Traveling has been an important part of my life for the last 20 years. When Jason and I got married, I spent hours and hours researching a warm, exotic, unique travel destination. In the last two decades we have travelled to Cozumel, Roatan, Italy, Spain, the Yucatan Peninsula and Mexico. We generally avoid big box hotels, frequent boutique inns and enjoy local food experiences. Once I started taking better care of myself, I struggled incorporating fitness into my travel plans. I would search for local yoga studios, go on a hike or a run, but it was always a struggle.
Barre3 in Mexico
I finally decided to research fitness retreats. The problem with most of the retreats is that they seemed to be very focused on yoga, beach and relaxation. They bored me. I was craving adventure, spectacular locations and yummy food. Then I stumbled on Escape to Shape. Finally, a fantastic concept in fitness retreat that appealed to all of my travel senses! Run by Erica Gragg and Francesco Anchisi these retreats are perfectly curated for those seeking a well balanced vacation of culture and fitness, at off the beaten track destinations. Every detail is perfectly arranged, from the moment you are met at the airport, to the tasty and healthy meals, to the cultural tours, to the accommodations (generally at small, character hotels, that offer amazing food and services).
Dancers in Cambodia
Touring Angor Wat
Temples at Angor Wat
Our first trip with Escape to Shape was in March, to Cambodia. It was 7 days filled with amazing culture, exploration and yoga. Erica and Francesco were the perfect hosts. We. Were. Hooked. We immediately booked another trip with Escape to Shape and found ourselves on the far end of the earth in Patagonia in November.
Soaking up the sights in Patagonia
Hiking to the glacier
Icebergs
19 of us made the long journey down to the tip of Chile in Central Patagonia to Explora, for 7 days of extreme adventure and exploration. All, but two of us, were repeat Escape to Shapers, with most having been on 5+ retreats. Our second trip did not disappoint! The location and accommodations were spectacular!! The Explora Patagonia is one of the most picturesque and remote hotels in the world.
The view from our room
Our home for the week!
Amazing views around the property!
Perched along Lake Pehoe, next to the Salto Chico waterfall, it overlooks Paine Massif and its granite towers. The water is the brightest, clear blue you have ever seen. Pictures cannot accurately reflect the magnitude of the beauty here. Need I say more?!
Unbelievable beauty!
The large staff of trained guides to take you on any level of fitness adventure you desire. Everyday we had a wide variety of hiking excursions and horse backing adventures from which to choose, followed by an hour yoga class in the evening.
Battling the wind was a team effort!
There was also plenty of time to relax, read, swim, sip wine or take a hot bath. It was honestly, the perfect blend of fitness, relaxation and exploration. Everyday we were in pure awe of our surroundings, whether enjoying the warmth of the sun, or pushing our way through 60 mph wind gusts and rain.
Hiking through the wild blue yonder!
Unlike other Escape to Shape adventures, the cultural experiences consisted of educational lectures on the geography of the area, history of the indigenous people, and information on the variety of flora and fauna. The land is actually more fruitful than you’d think, given its harsh conditions.
Some highlights of my trip was a half day hike to a massive glacier and boating around its gorgeous blue crevasses….
The massive glacier
Enjoying the picnic styled lunches on the trail, complete with hot soup and Bailey’s and coffee……
Lunchtime!
Lunch on the trail
Hiking through a brutal wind and rain storm, then finishing the afternoon at the Quincho (wood BBQ heated cabin) to warm up and enjoy a Patagonian BBQ feast…..
A wood heated cabin
Patagonian BBQ
Patagonian feast
My first horseback ride! A gorgeous day, skirting up and down hillsides, taking in the immense view on these beautiful creatures……
The gaucho preparing my horse
My partner for the afternoon
Horseback riding
Sharing a cup of mate with the Gauchos after our horseback riding adventure……..
