drained the quinoa-enough for 2 servings, then cooked it with just a bit of raw sugar, a handful of dried cranberries, and a sprinkle of sea salt.  After it cooled to warm I put half in a bowl and stirred some vanilla yogurt in.  I was getting really sick of eggs, eggs, eggs and I think this will add some variety.  I've always been a cereal person and miss it terribly.  The other half is in the frig waiting for tomorrow and another flavor of yogurt.

Seems to be sticking to my ribs-quinoa is supposed to be very high protein.

Had a bad day on Saturday.  It was nobody's fault, but we had a work day at the church, and as I went in to help I decided to ask the lady in charge of food what we were doing for lunch, but I completely forgot.  Before I could remember or make accommodations for myself (I should have been more prepared) a lovely older couple showed up with pizza.  If I had known beforehand I could have made my own and brought it, but I had spent the previous evening baking my safe snacks-I was up late with it and that was all I had time for.

Everybody is very exited about the work-we have just finished remodeling our sanctuary and moved everything back up from the basement Saturday.  The pastor has been running around taking pictures all along and lunch was no exception.  Only one problem-I now had to leave and go to one of the three "safe" restaurants in town to buy my lunch.  If I had known sooner, I could have bought it and brought it back to eat while the rest of the group ate their lunch, but I didn't have that chance, it just showed up.  I went to my husband and told him I had to go get lunch, and his reaction was, "that's nice" as he joined his friends at a table.  There was no room to sit with him, and no room at the other tables.  I went to my car and sat there for a while, but had a knot in my stomach so I went back in.  I walked up to Hubby and told him I was going to wait a bit, since I would have to eat alone no matter when I went.  Again the reaction was "that's nice."

I got a cup of black coffee and sat on the sidelines watching them eat while the pastor took pictures of all of them.  Then somebody brought a chair over and made me sit with the ladies, but that isn't necessarily a good thing because you're hungry and have to watch them eat.  I noticed they had designer root beer, which often is safe for me, so I went looking for some.  I found out it was safe but there was none left.  A lady offered me half of hers, but I felt like I was getting leftovers so I declined.

Then everybody went back to work, and I was getting shaky so I knew I had to get some protein.  I found my husband and said I was really going to go now, and he said, "good!"  As I turned I said "I guess I get to eat alone," but there was no response from him.  I gave him three chances to help me feel better and join me.  The first time I told him I was leaving he could have said, "Wait til I'm done and I'll go with you to keep you company" but that never happened.  Even if he had offered and I had declined that would have been fine.

I still have a knot in my stomach and haven't slept much.  The pastor's wife caught wind of my being upset and proceeded to hug me a lot, and wanted the pastor to take a picture of me, since I had missed out on the others.  Can we say "patronizing?"

Not sure who to be mad at-myself for not being better prepared, the people at the church who know I have these allergies and could have said something beforehand, or my husband for not being supportive enough.  I will get over this, but for some reason the pity party is in its fourth day, maybe a sit-down with the hubby is in order?  He's usually pretty supportive about my allergies, but he totally missed the BIG clues that day!

Anyway, hope you try the quinoa-enjoy!

Pizza Crust Victory!!

Sorry for not posting on this blog for a while-I'm finding out that just maybe two blogs is one too many.  My attention span is too short.  But for now I'll keep this one, even posting sporadically.

The one thing I've missed really badly has been pizza.  Not the sauce so much-I've never been a tomato person-but the chewy crust and all those spicy meats and melty cheeses......

A few weeks back I was perusing on Pinterest (yes, I got suckered in too!) and I ran across TWO recipes for pizza crust made out of cauliflower.  I know!!!

One called for raw and the other called for cooked.  I made both at different times and thought both were delicious.  But I liked different things on each one, so decided to combine recipes today-I think I have a winner.  So here it is, in its delicious simplicity:

Marty's Cauliflower Pizza Crust

1 small pkg frozen cauliflower
2 eggs
pinch salt
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 cup tapioca flour
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Microwave the cauliflower in a glass dish for 3-5 minutes, enough to cook the "raw" out of it but not enough to make it mushy.  Drain and let cool to lukewarm.  Pulse in a food processor until it's the consistency of rice.  Beat the eggs a bit, then add the rest of the ingredients and stir til well blended.  This won't be firm like regular pizza dough-it will be pretty squishy.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment and spread half the dough on each pan.  Pat it out with the back of a spoon until it's a thin, nice round.  Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes, until it's brown on the edges and has little flecks of brown across the top.

Now top it with anything you want-I made a white sauce with 4T mayonnaise and a sprinkle of garlic.  Then I topped it with pepperoni and browned, drained Italian sausage.  I sprinkled some shredded Parmesan over, then a generous amount of mozzarella cheese.  Put it back in the oven (same temp) until it starts to bubble a bit and the cheese is melting deliciously over the pizza.  Cut and enjoy.  You'll be able to eat this with your hands if you like.

Makes me hungry all over again just looking at it!