parties with panache: pizza recipes!

I've learned a great deal of things since finding out about my food allergies, and one of them is that social gatherings almost always include food of some sort! It was something I never really put much thought into before it became a matter of survival, and I think it's only when someone is put into that position that they realize how much of our sociality revolves around food. Holidays, birthdays, reunions, family gatherings, parties, end-of-week work gatherings, and even staff meetings include snacks, potlucks, meals, barbecues, and even restaurants. Because of this, those with food allergies have a lot more to think about and prepare for when it comes to being social.

Some venues are easier than others. Potluck picnics and beach barbecues are easy because the allergic person can simply bring their own food. When it involves work functions, friends' houses, and restaurants, though, things can get a bit more difficult.

There are definite social changes that happen when you develop food allergies. Those weekly meetups with friends at the local restaurant become awkward, either on the part of the allergy person who can't eat anything on the menu, or the friends who then feel sorry for them. I noticed this shift when I was finally diagnosed and suddenly had no safe restaurants. The invitations became few and far between in the name of not making me feel bad that I couldn't eat anything on the menu. Instead, it felt isolating to be constantly left out of fun events.

For this reason, we often hosted the parties and game nights at our house. We always had a "safe" area for my food and a potluck area for everyone else. It worked for a while and we loved being able to play host and hostess on special occasions and book clubs and get togethers. This became a nightmare though, when I realized that I was so sensitive that the food my friends brought over was causing cross contamination issues. Ben and I started experimenting with snacks and meals that could be made fairly easily and would feed several people so that having a get together didn't have to be food-less, but also wouldn't mean a Thanksgiving-like event with a whole day of cooking involved. It had to be something that adults would enjoy, but their kids would also eat. It had to be free of multiple allergens and something that could also be served for our vegetarian friends. We started with pizza: the quintessential and easily-customizable party food. After our first party serving the pizza, we had several friends requesting to come over again so they could partake again! Each time, we make a few favorites and try something new, so I thought I'd share some of our favorites in case you ever find yourself in a pizza rut!


The Basics:

For most of our pizzas, we prefer to use the Chebe flour mixes, because they are grain free and are pretty versatile. Many other blends are too watery or too starchy (or don't hold up well as leftovers). Each pizza also uses about a cup of sauce and 1.5-2 cups of mozzarella cheese (I use the Organic Valley brand).


The Sauce:

My favorite prepared sauce is the Organicville pizza sauce. It's got a nice flavor and thickness, and the vinegar is sourced from sugarcane and not corn like most other sauces. I purchase it from Vitacost, and for those of you in the states, I've seen it at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Natural Grocers as well.

I often prepare my own sauce, which is great because I can adjust the thickness and spices as needed. Because we have typically lived in places where fresh, organic tomatoes were not always available, I had to search for a while to find a good substitute. I love the Bionaturae tomato paste, an organic product from Tuscany.

Ingredients:

• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 cup water (adjust for preferred thickness)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 tbsp basil
• 1/2 tbsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix all ingredients, adding the water last. Stir and add water to the thickness you prefer. For the best results, let the sauce rest for an hour to enrich the flavor. Then, spread it on the dough. Remember not to add too much sauce, as you don't want your dough to become soggy! I add my favorite spices to the following toppings and then bake the pizza at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

**Tip: If you're going for a more creamy sauce, substitute the water with a nice, thick coconut milk! These are the two I use most often: Native Forest and Aroy-D.

The Toppings:

There are several different topping variations we've used with the basic sauce and cheese combination.

• Pepperoni and black olives. Before I was as corn sensitive as I am at this point, I was able to use pepperoni. This is no longer an option for me, but I still do have a safe brand of sausage, so we use sausage with black olives now.

• Pineapple and peppers. This has been a favorite with our friends - simply dice some different colors of bell peppers along with some pineapple slices for a colorful and tasty combination!

• Yakiniku meat. We make yakiniku pretty frequently (thinly sliced, grilled beef) and sometimes use the leftovers as a pizza topping. This tastes delicious with black olives, pineapple, and/or bell pepper slices!

• Cream cheese. This is an idea we got from a Japanese pizza shop. After putting the sauce on, but before adding the cheese, drop some small dabs of cream cheese around the pizza (no need to spread!) I use the Organic Valley cream cheese, as it's the only one I don't seem to be allergic to. 

• Cream cheese and kabocha. A bonus addition to the previous entry that we recently discovered is kabocha (Japanese winter squash). Slice the squash into quarters and then slice one of the quarters into thin slices. After layering the sauce, cream cheese, and mozzarella, add the squash slices and some garlic to the top before baking.

Stay tuned for some non-red sauce based pizzas, coming up soon!

seattle snacking: a gluten free guide to eating in seattle! (part 2)

Because we are just visiting Seattle, I don't have access to all my gluten free kitchen items. While we have picked up a few basics to have with us on vacation, eating out is just something we can't avoid. I realized a few days into our trip, though, that this didn't have to be a stressful thing to deal with! With some research, planning, and iPhone apps like Find Me Gluten Free, we have found several safe restaurants, bakeries, and snack shops around the Seattle area!

