Almond Flour Pizza Crust

When this appeared on my feed in the app I use for my dietary treatment I was very curious to try it because I really missed pizza. Sure, my local pizza place is confused but obliges when I ask if they can make me a dish of sauce and melted cheese and toppings, but I still sometimes miss pizza with crust.

Notes:

• The recipe calls for almond meal (which is a term some people use to specifically designate that it contains the skins of the nuts). I used almod flour with skins because I had it on hand but I think they want you to use the kind without the skins, or at least that's what the picture makes it look like. HOWEVER. I have a feeling they used a picture of a regular ass non-keto pizza on the recipe in my app, and not the product of this recipe, though I haven't tried it with the other kind of almond flour yet to be sure.
• I use the large holes of my grater to shred the cheese, though since you're melting it other sizes would probably work fine too. DO NOT buy pre-shredded cheese since it is coated in something that may interfere with melting and might also be carbs.
• I mix in the egg with my hands because it's kind of hard to do with a spoon.
• For toppings, I use about 1/2 cup jarred marinara sauce, about 2-3 oz shredded mozzarella cheese, and any keto-friendly cooked meats and vegetables. I made my own Italian sausage with ground pork and this herb/spice mixture to ensure it didn't contain sugar or starch.
• For future reference: if not adding extra salt, the crust + 2 oz cheese for topping has ~1800 mg sodium for the whole pizza.
  

Verdict: I was surprised at how much it behaves like bread dough before you put the egg in! It's not quite the same as regular pizza dough obviously but it's rather good. I would absolutely have it again, and I really want to try it with the other kind of almond flour once my flour-with-skins runs out. Posting the full recipe below because my phone falls asleep every 5 minutes and it kicks me all the way out of the app every single time I want to look at the recipe again.

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RECIPE:

Almond Flour Pizza Dough
Makes 6 servings

6 oz (170 g) mozzarella cheese, shredded (plus more for topping the pizza, I usually use about 2-3 oz more)
3/4 cup (75 g) almond meal or almond flour
1 large egg
2 tbsp (1 oz, 28 g) cream cheese
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 425 F. Mix the shredded cheese, almond meal, and cream cheese in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Add egg, salt, and spices and stir gently until combined.

On a cutting board, place ball of dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll into a circle about 1/8 inch thick and about 12 inches in diameter. Remove the top piece of parchment paper and poke holes with a fork all over to prevent bubbles from forming while baking.

Place pizza dough (still on the parchment paper) on a baking tray or pizza stone and bake for 13-15 minutes or until browned around the edges. For a crisper crust, flip the pizza dough over before adding toppings. Add toppings of choice, return pizza to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes or until toppings are warm and cheese (if added) is melted.

Burnt Leeks and Beans

I was reading about butter beans (yes I know they're blowing up right now) and saw an Instagram recipe that I thought would be really good. I could not make it as written but wanted to put my own spin on it.

Notes:

• I was concerned about having dirt in my leeks if prepared the way the author shows in their video, so I sliced my leeks in half lengthwise before cooking them, rubbed a bit of olive oil on them, then baked them in the air fryer for about 20 minutes to get some charred bits.
  
• The recipe is designed to be vegan but since I'm not vegan and didn't want to go to the store specifically for vegan ingredients I used standard dairy butter and milk.
• I scaled it down to fit the amount of ingredients I had, especially since it made a lot and I knew I'd be the only one eating it.
• I didn't bake it after mixing everything together because I was short on time.
  
• I ate it on top of toasted bread.
  

Verdict: It was fairly easy to make which was nice. I burned my mouth trying to eat it before it was cool enough to eat it and it still tasted good. White wine adds such a nice flavor. I would love to have it again.

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RECIPE:

Burnt Leeks and Beans
adapted from Burnt Leeks and Beans (Georgie Eats)
Serves 2-3

2 large leeks or 3-4 small (about 500 g)
2 tsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp (30 g) butter
1 tbsp (8 g) all purpose flour
2 large garlic cloves, minced (if using prepared garlic, about 2 tsp)
2/3 cup (150 ml) half and half or milk of your choice
Scant 1/4 cup (50 ml) dry white wine (I like chardonnay)
1 whole sprig fresh rosemary, or 1/2 tsp dried and crumbled
1/2 tbsp (about 4 g) nutritional yeast
16 oz can (about 450 g) butter beans or white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Crusty bread, for serving

Preheat the oven to 425 F (or 400 F for air fryer/convection oven). Trim the root ends and tops from the leeks at the point they start to flare (where it starts to turn a darker green). Reserve tops for another use or discard. Cut in half lengthwise, rinse thoroughly (separate the layers a little while rinsing to get between them). Dry thoroughly. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and black pepper. Place on an aluminum foil lined baking tray and roast for 30 minutes, or until significantly browned/charred on the outside.

