Quinoa Pizza Crust

Last month, I visited the Mercy home in Surrey to do some personal life story sharing and to cook and eat with the girls. On other occasions at the Mercy home, I’d taught meal planning & budgeting classes (you might be interested in my previous post on those visits), but what fun is it to talk all about food without cooking and eating together? This visit moved us into the kitchen.

With so many different girls each with their own food needs, interests & dietary requirements, we planned a menu full of variety and flexibility. It was a great challenge and fun for me to test out this quinoa pizza crust ahead of time. You’ve got to try to believe it; I had no idea you could blend up quinoa to make a pizza crust. We don’t avoid gluten in our home, but I love seeing all that is possible. Now I’m wondering what else I could use to make a pizza crust (if you enjoy trying gluten free recipes, you might also want to check out this recipe for gluten free pumpkin muffins)

We also did a cauliflower pizza crust, tried out a breakfast pizza (complete with a couple eggs on top!) and used goat cheese from Milner Valley Cheese. Pizza making parties with adults and kids is quickly becoming a favourite hobby of mine.

Recipe – Gluten Free Quinoa Pizza Crust

~makes 2 thin 8 inch crusts

Adapted from: http://forlifepersonalchef.com

1 1/2c. quinoa, soaked overnight (or for the day) and drained

1/2 – 3/4 c. water

1 tsp. coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)

1/4c. olive oil

Preheat oven to 450º F. Place the quinoa, water, and salt in a blender and blend until creamy. The consistency will be thick (like pancake batter). Start with 1/2c. water and see if you need more.

Divide the olive oil and cover the bottom of two 8 inch cake pans. Place the pans in the oven until they are shimmering hot (not smoking). Remove from the oven. At this point, you can add some minced garlic and/or herbs if you would like. Divide the quinoa mixture evenly. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip the crusts over and return to bake another 10 minutes.  They should be brown and crispy. Add toppings and bake for another 5 minutes.

Dessert Pizza

Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and 2-3 tsp of sugar to the blended quinoa batter. Bake as directed above.

Thinly slice 4-5 apples and lightly cook in a frying pan with a little butter. Add 1 – 1 ½ cups of brown sugar and 1-2 tsp of cinnamon. For more sauce, add ¼ – ½ cup of water. Once boiling, stir in a tablespoon of cornstarch that has been previously dissolved in a little water or apple juice. Add the apples to the crust and serve a la mode or with plain Greek-style yogurt.

Fieldstone Vintage Market

Passionate vintage shoppers and appreciators of all things handmade & local came together at last Saturday’s outdoor European-style market. Together, the Bakerview EcoDairy and Birch and Bird Vintage Home Interiors put on this spectacular Fieldstone Vintage Market complete with picnic options, BBQ, petting zoo, amazing ice cream, live music and a line up of vendors not to be missed.

Now, our macarons are not vintage (thank goodness!), but they did make a successful appearance in all of their natural, handcrafted and local glory. It was truly our pleasure to be there and meet so many other incredible vendors & shoppers. Thanks for inviting us to join this year’s market Lily & Rachel of Birch and Bird! It must be said that the location itself was breathtaking. The EcoDairy is “the first demonstration farm of its kind in Canada” with focuses on green energy, experiential learning, education and agri-technology. To read more, check out their website.

It was 6:30am when we began set-up, so as you can imagine it was a foggy start all around! I enjoyed wandering around doing my own window-less shopping, taking photos and socializing just as much as I loved sharing my macarons with anyone who stopped by surprised that there was an edible treat amongst the flowers, stationary and furniture. We heard “I thought these were soaps” several times before the sweet cookie and butter cream of our macarons changed any notions of finding cleaning products at our table! Another funny from that day was the few shoppers who tried to purchase my display of old books. Sorry to disappoint, but those are my personal collection. I’ll share the macarons but not the library.

Thanks to everyone for coming out and to all of you who asked where you could find our macarons in Abbotsford, the Nutrifoods Market at the EcoDairy will be carrying them shortly. As soon as they’re available there, we’ll update our webpage so stay tuned! Enjoy the rest of the pics and get ready to come out next year if you missed the market this time around.

Macaron & Wine Pairings at Township 7

Yes, Langley has wineries! Actually, not only are there quite a few excellent wineries in Langley, but their wines measure up. A few of my favourite local wineries include Vista D’Oro, Township 7, Domaine de Chaberton & Neck of the Woods.

The founder of Domaine de Chaberton, Claude Violet, “found that grape varietals similar to those grown in Northern France and Southern Germany were best suited to our climate and environment.” Many of theses wineries grow their white grape varieties locally, while red grapes are grown in the Okanagan. Vista D’Oro’s on premise Walnut Tree allows owners Lee & Patrick to produce their flagship fortified Walnut Wine. Liquid gold. Honestly!

I was delighted to be asked to sample macarons during Township 7′s Anniversary Celebration last weekend and relished in having free reign to pair three of our macarons with Township 7 wines. Who doesn’t love pairings?! Our table was popular and my helper (saviour!) Ruth-Ellen and I enjoyed every minute of it. Many vineyard guests that day found a dessert or hostess gift to accompany their newly purchased bottle of wine. Here is what we sampled, poured and paired:

Pistachio Macaron with Pistachio Butter Cream paired with Township 7′s 7Blancs

This off-dry, fruit driven wine contrasted nicely with the mellow and subtle flavours of the pistachio macaron.

Vanilla Bean Macaron with Lavender Butter Cream paired with Township 7′s Chardonnay (oaked).

The fresh apple, peach and citrus of the Chardonnay accentuated the lavender in our Vanilla Bean and Lavender macaron. Guests trying our recommended sip of wine, bite of macaron, sip of wine strategy loved how the lavender sprang to life!

Natural Almond Macaron with Rosemary Salted Caramel  & Vanilla Butter Cream also paired with Township 7′s Chardonnay (also paired well with their Reserve Chardonnay).

The beautiful earthiness of the rosemary and the rich vanilla buttery filling in our Rosemary Salted Caramel macaron joined wonderfully with the gentle nuances of vanilla, coconut and hazelnut in the Chardonnay.

In addition to their Langley vineyard, Township 7 also has a vineyard on the Naramata Bench. I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Mike, last weekend, who was in town for this celebration to do special tastings from their wine library collection. 2005 Merlot, oh my goodness.