Gluten Free

I have never been a huge fan of bread or pasta.

My son can finish off an entire loaf of bread in one morning if left unattended long enough (ask me how I know).  My husband, well, he does a good job of restraining himself now, but we'll just say that my son comes by it honestly.

Now, I'm no animal.  I too can't resist a steamy, squishy loaf of freshly baked bread, but it isn't my choice indulgence.

I think that's one reason I chose to start my "transformation" by giving up wheat. I sure love my doughnuts, cakes, cookies and pies, but I've conquered my need to do a slow drive by of the Safeway bakery section when I'm picking up groceries.

I am a self-proclaimed sugar addict.  I think the first step is admitting you have a problem.

But I am not a craver of bread. When it comes to empty carbohydrates, it is not my poison of choice.

So far on this journey, I've done well not having any wheat.  I'll admit, a couple of times I may have been caught nibbling on my daughter's grilled cheese crusts (eew. gross. I don't even like crusts), and two days ago I ate a Timbit.

But overall, I haven't missed the wheat. Until last night, when I was having a rough day and the call was made to order pizza.  We went with Panago, because they have a gluten free crust (I feel obligated to tell you that the crust has traces of gluten, because it is made in the same kitchen as the regular crusts.  If you are celiac, or actually have a gluten allergy, probably not a good idea.  And now I feel like an idiot, because if you are celiac, you know way more about this than I do and should not take advice from me).

So, how was the pizza?  It was... meh.

My dear husband, in his continual exuberance, exclaimed that it is, in fact, the greatest pizza crust he has ever tasted.  Later he conceded that he may have overshot his original impression.

Here's my take:
There's something about this gluten free crust that made me feel like it was holding on for dear life.  It felt like some very well meaning, well organized crumbs that were bonded together by sheer goodwill, and at the moment they entered my mouth, their strength collapsed and they scattered like cockroaches do when you turn on a light.

Those poor souls. But, can you blame them?  It's like making paper mache with no glue (you do use glue with paper mache, right? I really haven't done it before.  I am starting to realize this post is making me seem very ill-informed).

They valiantly tried.

It wasn't horrible.

And the texture was at least one step above cardboard.

I think next time I'll just order a regular pizza and do what I usually do: eat all the cheese and leave the crust for my gluten-happy son.

How about you? Do you have a favorite gluten-free recipe?  If so, share it in the comments, or on my Facebook!