While the leeks are roasting, melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. When fully melted and foaming, whisk in flour and garlic vigorously to form a paste (roux). Cook while whisking for several more minutes to fully cook the flour. Gradually add milk a little at a time, whisking continuously, to make a smooth sauce. Add the white wine and rosemary, then heat the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened and glossy and alcohol has been evaporated. Remove the rosemary sprig from the sauce (if using fresh; if using dried omit this step), then add nutritional yeast and stir to combine. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Transfer roasted leeks to a cutting board and chop roughly (into about 2 in/5 cm length pieces). Add these to the pan with the sauce. Add beans to the pan. Stir to coat the leeks and beans thoroughly with the sauce. If you like, you can transfer this to an oven-proof dish and bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top, but can also be eaten as is at this point. Top with freshly ground black pepper to taste, and serve with crusty bread.

Roasted Cabbage with Walnuts and Parmesan

I *finally* located some Savoy cabbage to be able to make this and I was very excited to try it.

Verdict: It was all right, but I'm not sure I'd go out of my way to make it again, especially because my partner wasn't a big fan of it.

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RECIPE: Roasted Cabbage with Walnuts and Parmesan (Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen)

Potato Kugel

This is another recipe I had on the "try" list for quite some time, and I thought it would go well with Christmas dinner (salmon and vegetables).

Notes:

• I learned to use the slicer disks on my food processor for this and there was a bit of a learning curve so the potatoes ended up different sizes.
• I served it with sour cream and fresh dill.
• I sliced leftover pieces of this lengthwise and pan fried it to go with breakfast eggs (and it was tasty).
  

Verdict: I would like to try making this again with a bigger grate on the potatoes (use the larger holes on the food processor, or maybe a box grater) and in a shallower pan. I think mine may have been too thick because it didn't get very crispy, and it also turned a little gray/brown so it didn't look as nice as the recipe author's.

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RECIPE: Potato Kugel (Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen)

Roasted Potatoes with Dill

I went looking for a recipe for dill potatoes and tried this one because it sounded good, and because we had fresh homegrown garlic to put with them.

Notes:

• There's a lot of butter mixture to cover the potatoes and I used even more potatoes than the recipe called for. The extra just sat in a puddle in the middle of the pan so you could likely use up to 3 lb potatoes if you wanted.
  
• I used regular butter rather than vegan butter because it's what I had on hand.
  
• I did not cook the dill with the potatoes because in my experience fresh herbs taste better and more noticeable on roasted veggies when they're not cooked with the vegetables, and despite the instructions, the author's recipe photos clearly show uncooked dill on the potatoes. I instead sprinkled it over them while they were done cooking but still hot.

Verdict: Pretty good! I liked the addition of lemon juice (I don't normally put it on my roasted veggies because I thought it might taste weird but I liked it here). The garlic got very dark brown and I liked the flavor that added. If I had all the ingredients on hand I'd make it again.

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RECIPE: Roasted Dill Potatoes (Holly Gray, This Wife Cooks)

Pomarola (Tuscan Style Tomato Sauce)

Someone at my partner's work brought a giant box to share of San Marzano tomatoes they'd grown, and I ended up with a couple of pounds of them and decided to make this sauce.

Notes:

• I used fresh tomatoes rather than canned, and did not remove the skins.
  
• I didn't have fresh basil so I used dried oregano. I did put in the garlic because I had fresh garlic on hand and didn't have quite enough onion as the recipe called for.
  
• I blended the sauce at the end for a smooth texture.
  

Verdict: Pretty easy to make and tasted great! We ate it with gnocchi. If I ever found myself with a lot of the right kind of fresh tomatoes again, I would definitely make it.

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RECIPE: Pomarola (Filippo Trapella, PhilosoKitchen)

Karelian Pies (Finnish Rice Pasties)

We vacationed in Finland recently and one of the things I fell in love with is Karelian pies (karjalanpiirakka in Finnish). They were often served for breakfast (ohh the lovely hotel breakfast) but can be eaten at any time of day. I missed them enough when I got home that I decided to try making my own.