To see the first set of Seattle restaurant reviews, check out the first Seattle Snacking blog entry!

Our week in Seattle has been extremely packed, with airport trips, college reunion, engagement parties, and catching up with people. We've got several friends here, all of them having different tastes in food (and some with allergies and preferences of their own). Friday's challenge was to find a restaurant that catered to Celiacs as well as vegetarians/vegans. A friend of ours suggested a restaurant called Plum Bistro, a completely organic and vegetarian restaurant with some gluten free options. They also had a few corn free options as well, so we didn't have to modify any of the menu items to find something safe for me to eat. Our party included a few vegetarians, several avid meat eaters, and of course, one Celiac. Plum had several options to satisfy all of us, though I did have to walk through the entire menu with the server to find something that was truly gluten free. Some of the options had no gluten ingredients but were cooked alongside other items that weren't necessarily safe. They were incredibly knowledgeable, though, and helpful in letting me know what would be safe for me as opposed to someone who might just be avoiding gluten for other reasons.

I finally settled on the tempeh vermouth, which was absolutely fabulous! The vermouth added a smooth taste to the tempeh, and the olive oil base and kalamata olives paired nicely with the pan-seared mashed potatoes and brocolli. Even the water tasted good, served in canning jars with cucumber and lemon.

Everyone else seemed pleased with their choices as well, and though the food was a bit pricey, it was well worth the visit! I highly recommend this restaurant, especially if you have friends who are vegetarian or vegan.

Saturday was a foodie feast! I spent the day with Victoria, who lives in the U District. Though she doesn't have any food allergies or vegan preferences, she does try to eat whole foods without all the chemicals when she can. She pointed out that a vacation is all about visiting and eating together, and she was adamant that she was going to give me that experience despite my limitations.

We went to lunch at a restaurant called Thrive, which was one of the first completely gluten free and vegan restaurants in the country. They are also 95% organic, 95% raw, and 100% delicious.

As we walked in, all I could think about was the smell of cilantro wafting through the door, as I wondered if I could find something on the menu that might blend that cilantro with cucumber. We walked in, and the kitchen manager (Jorge) pointed at each of us in turn and predicted our orders. We kind of smiled at him and then looked at his suggestions. Mine, the Buddha Bowl, had...you guessed it...cilantro sauce and cucumbers in addition to toasty kale chips, bella burger crumbles, quinoa, and cashew onion sauce. Knowing I had the choice of anything on the menu (ALL gluten free AND corn free!!) was such a liberating feeling, so I looked through the menu before settling on his first suggestion.

I wasn't sorry - it was a fresh blend of warm and cold deliciousness and we both felt that "just-enough-food" fullness when we finished our half bowls. We also had smoothies, of course. I had the Sweet Tart, which was a perfect blend of strawberry and lime juice, while Victoria got a mint+chocolaty paradise called the Oh My Wonka. We were also given complimentary shots of the Nourish (a green smoothie consisting of kale, banana, almond milk, dates, and celery) to finish up the meal.

What a wonderful experience! I am hoping to visit Thrive again before we leave Seattle!

After we left Thrive, we headed toward a bakery Victoria was positively adamant about visiting. Jodee's Desserts, like Thrive, is vegan, organic, and gluten free. We had a great time talking with Jodee and learning her story. She had relatives with food allergies and medical problems. She knew that food additives, overuse of refined sugar, and unhealthy eating had a huge effect on overall health, so she sought to create food that tasted great and was made of healthy ingredients. She attended Living Light Culinary School in Fort Bragg, California, where she learned to create raw, vegan foods and desserts. Eventually she moved back to Seattle (where she originally worked at Thrive!) and then opened up her own bakery.

She had several questions about our time in Japan and we had a great time chatting and talking about personal experiences. What a great company and a great lady! I had a slice of the chocolate peppermint pie, which was light and airy, with a delightful coconutty crust.

We noticed Jodee had bread displayed, and she mentioned that it's made by a local pizzeria. I've been trying to find a gluten free bread that consistently tastes good and can be shipped to us in Japan, and she said she'd look into it, so I'm excited about that possible prospect! Jodee also suggested we stop by the pizzeria to try the bread before spending the money to ship it all the way to us.

Later that afternoon, we visited Razzi's Pizzeria to inquire about the bread. What we got was a meal and a story. Amir Razzaghi was the franchise owner of Romio's Pizza on Greenwood in Seattle. A few years ago, the Romio's chain did a gluten free promotion. The response at the Greenwood location was unprecedented, with a large number of new customers consistently eating at the restaurant. Romio's eventually ended the promotion, much to the chagrin of many of their customers. Amir was unyielding in his desire to continue offering gluten free options, and eventually left the franchise and reopened the restaurant with the name Razzi's Pizzeria. Since then he has continued to expand and perfect his gluten free menu. He offers four different menus, including gluten free and vegan options.

I explained to him that we had talked to Jodee about the bread, and he told us to go sit down and he'd bring some out. Little did we know he had made us fresh breadsticks and pita bread, complete with dipping sauces! All of his gluten free breads are made from organic sorghum, and they are delicious! In fact, it was so delicious that I took Ben back there for a late dinner after our friend's engagement party.

