Frozen Pizza

You know what's awesome?  Popping something frozen into the oven at the end of a long day and pulling out something steamin' and delicious less than an hour later!  Not so awesome?  The options for vegans and those on a tight budget.  But have no fear!  Here I am with a yummy solution!  Just make your own!

I used this recipe to whip up some from scratch dough!  I used spelt flour and needed to add an extra 1 1/4 cups so depending on what type of flour you use you'll probably have to play with the recipe a bit.

While I was letting the dough sit I chopped up some fantastically fresh veggies, garlic, and herbs from my balcony garden.  I chopped everything really small so I could squish more onto each pizza!  I tossed some ground flax seed onto a clean surface then pressed little balls of dough into little pizza circles.  The circles went onto a baking sheet then were covered with tomato sauce, my veggie mixture and Daiya "cheese".

Once they're all done, set the trays out in a freezer.  Once they're frozen you can toss them into a container, bag or box for easy access.

Ready to eat?  Toss one in the oven on a pan THEN start preheating the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Putting food in the oven before preheating saves time and energy!  Hurrah!  Once the oven has preheated give the pizza another 10 minutes.  After that?  Time to eat! Yum!

You know what's super fun?  Cutting the pizza up into tiny, cute lil' bite size slices like I did!

And there you have it folks!  Easy, delicious and healthy frozen pizza dinners!

Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

Looking for something a little different for dinner tonight, but something that won't take too long or be too complicated?  This cauliflower alfredo sauce is just what you need!

My cauliflower was rather large,  so I added a bit extra nutritional yeast then spooned it over some gluten free rice pasta - delicious!  However, I wouldn't recommend keeping leftovers if possible.  While still good, it's just not quite as awesome the next day.

I'm going to attempt a raw version in the next few weeks and I'll let you know how that turns out!

Enjoy!

Vegan Caesar Salad and Fettucini Alfredo

WOW!  By far the BEST caesar saled I've EVER had and absolutely fantastic pasta!

My salads are always rather intense.  And this caesar was no exception.  The recipe for the dressing is from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  (FYI, the title doesn't lie - this IS the ultimate vegan cookbook, just not for the financially impaired vegan...)

In a blender obliterate 1/3 cup of almonds.  Put them in the container in which you shall store your dressing :) (This recipe makes a lot, so be prepared for left overs).  Then blend 4 cloves of garlic, a brick of silken tofu, 3/4 cup oil, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 1 BIG tbsp of capers,  4 tsp caper brine (the liquid in the jar), 1 tsp of sugar and 1/2 tsp mustard powder.  Whisk this all up with the almonds and voila!  Easy peasy caesar dressing!  Now, just let it chill out in the fridge for an hour or so.

I threw this dressing over lettuce tossed lovingly with chopped mushrooms, green onions, garlic croutons, and bits of vegan bacon.   Salads are SO much more delicious when you get creative :)

As for the Alfredo, it takes much less time.  Melt 1/2 cup of margarine in a sauce pan with 2 tsp of arrow root powder.  After the melting has finished toss in a brick whole brick of vegan mozza cheese (cubed for faster melting) and a few pieces of cheddar.  Depending on the cheese it may not melt well, but don't fret!  It shall still be DELICIOUS.  Once the cheese has more or less melted throw in 2 1/2 cups of your favourite milk and a 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast.  Stir often, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan, until you have a thick, and creamy sauce.  Then pour it over your cooked pasta and enjoy!

This will be one of the most amazing dishes your vegan lips will ever taste.

Faux Chicken

I found a recipe for fried 'chicken' from scratch in La Dolce Vegan! by Sarah Kramer, a must have for every vegan kitchen.  I was a little skeptical at first and though this dish is time consuming, it's absolutley delicious.  And gives you lots of time to drink wine and visit with dinner guests:)

To start, in a frying pan throw together 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, 2 tbsp of tamari (I used soy sauce), 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp dried sage, 1/2 tsp dried thyme and 1/4 tsp celery salt.  The recipe calls for 1/2 tsp of salt as well but I left this out.  Bring this mixture to a boil.

Meanwhile, stir together 1/2 cup of water with a 1/2 cup of gluton  then knead the dough for 5 minutes.  Slice them up into strips then lay them down in the frying pan.  Then just cover these babies up, stir and flip occassionally, and wait.  They'll balloon up a little and flipping them around the pan is pretty fun.  It'll take about an hour for the water to boil down.

While you're waiting, mix together 1/4 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp of paprika, and a dash of pepper (again, I left out a 1/2 tsp salt).

Once the water has all boiled out of the pot, remove the 'chicken' from the pan and then coat it in oil.  Dip each strip in milk (a bowl with about 1/4 cup should be enough) then coat them in the flour mixture.  Toss them back into the pan to brown each side, then serve them up!

I diced mine then threw them in a bowl with some rice.  It was suprisingly delicious.  However, it only make 3 servings so I'd suggest doubling or tripling the recipe for dinner guests or leftovers.