Beth Knudson, Registered Yoga Teacher

Friday night is our pizza night. We make it at home. It’s a lot less expensive and you know exactly what you’re getting since you have control over the ingredients. We’ve come up with some really great stuff, too. I’ve made spinach, pine nut, and gorgonzola pizza, for instance, that’s fabulous! I also have learned to make my own sauce. It’s easy and delicious.

Last week, we got an eggplant from our co-op and we weren’t entirely sure what to do with it. Thursday night as I was going to bed, Weldon suggested that we substitute Eggplant Night for Pizza Night. I suggested Eggplant Pizza. He’s up for anything, so he agreed that was a good solution. Friday, I found a great recipe for Eggplant Garden Pizza.

In addition to eggplant, it has zucchini, tomato, onion, and red bell pepper. These ingredients are diced coarsely and sauteed until tender. Then the vegetable ingredients are spread lovingly atop a pre-baked crust of your choice (for us, two small Udi’s Gluten Free frozen pizza crusts; more on why GF in a later post) with a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. That’s right, this is a sauceless pizza and you won’t miss it a bit!

Finally,  sprinkle with dried thyme, oregano, and basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and slide into a 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes. The result is fine, fine pizza.

One of my favorite dinners is pizza and wine. My choice for this meal was a $6.95 bottle of Delicato Chardonnay. Vanilla-y and buttery and good. Not a traditional choice for pizza, chardonnay, but since it wasn’t competing with a spicy tomato sauce, it was just perfect.

See photos of the process on Laughing Ladybug’s Facebook fanpage.

Reata's Trio Platter

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a business lunch today at Reata Restaurant in Fort Worth. They are famous for their Texas cuisine, which includes things like Jalapeno Cilantro Soup, Smoked Quail with Jalapeno Cheese Grits with Molasses BBQ Glaze, and Chicken Chile Rellenos with Roasted Corn Chowder. So what did I choose to eat, a person who gains weight easily and prefers to eat somewhat lightly? The Trio Platter! It includes chicken breast, a choice of salad, and fruit!

It was perfect! Two small chicken breasts that were grilled and smoky and flavorful, a huge wedge salad with a vinaigrette dressing of pico de gallo, lime, and blue cheese crumbles, and TONS of beautiful, fresh cut fruit, including raspberries! I was so excited, I wanted to hug my plate!

I remembered to take a photo to share with you, my friends, I expressed my gratitude for the countless being that gave their lives and labors so I could eat, and I ate joyfully and was nourished much.