We decided to each get a small pizza so we'd have leftovers for the next day. I got a vegan/gluten free pizza with Italian sorta-sausage and Daiya cheese - it was spectacular and it was nice knowing I could get a pizza that was not only gluten free, but lactose free as well. Ben got a gluten free pizza with Gorgonzola and we split some vegan mozzarella sticks. We were both happy with our choices! When our server asked if we wanted dessert, I remembered Jodee saying that Razzi's used her pies on their dessert menu so I made Ben get a piece so he could taste what I had been talking about all day! His consensus matched mine and it was the first time we felt a little sad that we didn't live in the states.

Overall, we miss Japan immensely already and are excited that we get to visit the states but return to Japan in August. Knowing that we can find restaurants that are healthy and won't make me sick, plus taste great with a nice variety, has already made our summer trip an amazing one!

district of columbia

Seeing as how neither of us has been to many East Coast points of interest, we decided that we want to see and do as much of it as we can as long as we're living here. It's hard to believe I've been here for six months now, and already I've been down to Georgia, we've seen the Outer Banks, and now, we've been to DC! It was a great trip, full of spectacular sites. I'll post a few of our favorites so we can share them with you.


After we each made a list of the Top 5 places we wanted to visit in DC, Arlington Cemetery was at the top of mine. After battling construction, traffic, an interesting site in Richmond that included the freeway being shut down for two men in a pick-up truck to fill in some potholes during rush hour traffic, and some horrible directions that led us everywhere ELSE in Arlington, we made it just in time for the last changing of the guard that day. It was a surreal and wonderful moment - knowing that these guards have devoted their lives for this task.



The next day, we made it to the Metro station and headed into DC. Already, I had the camera out and ready.




We had planned to walk around the National Mall and see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the several other small memorials in the area before heading to the Smithsonian museums. What we didn't plan for was the 90 degree weather, the dust flying everywhere, and the miles and miles of walking and walking and...can you guess it? Yep, that's right: walking, that we had to do to get there. We estimated about five miles that first day, and it was five miles well worth it! We saw all the monuments, a glimpse of the White House, an amazing butterfly exhibit at the Museum of Natural History, among other things.





Around 6, we trudged back to the Metro station, headed back to the hotel, showered, and met our friends in Alexandria for an awesome Chinese dinner. After catching up with them, we drove back into DC and wandered around the mall, taking in the beauty of DC after dark. Seeing the monuments all lit up was second on my list and did not disappoint!



The next day, we awoke, tired but excited, for the next day. We started at Union Station, another of my list items, and then trekked from the Metro Station over to the Jefferson Memorial, excited to get one of the quintessential cherry-blossom-in-the-foreground-and-Jefferson-Memorial-in-the-background photos, only to find that all the cherry blossom festival activities were going strong, but the cherry blossoms were nowhere to be found. We settled for a nice walk along the tidal basin, through downtown DC, and a walking trip to a Starbucks! We relaxed there for a half hour, before heading back to the National Mall. From there, we split up, hoping to take in as much as possible on our second-to-last-day in the city. Ben headed to the Air and Space museum, while I strolled along the mall, snapping photos along the way. I visited the Museum of the American Indian, walked to the Capitol Building, and went into the Botanical Gardens. Another thing on my list was the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery. Since I didn't quite have the time to really explore it, it was a few quick shots of the courtyard and back to the Metro station to meet up with Ben.









Our last day, we checked out the National Zoo and taste-tested our way through the college town of Adams Morgan. We saw an episode of Food Wars that battled out and crowned the king of jumbo pizza in DC. We visited both, and agreed that Pizza Mart was WAY better.

new place for the new year

New Year's was interesting. We were able to move into the apartment New Year's Eve. Since I didn't get off work until 5, we were only able to move the two couches, the tv, and the microwave moved. That, though, was plenty to have a New Year's party.

With the tv perched on top of the microwave's box (a tarp covering it to make it look a bit less ghetto) and the couches set in weird angles across the living room, we were all set.

Some friends and I went to get pizza and then watched some movies. We ended up falling asleep before midnight, sprawled all over the living room. So much for late nights in the new place, eh?

PS I'm pretty sure I met my future husband tonight. It's a weird feeling I have, so we'll see how that goes...

everybody cut foot loose

This has been a long week..I had the unfortunate circumstance of being sick while having a sprained ankle. Everyone's out of town this weekend, and I couldn't get upstairs on my own. The doctor said not to even try to walk on it for a few more days. So yes, I actually tried out ordering a pizza online. I was able to order it, pay for it, and give the delivery guy specific instructions to come around through the back yard and knock on the sliding door (thus allowing me to NOT have to venture upstairs for another day). He even brought me a paper plate, napkins, and a bottle o' Dr. Pepper. How amazing is that internet, anyway.

On Monday night, upon the reappearance of all my friends, a bunch of us went over to David's house and watched Breakin2: Electric Boogaloo..which is the mother of all 80's break dancing movies. There is really no plot, but the level of dancing in this film surpasses any other 80's dancing movie, especially Footloose.