The gaucho preparing mate
Now we are headed back home with our hearts full of beautiful memories and new friendships. And we have already booked our next excursion to Cuba in May! You should definitely check out the Escape to Shape website for future destinations. Consider being part of the tribe;)
I’ve always loved coconut macaroons. The toasted, sweet coconut is the perfect GF dessert, especially when it’s dipped in chocolate. Then I was introduced to the French macaron.
A gorgeous display of French macarons in Paris.
These beautiful pillows of egg whites and almond flour with a tasty filling, come in every color and flavor combination imaginable. While in Paris, I vowed to eat one macaron a day….no problem! I never imagined that I would consider making them…..until last week;)
While picking up a few goodies at Sur la Table, I spotted this fantastic macaron kit:
A macaron making kit!
The Lekue macaron kit!! It intrigued me. Could I make my own macarons!? I opened the kit, which simply contained a silicon mat, dough dispenser and small cookbook. I think that using a pastry bag has always intimidated me. Something about having a reusable, silicon ‘bag’ was appealing to me. So I bought it!
Before embarking on my macaron journey, I decided that I needed to do some research. I found a whole blog post dedicated to troubleshooting every macaron issue imaginable at Misohungry.
Could it really be this difficult? After about an hour of reading and researching, what I’ve come up with is that it’s not very difficult. There are a few important steps that you need to follow religiously. Other than that it is luck;)
What I read, over and over again was the need to cure the egg whites. Basically, you leave them out of the refrigerator over night. If you are like me and forget this important step, you can put them in the microwave at 5 second increments, for a total of 20 seconds.
Quick curing the egg whites in the microwave.
Now you can proceed to whip the egg whites using a hand mixer or Kitchenaid at medium speed. Slowly add the granulated sugar. This process should take, roughly 4 minutes. Just whip until they form stiff peaks.
Whipping the egg whites!
Now, you can carefully add about 1/2 of the rest of your dry ingredients, using a spatula to carefully fold the ingredients together. Use finely ground almond flour. If you feel extra efficient, you can sift your powdered sugar, but it didn’t seem to make a difference for me. Do not over mix (this is hard to do). The goal is to fold the ingredients no more than 10 times…..unrealistic for me, but it’s a good measure to keep in mind. Now add your food coloring (just a few drops to make your macarons into gorgeous pieces of art) and/or flavors. Go easy on these items. Too much liquid or additional flavoring will ruin the batter. A few drops or a scant teaspoon of coloring and or essences (rose water, vanilla, liquor, etc) or just 2 teaspoons of dry ingredients (chocolate powder, spices, etc). I opted to make a simple, chocolate macaron to start, so at this point, I added 2 teaspoons of raw cacao powder, then folded it into the batter a few times.
Cacao powder and caramel for the filling!
Now, add the rest of the dry ingredients and carefully fold into the batter. Quickly move on to the next step. You do not want your batter to sit!
Fill up the batter dispenser!
Here’s where all of the fun starts! Place the batter into your pastry bag or dispensing tool of your choice. The kit that I purchased, has a silicon baking mat with circles outlined on it, for easy dispensing. I did not try to draw a circle with my batter. I simply pushed out enough batter to make a tear shaped, dollop. No worries, the batter will slowly flatten and spread out. I filled the entire pan and then, using a small spoon, I tidied up any stray or messy edges.
Macarons!
There was quite a bit of extra batter leftover, so I continued making more macarons on an extra silicon sheet. If you don’t have a silicon sheet, just use a cookie sheet with parchment paper;)
After 35-40 minutes, a shell forms over the macaron.
Now, let these beauties sit for 35-40 minutes. In this time, they should flatten out and form a shell.
I highly recommend baking these in a convection oven preheated to 300 degrees for 8-10 minutes. (If you don’t have a convection oven, try 325 degrees for 20 minutes.) Mine were done in 8 minutes. It was very difficult to let them sit and cool down! I was so excited to fill and eat them!
