Asperagus and Mushroom Cashew Pizza

It was an absolutely disgusting day in Montreal today. The weatherman said light snow... the reality was less than light, It was pretty rough.

So I decided to make a springish pizza to cheer myself up! (Snow not being my favorite thing on the planet... actually it's one of my least favorite things, which begs the question why I live in Canada)

Asperagus and Mushroom Cashew Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza dough for 1 pizza
Cashew Cheese (I used the recipe linked!) Grated
Stalks of Asparagus
Tomato Sauce
Mushrooms , sliced
Basil, Salt, Pepper, Oregano

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425.
Roll out your dough on a pizza tray, with a bit of cornstarch if you want. Bake for 5 minutes to sort of firm it up. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Take your stalks of asparagus, and cut off the bottom inch. Chop into little chunks, and leave the tops a few inches long, to put on the top as decoration :)
Spread the pasta sauce over the dough, and top with the mushrooms, and asperagus. Then top with the cheese and spices.
Arrange the asparagus tops on top, and return the pizza to the oven. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until cheese is browning. Take it out, cut it, and enjoy!

Deep Dish Pizza

I recently received my winnings from my pizza contest entry, and I was thinking "I need some pizza... I need some bad"

But not any type of pizza... I needed deep dish pizza.

Imagine my surprise when I told Matthew of this craving, and he'd NEVER HAD IT. I was shocked, and it only steeled my reserve to make it even more.

I've been trying to get healthier lately, eat less junk food, etc etc, so you might think to yourself "But Natalia! Deep Dish pizza isn't healthy!" To you I say- "Shut up! I've been exercising, I'll put vegetables on it!"

And I did

Deep Dish Pizza
Ingredients:
1 Pckg of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free pizza crust mix, prepared like the package (Until after rising it)
Toppings of choice.
Some Cornmeal

My Toppings:
Daiya Cheddar
Pineapple Chunks
Baby Spinach
Artichoke hearts
Mushrooms
Diced Tomatoes Mixed with some tomato paste
Black Pepper, Garlic, Basil, Oregano, and a bit of olive oil, as well as a tiny bit of nutritional yeast


Directions:
Oven @ 450
At This point, you've got your dough all risen and stuff. Take a springform pan, and spray the inside with some pam, or wipe it down with oil.  Toss a bit of cornmeal in there, and swish it to stick to the sides.
Press the dough into the pan, thinner on the bottom, slightly thicker on the sides, about 1-2 inches high for the crust sides. Toss a bit more cornmeal in there!
Bake the crust for 10 minutes or so, until it is firmed up.
Remove from the oven, and let cool for a few minutes.
Top with your toppings. (The order I have mine listed are from bottom to top, though I mixed the spices in with the tomato mixture, and then dusted the top with nutritional yeast.
Return to oven, and bake for 30-40 minutes, until it's all cooked through.
Remove from oven, and let cool for 5 minutes or so before cutting!
Then eat, and enjoy!

Prize Winning Pizza

I recently won something. I recently entered a pizza making contest at Vegan Pizza F**k Yeah, and really really wanted to win.

And then I did.

When I found out, I jumped out of my seat and began to fist pump and yelled "WOOOH YEAH! SUCK IT! WOOOO!"

I may have overreacted slightly to my good fortune.

Anyway, without further ado, here is my prize winning pizza!

Healthy Prize Winning Green Pizza
Ingredients:
1 Brown rice wrap
1/3 cup extra firm tofu
2 large chunks sundried tomato
a few snowpeas
a few baby bok choys
a handful of baby spinach
a few chunks of pineapple
Basil
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350
In a food processor, blend the sundried tomato, extra firm tofu, a bit of olive oil, basil, and salt and pepper, until the texture of ricotta.
Spread the tofu mixture across the brown rice wrap.
Chop up all of the vegetables and pineapple, and then top the pizza.
Sprinkle a little bit more basil on top of the pizza.
Bake for 20 minutes or so, until the crust is crisped up a bit, and the veggies are hot!
Then cut and eat and be happy! (And healthy!)

How to Kludge a Pizza

So when you're gluten free and vegan, one of the first things that tends to go is Pizza. Which is sad, for me, because Pizza is awesome!

You can put all sorts of things on it, eat it while walking, share it with friends... It's just delicious. As a child we never had much pizza, so it was always a biiiig treat when we did, usually once in the summer at this one place in Ocean City, NJ, called Mack and Manco's Pizza. Awesome Pizza.

However, even as a child I was never really satisfied, because I had very specific things I liked and didn't like on pizza. I was never a huge meat person, so all I ever wanted were veggies- pineapple, mushrooms and olives to be precise. But we always got pepperoni because I was outvoted. 

But HA! I'm an adult now, I can eat whatever pizza I want! 

I need to apologize about the following photos, they aren't very good, but it was late, I was laughing while I took them, and it was more to get Matthew with our pizza creation, not to get a great pizza shot. 

So! How to kludge a pizza. If you're lucky, like I am, there might be a pizza place in your neighborhood that has gluten free crusts. (I am lucky!) If you aren't gluten free, this still works, and becomes easier because you can just order a normal pizza. Order whatever toppings you want, and then ask for it WITHOUT cheese. 

Next, wait. 

When it arrives, rip open a package of Daiya Mozzarella, OR grate your favorite vegan cheese block, and sprinkle generously on top. 

Then rebake that sucker under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. 

Remove from oven, and eat. 

Eat good people, and remember the joys of pizza! 

Evening Delight- Zucchini Pizza

When I'm on vacation, while everyone else eats communally, I tend to branch out and do my own thing, making a special meal for myself.

To give my family credit, they often do try to make something for me special, however often this turns out poorly, due to a lack of understanding about my dietary needs.

Veggie soup is great, but with barley in it I'm out of luck. Onions sauteed in butter? Sadly no. Rice cooked with a splash of chicken stock? Le sigh.

So it's easier in the long run to create my own stuff. However, I get the opportunity to make my own stuff like this personal pizza!