Ode to Tomato-less Pizza

I love pizza. My husband likes to say he fell in love with me when he watched me demolish half a large pizza in roughly ten minutes. I fell in love with him when he bought said pizza off a delivery guy on the street.

When I gave up tomatoes, my first order of business was to figure out how to eat pizza without them. Luckily, there are endless options, and they're becoming more popular with the general public. My two favorites are white pizza and pesto.

White pizza can be made with Alfredo sauce or by brushing olive oil on pizza crust and adding garlic and other herbs (such as oregano, Italian seasoning, or something like Penzeys Spices Pizza Seasoning). Typical toppings for white pizza are spinach and chicken, but I also like sausage or a variety of vegetables. Pesto is also an excellent alternative to tomato sauce. I love it with pepperoni; with chicken and goat cheese; or with spinach, olives, and feta. My latest favorite is a delicious meatless pizza with mixed mushrooms and olives (see recipe below).

It's not difficult to make your own pizza dough, but it's also a step I'm happy to skip. Of the grocery-store options, I prefer Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough. Organic grocery stores often sell good frozen pizza dough too, and it's even better to buy dough from your local pizza store.

Pesto Pizza with Mixed Mushrooms and Olives

Ingredients:
Refrigerated or frozen, thawed pizza dough
Store-bought pesto sauce (approximately 4-5 T.)
Olive oil (1 T. plus extra for brushing)
8 oz. cremini (baby Portabello) mushrooms, sliced
6 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced
Small can sliced black olives, rinsed and drained
6 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat large skillet over medium-high, and heat 1 T. olive oil. Saute mushrooms until softened, about eight minutes.
3. Brush pizza pan with olive oil, and spread dough into pan shape.
4. Bake dough for two minutes.
5. Spread a thin layer of pesto sauce on the dough. Top with black olives, cooked mushrooms, and cheese.
6. Bake until cheese is golden, about 15 minutes.

Notes:

• Oven temperature and cooking time can vary greatly depending on the dough, so follow the instructions on yours.

• A little pesto goes a long way. Here is my pizza in stages:

 

Ode to Peanut Butter

I love peanut butter. It’s an obsession. I have tried to muster similar enthusiasm for almond butter, which I like just fine, but it’s not the same. It tastes a little too sweet and not nearly awesome enough. I’ve tried many kinds of peanut butter. In my former, pre-organic-foods life, I loved Jiff. But now my heart belongs to Trader Joe’s organic creamy peanut butter.

At the moment, I live 30 minutes from the nearest TJ, so whenever I go, I stock up like it’s about to be the peanut butter apocalypse. A few months ago I heard a story on NPR that there was a serious peanut shortage that might cause peanut butter costs to rise substantially or—gasp—stores to stop carrying the stuff altogether. I panicked and bought ten jars. The guy at the checkout looked at me like I was crazy, and when I tried to explain myself, I ended up sounding even crazier: “I heard there was going to be A PEANUT SHORTAGE!”

My favorite meal for PB-consumption is lunch. I like toasted bread or English muffins spread with the good stuff, or I use it as a dip for pretzels, pears, or apples. When I’m feeling more creative, I love these recipes:

• A “Curious George,” inspired by a sandwich of the same name I used to order regularly at Strawberry Fields, a natural-foods store in Urbana, IL. Just take two slices of whole wheat bread and fill with creamy organic peanut butter, banana slices, a drizzle of honey, and unsweetened coconut. Sunflower seeds are good on it too.

• In the "why didn't I think of this" category: peanut butter and banana quesadillas, a recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine.

• Rachael Ray’s Thai (ish) peanut noodles. I really appreciated Rachael Ray's easy, quick recipes when I was first learning to cook. Knowing that, my mom got me a gift subscription to her magazine the first year it came out. I didn't much like it, but I am so grateful I encountered this one recipe. It rocks my PB-loving heart.

Ginger, Soy, and Honey Sesame Noodles

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, August/September 2006

Ingredients: 

2 teaspoons peanut butter

1 tablespoon honey 

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

1 teaspoon dark sesame oil  

1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 inch of fresh ginger, peeled and grated 

¼ pound spaghetti, cooked

1 tablespoon light sesame seeds

In a medium microwavable bowl, heat the peanut butter in the microwave oven on high until melted, 15 to 20 seconds. Whisk the honey and tamari into the peanut butter, then whisk in the sesame oil and ginger. Toss the spaghetti with the sauce and top with the sesame seeds. Serves 1.

