Pizza Dough Recipe

Pizza Making... Gluten Free

Aaron and Taylor choose toppings 

So, I love to bake and I love to cook. I also fully believe that our young people (in today's case my family) should be engaged in the process of this creative creating. And that can't be fully enjoyed without some level of chaos!

I also love pizza. Like seriously, if someone would give me permission to eat pizza everyday I probably would. Pepperoni and mushroom; chicken, spinach and feta; spinach, artichoke and feta; roasted garlic, chicken, pesto... the list goes on and on. Mushrooms, olives, pepperoni, chicken, spinach and lots of cheese.

So, the fact that I love to bake and cook and that I love pizza means that when the kids come over I love to make pizza with them. And there is nothing as exciting as making personal sized pizza - each making there own! (Okay, I make the dough!)

Ready for the oven

I make a gluten free pizza dough because I can. Because at one time my love for baking was disappearing as it was just not challenging enough. I knew the ingredients I mixed in the bowl would turn out - there was no uncertainty in it. The excitement is back as I keep trying out recipes with flours and ingredients that I know nothing about and stir mixtures with this slight fear that it might all flop (that wouldn't be the first time!).

Okay, now that is all out of the way - back to what is most important!

Pizza's done baking

This is the best pizza dough I've made to date, so, so good! And it was easy. It is a yeast dough (my last recipes have not been) so deciding to make it 30 minutes before dinner will not work. It will require the necessary rising time! I commend this recipe to you - currently I'm planning on baking some more and freezing it for those days when I decide it's a pizza night 30 minutes before dinner.

I made two batches which made five personal pizza's out of it.
The recipe is below but be sure to visit Nicole's website: www.glutenfreeonashoestring.com and the direct link to the recipe here.

Enjoy!!


Pizza Dough
2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup warm water (about 100 degrees F)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (plus an extra tablespoon or two for drizzling)

1. In a medium-size bowl or the bowl of your food processor, place the flour, xanthan gum, yeast, sugar, and salt and stir to combine.
2. To the flour mixture, add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the water in a steady stream, either pulsing in a food processor or mixing with a spoon or fork to combine. If you are using a food processor, pulse while streaming in the water, until a ball begins to form. Otherwise, stir constantly while streaming in the water and continue stirring until the mixture begins to come together. If the dough seems super sticky, add some more flour a tablespoon at a time, and stir or pulse to combine. Press the dough into a disk.
3. Place the dough in another medium-size bowl and drizzle it with olive oil. Turn the dough to coat it with oil. This will prevent a crust from forming on the dough while it is rising. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free area to rise until doubled in volume (about 1 hour).
4. After the dough has risen, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour before rolling it out.
5. To make pizza, roll between two pieces of plastic wrap. Create a crust by rolling in the edges, brush the dough with olive oil, and blind bake it at about 400 degrees F (that is, bake it plain, before topping it) for 5 to 7 minutes, sot he crust begins to crisp. Then, top it with sauce, cheese, and whatever else you have in the fridge, and return it to the hot oven until the cheese is melted, another 5 to 7 minutes.

Enjoy your Pizza!

Wordless Wednesday

I love this photo. Taylor took it when the kids were at my house in Sorrento a few weeks ago. Doesn't it just say everything that needs to be said? 

Ten on Tuesday: Merry Christmas!

Ten on Tuesday being completed on Wednesday!

The view outside my patio windows. 

1) Firstly, Merry Christmas!!

2) We had a white Christmas all around. My home in Sorrento has tons and tons of snow and the family home in Savona also has lots of lovely snow. It really is beautiful.

3) On Saturday I got to shovel some snow from in front of the Cathedral. I know this should sound tedious and like a chore but it actually was a lovely break from the "normal". It was nice to do repetitive activity - the night was quiet and peaceful. The slowly falling snow had stopped. And the geese sang their lovely song high above the thick fog. Following this peace filled activity was the Holy Table Holy Word service at the Cathedral filled with scripture, song, silence and the sharing of the Holy Meal.

