shaved brussel sprout and bacon pizza

Hi lovelies, Eunice here! Fact of the day for those who don't know me very well - I am engaged to a lovely, sweet boy and am in the midst planning our wedding. My dear fiance Eddie loves pizza, as do I. But with the big day looming ahead, I must say guilt follows me with each bite full of oozing cheese & fatty carbohydrates. Here comes Lena, swooping in to save the day with this guilt-free, drool-worthy gluten-free pizza.

Can I be so daring and say this is one of the best pizzas I've ever tasted? This is healthy, healthy, delicious, and healthy some more. You have a cauliflower crust toasted to perfection, with a layer of goodies - brussel sprouts, some more greens, cheese, bacon, avocado, and then finally the "family gem"-- the egg. Yes, you just crack an egg, pop the pizza in the oven and figure out what to do as you oh so patiently wait for that sucker to bake to golden perfection. 

Make sure to use your (clean) hands and devour as soon as the pizza is out of the oven. Please no forks and knives. Until next time lovelies, grace & peace. xoxo

recipe

shaved brussel sprout & bacon pizza// makes two 8-in. pizzas

prep time: 40 min

cauliflower crust// bake at 400' for 18-20 min. before putting on toppings

1 garlic clove, minced

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 head of cauliflower

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped finely

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1 Tbsp coarse (or fine) cornmeal

2 Tbsp garbanzo bean flour

1 Tbsp flaxseed meal

1/4 tsp salt

directions

Preheat the oven to 400'. Use a mandolin or a potato ricer to rice the cauliflower. Microwave the cauliflower for 7 minutes. In the meantime, combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. When the cauliflower is removed from the microwave, let cool. When slightly cooled, combine the cauliflower with the rest of the ingredients and form into a dough. Separate the dough into two equal pieces and assemble into a circle on parchment paper on a baking tray. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until browned.

brussel sprout and bacon topping

5-6 slices bacon (the more bacon, the better)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb brussel sprouts (about 12 brussel sprouts), shaved or chopped finely

2 scallions (greens and whites), chopped

1/2 cup arugula

pinch of crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp salt

4 oz. (1/2 cup) gruyere cheese

4 oz. (1/2 cup) fontina cheese

4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (2 Tbsp on each pizza)

1 egg

1 avocado, slivered

juice of 1/2 lime

directions

Chop bacon into bite-size pieces and cook on a skillet. Once the bacon bits are browned, remove the bacon from the pan and place on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.  Leave 1 Tbsp of the bacon grease in the pan and discard the rest. Cook the garlic in the bacon grease until fragrant, about 1 minute. Then, briefly cook the brussel sprouts, scallions, and arugula with and season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper until slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Once the crust has finished baking, remove from the oven and start assembling the pizza. First, place the brussel sprout mixture at the base of the pizza. Then, add 1/4 cup of each of the gruyere and fontina cheeses onto each pizza. Also, add 2 Tbsp of parmesan to each pizza and crack the egg onto the center. Alternatively, you can fry the egg and place on last. Broil the pizza until most of the whites of the egg have cooked. Once out of the oven, sprinkle the juice of 1/2 lime and place the slivered avocados onto the pizzas. Cut and enjoy!

our pinterest faves of the week

spring outfit, anthro towel, perfect candle, unbaked cinnamon rolls

a little bit about us

Lena - When I graduated college last year, I moved back home and worked part time. My mother works full time, so I had to prepare most of my meals on my own. It was a challenge at first, but I started to make and bake food and I found a strange amount of relief in being able to control what ingredients went into each meal. I was tired of the routine sandwiches and salads I daily indulged in during my college years and finally had the capacity to purchase a larger variety of wholesome and nutritious ingredients. From there, I dived into researching recipes and cooking daily. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm excited for this new journey and to share with you the successes I have.

Eunice - Hi there! I have a secret to tell you - I used to bake everything straight from a box shhhhhhhh. The concept of baking from scratch was such a foreign idea until my latter teen years. I'm thankful for that revelation and now happily cook and bake with the freshest ingredients I can find! Besides my love for delicious baked goods, I love to play the cello and create things with my hands. I am excited to be announcing the opening of my handlettered paper shop with you very soon (rosemarypaperco). xoxo

Recipes for the most delicious chocolate pear bread pudding (pictured above with Lena) and brussel sprout and leek tart (pictured above with Eunice) will be posted soon. *All images taken by our dear, talented friend Caroline Yoon. We love you!

figgy jam cookies

Hello + welcome to our little corner of the internet! We are two girls who love to bake and cook (heathily), thrift, paint, and create lovely things. You'll find curated recipes, projects and snippets into our lives as we journey together as friends into life after college. You'll soon find out more about us, but in the meantime, Lena wanted to share the most delectable, gluten-free recipe with you today!These are the perfect gluten-free fig cookies for Valentines Day, but seeing as we've missed that by two months, these would still be the perfect heart-felt baked goods to surprise your loved ones with any other day (like today!). These cookies are amazing - crunchy outside, chewy inside, bite-sized, and fun! Let's just say that each bite brings us back to our days long past, of snacking on fig newtons at recess. So feel free to shower that special someone right now with some sweet love. Le sigh -- happy heart fig cookies lovelies. Recipe

adapted from Pastry Affair 

prep time: 30 min     

Almond chai spiced cookies//makes about 30-40 cookies

1 cup roasted almonds 

2-1/2 cups oat flour

1-1/2 cups almond flour/meal

1 tbsp ground flaxmeal 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

4 tbsp butter, melted

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 cup honey

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cloves

1/4 cup powdered sugar for garnish

Directions

Grind the roasted almonds in a food processor. Then add in the melted coconut oil, butter, vanilla extract, honey, egg, and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oat and almond flours, flaxmeal, spices, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl or food processor until it forms a dough. Wrap and refrigerate the dough until it firms, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350'.

Roll out the dough thinly on a lightly floured surface and then use desired cookie cutters to make shapes for a suitable occassion. Bake cookies on parchment paper for 8 minutes, or until the edges are slightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool before filling/sandwiching cookies. With a sieve, gently garnish the tops of the cookie sandwiches (optional).

Dried fig jam//makes around 8 oz.

4 cups dried figs

20 tbsp water

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp brown sugar

pinch of salt

Directions

In a food processor, process together the dried figs with the honey, brown sugar, and salt. Then 1 tbsp at a time, add the water until a desired consistency (thick jam) is reached. Use a butter knife to spread the fig jam on the underside of the cooled cookies and sandwich it with another cookie.

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Love, wild pear