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!)

I'm Back!

I know, I've been away, but trust me when I say that it was NOT MY FAULT.

Last weekend, Matthew started feeling poorly, he had a bad stomach ache. It was bad enough to wake him up from sleep at 7am, which let me tell you, is painful. (He can sleep through a hurricane!) He thought it would go away, so got up and tried to watch 24 until it went away.

It got worse.

So we went to the hospital in concern, and it turns out he had to have emergency gallbladder removal surgery! We've been sort of recovering from the whole thing, though Matthew is in good spirits!

I however have been stressed and exhausted beyond belief (which I think is understandable!)

So my recipe for returning to the blogging world is a fairly simple one.

Fairly Simple Sweet Pea and Carrot Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
2 cups gluten free pasta (I used Quinoa Fusilli) cooked
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 medium carrot, finely grated
1/3 cup non-dairy milk
1 tbsp agave nectar
1 1/2 tbsp mochiko flour (Sweet glutinous rice flour- does not contain gluten!)
1/3 cup vegannaise
Salt and Pepper, freshly ground to taste
Any of your favorite spices, to taste (Optional)

Directions
Mix together the pasta, peas and carrot, tossing so they're all combined.
Next, in a microwaveable bowl, mix together the mochiko flour, agave, and non-dairy milk. Combine well!
Microwave at 15 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until it's thick and goopy.
Mix the milk mixture with the vegannaise, combining well.
Season with the salt and pepper, until it reaches the right taste.
If using any other spices add them now, tasting as you go. Oregano and Basil work well together, especially if you also add some cherry tomatoes to your pasta salad!
Take your sauce mixture, and add it to the pasta, stirring well to distribute. Eat right away, or refrigerate for guests, or picnics, or lunches, whatever!

As an aside, the mochico flour mixture, if you play with the amount of liquid vs flour can work as a condensed milk substitute! :)

Beginning Vegan- Cream Sauce Spaghetti

One of the most common (and annoying) things you will get asked when you become a vegan is the following sentence (or variation thereof):

"But... if you don't eat meat, where do you get your protein?"

It will get old REAL fast, trust me. However, the best way to deal with it is have a recipe on hand that has an overload of yummy plant based proteins to have a visual and nommable response to the question. 

This is such a dish. 

As a note, this does have 2 ingredients which may not be common to a new vegan, but should definitely be bought/ordered: Nutritional Yeast and Tempeh. I buy both of mine at the health food store, and I know that nutritional yeast can be ordered online. (Nutritional yeast looks like yellow flakes, and has a lot of Vitamin B12 in it, which is good for you!) 

Tempeh is fermented soy beans pressed into a patty, and is found in the frozen section. Don't fret if you can't find it, you can use Tofu as well, which is much easier to find! (Though Tempeh is so tasty!)

In addition, this recipe has a lot of ingredients, but is very very simple to make! Be not daunted!

Cream Sauce Spaghetti with "bacon" chunks

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/4 cup tempeh (or tofu) chopped into little chunks. (if you aren't GF, you can use storebought vegan bacon, and not have to make the marinade with the following ingredients!)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp liquid smoke

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp Tamari or Soy Sauce

2 servings of spaghetti noodles (I tend to use either corn or brown rice noodles)

1 box silken tofu

1/2 tbsp corn starch

Soy Milk (a few tbsps)

Nutritional Yeast (to taste)

Freshly Ground Salt and Pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 cup frozen peas

All the different parts cooking at once!

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together the tempeh, 1 tbsp olive oil, liquid smoke, maple syrup, and Tamari. 

Add the tempeh/Tofu, and toss to coat. Set aside for a few minutes. 

Place a pot of salted water on the stove, and bring to a boil. Add in your spaghetti to cook while you prepare the sauce. 

In a blender, blend the tofu and cornstarch, adding in a bit of soy milk to get a nice creamy smooth texture. 

Add in nutritional yeast,  tasting every tbsp until it has a flavor you like. 

Season with salt and pepper. 

In a small frying pan, dump the tempeh mixture (even the marinade!) and turn the heat to medium. Fry, stirring every few minutes, until they're nice and crispy and brown. (Do this while making the sauce, which is the next instruction down!)  (same goes if you use Tofu. If you're using storebought vegan bacon, nuke a few strips, and then cut into chunks!) 

In a wok or high-sided frying pan, sautee the olive oil, garlic, and mushrooms, until garlic is fragrant, and mushrooms have turned brown and it looks quite yummy. 

Dump in the tofu blended mixture, and the cup of peas. Bring to a bubble, and simmer until the pasta is cooked. 

Drain the pasta, and add it to the sauce mixture, stirring to combine. 

Divide between 2 bowls/plates, and top with some more freshly ground salt and pepper, as well as the tempeh. 

Then eat and enjoy the proteiny goodness!

It's much easier to make than it sounds! Trust me!