A few of them stuck a bit on the mat. No worries, they will be covered up with a tasty filling, soon enough! A few of them were slightly browned. Oh well, I ate those first. To simplify my macaron adventure, I decided to use some Alma lavender caramel sauce that I bought at The Meadow in Portland for the filling.
Once my macarons were cooled off and assembled, they looked perfect! But how did they taste!? Amazing! So unbelievably good…..so I made another batch;)
Chocolate and caramel macaron
For the second batch, I decided to make balsamic and rosemary macaron with a fig jam filling. I added a scant teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and 2 teaspoons of dried rosemary to the batter.
Balsamic rosemary macaron with fig filling.
Next time, I think I’d actually cut the sugar down considerably, due to the high sugar content in the jam. These turned out beautiful, as well. Can’t wait to try some more variations! I think they’d be lovely as a housewarming gift:))
2 tsp of dry flavoring of your choice (cacao, herbs, spices, flavored sugar, etc)
1 scant teaspoon of flavoring of your choice (vanilla, liquor, rose water, etc)
Instructions
Cure the egg whites, by leaving them out of the refrigerator over night. Or you can put them in the microwave at 5 second increments, for a total of 20 seconds.
Whip the egg whites and a pinch of salt using a hand mixer or Kitchenaid at medium speed.
Slowly add the granulated sugar. This process should take, roughly 4 minutes. Just whip until they form stiff peaks.
Combine the powdered sugar and almond flour in a separate bowl.
Carefully, add about 1/2 of this mixture to the egg whites, using a spatula to carefully fold the ingredients together.
Add your food coloring and/or flavors. Go easy on these items.
Now, add the rest of the powdered sugar and almond flour and carefully fold into the batter.
Place the batter into your pastry bag or dispensing tool of your choice.
The kit that I purchased, has a silicon baking mat with circles outlined on it, for easy dispensing.
A regular sized cookie sheet should yield 48, to make 24 macarons.
With the leftover batter make more macarons on an extra silicon sheet. If you don't have a silicon sheet, just use a cookie sheet with parchment paper;)
Now, let them sit for 35-40 minutes.
I highly recommend baking these in a convection oven preheated to 300 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
If you don't have a convection oven, try 325 degrees for 20 minutes.
Once cooled, you can fill with pre made chocolate or caramel sauce, preserves, buttercream, lemon curd, etc. There are tons of recipes for a variety of fillings. Once I sort through those, I'll post them here;)
A week in Paris with a friend was just what the doctor ordered! Who doesn’t need beautiful scenery, amazing culinary inspiration and a bit of shopping, once in awhile!? Literally, our main goals on this trip were to eat lots of great food, explore the city and shop! Being that this was my second trip to Paris, I didn’t find the need to head to the main Parisian attractions. I was able to let the days unfold with a loose plan based on multiple recommendations. Every night, we planned our route of culinary treasures and shopping excursions for the next day. Although we made great utilization of the Paris metro, we managed on walking 5-10 miles a day! (Comfortable shoes, moleskin and bandaids are a must!)
Comfortable shoes are a must!
Our trip began with booking a great apartment in Le Marais through Airbnb. This is a very inexpensive and fantastic option! It allowed us to have our own bedroom and bathroom, have coffee and breakfast in the apartment every morning, freshen up our clothing (it had a washer and dryer) and bring back culinary goodies to snack on throughout the week (it had a well equipped kitchen).
Our apartment in Le MaraisOur apartment in Le MaraisThe view from our apartment window!
I highly recommend our apartment in Le Marais if you like to stay away from the touristy areas and want easy access to a wide variety of restaurants and shopping;)
My food recommendations in Le Marais:
Robert et Louise
64 Rue Vieille du temple
Wood fired steak!
A fantastic, rustic, tiny restaurant that specializes in wood roasted meats. Simple and delicious, the meal is accented by the glow and amazing scents emanating from the wood oven.