Notes:

• I used Arborio rice because I didn't think I was going to find the traditional type of rice, and with its creamy texture I thought it would work better than Japanese rice.
• I used half and half instead of milk because it was what I had on hand, and omitted the butter in the filling.
• You can make the filling ahead and chill it to make it a little easier to assemble.
  
• I added an extra splash of water into my crust dough because I thought it was a little too dry.
• I only used maybe 3 tbsp each of the melted butter and milk for brushing, didn't do the brushing step halfway through cooking, and they still tasted fine and there was mixture left over.
  
• The recipe author isn't kidding when they say heavily floured board. The dough is fairly sticky. I poured out what I thought would be too much extra flour and ended up using pretty much all of it.
• 4-5 tbsp filling per pie is a better estimate than the 3 tbsp written in the recipe. I got toward the end and realized I was going to have filling left over so I REALLY piled it in those last few.
• 500 F oven seems quite hot but please trust it! It worked just fine for me.
  
• I made egg butter with 2 boiled eggs and about 4 tbsp Irish style butter and it worked nicely.
• If the rice porridge filling is not your thing, these can also be made with mashed potatoes, fish, or meat as the filling.
  

Verdict: These are definitely bigger than the ones at hotel breakfast, and were kind of a lot of work, but they tasted really good! I would gladly make this recipe again if I had a craving for them.

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RECIPE: Karelian Pies (Inspired by Maps)

Fresh Tomato Salad

Verdict: It was all right. I think maybe some sweetness would have made it even better, or some cheese. I'm not sure I will go out of my way to make this again but it's a nice way to use up lots of tomatoes that are best eaten fresh.

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RECIPE: Tomato Salad (The Kitchn)

Chickpea Pan Bagnat

Apparently, flattening your sandwich down enough so it will fit in your mouth is not an exclusively American thing.

Verdict: I liked all of the flavors together (the vinegar and oil soaked bread was really nice actually) and how filling it was, but it was kind of hard to eat and didn't stay together very well. Preparing all the separate pieces took kind of a long time too. Not sure I'd go out of my way to make it exactly like this again, but a simplified version might be nice.

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RECIPE: Chickpea Pan Bagnat (Smitten Kitchen)

Scallion Pancakes

Notes:

• I froze two of them for later. It's a little harder to make sure they get cooked in the middle without burning the outside but they still taste really good.
  

Verdict: I already knew I liked scallion pancakes, and fresh homemade ones are even more of a treat. They're kind of a lot of work, but really delicious.

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RECIPE: Cong You Bing Scallion Pancakes (The Woks of Life)

Easy Aloo Gobi

Notes:

• The potatoes and cauliflower took a LOT longer to cook than the recipe says and needed more water than it shows.

Verdict: It was all right and decently easy, but didn't have the richness of flavor I really like from Indian restaurant food. It was mostly just spicy. I wouldn't go out of my way to make it again but if I had all the ingredients on hand I would possibly try it again.

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RECIPE: Easy Aloo Gobi (Veena Azmanov)

Mushroom, Caramelized Onion, and Spinach Pizza with Blue Cheese

Inspired by a pair of new friends that made and served us delicious vegan pizza for dinner when we went to visit them a couple of weeks ago. They made a mushroom and caramelized onion pizza and I kept thinking about it. I also had a big tub of spinach in my fridge that needed consuming, and some blue cheese crumbles I also needed to use up, and all of these things sounded good together so I got to work.

I tried a new from-scratch pizza dough recipe for this that was both quicker than my bread machine can make and tasted a lot better too, so I am likely to use it from now on when I make pizza.

Notes:

Dough

• I used all purpose flour.
• I only had active dry yeast so I did let it proof for 10 minutes in warm water mixed with the sugar before adding it to the rest of the dough ingredients and it worked great.
• I added dashes of garlic powder and thyme with the dry ingredients.
  
• Since it's winter and it's cold where I live, I proofed the dough in a very slightly warmed oven. I let my oven preheat to its lowest temperature (170 F), then turned it off as soon as it reached temperature, and let the dough proof in there.

Toppings

• For sauce I used about 1/2 cup jarred alfredo sauce because I had it and it sounded good, but you could also just drizzle/spread the top of the rolled out crust with some olive oil.
  
