Adopt a Gluten Free Blogger: Sea at the Book of Yum

I found out about this "Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger" event about 2 months ago and knew I wanted to join. Sea at the Book of Yum has been hosting it. For anyone that enjoys reading gluten-free food blogs you can 'adopt' one of them and pick a recipe or two to try out. Then you write about it and talk about the person or blog that you chose. You can click here to see all the adoptions for this month. At the end of the month Sea will compile all of those posts and recipes where you can see what experiments and adoptions others have made. I thought it was a fabulous way of creating community in the blogosphere and I am so excited to be able to join this month.

I was selfish and chose Sea, the amazingly talented woman hosting this event. I haven't been reading her blog for very long, but I greatly enjoy the culture, variety, and creativity she puts into the food she makes. I am a big fan of trying crazy new foods and foods from other cuisines and cultures. She takes those incredible foods, learns how to make them at home, and then generously shows us how.

It took me forever to try and decide on just one recipe to make. Before I even knew about this event, I wrote about making her sorghum flat bread. I have now made several times now and I think it is awesome! I searched through dozens of recipes and I found something truly special. I decided on making her Soccas South American Style.

The socca is what she calls a crepe type flatbread made out of chickpea flour, oil, water, onions, and some seasoning. Then you pour the batter into a preheated cast iron pan and cook it in the oven. It gets nice and crispy and has a great flavor. You don't even taste 'bean' at all. It is naturally gluten free, high protein, low carb, nutrient dense, and best of all it is crispy. I have been looking for so long for something like this and I feel the sky is the limit for the variations of toppings I could use. For tonight, we followed her recipe and used a black bean spread, roasted red peppers, corn, and avacado. To top the socca/pizza she called for a cilantro parsley vinaigrette to drizzle on top. Back when I first saw this recipe it made my mouth water right then and there.

When I was in Mexico last week... which, by the way, it was an INCREDIBLE trip! I had so much fun and spent a wonderful time with my twin. I will write more about that in another post. The point for now is that the one souvenir I purchased was a mortar and pestle or molcajete in Spanish. haha That is when you know you are a genuine cook. When you decide that the one thing you bring back from Mexico is a 6 pound piece of concrete :). But oh the wonderful things I can make with this big hunk of rock. I decided to give it a trial run today and made my vinaigrette in there. It took more time to mash up a huge handful of cilantro with a concrete stick than if I had put it in the food processor. Yet, I was able to enjoy the process and use my hands to create something beautiful. I am finding more and more that I value and crave the ways that I can connect with the food that I eat on a deeper level.

The somewhat stringy but incredibly delicious cilantro sauce.

When Sea made this at her home she rated the recipes on a scale of 1 to 10. She said this for her was a ten and for her husband it was a seven. I decided to do the same thing and honestly for me it was a smashing ten. It combines some of my favorite foods on a crispy flatbread that is gluten free and made out of beans. I mean, can life really get any better? For my husband he said it was a seven. Maybe our husbands are on the same wavelength or something. Next I want to try her divine looking Apple Feta Onion Socca. One thing I know for sure is that I see many soccas in my future :). Thank you Sea!