Robert et Louise in Le Marais:)
Reservations are a must! Since our apartment was a few steps away, we opted to show up, right as they opened at 7:00pm. We lucked out and managed to secure two seats at the tiny bar which provided us plenty of entertainment throughout the meal!
Duck Confit!
The duck confit and salad were amazing! Tasty, simple, good. We also shared a half bottle of red wine and a cheese course.
Cheese course!
This was an amazing value at €56! Rumor has it, they have a €12 price fixe lunch menu! Upon further investigation, I’ve just read that it was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s show a few years back!
-La Petite Marche
9 Rue Bearn
Le MenuLe Petit MarcheIncredible lunch!
We stumbled into this charming, corner cafe our first day in Paris. I’d found it on Pinterest as one of the best restaurants in Le Marais. We were not disappointed. It was packed with locals and the tiny kitchen was hopping! I ordered the daily lunch special which included an amazing goat cheese salad and a choice of two plates of the day. I choose the lentils with sausage. I don’t know how something so simple could be so amazing! We washed it down with some local white wine, content and happy:) Infact, we loved this place so much, we went back for dinner for the burrata salad and the Black Angus steak dinner.
Sidewalk view:)
Random paintings adorn the walls…
Burrata!
All dinner items come with the creamiest mashed potatoes you’ve ever had and sugar snap peas! Yum! I finished the night with the flourless chocolate molten cake…..amazing!
-Au Merveilleux de Fred
28 Rue de Francois Miron
I love being greeted by this gorgeous chandelier!
You can’t miss this corner gem of a bakery. An enormous crystal chandelier greets you as you walk in the door. As you look around, it’s clear that they only sell one thing….merengue. But not just any meringue…..the lightest, fluffiest, bites of heaven, you can imagine. I’ve never had anything like it!
Meringue!!!!
The sizes range from small, bite sized morsels, to a large, cake sized masterpiece. They come with a variety of toppings (hazelnut, dark chocolate, white chocolate, caramel and berry). I tried them all. We stopped by there 3 times. Yum!
-L’ As Du Falafel
32-34 Rue des Rosiers
A must if you are in the area! Even if you have eaten already! Share it with friends! Do what you must! The line looks long, but moves quickly. The To-Go line is on the left, the dine-in line is on the right. If you don’t want to deal, with a mess, order the plate of falafel (costs more).
The best falafel in Paris!
Besides getting the most amazing falafel you’ve ever had, you get two types of cabbage salad, cucumber and tomato salad and the most delicate, melt in your mouth roasted eggplant, ever! This place is famous for a reason:))
-Au Petite Versailles du Marais
1 Rue de Tiron
One of the best boulangeries in Paris!
Even though I’m gluten free, I have to post this amazing find! Apparently, this boulangerie, which has been open since 1860, has received the highest honor for their patisseries (and few have achieved this status)! It is considered one of the best boulangeries in Paris. It is small, but beautiful. If you order a baguette, be sure and order a baguette traditional, which only contains 4 ingredients (salt, flour, yeast and water)!
-Breizh Cafe
109 Rue Vielle du Temple
I couldn’t eat here either, but I have been assured, these are some of the best crepes in Paris. If you can’t get into the restaurant, you can order to go in the shop next door, which is well stocked with salted caramel, crepe mix and other tasty gift items! Breizh Cafe Paris
Other food recommendations, while out and about:
-Laduree
Laduree
Multiple locations throughout the city! We visited the tea room off of Bonaparte and Jacob. The menu was amazing! Lots of sweets, including their famous macaroons! They also serve breakfast and lunch!
Coffee at Laduree
Brunch at Laduree
Feeling the magic!
