P. I. Z. Z. A.

This post needs no explanation, but I will give it one because I love the subject so very much.

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To define what pizza means to me would be impossible. I can come close by providing a short list of words that describe how pizza makes me feel:

• elated
• high
• fulfilled
• rainbows
• dreamy

Pizza just makes me happy to be alive. When I began researching the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, I became intimidated and fearful when I realized that I may never eat real pizza again. I’ll save you the sob story and skip right to the best part: Eleven months after that terrible realization, I have developed a recipe for great tasting pizza.

Note: deliciousness of this product was evaluated by someone who does not eat according to the paleo diet or the SCD.

Deliciousness was approved.

Kara Marsh, my taste tester and best friend, was just as obsessed with this pizza as I was.

Now, enough chatter and onto the recipe.

Ingredients for the crust:

• 2 eggs
• 1 head of cauliflower
• 4 tbsp. almond flower
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• salt
• pepper

Materials:

• pizza pan or baking sheet
• kitchen towel
• potato masher or, more preferably, food processor
• parchment paper

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Wash and cut cauliflower into 1-inch chunks
3. Steam cauliflower for 5-8 minutes, or until slightly tender (you can wiggle a fork in it)
4. Allow the cauliflower to cool and whiz it in a food processor until it resembles rice
5. Place the veggie into a dish towel and squeeze the heck out of it, ensuring as much water is removed as possible
6. Combine eggs, drained cauliflower, almond flower, cheese, baking soda and salt and pepper
7. Take half the mixture and place it on a baking sheet topped with parchment paper. Push the mixture down until it resembles a rolled out pizza dough. You are looking for a thin, even pizza crust
8. Bake for about 30 minutes, but check up on it to make sure it is not burning. It should be beautiful and golden brown when you add toppings
9. Remove pizza, flip it over, and add whatever toppings you like. Pop it back into the oven and remove it when the cheese (if you are using cheese) is brown and bubbly

 Keep tinkering around with this recipe until it becomes your own. Change toppings, add herbs to the crust. Be creative.

Until next time, my lovely readers!

Back to Reality

Looking back at my experience in Berlin feels like trying to recall a dream. I search for memories of Berlin, but they come back to me out of order. I’ll suddenly have a flashback of the Reichstag followed by a walk through Tiergarten. But that’s not the way it happened.

My mind merges my flights to Germany with my flights back to the States. It confuses flavors and sounds and sights.

All those thoughts make me wish I was back, though, so I could remember what it was all like again in the same surreal vividness and vibrancy that first captivated me.

When I returned home from Berlin, I was hurtled into the real world once again. In Berlin my mind and body were both at peace. But just two days back in the United States, my stomach was a wreck. I had to return to Gainesville with my mother because I was so weak and sick.

Since I began with the SCD I never really broke the rules. I would occasionally eat a few bites of pasta or a few potato chips, but other than that I stuck with it. I realized that this diet does not control my disease, but when I am not in a flare up it helps. So I stuck with it for the most part in Berlin and when I arrived home too.

I was very sick all throughout June and July. Now that school has started I finally feel better, but my perspective on this diet has changed. Now I will allow myself to have soy sauce. I’ll indulge in plantains and maple syrup (not together of course). I should have let myself eat the ice cream at the TV Tower on our last night in Berlin.

I am eternally grateful that I felt perfectly healthy whilst in Germany. I wouldn’t have had the spectacular time I did if I wasn’t feeling well. I wish I could go back and eat a lamb sausage at Prater Garten. But I’m back in Gainesville, which means that Berlin is far away and reminders of it come when I see a fellow classmate or my professor who led the trip.

For you, dear reader, while I sadly sit in Florida and not Berlin, you can be happy because this can only mean one thing for you: MORE AWESOME RECIPES.

Departure

Everyone hates goodbyes. I wish I didn’t have to leave, but Berlin taught me its lessons and now it is time to go. My roomates Xin and Shibei were amazing and they also taught me some pretty great lessons in Chinese.

  

Berlin was fun and so was the class, but alas, auf weidersehen!

Berlin Illustrator Stretches the Imagination

Imagine training for one year to run the New York City Marathon. Plus imagine actually running it and getting to the finish line.