• I chopped 8 oz crimini/baby portabella mushrooms into bite sized pieces and sauteed them in olive oil with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder until soft but not until all their liquid had been released.
• I caramelized 2 small-medium sweet onions in a couple tablespoons of butter with a pinch of salt for ~20 minutes.
• I wilted about 6 oz spinach in a saucepan with a tiny bit of water, sprinkled some garlic powder and salt on after cooking, waited until it was cool, then squeezed out most of the water. I then chopped it roughly.
• I used about 3-4 oz blue cheese crumbles. These went on last.

Verdict: I was really impressed with the pizza dough! It was pretty straightforward to make, easy to work with and shape, and tasted great (significantly better than my previous go-to recipe). I was especially happy with the texture. The combination of toppings was also better than expected, really wonderful for a clean-out-the-fridge creation. I would gladly make this dough again and even this exact pizza.

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RECIPE: Pizza Dough (Sugar Spun Run)

Cabbage Roll Soup

My mom made this soup and brought me some the last time she came to visit me, and I liked it so much I asked her to teach me to make it. I used some of the tomatoes she grew and gave me to make my own batch. She cobbled together a few different recipes from her collection and sent me all of them, including her handwritten version. I fleshed out the directions a bit more and added bay leaf because it sounded good. I never liked beef vegetable soup from a can very much but I LOVE this. I also love that it doesn't taste like canned tomato sauce.

There's just nothing quite like your mom bringing you homemade food even when you are a grown adult. :)

Notes:

• I used chicken and onion broth because I didn't have beef broth/bouillon when I cooked it. You can use a vegetable based broth for vegetarian/vegan soup.
  
• I used only the beef but really want to try it with beef + rice sometime. You can leave out the meat and make it with just rice for a vegetarian/vegan version. Make sure to add extra water or broth if you add rice because the rice absorbs liquid, and you want it to still have some broth after the rice cooks.
• I used about 1 tbsp dried parsley instead of fresh because I didn't have fresh.

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RECIPE:

Cabbage Roll Soup
from my mom
Serves 6

2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 large onion, diced
6-8 cups chopped green cabbage (about 1 lb, about 2/3 of a medium head of cabbage)
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp each dried basil and dried oregano (or 1 tsp Italian seasoning)
½ tsp salt
Black pepper to taste
4 cups vegetable or beef broth (more if you add rice, 5-6 cups total)
14 oz diced fresh tomato (canned is also OK)
3 tbsp brown sugar (cut down or omit if using canned tomatoes)
1 bay leaf
½ cup dry long grain white rice (optional)
1 lb ground beef (optional)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice, or to taste
¼ cup fresh parsley, minced

Heat oil in soup pot. Add celery, carrot, and onion and sauté until softened and onions are translucent. Add garlic, basil, oregano, salt, and black pepper and stir to combine. Add cabbage and cook until cabbage has sweated (about 5 minutes), then add broth, tomatoes, sugar, bay leaf, and rice (if using). Bring to a boil, then turn down heat, cover, and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until flavors have melded and rice is fully cooked. (If using rice, it will probably be more like 20 minutes.) If using ground beef, brown it in a separate pan while the soup is simmering, then set aside. Remove bay leaf from soup, then stir in lemon juice and parsley and browned ground beef (if using). Serve hot.

Chinese Style Tomato and Egg Stir Fry

A coworker who came to study in the U.S. from China sometimes brings this to work for lunch, and she made it sound so comforting and tasty that I wanted to try it for myself. It's apparently a very popular home cooked dish in China, and can be eaten for any meal of the day.

Notes:

• I ended up using garlic chives from my garden because I didn't have any scallions in the house at the time I had all the other ingredients.
• I used freshly picked summer tomatoes and I imagine that's what this tastes best with.
• I do not have a wok so I used a nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.
  

Verdict: It was quick, easy, and satisfying. It strikes me as a late summer version of Niratama Donburi, which I love. I would happily make and eat this again.

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RECIPE: Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry (The Woks of Life)

Squash Toasts with Ricotta and Apple Cider Vinegar

I wanted to try a new way of preparing winter squash and I also had a lot of ricotta cheese on hand, so I decided to make this, even despite my misgivings about cooking vinegar into it.