We ended up sharing an omelette (the best I had in Paris) and a salad, sipping on some champagne and finishing our meal with coffee and macaroons! Immensely decadent, indeed! Funny, I don’t have a single picture of a macaroon from Laduree! I ate them immediately;)
-Le Relais de L’ Entrecôte de Paris
20 Rue Saint Benoit
Le Relais de l’Entrecôte
I love, love, love this place! A fun find and interesting Parisian experience! Show up at 7:00pm, or wait in line. The vibe is casual and vibrant:) There is only one thing on the menu and it is their steak frites dinner. Your meal starts with a tasty green salad. The steak is cooked to order (medium or rare) and comes with a pile of fries and a generous portion of the tastiest green sauce you can imagine (I’m hoping to recreate it)! The game changer is that the meal is all you can eat for €26. Order some wine and come with an empty tummy! Le Relais de l’entrecote
-Angelina’s
226 Rue de Rivoli
Champagne!
This needs to be on every girl’s bucket list! A beautiful, but bustling spot to enjoy their famous drinking chocolate (or coffee or tea), champagne, breakfast, brunch or lunch. A perfect place to rest your feet after hitting the Louvre:)
The tea room!
Omelette and champagne!
Their famous Monte Blanc!
We enjoyed lunch, champagne, dessert (Their famous Monte Blanc) and coffee! It is worth the wait! If you are in a hurry, all of their beautiful desserts are available for purchase in the adjacent shop, as well! Angelina’s on Rivoli
-Au Petit Riche
25 Rue Le Peletier
Au Petit Riche
A more serious French meal, with an extensive wine list, oysters, escargot, organ meats, etc. Off the beaten track, and open since 1854, it has a rich and interesting history.
Oysters and champagne!
Great service, old school setting and a wonderful meal. This was our most expensive meal in Paris. Au Petit Riche
Culinary Goods and Specialty Shops & Services
-La Cuisine Cooking School
Basting the sole
American owned and operated, but offers authentic lessons in
the basics of French cooking. I opted for the 4 hour evening French Market Class. Our instructor had worked at Michelin Star restaurants in Paris for the past 10 years and was very informative.
Fresh fish
Figs
Fresh herbs for our dinner
We visited the local market to determine what the freshest and best options were for our dinner. We vote on our menu (dietary restrictions were easily accommodated) and we worked together to cook a fabulous meal! Highlights of the meal for me were simple knife skills, basting techniques for cooking fish, making buerre blanc and cream brûlée, making a variety of whipped cheese for stuffing, simple and tasty salad dressings.
Watermelon salad with stuffed figs
Our main entree
Pistachio Creme Brûlée With strawberries
Our meal included a cheese course, salad, veggies, fish, dessert and wine. €150 La Cuisine Paris
-E. Dehillerin
18 et 20 rue Coquillière
E. Dehillerin
This famous cooking supply shop was frequented by Julia Childs, back in the day! It is filled to the rim with the most extensive variety of baking supplies, pots, pans, knives, and implements, you’ve ever seen.
The copper items are splurge worthy, but impossible to get home:/ I opted for a gorgeous set of skewers, cheese spreaders, a cheese knife and an apron. The prices are really good. E. Dehillerin
If you are more of a baker, see below….
-Mora
13 Rue Montemarte
Right around the corner from E. Dehillerin, but specifically geared towards the baker. Tons of madeleine and tart pans, unique cookie cutters, specialty sprinkles and such!
-Nicole Barthelemy Fromager
51 Rue de Grenelle
Barthelemy
Cheese heaven
Oh my….
World famous and rightfully so! This small, refrigerated shop is filled to the brim with so many cheeses, pates, pestos, crackers and wine, you’ll be inspired to have a picnic.
-Bon Marche Groceries
Set in the heart of St. Germain, this large department store has all of the exclusive brands of clothing, shoes and housewares, you can imagine! But forget about that stuff! The grocery store on the 2 lower levels, is my food heaven! Even if you have zero intention on buying anything, you should check it out! We ended up buying the makings for a beautiful cheese course back at our apartment.
