It's pizza time!

Seriously, I love pizza!!! =) 

Back in my vegetarian time I would have sworn I'd need cheese on top.. but now that I'm (finally) vegan, I've tried a few versions of home made 'pizza cheez' and thought it wasn't bad, I have to say I'm not even missing it anymore! ;)

Give me enough veggies to put on top and in combo with a nice dough, I'm happy!

Tonight's home made pizza was extraordinaire!!! No, really, it was a mega hit! (Hubby gets all the credits this time as he did all the work; all I did was put the ingredients for the dough in the bread machine and set it on 'dough cycle'! *lol*)

While I've posted a recipe for a pizza dough once, I'm going to share yet another one with you all. It's actually the one that came with my former (Zojirushi) bread machine and we've always loved that one the best! [But beware, it's using all white bread flour, so it's not necessarily truly healthy... I have yet to convince my family that even a 50/50 version can taste good!..*sigh*..]

 First of all a teaser pic so you know what I'm talking about! =)

Now to the making of this deliciousness...

For the dough you'll need as follows:

 *1.5 c water

*1.5 Tbsp olive oil

*3.75 c bread flour

*1.5 Tbsp sugar

*1.5 tsp salt

*2 tsp rapid rise years (or 1.5 tsp active dry)

Put all ingredients into your bread machine and set it on the 'dough' cycle. (Mine takes 1.5 hrs)

Once it's done, take the dough out and work it on a flat surface with some flour spread out so it doesn't stick too much.

When it's reached the desired thickness and form, put it on a sheet which has been dusted with some corn meal prior to it in order to prevent the pizza from sticking.

[I like to roll the edges in from my pizza so it forms a nice crust around but that's entirely up to your own liking.]

Put the sheet in the pre-heated oven (450 F) for ~5 minutes! You only want to prepare the dough a little bit before 'decorating' it with the 'real deal'! ;)

Once the 5 minutes are over, drizzle some EVOO around the edges (and/or all over the pizza if you like) and sprinkle some kosher coarse salt on.

Next comes the pizza sauce! [Today I was lazy and used a bottled one.. but of course it tastes better if you actually use home made one!] 

Last not least cover the pizza with everything your heart desires!!! =)

[We had sun dried tomatoes & artichoke hearts fresh from the market + sauteed onions, yellow peppers as well as some banana peppers -which we both loooove!!!]

Again into the oven for ~10 minutes and voila, your Veggie Deluxe Pizza is done! :D

Buon Appetito!

With food like this I have no sense of portion control *lol* (well.. kinda..) and due to the saltiness of the sun dried tomatoes I'm sure I'll be dealing with water retention tomorrow... but it was well worth it! LOL

~*~*~

Afterwards I felt like Tommy... absolutely content! <3

Pizza Beans!

Another super quick meal that I don't even dare to say I have a 'recipe' for! =)

All you need is a can of lima beans (or pre-soaked & cooked ones, of course), a few tablespoons of pizza sauce, a few chopped black olives, done!

Mix all together, pour into a casserole dish and bake @ 350 F for 15 min.

I added some sprinkles of nutritional yeast on top as well as some chopped sun dried tomatoes, pronto! 

 I enjoy it with brown rice, but quinoa works just as well! ;-)

Home made pasta sauce with eggplant & vegan Parmesan cheez

This version of tomato sauce with eggplant is called 'a la Norma' here in Sicily.. 

I guess a lady named Norma came up with it?

Well, either way it's delicious and with my version, using the Quinoa 'pasta' as well! ;)

I found this recipe online somewhere on someone's blog even, I think.. I can't remember (sometimes I just copy and paste recipes from different sites into word documents like a madwoman *lol*.) 

It's certainly the best recipe I've come across so far for home made tomato sauce as well as for 'handling' the eggplant!

Tomato sauce with eggplant

1 large eggplant or 2 medium, peeled if desired (I do because I find the peel slightly bitter), cut in half lengthwise, then sliced about 1/2 thick

Salt to taste

2-3 Tbs EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1 large onion, minced

2 (- 4) garlic cloves, minced (I only had the jar type and used 2 tsp)

1 (28 oz) can of chopped tomatoes

2 Tbsp tomato paste

Pinch of sugar

Italian seasoning to taste, basil, parsley 

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line baking sheet with aluminium foil, brush the foil with some oil and place the eggplant slices on it.

Sprinkle with salt and brush slightly with the oil and place in the oven for ~15 minutes or until browned.

Remove from the heat and carefully fold the foil over in half over the eggplant. (I had to 'mush' each eggplant stripe a bit towards the center. It all gets 'mushed' in the sauce in the end anyway, so no worries! ;) )

Crimp the edges of the foil so that the eggplant is sealed inside the foil and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes or more. That way the steam continues to soften the eggplant perfectly.

2. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook until tender, ~5 minutes. Add the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring until the mix is fragrant, ~ 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, Italian spices/herbs, salt & pepper.

Bring to a simmer and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes until the sauce has thickened, stirring often! (I'm sure the longer you cook this sauce, the better it'll actually taste. I know, the Italians here cook their home made sauce for hours! I just had no time for that since my family members were claiming to be  'starving already'! :p ) 

3. Last step, add the eggplant (I've cut mine a bit into bite sized pieces) to the sauce. You'd also add it as soon as it's done baking but I'm not sure how it would turn out for the eggplant since it is already pretty soft coming out of the oven...

Voila, the perfect tomato sauce with eggplant! :D

Top it on pasta, rice, quinoa (or quinoa 'pasta' *g*), sprinkle a few beans on if you like for a bit more protein, maybe a few shakes of nutritional yeast (if you can handle MSG) or vegan Parmesan [recipe below] and you're good to go!

Buon Appetito! ^_^

Vegan Parmesan 'cheez' 

credit goes to Bryanna Clark Grogen

* 1 part ground almonds
* 1 part nutritional yeast
* dashes of salt, onion powder and garlic powder

Combine ingredients in container with lid and shake well.

Edit: I used the leftover sauce for my veggie pizza, topped with a few drizzles of nutritional yeast 'cheez' 

All for me!!! *ggg*

Whole wheat dough, spinach, tomato sauce w/eggplant..
Super yummy!