4) The kids spent two weekends with me over the month of December - it was so wonderful to have them up in Sorrento, to have fun with them and to spend hours of play in lots and lots of snow! I'll write more about this in the coming week or so as well as share the pizza recipe that we tackled with great success!

5) Christmas Eve was a marvelous night at the Cathedral with a very simple and yet oh so amazing sharing of the Christmas story by our children. I loved it. And I loved even more how many children who are not from the Cathedral community joined us in telling the story... how many children felt comfortable enough to join us in that story sharing. This is Christmas.

6) It will never be "normal" to attend Christmas Eve services on my own without my family, but I am so grateful for the family I have in the Cathedral community. The family with whom I don't feel so alone.

7) My family gathered together in Kamloops for Christmas Eve celebrations that were fun, high energy and filled with excited children. It was a lot, a lot of good but also just simply "a lot" at the same time.

8) Christmas Day started with sleeping in until 8am - this was a first and oh so very much appreciated. And of course the day was filled with piles of wrapping paper, much joy and excitement and a delicious dinner.

9) This is the first Christmas in a few years that has all of us children together. It's great and of course has also resulted in family photo taking... photos soon!

10) I'm kind of glad that the "big-major-crazy" part of Christmas is over so that the slower pace of the celebration of the birth of the little babe can be enjoyed.

Ten on Tuesday: Changes

Nothing like almost four months down the road to pick up where I left off... only now summer has past,  new adventures have started, a new routine is trying to be discovered, fall has settled in and winter is around the corner. Where oh where do I start off? How about in the past week?!

Ten on Tuesday

Fall at Sorrento Centre

1) I've been settling into not only the job as Program Director at Sorrento Centre over the past month but have also been settling into my apartment over the past few weeks. It's coming together but will not happen overnight. A few items still need to come in from Savona... nevertheless it is so nice to have my own space to call home. My own space to make mine. My own space to be who I need to be outside of the rest of my life. Rest, Renewal, Sleep, Peace, Prayer.

2) Cooking... oh how I truly have missed cooking. This week I made some delicious beef patties with mushroom and feta in them. Enjoyed on top of a bed of green spinach and I was set! Tonight "Spinach Tomato Orzo Soup" is in my crock pot... so looking forward to enjoying that tonight!

3) Speaking of all things cooking... it's vital to get some stuff into the freezer so I can pull it out and take it with me for lunch and/or dinner during the many trips to Kamloops I'm making.

4) Last week I spent five days in the Calgary area gathering with representatives from each diocese of people who have a passion for working with youth. It was wonderful to gather with friends and colleagues. It was much needed time of sharing, conversation, worship, laughter and rest.

Play time with Theo!!

5) I'm not going to lie... one of the best parts of my resent time in Calgary was spending time with my friend Su from the Island and her 10 month old baby, Theo. I'll be bold enough to say that Theo and I became pretty good friends and had way too much fun playing with toys, crawling on the ground, and laughing. There is something about spending time with infants that reminds me of what is really important in life and how some things are really just not worth our time.

6) Youth Group - it's all happening again!! Some new ideas, some new adventures, some new faces and a whole lot of similar fun!!

7) A new church experience. I've been helping out with Sunday School here and there at the Cathedral during the 10am service. Sunday School is where I started out many years ago in the small town of Savona. It's where I learned about God, it's where I discovered my passion, it's where a group of adults believed in me, mentored me, and encouraged me - even though I didn't know I needed it. 8 years of Sunday School ministry and I'm once again dipping my toes into it and loving it. Right, back to the point. Because of this it means that I miss the scripture reading and reflection at the 10am service... so I've started to attend the 8am service (when I'm organized enough). This service is Book of Common Prayer, an unfamiliar book with unfamiliar and sometimes uncomfortable language.

8) I think I'm enjoying this 8am service thing. Yes, that is what I just wrote. There is something nice about the simplicity of it (no music, no interaction with neighbor, etc...), the unfamiliarity and the fact that I have no responsibilities and no one has any expectations for me (well, except maybe God). I sit in that small chapel with the small gathered group and I stop. I pause. I breathe. And sometimes, I just want to cry. It's the break I obviously need right now.

