We all love pizza around here, but we don't order it as often as we used to because of Sophie's dairy allergy.  On occasion we still order it and just order one small pizza without cheese, sometimes just the crust and sauce.  Each time, the person taking the order repeats our request in a tone of disbelief - not quite sure that ANYONE would order a pizza without cheese.  And unbelievably, Sophie likes it that way.  Of course, delivery pizza usually contains a bit of dairy - either in the crust's dough or mixed in with the pizza sauce.  For Sophie, the amount of dairy contained is small enough that she usually has no or a very little reaction to the pizza.  So, for a day or two after she's a little bit itchy, but it's manageable, so for us it works.

Most crusts (ready-made and packages) contain some amount of dairy, but I have found one that is completely dairy-free.

At our grocery store, it's found in the aisle with the other make-at-home pizza products.  It's a thin-style crust that makes a fairly good crispy pizza.  If you're the kind of person who prefers a chewy or deep dish crust, this may not be the pizza crust for you.  But if you like a thin crust and don't eat dairy, it's a pretty good option.

We like making pizzas at home.  Everyone gets to make it their own way, adding only the toppings that they like.  We set up an assembly line of ingredients.


Martin's approach to making pizza is very methodical.  He likes to have everything lined up properly, evenly distributing toppings so that each piece contains the same amount of goodness.


Sophie is a bit more carefree.  She uses the traditional Italian style of pizza making, throwing everything on in a more artistic manner.


The first time I ordered a pizza in Italy it looked a bit like Sophie's.  It was a vegetarian pizza and had a few green beans grouped together, a slab of eggplant, some asparagus, a load of tomatoes, basil and mounds of fresh mozzarella.  It was not even.  It was not symmetrical.  It could not be cut into pie-shapes.  It was eaten with a knife and fork, one bite at a time.  And it was heaven.  Sophie's never been to Italy, but somehow she just KNOWS how it should be done.

Allergy note: At our house, we use a shredded rice mozzarella that contains a small amount of a dairy component.  It doesn't seem to give Sophie much trouble, and she loves to be able to eat it, so for us it works.  This may not be the case for everyone with a dairy allergy.