Real true delicious pizza!

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After the first agonizing two weeks without wheat, most of my painful cravings ceased and I adjusted to my new diet. In the first few days though, I was a mess to be around; all I could think about was the food I couldn't eat, and when I closed my eyes, I actually saw buttery crackers, foccacia bread, coffee cakes. I went cold turkey and didn't have any supplements yet, so I was pretty hungry to boot. It wasn't until I trekked up to the health food store a mile north of our apartment and discovered a box of GF cookies that I found some relief. Needless to say, they were gone by morning!

Having mostly adjusted to the realities of my diet and embraced all my options, I still find myself craving the chewy-crisp texture of good bread soaked in olive oil or steaming with melty butter. When Alex made me this pizza last week from the Whole Foods mix, I felt guilty with pleasure. The crust is so perfect---either thin or as a deep-dish pie--with its tender inside and firm crusty exterior (which I promptly soaked in excellent olive oil). We topped it with some homemade tomato sauce, a combination of mozzarella, parmesan, and manchego cheeses, and fresh tomatoes and basil, but anything would be amazing on this base.

Alex's pizza:
Makes two medium pizzas (serves 4)

1 package Whole Foods GF pizza crust mix, prepared
2 cups homemade tomato sauce
2-3 cups grated cheese of your choice (we did 1/2 mozz, 1/4 manchego, 1/4 parm because that's what we had in the fridge)
1 sliced tomato
1 cup fresh basil, washed

1. Prep dough, let rise 30 minutes.

2. Make tomato sauce (see below)

3. Arrange dough in a 9" cake pan for deep dish (above) or spread onto cookie sheet for thinner crust (top image). Spread half sauce across dough, to taste, and add cheeses, then arrange tomato slices and basil on top.

4. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until it's ooey and bubbling. You do not have to pre-bake the crust, so it's a pretty quick meal from start to finish. Devour immediately!