Notes:

• I used buttercup/kabocha squash.
• I only used 3 tablespoons of maple syrup because I greatly prefer savory preparations of winter squash to sweet ones.
  
• I didn't have any fresh mint so I skipped it.

Verdict: I did enjoy it (yes, even with the vinegar cooked in!) but I will make less next time if I'm the only one eating it. I was getting sick of it by the 4th round.

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RECIPE: Squash Toasts with Ricotta and Cider Vinegar (Smitten Kitchen)

Parsley Leaf Potatoes

My partner doesn't like mashed potatoes so I am always looking for other ways to prepare potatoes, especially for holidays. This recipe appealed to me because it looked really easy but still fancy.

Notes:

• If I have it, I use duck fat.
• I make as many potatoes as will fit on the pan (so there isn't an empty spot just spitting grease in the oven). I have used gold potatoes and Russets and both work nicely.
  
• One time I made it without the parsley leaves because I didn't want to go to the store. They tasted great anyway.
  

Verdict: Absolutely wonderful and not fussy in the least. These are probably going to be my go-to special occasion potato.

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RECIPE: Parsley Leaf Potatoes (Smitten Kitchen)

Apple and Cheddar Scones

I made these because I wanted to use up some odds and ends in the kitchen and this knocked out the most things at once.

Notes:

• I have used Cortland apples and a mix of Fuji and Gala apples. The Cortland apples tasted better to me but ended up very soft. The Fuji and Gala apples kept their shape a bit better but maybe aren't the best for baking.
• I think the dough turned out a little too soft/sticky for me both times I've made them (the final product has less structure than there looks to be in the original recipe photos) and I'm not sure why. I have tried measuring the flour by weight and volume, and I mixed the dough more thoroughly the second time because there were puddles of melted butter during baking the first time. Maybe I cooked the apples too much? I'll have to keep working at it.
  

Verdict: Definitely keeping this recipe around for later. Even with the dough being a bit too soft the flavor is great, much better than I anticipated. They're a little more fussy than I'd like but not prohibitively so. I missed them after they were gone the first time and made a second batch a month later.

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RECIPE: Apple and Cheddar Scones (Smitten Kitchen)

Chana Masala (Indian Chickpea Curry)

After a failed attempt a long time ago I have been hesitant to try making chana masala from scratch again, but this recipe seemed a lot more approachable and I was determined to make something healthy to eat today, so I steeled my courage to try again.

Notes:

• I did not have green chili pepper. I used red pepper flakes instead.
• I served it with steamed basmati rice.
  

Verdict: Both my partner and I really liked it, and I liked how easy it was to make. I would make it again.

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RECIPE: Authentic Chana Masala (Tea for Turmeric)

Spinach with Sesame Dressing

I have a similar experience to this recipe's author in that this is one of the first vegetable dishes I discovered in Japan that I went wild over. I always got excited when I saw this on the dinner table. It took me several different recipes for it and attempts to make it at home before I got it to taste good, but this particular recipe has worked well for me. I strongly recommend this for children or people who might be unsure whether they like spinach -- I refused to eat spinach any way my mom prepared it, but I loved this immediately.

Notes:

• Please please please do not skip toasting the sesame seeds. It makes a big difference.
  
• The biggest key to this recipe working correctly is making sure that you thoroughly squeeze out the water from the spinach after it is cooked. Any excess water will dilute the dressing and it will not taste as good.
• I saw my host mother make the dressing entirely in the mortar bowl (adding the soy sauce and sake to the ground sesame and sugar, mixing it, and then pouring over the spinach) but I have a feeling that the soy sauce could stain the inside of the mortar and it can be harder to scoop out of the grooves when it's wet because it's fairly thick.
  

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RECIPE: Horenso no goma-ae (from Let's Eat Japanese Food, by Amy Kaneko)

Chinese Greens with Mushroom Sauce

I bought yu choy and shimeji mushrooms and needed to use them up, and I wanted to give it this kind of treatment so I was happy to find this recipe.

Notes:

• The batch pictured above used only half the amount of sauce in the recipe because I didn't have very many mushrooms.
  
• I didn't use the dark soy sauce.
• I did mix in some oyster sauce as the sauce was cooking and thickening in the pan.
  

Verdict: True to its title, this recipe was easy, as well as quick and delicious, and also looks attractive. I'd love to make it again.

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RECIPE: Easy Chinese Broccoli (Omnivores Cookbook)