Garlic-Herbed Personal Flatbread Pizzas

Yeah, you heard me. Personal pizzas - and more? They're vegan and gluten free, though you wouldn't know it to taste them. Enjoy these delicious pizzas with your friend or loved one (just don't tell them how easy they are to make)!

Herbed Flatbread (vegan and gluten-free)
(makes 4)


1 cup almond flour
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1 tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp herba salle
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp powdered garlic
1 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp poppyseeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp olive oil


Add dry ingredients (except sesame seeds and poppy seeds) into a food processor and pulse until all elements ground. Empty ground ingredients into a mixing bowl. Add seeds. Add wet ingredients and stir well with a fork. Keep stirring until the dough forms one thick ball. Split the dough into four equal balls. Place one ball of dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll out, between the parchment paper, until the flattened round is about 1/4 inches thick. Feel free to cut to shape once it's flattened and press the cut bits in around the edges. It's not going to change shape once it bakes, so what you start with will be what you get. 


Bake at 300 F for about 25 minutes or until browned. 


Tomato and Basil Flatbread Pizza
(makes 4)

8 tbsp homemade pesto (recipe below*)

4 herbed flatbreads (recipe above)

2 tomatos, sliced thin

4 tbsp fresh basil

8 cloves garlic minced
1/2 onion, diced and caramelized

1/2 cup shredded white daiya cheese

*Simple home-made pesto
3.5 packed cups fresh basil leaves
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
1/4 cup ground raw cashew

Combine basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, cashews in a blender and blend until smooth. When the mixture is completely smooth, add the pecorino and pulse the blender until it has been incorporated into the mix.*


Heat oven to 400 F. 


Place two flatbread rounds on one parchment paper-covered cookie sheet. 
Spread 1 tbsp pesto on each round. 
In a small bowl, stir 1 tbsp pesto, 1 tbsp shredded basil, and 2 cloves garlic minced. 
Add a layer of the basil/garlic/pesto mix, then slices of tomatoes (I used three thin slices per flatbread). Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top, then sprinkle caramelized onions over top of the cheese (or vice versa as you like). 
Bake on the top rack of your oven for about 8 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Spaghetti Spesto!

All right! More in the vain of easy to prepare, slow to indulge meals for the busy week. This one is wondrously simple, healthy, and satisfying. And, even more fun, you can do the main portion and then add different things to make it a slightly different meal so you don't feel like you're eating the same thing every day.

Spaghetti Spesto
(makes ~5 servings)

1 spaghetti squash, ~ 3lbs

Spesto sauce:
2/3 oz basil
~1 oz baby spinach
4 tbsp olive oil
3/4 oz fresh grated reggiano cheese
6 cloves garlic
1/2 oz sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
~1/4 tsp salt
small handful walnuts

Put about 1 cup of water in your crockpot and settle the spaghetti squash in, covering with a lid. Set to low and let cook about 9 hours. When done, remove the squash (carefully with a pot holder - it's hot!) and cut lengthwise. Remove the seeds and goopy innards (to a separate bowl if you like - squash seeds are as yummy as pumpkin seeds) and then, using a fork, break apart the 'noodles' of the squash and dump them into a nice sealable container.

For the sauce, place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Puree until everything is well combined.

Pour the sauce over the spaghetti squash noodles, mix thoroughly, and enjoy.

I tried a few variations on this: adding quick-roasted chicken tenders, adding extra sundried tomatoes, making chicken meatballs and adding those to the mix. The possibilities are endless. Let me know if you think of more. :)

Go on! Have a peace! Enjoy!

The Popeye Bento!

Nutritious and delicious, the Popeye Bento consists of high iron and protein dishes in moderate portions to give me the energy to be strong and resilient and energetic through a weekend of rehearsals. Here's what's in it: Blackened Sea-caught Tilapia, Spinach and Tomato Salad, and Spinach and Lentil Soup. (Did you see where I got the Popeye name from?)



Blackened Sea-caught Tilapia
(2 servings)

Two filets of sea-caught tilapia (if you can only find farm-raised, substitute this with cod)
juice of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lime
~2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp black pepper
3 tsp sea salt

Combine the spices and juices in a flat bottom dish. Coat each filet on both sides with the spice/juice combination and set aside for about twenty minutes to let the fish absorb the flavors. Warm about 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and pan fry the filets; it should take about 3 minutes on each side, but the main thing is to keep an eye out for the blackening and test the fish with a fork when you think it's done. If the filet flakes, you're good to go. (The neat thing about this - I got this idea from my dad's apple pie recipe actually - is that the white pepper gives you a heat sensation without tasting "spicy", so even if you eat this fish cold - I did - it's still "warm" and delicious.)