Now imagine running the New York City Marathon while drawing and posting the pictures to social media sites.

That’s what Christoph Nieman, a prominent illustrator, did.

Nieman has illustrated for the New York Times, The New Yorker, Google and more. His illustrations are mainly political, but his work can vary from something as serious as radiation in Fukushima to a comedic app called Petting Zoo.

My class was lucky enough to meet Nieman and learn about his job and his philosophy on life, clients, creativity and humor.

Nieman designs for himself and clients. He stressed the importance of always being able to deliver what he promised to clients and always meeting or going beyond expectations.

This a a copy of the New York Times Book Review, where Nieman’s illustration is featured on the front page. Nieman says he likes working on a deadline because it allows for a certain spontaneity – he does not like second guessing his work. Long deadlines can force a person to be overly critical and ruin a good idea.

Nieman recently released his book “Abstract City” and in it he writes and illustrates about his life when he lived in New York. The book is funny and makes light of the life of a New Yorker. Nieman says humor is a result of the unexpected.

Nieman is always pushing his own boundaries and limits. Take his triumph over the New York City Marathan for example: http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/new-york-city-marathon/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

For more information about Christoph Nieman, visit his website: http://www.christophniemann.com/

 

TV Tower: How do I Love Thee?

Let me count the ways.

1. Symbolic

2. Pedestrian

3. Central

The TV Tower was erected by the German Democratic Republic in 1969 as, foremost, a television signal tower. Now it stands as a symbol of the moderately recent unified Berlin. The tower is visible almost everywhere – a constant reminder of the wholeness of Berlin.

People Watching

In Berlin sightseeing is much more than taking a tour of the city. Sightseeing in Berlin is a lot more like people watching, because it is the people of Berlin (not just the history) who make the city so unique. They show Berlin’s liberal, free-spirited nature and add life to a city that has been torn by so much war.

  

Berlin Beginnings

My late arrival to Berlin cut my trip short a few days, but it hardly seems like I’ve missed out. Just like the constant construction of the city, each day new opportunities arise for tourist outings and excursions.

The city combines the antique with the contemporary in almost every aspect. Old designs and new designs are seen in architecture, parks and cultural aspects like beirgartens.

Here’s what I’ve seen in the last few days:

The Brandenburg Gate is one of the most classic icons of Berlin. The statue on top, called a quadriga, was stolen by Napoleon in the early 1800s and taken to Paris. When Napoleon was defeated in 1814, the Prussians got the quadriga back.

 

A political rally for the Social Democratic Party in the center of Alexanderplatz roused tensions among the crowd.

The mirrored dome atop the Reichstag, Berlin’s capital and parliamentary building, reflects the desire for complete transparency in the German government. People can stand on the roof and see Berlin from all angles, including many embassies and, of course, the TV Tower. Learn more about the Reichstag here: http://www.berlin.de/orte/sehenswuerdigkeiten/reichstag/index.en.php

 

Misadventures in Wonderland

There’s a sticker that circulated around Gainesville that says “Anything that can go right will.”

I’m not a disillusioned person, but I always liked that phrase. I liked it, but I never said it was true.

This summer I embarked on an adventure to Berlin, Germany. Up until the moment my luggage arrived at the Berlin hotel – late – everything that could go wrong did.

Here’s a synopsis of all the fun misadventures I got myself into on my unexpected three-day transit to Berlin:

• Hung out at the MIA airport for five hours waiting for my delayed flight
• Got off the plane because the pilot wasn’t there
• Got on the plane when the pilot showed up
• Arrived in New York at 1:30 a.m. Friday and missed my connecting flight to Berlin
• Received a free hotel room and a boatload of airport meal vouchers from American Airlines
• Successfully navigated from the hotel in Queens to the Upper East Side of Manhattan on the subway
• Went to Central Park
• Got lost in Central Park
• Met a flight attendant from Buenos Ares who is training to become a pilot
• Walked to the Metropolitan just before the rain
• Accidentally stayed in the European classical paintings section way too long
• Saw at least 10 Van Goh paintings
• Ate a mediocre burger in a space with six bar stools, 10 employees and one cooktop
• Almost got crushed by a subway train door
• Missed my connecting flight in London Heathrow to Berlin Saturday morning
• Met a young Polish engineer on the flight to Berlin
• Finally got to Berlin – before my luggage
• Dreamed about my luggage all Saturday night while talking in my sleep
• Ended my streak of bad luck Sunday when I picked up my suitcase from the front desk

That concludes my unluckly streak of misadventures – I hope.