Cheese, pate, figs and Rosé
Cheese, pate, GF crackers, figs and Rosé. It was perfect! And I hear that this Rosé is available in the states;)
I love brunch. I love Spanish cuisine. I love live music. A wine paired brunch? Sure! Plaza del Toro offered all of these amazing elements during their last Sunday Service brunch! Each Sunday Service has a theme and an amazing price fixe menu, offering a wide variety of sweets and savories that pay homage to specific theme or food region. The most recent brunch menu was named Almuerzo, which is lunch in Spanish. 10 courses of amazing Spanish food…..I’m I heaven. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Brunch Menu
Plaza del Toro is the creation of restaurateur John Gorham, chef/owner of Portland’s Toro Bravo, Tasty n Sons, Tasty n Alder and Mediterranean Exploration Company (MEC). I finally had the opportunity to eat some of his incredible food, without waiting in line! Yes, brunch is available by reservation;)
The space is grand, with tall ceilings, big windows, exposed beams and huge spherical light fixtures. Regardless, of the large, open space, it remains cozy and inviting! A wood fired oven is situated at the end of the dining room. It shares a portion of an exposed kitchen, where a meat slicer and large plating station sit. Throughout the meal, gorgeous t-bone steaks are pulled from the fire and carefully sliced for a lucky recipient.
Slicing up the t-bone….
We are seated at a long, communal table and presented with a price fixed menu. For $35 we will get 10 courses of amazing, Spanish cuisine. Does it sound like a lot of food? It is! Thankfully, we showed up with empty bellies, so we could enjoy everything:)
Additionally, a wine paring is available with the meal for an additional $35. Given the fact that it is 10:00 in the morning, I decided to go with a Spanish Rosé from the Basque Region, about halfway through the meal. It was perfect! Pick your poison….There is a full bar available!
Spanish pastry and chorizo.
The meal started with a warm Spanish pastry. I have been assured by Jason, that it was delicious, buttery like a croissant and sprinkled with powdered sugar (I couldn’t eat it, since I’m GF). Then a plate of Spanish chorizo was brought out. Spanish chorizo is much different than the chorizo in Mexico. More mild, less spicy, more smokey and complex. It’s sliced up like salami. I highly recommend it, if you’ve never tried it before! I nibbled on the chorizo throughout the whole meal.
Spanish tortilla, anchovies and coffee.
Next on the menu was the Spanish tortilla. Tortilla Espanola or Spanish Omelet is the one of the most commonly served dishes in Spain. It is also called Tortilla de Patata or Potato Omelet. Bars and cafés in Spain serve it as a tapa or appetizer, but it is often served as a light dinner. It is made with layers of potatoes and eggs and is served at room temperature. Here, greens were added to the tortilla, adding beautiful color. Finally, it was served with romesco sauce and a dab of saffron aioli. Amazingly, simple and tasty! A small plate anchovies en escabèche (pickled Spanish fish) was brought out as well! One of my all time favorites. They can be found in bars and restaurants across Spain but it is most commonly found in Andalusia, in the South of the country. This is largely due to the fact that they actually derive from Moorish cuisine. We were also served a small taste of gazpacho…..Very good!
Perfectly grilled octopus.
My favorite part of the meal was next! Grilled octopus! Ok, I know this is not for everyone, but hear me out. It is delicious if it is prepared correctly. They managed to grill it to perfection! Do you know how hard it is to make octopus soft and tender and not rubbery?! And the accompaniments of cannellini beans, mint, cucumber and black chili sauce were beautiful, as well as tasty. I especially loved the addition of cannellini beans. And the portion was generous! Honestly, it was so good, I forgot to get a picture of the next tasty course, which was the baked eggs….oops.
Spanish guitarist Toshi Onizuka.