My notes: The original recipe calls for this dish to be served cold (with the noodles rinsed in cold water). That works really well if you want to make it ahead for a picnic, work, or school lunch. But I like it served hot too. The recipe recommends you toast the sesame seeds, which I am sure would be delicious, but honestly I have never had the patience. By that point in the cooking, it looks and smells so great that I don't want to add another step. I usually make the dish with whole-wheat spaghetti, and occasionally I use Thai rice noodles if I have them on hand. Most recently, I tried it with brown rice penne (see photo above), and I think I liked that the very best.

Beyond Marinara: Ode to Tomato-less Pasta

When I found out I couldn't eat tomatoes, I mourned the loss of my beloved spaghetti marinara. I ate a lot of alfredo at first, but even my high metabolism can't keep up with loads of cream sauce. And then I married a man who can't do lactose.

There are tons of other alternatives to marinara, like pesto and roasted red pepper sauce. If you're following a low-acid diet, you can find plenty of recipes for both without lemon juice or other offenders. A good roasted red pepper sauce (like this one) can take the place of marinara in lasagna and other pasta dishes.

I also adore this creative recipe for "no-mato" sauce from the IC Network:

"NoMato" Spaghetti Sauce

Ingredients for basic sauce:
6 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small beet, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and quartered (can substitute leek or onion powder)
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 whole bay leaf
1-1/2 cups water 
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced  
1 teaspoon dried basil and 1 teaspoon dried oregano OR 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 cup mushrooms -- I like baby portobello 
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 T. soy sauce or pinch of salt
2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water 

Place the first five ingredients in a pot and boil, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf, and puree with an immersion (or regular) blender. Add water as needed until mixture has the consistency of tomato sauce. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the minced onion, garlic, and dried herbs for five minutes. Add mushrooms and saute 10 minutes more.

Add basic sauce and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 10 minutes to blend flavors. Season with salt or soy sauce to taste. Place cornstarch in a small container and add water slowly while stirring. Stir until thoroughly dissolved in all the water. Add to sauce while it cooks, stirring until thickened. Sometimes the sauce is thick enough without any cornstarch.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can tailor it to suit your tastes. The mushrooms are optional, and you might prefer different kinds of seasoning. I like to add goat cheese at the end.

Finally, I make a lot of no-sauce pasta, like this one:

No-sauce Pantry Pasta

Ingredients:

12 oz. whole-wheat spaghetti

1-2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 jar roasted red peppers or 2 red peppers, roasted and peeled

¼ to ½ cup pine nuts

1 T. fresh mint, chopped

dried or fresh basil

Parmesan cheese, grated

Black pepper

Boil spaghetti according to package directions. Before draining, reserve 1 cup pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat a large saucepan at medium-high heat. Toast pine nuts in the pan, about four minutes or until lightly browned. Remove and set aside. Cut peppers into thin strips and sauté in 1 T. olive oil for about five minutes. If using dried herbs, add to the pan and cook another minute. Remove pan from heat, and add fresh herbs and pine nuts. Add enough of the reserved pasta water to make it all stick together. I also added a touch of olive oil at this point. Serve with plenty of Parmesan and black pepper.

Notes: I like to roast peppers under the broiler. Heat oven broiler to high, place whole peppers on a baking sheet lined with foil, and broil them until skin is charred. It usually takes me about 5-10 minutes on each side. Jarred pre-roasted peppers are a great shortcut, but watch for other ingredients, especially if you’re on a low-acid diet. They're often preserved in vinegar or citric acid. I can get away with using certain brands with citric acid as the last ingredient, as long as I drain, rinse, and dry the peppers before using.

Substitutions:

Substitute whatever is in your pantry or safe for your diet.

For the spaghetti: any type of pasta, white or wheat

For the peppers: spinach, peas, zucchini, kalamata olives (careful though: often preserved in vinegar)

For the pine nuts: chopped almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts

For the mint and basil: oregano, Italian seasoning

For the Parmesan: Pecorino, feta, or goat cheese

Additions:

This particular version had no onions or garlic, but you could easily sauté minced garlic and chopped onion before you add the peppers. Sometimes I like to add golden raisins with the peppers. I love the combination of raisins and mint. If you’d like to add meat, crispy prosciutto or shredded chicken would work well.