Crispy Flatbread Pizzas

I've been trying to find a good recipe for a quick pizza dough without the rise time when working with yeast. I can be patient, but my kids, not so much. So I came up with a two-in-one solution using my home made tortillas. By rubbing a little olive oil over them, it makes the edges crisp up just like a pizza. I like thin cracker-like crust anyway, so this worked PERFECTLY. With the tortillas already made, this recipe takes 30 minutes or less! I usually spend weekends restocking my pantry with our home made staples like the tortillas, granola, crackers, almond milk etc... so I typically have them on hand most of the time. Everyone got to have exactly what they wanted on their pizza which was a big win. Serve it with a salad and you're done!

 I used my cashew cream as a vegan alfredo and it was delicious. I like to make vegetables the star of my pie so I just loaded on sliced mushrooms, diced zucchini, quartered grape tomatoes and a giant pile of arugula. I drizzled the whole thing with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Then I crumbled up some chunks of fresh mozzarella. It's really flavorful and you don't have to load up on the heavy shredded stuff. It makes this pizza light and tasty while still getting that bubbly brown on top.

Bake this at 450 for 10 - 12 minutes, rotating it halfway through the cooking time. You can get super creative with toppings and flavor combinations. Experiment and have fun with it. Let your kids make their own by setting out bowls of toppings. They will love that.

Get the recipe for the whole grain tortillas here and the cashew alfredo here.

ENJOY!

Whole Grain Tortillas

Sometimes I just feel like an old fashioned recipe. You can still have healthy foods without going vegan or gluten free. I think it's important to realize the language of our health depends on the signals we receive from our body. It will always let us know when something isn't right. Listen to the way you feel after you eat. Are you tired or cranky afterwards? Do you get headaches or feel abdominal discomfort? These are the important questions. Though gluten is considered inflammatory even in small amounts, some of us are less sensitive and will tolerate it without much interruption. Moral of the story is: Experiment with foods and combinations. Deepen the dialogue between your mind | body connection and make notes. You are on your way to writing your own food signature.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unbleached organic white flour
1 cup organic whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons filtered water
1|2 teaspoon sea salt

DIRECTIONS
Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle. Pour in the water and olive oil. Mix with a spoon until everything is just combined. Do not over mix this step. Keep a dish of flour on your workspace where you'll be rolling the dough. You'll need a rolling pin and a dough scraper or a metal spatula.

Lightly flour a clean surface. Knead the dough about 15 times until it becomes uniform and stretchy. Keep dusting your hands and the counter with just enough flour to keep it from sticking to everything. Kneading dough is simple if you have never done it before. Make a ball and with the base of your palm, press into it and spread it in all directions. Pull one side over to meet the other and press it into a ball again. You are literally stretching and activating the gluten. It takes a little elbow grease but it isn't hard once you get going. You'll know it's ready when you push on it and it bounces back. Let it rest for 10 minutes.

Take a dough scraper or a knife and cut it into 8 sections. These are your tortillas. Roll each one into a ball and start rolling it out gently in all directions, creating a fairly uniform circle about 1|8 inch thin. Cook them in a lightly oiled pan for 2-3 minutes on both sides. They should start to brown a little. After they have cooled, you can store them in a plastic bag in your refrigerator. I reuse old bread bags. They work perfectly. I have made a million different things with these. Check out the flat bread pizza I did recently here. It was delicious!

ENJOY!