Sunday, October 11, 2009

I Know What I'm Having for Supper on Halloween

And this isn't it.
We were sucked into the idea of creating Halloween-colored food from some magazine we got stuck with in the veterinarian's waiting room while our dog struggled toward his end. (Talk about scary! No, I can't talk about it. I will only tell you he went through convulsion-contortions worthy of a Nathaniel Hawthorne character. If the character were a really strong witch. Yes, I'm feeling a little better. They have witches on Halloween, and I can actually joke about it.)
The magazine showed a plate of black squid-ink pasta topped with cubes of orange winter squash. I'm off most conventional pasta these days, so I thought black beans would be a great alternative.
Yes, they were. Also, this whole meal is perched over our new homemade version of "black rice," too good to even describe.
Well, we liked it a lot. It got us to thinking. We also tinkered with some polenta dish topped with... blah, blah, blah. We loved all our experiments.
But we decided to surprise ourselves on Halloween. I am going to attempt my first gluten-free pizza, made with a store-bought mix from Bob's Red Mill. I've been missing pizza, and it makes me sad to be sad, so I'm getting over it.
If you think I'm decorating the pizza with pepperoni slices in the shape of a jack-o'-lantern face, you'd be...
right.
By the way, I also know what I'm having for supper on Thanksgiving. Boo!

17 comments:

Ms Brown Mouse said...

I'm eating sugar!

SallyBR said...

When I saw you mention "black rice", I thought you were going to use the "forbidden rice" from China.

I see you made a pretty "Brazilian-ish" concoction instead - how cool!

I used forbidden rice a few times, not sure I got it right. Have you cooked it before? (I know, I could search.... :-)

(not sure why it won't accept my ID - SallyBR, from bewitching kitchen

Moonbear said...

I'm having candy corn. Vegetables are good for you.

RoxieWithMoxie said...

Never even occured to me to make Halloween food. Shaped cookies, sure, can't do without those.

cookiecrumb said...

Mouse: I guess you know you don't have a sweet tooth when you don't even want candy on Halloween. (It IS rather crappy candy, though. Poor kids. Should we hand out rice instead?)

SallyBR: Nah, it's "home-dyed" rice. You get a lot of flavor in there, and OK, maybe even a Brazilian angle! :)
I've cooked forbidden rice but it came out a gluey mess.

Moonbear: If I were a coffee drinker, I'd have snorked some on the keyboard. Hah!

Roxie: Me neither, actually; just got the idea from a random magazine. But I'd rather do this than eat mini Snickers.

Ms Brown Mouse said...

Cookie, you could make those ricemoon cake thingies, they are sweet(ish).

Zoomie said...

Who says he doesn't deserve it? He has already elevated our standing in the world, started actually consulting with other nations and shown us at home the pleasures of having an articulate man in the White House. Not to mention starting the health care debate, beginning the process of closing Guantanamo, and talking to the military about ending the nonsense of "Don't ask, don't tell." And the guy has only been in office for about nine months. I'd say he's a whiz kid!

cookiecrumb said...

Mouse: Oh, we can't hand out homemade treats; somebody might stick a razor blade or some arsenic in them. American parents demand everything in a sealed packet.

Zoomie: Who are you and why are you commandeering my blog with your political claptrap?
:D

Greg said...

Love your experiments! Look forward to seeing picture of gluten free pizza. Me love pizza. Boo!

cookiecrumb said...

Greg: I'll do my best with a photo. These days, you've got to cook your food in the afternoon in order to have enough shooting light. Well, I bet you have some fancy lighting rig. But for me it's flash (No!) or natural light.
:)

Zoomie said...

Just noticed your changed header and it set me off. What can I say? I love having a good Prez for a change.

Dorian said...

On the GF pizza front: Mary's Pizza does one now! Depending on your level of sensitivity, the cross contamination may be a problem, however.

Still...yay for somewhere that delivers!

~M

cookiecrumb said...

Zoomie: Brava, bravo and amen.

cookiecrumb said...

Dorian: There's one in Novato, right? Maybe a little far for delivery to my house but who says I can't go get one myself? I'd be willing to experiment with my sensitivity. I think I'm a hard old nut; might just work out fine.
Thanks.

Unknown said...

First, I love your site and all your recipes, I crack up each time I log on.

Second, I hate to be a downer, especially if you've bought the Bob's Red Mill pizza crust mix already, but I have to say it's pretty gross. It'll do if you're desperate, but I tried it, and it was very dry, crumbly, and bland tasting.

I'm all for whipping up my own food, but for my gluten-free pizza crust I go with Nature's Hilights Brown Rice Pizza Crust, they come frozen in packs of two, I get mine at Whole Foods here on the East Coast, but I bet you could find them out there.
Far better, and much crispier than the Bob's Red Mill, like a flatbread pizza.
Keep up the snarks and laughs!

cookiecrumb said...

Bugbutt: Hi! Hello! Thank you for your perspective... sheesh, I just hardly know where to go with this new diet.
I REALLY appreciate your take on Bob's pizza mix. Well. There are other options out there, including a frozen pizza dough at WhoFo (which I haven't tried), which must be the one you're talking about. And one at Mollie Stone's, which I don't think you have on the E. Coast. But. Wow, thanks. This will save me from being frustrated and mad. (Oh. Right. I AM mad.) xx

emily said...

Gluten Free Girl is your friend. :D (In terms of GF anything.. and everything.)