dOughMG

Since my boyfriend started working at a pizza shop, it's been pizza in the morning, pizza in the evening...you know how it goes. And it's AWESOME! Because, as the bumper sticker I got for his car reads, "I'd rather be eating pizza." So there. Anyway, the thing is, pizza dough is just so malleable, you know? You can be the sculptor, shape it into whatever your heart desires. This time, when a leftover ball of dough was placed in my hands, it told me it wanted to be cinnamon buns, and listening was the best decision I have made this month! (Besides, perhaps, those petits fours.)

Also, due to the nature of the glaze, this is the ideal opportunity to gush a little bit about Spekuloos, which I believe may actually have come to me from heaven, though for some reason, now they're calling that place Wafels & Dinges. I ordered a jar of this otherwordly stuff about two months ago, but didn't get around to trying it until November. When I finally did, even after planning to use it in several special recipes, it proved impossible because all I wanted to do was eat heaping spoonfuls of it, all by itself. UGHHHH, it's just so GOOD!!! Now it's gone, though. Used the last of it to boost my buns all the way into the next life. :)

Pizza dOughMG Cinnamon Buns
makes 9 buns

[Buns]
1 small-medium pizza dough
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger

[Glaze]
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted in microwave
1/3 cup Spekuloos spread
3 tablespoons agave nectar
1/4 cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400. Mix together cinnamon, ginger and agave in a bowl. Fold in pecans. Push out the dough with a rolling pin until it's a nice rectangle about a 1/2-inch thick. Spread the filling mixture evenly over the top of the dough, then roll it up the long side of the dough. Cut the roll into buns, nine in total. Stick 'em in an ungreased square pan, three by three, and bake for about 15 minutes - until golden-brown on top.

Blend the glaze ingredients until smooth. Pour over the hot buns. Cut and serve!

Voila, Veganized!

For a while after I went vegan, it was hard for me to watch some cooking shows or read some food magazines anymore because of the amount of meat and dairy usually involved in the recipes. These recipes seemed off-limits in a way.

Then I realized just how freaking easy it is to veganize just about ANYTHING, as I'm sure many others have too. That's why, when I glimpsed the cover of this month's Food & Wine magazine ("American Classics Updated: 50 Best Recipes from the New South"), I had a very good feeling about the next week in my kitchen.

My first veganization? A combo of two recipes. Adapted their classic shrimp n' grits, then nabbed their spice-roasted shrimp and transformed it into spice-fried tempeh. Lordy lordy, do I love me a classic Southern brunch! Check it.

Spice-fried Tempeh with Grits n' Greens
adapted from Food & Wine magazine, serves 2

[Cajun-fried Tempeh]
1/2 pound tempeh
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried minced onions
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
1/4 cup safflower oil
s&p

Cut tempeh into strips and boil for 10 minutes in well-salted water. Drain and cool while in a paper or plastic bag, you combine all the spices. Drop the tempeh into the bag and shake vigorously, so that the tempeh gets coated. Let it sit for a few minutes while heating the oil in a frying pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side. Meanwhile...

[Grits n' Greens]
2 2/3 cups water
2/3 cup quick-cooking grits
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach
s&p

In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil, then gradually add the grits and a big pinch of salt. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the grits are thick, about 7 minutes. Season with s&p, stir in the nooch and spinach. Top with fried tempeh and serve immediately!

Breakfast for Dinner: An Occasionally Recurring Theme

One thing I've been avoiding that sometimes isn't commonly associated with sugar is gluten. Gluten actually has a glycemic index just as high as sugar, so it affects a person's blood glucose levels in a similar way. In other words, it feeds bad bacteria, allowing the bad to overpopulate and overpower the good bacteria.

Well, I love bread. And pasta. And oats. And when the pantry is bare, I have to do without. But lots of gluten-free alternatives to all of those things now exist, even in the Greenwise section at the Publix by my house! The limitation, instead of making me feel really deprived, has inspired a foray into cooking/baking with gluten-free flours and actually made me feel more energetic and less bogged down by heavy carbs.

Here's a clever twist on two items, one breakfast and one dinner, that I loved plenty independently, but now can't wait to combine again:


FAWAFFLES!!! Thanks for modeling, boyfriend.

Our Big Fat Greek Breakfast for Dinner
[Tabbouleh]
serves 8

1 cup red quinoa
1 cup barley
4 cups water
1 cucumber, diced
2 small tomatoes, diced
3 green onions, white and green parts chopped
1 large bunch parsley, chopped
1 lemon's juice
2 tablespoons olive oil

Rinse and then boil the two grains in water for 14-15 minutes, until most of the water is gone. Pour into a large bowl and allow to cool while prepping the vegetables and parsley. Once they've stopped steaming, toss the grains with the veggies, three-fourths of the parsley, lemon juice and olive oil. Put in the fridge to chill while you make the...

[Fawaffles]
serves 4

1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1 cup millet flour
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1/2 t cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
reserved 1/4 bunch chopped parsley

Mix all dry ingredients together. Add water, stirring until it takes on a waffle batter consistency, then fold in the minced garlic and the rest of the parsley. Heat up your waffle maker and make according to its directions.

Scoop some tabbouleh on top of a waffle, then drench with tahini sauce! So good.