 

Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled — Pears?

Pear sauce is undoubtedly weird.

I’m going to make a guess and say most  Americans grew up on applesauce as opposed to pear sauce. But when life gives you too many pears on the verge of going bad, making pear sauce is the best way to make the most of a mealy situation.

The sauce has a bright pear flavor, and it is surprisingly tasty! It offers a good break from applesauce, especially when you’ve eaten all your applesauce. The texture is different, but change is good.

Here’s what you do:

Photo by Shayna Tanen

Gather 6 of your favorite types of pears (or however many you have lying around).

Photo by Shayna Tanen

Peel each pear and slice the flesh away from the core. Chop the pears up into small, 1/4 inch pieces.

Photo by Shayna Tanen

Throw the diced pears into a pot with 1 teaspoon of either cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (I used pumpkin pie spice that has cinnamon, ginger, lemon peel, cloves and cardamom in it.) Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 cup of water and let everything come up to a boil.

Once boiling, lower the heat down to medium-low and let simmer for up to 20 minutes. Remember to stir the mixture a few times to prevent burning and uneven cooking.

After 20 minutes, simply take a whisk and stir. The pears should be soft enough that they fall apart and make a course sauce.

Photo by Shayna Tanen

Take the pears off the heat, serve and of course enjoy!

Pear Sauce Recipe

• 6 ripe pears of your choice
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Peel and dice the pears into about 1/4 inch pieces.
2. Place the pears into a large pot with the water, spices and vanilla.
3. Bring the pot to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low.
4. After 10 minutes stir the pears. Leave them for another 10 minutes, take the pears off the heat and they are finished!

 

 

Luck o’ the Irish

St. Patrick’s Day has come and gone, but it left me with something green, crispy and delicious to snack on:

Kale chips.

It must have been the luck of the Irish that was granted upon me that day. Kale chips are a pain to make, and I went through a process of trial and error for at least five batches prior to my last attempt. The leaves are rather robust, but adding too much heat and time can burn them in a matter of minutes. I finally came upon a Food Network recipe by Mellisa D’Arabian that is perfect.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-kale-chips-recipe.html

Gather a big bunch of kale, olive oil and salt. Photo by Shayna Tanen

Slice the rib out of the kale. It’s hard and doesn’t make for good eats. Photo by Shayna Tanen

Coat the leaves generously in olive oil and spread them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Pop the tray in the oven at 275 degrees for 10 minutes. Photo by Shayna Tanen

After 10 minutes, flip the kale around. Return the baking sheet to the oven and allow the kale to cook for 10 more minutes. Photo by Shayna Tanen

Here’s what you do:

• Gather your ingredients: kale, olive oil and salt.
• Cut the rib out of each piece of kale. Just run your knife along the rib on either end; it comes off easily.
• Cut the kale into even pieces, about an inch each. Coat the leaves in olive oil and place them on a tray lined with tin foil or parchment paper. You don’t have to do that, but I don’t have a dishwasher, and I hate cleaning dishes so the foil eliminates dish-washing.
• Place the kale in the oven at 275 degrees. Let them go for 10 minutes, then take them out and gently flip them and move them around. Put the kale back in the oven and cook for 10 more minutes and…
• You’ve got kale chips! Toss ’em in salt to season them. I also like to sprinkle paprika on the kale, just for a little something more.

Kale chips are oddly addictive. I ate that whole bowl immediately after I cooked it. When it comes to newly discovered SCD legal snacks, I just can’t help myself.

I bought that batch of kale at the Union Farmers Market (featured on my last post), and I plan to buy more this week! If you haven’t tried kale chips, give them a try. And bake them yourself. I think you’ll find that the process is fun, plus it’s much cheaper than buying them in the store.

Keep eating green Gainesville!