At this point, my tummy is in need of a rest! Thankfully, the courses are spaced out nicely, to allow you to enjoy the food and the ambiance. Did I mention that there was a Spanish guitarist on the premises? It really added to the atmosphere. Music is an important part of the brunch here. Depending on the brunch theme, you might catch a DJ spinning some tunes:)
Fire roasted t-bone, potatoes, padrons and heirloom tomatoes.
The fire roasted t-bone was next. Thinly sliced, it was served with a combination of potatoes, roasted padrons and heirloom tomatoes. There was a nice vinegar vibe to the vegetables. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish it! 2 hours into the meal and I was done!
Churros with chocolate dipping sauce
The next course was churros with chocolate dipping sauce. It was a massive quantity! My husband took one bite, just to assure me that they were perfect and then he promptly had the rest of them boxed, to enjoy later. Last, but not least was the chocolate bonbons…..a perfect ending to this decadent feast!
I’ve been GF for over three years. I gave up on manufactured, GF bread and pasta, years ago. When baking, I tend to gravitate towards the simplest recipes. Let’s face it, it’s very difficult to master GF baking without the addition of weird, binders and flours. So, I’ve gone without sandwiches, flour tortillas and pizza this whole time!
GF Pizza!
Pizza has been the most difficult sacrifice! One of my favorite meals, is a rustic style, thin crusted pizza loaded with fresh veggies, gobs of mozzarella and pesto. Well the wait is over! I’ve discovered the most incredible, easy to make, GF pizza dough EVER! All you need are 4 ingredients!
I ran across this link on Pinterest about 6 months ago…Summer No Bake Pizza. The concept was brilliant! The ingredients were simple! Alas, I couldn’t perfect it:( The dough kept sticking to the pan. In the end, it made a mess and it wasn’t pretty……but it was super tasty! It was something between a thin crust pizza and a flatbread.
So, I decided to forget about the stovetop method and opt to using the same recipe in the oven, in an oiled, parchment lined baking sheet. The results were perfect! And in the end, I was able to enjoy a yummy, GF pizza, made of wholesome ingredients, loaded with protein and void of processed junk! Pure heaven!
GF Quinoa Pizza
To start, you must soak 3/4 cup of quinoa overnight, or at least 8 hours. This allows the quinoa to soften up and bulk up! Rinse the quinoa and transfer it to a blender or Vitamix.
Soak the quinoa overnight
Rinse the quinoa
Add quinoa to your Vitamix or blender with all ingredients:)
Add 1/4 cup of water, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder and herbs. I opted to add a hefty tablespoon of homemade pesto;) Now blend the mixture on high for 2 full minutes. Pour the batter into a small, oiled, parchment lined baking sheet. The parchment paper serves two purposes. One is to keep the batter from sticking and the other is to easily transfer the completed pizza for cutting and serving!
Make sure to oil your parchment paper!
Carefully, pour batter onto your pan!
Evenly spread the batter:)
If you use a regular sized baking sheet, the batter will be too thin and will turn out to be more of a cracker! When pouring the batter into the pan, just concentrate on spreading it evenly. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully flip the crust. It will already look toasty and browned;)
After 15 minutes of baking! Now it’s ready to flip!
Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven. The crust should be perfectly browned!
Perfectly browned and ready for toppings!
Now for the fun part! Add all of your favorite pizza toppings. For my first pizza, I kept it simple, adding pesto as the base, fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil. Now pop it back into the oven for 5 more minutes, just to heat up the ingredients and melt the cheese. You know it’s done when you see the cheese bubbling:)
GF Pizza!
Transfer onto a large cutting board to slice and serve:) I’ve experimented with all kinds of different toppings!
The finished product!
This pizza was made with pesto, fresh mozzarella and balsamic roasted veggies (green tomatoes, peppers, onion, eggplant and corn)!
A fun variety of balsamic roasted veggies!
A simple, elegant meal when served with a green salad and a glass of wine:) I’m thinking of making a large batch of crusts next time and freezing them! I’d love to hear about your creations! Let me know!