9) I have some pretty remarkable, caring and influential friends out there... just saying!

10) I slowly but surly beginning to feel settled for which I am very grateful.

Summer is here!

Staff Campfire

 The 2012 summer at Sorrento Centre has started! The staff have all arrived, the training has taken place, the team is coming together, the guests for week one have come and gone and the very hot weather has arrived!

What have I learned?

I've been reminded how very much I love staff training. Well, I love the intentional community building part of it. I love gathering together, getting to know one another, discovering what we will be and how we will be it, setting commitments and boundaries.

I *really* love doing this work with young people... there is just something beyond amazing about it! This is what I want to be doing all of the time. Can I just go from place to place helping to guide the building of community? Starting to conversations and allowing community to blossom and grow? My other thought is living in a big house for young adults to live as an intentional community knowing that the community would change in size and structure often as the lives of young people does. But wouldn't it be amazing.

Words for Community!

And so we built community. A community around respect, trust, teamwork and creativity! The building is not over, that will continue for the remainder of our time together. This was just the beginning. Now that that piece has been done it's time for my other favorite part to start: weekly checkins with staff!! This too is a time for much conversation and discovery. This too is a reminder of the work I love doing!

So: here we go! Together walking forward in a community of strength and the willingness to discover! Not only will I teach and lead but I will be taught and led.

We are a community

Wordless Wednesday

Some pictures form the last week or so... 

One lone, perfect, beautiful pansy in the labyrinth.

Sorrento Centre Leadership Team 2012?! Yep, exactly.

Stunning.

A glimpse of hope after so much rain!

My new friend... the Cathedral dog from Victoria. Adorable border collie. 

A gift from Amanda. Swans, purple, needed words.

Campfire anyone?

Ten on Tuesday

Ten on Tuesday

1. Realizing that I needed to spend my two days off at Sorrento Centre instead of in transport to other places was a very good thing. So I spent the weekend hiding in my room knitting and reading. It was lovely and so incredibly needed. I missed the things that I would have been doing otherwise, but this was in my very best interest. It's not everyday that I listen to my body.

2. I found a teacup and saucer plant pot – do I need to say anything more?

3. I have some awesome volunteers on site who are doing so much wonderful and important work for us. It’s great and I really appreciate their presence here. It's allowing some of our "dream" projects in our children and youth program space to be completed which is really nice to see. 

4. My Summer Youth Staff team arrive in exactly one week – I can’t wait!! And yet I am also aware of the massive amount of work that I need to complete before they all get here... eek!!

5. I finally found a copy of The Sound of Music on dvd – I can’t wait to find the time to sit and watch it. Every time I watch The Sound of Music I am taken back to the days of my childhood and the many stories my brothers, sister and their friends have of me making them watch the show... I just don't believe it! 

6. It's been two very rainy weeks with limited sunshine. Alongside the unfortunate weather my back started acting up again which has meant many hours of what seems like continuous pain. It's only been in the last few days that between warm magic bags and careful yoga that things have started improving. I was also reminded that it takes a lot of energy to deal with large spans of pain so it has been good to slowly gain some of that energy back. Somedays I feel like I am 105 years old. 

7. Did you know that there are birds that sing at 3:30am?! I didn't know this until I woke up at that hour and after crawling back into bed (after heating up my magic bag and successfully finding the advil at this unfortunate hour) could hear them sharing their song.

8. Tonight ended with the most beautiful rainbow that I've seen in a long time... it was a perfect and complete rainbow with a light sprinkle of rain accompanying it. A true sign of hope.

9. Speaking of hope... I'm holding onto the hope that tomorrow will be sunny. It would also help with morning wardrobe decisions. After so many days of rain and forgetting to start laundry this evening the "winter" clothing options are getting slim.

10. I think it's almost bed time... which I understand might be a sad fact even if it is reality!