Spinach and Tomato Salad
(8 servings)

10 plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Combine elements in a bowl and toss. I only used the pepper, but it's a matter of preference at that point. Yum!



Lentil and Spinach Soup
(8 servings)

4 cups low sodium organic chicken stock (if you're veg, use vegetable stock)
3 heaping handfuls baby spinach, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1.75 cups dried lentils, rinsed
1 tsp thyme
~3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 small onion, chopped
fresh ground black pepper
5-6 pinches Erbe Salle (This is a wonderful herb ground sea salt I adore. If you can't find this, use regular sea salt, about 5 turns of the grinder.)

In a large saucepan over medium heat, sauté the chopped onion in a little olive oil until translucent. Add garlic, thyme, and 2 pinches of your salt of choice and sauté ~1 minute.
Stir in lentils. Make sure you really mix up the lentils with the onions and garlic. It should be smelling simply wonderful at this point.
Add the stock, tomato paste, and 1 cup of water. Raise heat to high, bringing the pot to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover partially, and allow to simmer 20-30 minutes. Add your spinach, simmer until wilted, about 2 minutes.  Serve hot or cold.
For the bento, I have an awesome little soup-storage container that retains the heat in the soup for about 3 hours. That said, I ate some of this cold the next day and it was still delicious, so go for it. Enjoy!

Pesto Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato Wrap with Roasted Fennel Rings

This is an oven-free recipe. It's a super easy, very tasty little picnic munchable for the upcoming summer months. Take it to the park or an outdoor concert and enjoy feeling full but not stuffed. :) I paired it with a 2007 Rosato di Sangiovese from one of my favorite Napa Valley vineyards - Gargiulo Vineyards.  And brought a side of roasted fennel, which I'll also tell you how to make.

Pesto Chicken and Sun-dried Tomato Wrap
(makes 4)


2 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped into bite size pieces
Lavash bread (or pita bread as you prefer)
Sun-dried tomatoes
Arugula
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup raw cashews (ground to tiny bits)
~ 4 tbsp Simple home-made pesto sauce (see below for directions)

When I'm grilling, I use my George Foreman grill, which really keeps the cooked meat lean, but this will work on any grill. Brush a light layer of olive oil onto the chicken breasts and sprinkle a little salt and pepper to taste on the chicken before putting it on the grill. You'll want to cook it until it's cooked through and not much more. The more tender it is the better, just make sure it really is cooked through.

When it's done, dice it up into bite sized pieces and put it in a large bowl with a few handfuls of arugula, about 4 tbsp of sun-dried tomatoes (more if you like - I like to start with this and then bring more sun-dried tomatoes in tupperware for later), some ground cashews (for a little crunch), and about a tablespoon of lemon juice.

Next you want to add your pesto sauce slowly to the bowl. You want just enough to coat the contents of the bowl, not drown them, approximately 1 tbsp for each serving. Mix it up well, making sure that everything in the bowl is nice and pesto'd up, then layer a few spoonfuls out onto each piece of lavash and roll them up, folding the ends, before wrapping in aluminum foil. Easy peasy. Go on. Have a peace. :)

Simple home-made pesto sauce
3.5 packed cups fresh basil leaves
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup ground pecorino cheese
1/4 cup ground raw cashew

Combine basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, cashews in a blender and blend until smooth. When the mixture is completely smooth, add the pecorino and pulse the blender until it has been incorporated into the mix.


Roasted Fennel Rings
(makes 2 servings)

2 fennel bulbs
extra virgin olive oil

Preset your oven to 400 F. Prepare a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and then set a cookie cooling rack on top of that - preferably one with small squares instead of bars, but bars will do.

Take two fennel bulbs and cut much the same way you would make onion rings (cut off the ends, and then make regular slices). You'll want to peel apart each layer and set them on the cooling rack on top of the cookie sheet so that the individual semi-rings will not fall through. Brush olive oil lightly on both sides of each piece of fennel. Roast for about 20 minutes.

These roasted fennel rings have a sweet, not overly licorice-y flavor, and make a great light side dish or, even, a fun alternative to dessert.