Pizza Galore

So basically, anytime pizza is brought up, the general reaction is

It's amazing how easy vegan pizza is. A couple simple ingredients prepped ahead of time and you can personalize away!

We attempted a prepackaged pizza crust and I have to say: I'm not a fan. But that's ok, we'll keep truckin away at pizzas until we have it perfect! (And eat the experiments, of course.)

This time around, there were three kinds.All three of them had a base of Quicky Marinara and Tofu Ricotta and topped with a little Cheezly Mozzerella and a little nutritional yeast. A little butter and garlic concoction was brushed on the crust before baking as well.

Pizza One: Mushrooms, Eggplant Bacon
Pizza Two: BBQ Seitan, Eggplant Bacon
Pizza Three: Spinach, Creamy Pesto

Gratuitous Pizza Shots

As you can see, there are endless possibilities for vegan pizzas.

First off, use Isa's Eggplant Bacon for EVERYTHING. I have no idea where to find liquid smoke in Auckland but I used some smoked paprika and it turned out just as delightful

The Post Punk Kitchen's Eggplant Bacon

From me, here's a couple of recipes to have on hand.

Quicky Marinara 

Ingredients 

2 cloves of garlic, smashed
1/2 teaspoon basil (I use fresh)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 can of diced tomatoes (any style, we always have plain on hand)
salt and pepper to taste 

Throw all ingredients besides tomatoes and vinegar into a food processor or blender and get it chopped up. Add tomatoes and balsamic vinegar and blend/chop until desired chunkiness. I like to keep a couple tomato pieces still floatin' around, but its your prerogative.  

If you don't have either, you can finely mince or press the garlic and mix together in a bowl. 

Chill until needed. Great to prep ahead. 

This Tofu Ricotta I make often. Its REALLY good as a layer for lasagna (I'd double or triple this recipe if you're doing that).

Tofu Ricotta 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup cashews
1 package firm tofu (preferably pressed)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt

Using a food processor or blender, chop the cashews as fine as you can. (If you can find ground cashews, this is the best). Add remaining ingredients and blend until well mixed and kind of creamy. 

That's it. So simple. Best to put this UNDER your tomato layer or layer other ingredients on top of it, as it kind of takes on the lovely tastes of the things that surround it

Hail Seitan!

Currently, I am living in New Zealand. It's another Western country, just as the US, but there's a big difference: all that great vegan stuff you use isn't very available here. When it comes to Daiya and Garedin, it just doesn't get shipped here. There are some good alternatives, but they're very expensive. What you can find, ends up being very pricey for one meal. Hard to justify cooking at home being economical when eating out sometimes tends to SAVE money.

Because of this, I have vowed to learn to cook most staples from scratch. From bread to fake meats. On my to-do list has been seitan. But honestly, I've been afraid.

For weeks, I have watched every seitan video, read every recipe, review, horror story, etc. I finally braved it.

And guess what.... it's a piece of cake.
No, I'll have to addend that.
It's a piece of seitan.

Hey, I may not be the prettiest, but I taste fantastic!

What came out was a little wonky looking for my first attempt. But I'm OK with wonky!

Here's the trick I've learned. The water, or veggie broth, or even veggie broth/soy sauce combo, needs to be cool or cold. No lukewarm, no hot. That will activate the gluten and you will be left with a hot sticky mess, and not in the good way.

I will put the simple version here, but this recipe is so malleable. You could add some garlic powder, paprika, ginger, oregano. Really, the flavor combos are endless.

Easy Peasy Seitan 

Ingredients 

1 cup gluten flour (or vital wheat gluten, depending on the country you are in)
3/4 cup COOL water (or vegetable broth)
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice 

6-8 cups vegetable broth

Get a large stock pot and start your vegetable broth to a boil. If you dont want to use all vegetable broth, you can easily do half water. You just won't have as flavorful result.  

In a medium liquid measuring cup (or bowl, I like the cup for its spout), mix cool water, soy sauce and lemon juice together. In a large bowl containing the gluten flour, slowly mix in your liquid mixture with a wooden spoon. You want the remaining dough to have no dry spots and be evenly moist.  

Get your nice, clean hands in there and knead that dough for a couple minutes, til it has a nice elastic feel. The longer you knead it, the chewier it will be. So just 2-3 minutes tops. 

Pick up your gelatinous glob and shape it into a sausage. Using a knife or kitchen shears, cut it into quarters. From there you should be able to pick up each of your new sections and form them into patties. Hold them vertically and very gently stretch them on each side, turning as you go, you want them to be about 1/2 an inch thick. Be thorough and slow, if you go too quick you'll rip a nice hole in the middle of it (although this is aesthetically not pleasing, it tastes the same. Don't throw out your holey seitan!). 

Once your broth is at a nice rolling boil, turn it down to simmer. This is key. Simmer down.
Place your seitan patties in the broth and allow to simmer for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, take off the heat and allow to rest in the broth for 15 more minutes.  

Remove your patties from the broth and there they are! Slice, fry and nom! 

To store, place patties in a container and fill about halfway with some of your broth.

I made my first batch with some onions, broccoli, carrots and a homemade bbq sauce stir fried up. The quinoa was a great, fluffy addition.

Oh yeah, ANOTHER food blog.

Well, this will be my attempt at a food blog. A place to put all the recipes I use, alter and make up. The experiments I have in vegan foods, foods from scratch and food while travelling.  

Stay tuned!