Kate's Baqala Qataq

Here is Kate's recipe for a tasty Persian dish that I was fortunate to get to try when I visited Tyler and her in Washington state this past winter. I'm posting it for Mike who found it delicious. Thanks, Kate for the great recipe. She recommends serving it with scrambled eggs and rice.

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil and three or four tablespoons of butter. Start water boiling in a kettle or a small pot. (You won't even need half a kettle.)

Slice an onion thin, then add it to the skillet. Fry gently until soft and just starting to color.

Add five minced cloves of garlic and cook till golden, about five minutes. You might need to turn the heat down a little at this point.

Add one teaspoon turmeric, one half teaspoon salt, one half teaspoon black pepper, and 4 tablespoons fresh or two tablespoons dried dill. Cook another five minutes.

Add 2 cups shelled edamame/limas/favas to the skillet and just cover with boiling water. Bring to a boil before cooking at a simmer an additional five minutes.

Almond flour pizza

Here is a great low carb, gluten free pizza recipe that I adapted from I'm not sure where. If I knew I would say. Alas. Somewhere on the internet in the early google results. Heh. Paleo friendly. Definitely pleasing, we've only made this once but we're sure to come back to it. Mike even suggested we open a low carb restaurant, this is that good.

For one large thick crust covering a cookie sheet:

4 cups of almond flour
4 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 1/2-2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix all ingredients together lovingly and with great tenderness, or wickedly, as you prefer, with a fork or some such, until well blended.

3. Form dough into a ball and place on cookie sheet greased with olive oil, then press dough flat onto the cookie sheet to form a crust. For a thinner or smaller crust, halve the recipe.

4. Bake for 15 minutes or so until beginning to brown slightly on the edges and risen.

5. Top with sauce of choice (look for one with no sugar added or make your own. If you don't want tomato for whatever reason, consider a homemade alfredo with chicken and broccoli), mozzarella cheese or cheese of choice, and toppings of choice. We used mushrooms, hot banana peppers, and pepperoni. The only regret that we had was that we didn't pile the toppings on more because the crust ended up being pretty thick once baked and risen so we would have liked more to go around.

6. Turn up the heat of the oven to maybe 400 or so and bake until cheese is browned to your liking and toppings are hot. Cut, serve and enjoy!