Califlower Crust Pizza w/Creamy Sundried Tomato Pesto

I have been pinning cauliflower crust pizza recipes for ages now - critically analyzing each one and learning from others' mistakes to figure out what worked and what flopped. Finally, I decided it was high time to take a stab at trying out my own.

I'm pleased to say it was a success!

 

A few pieces of advice:

1. Pre-heat your pizza stone. If you don't have a pizza stone, pre-heat your pan. Gives it a nice, crispy binding bottom right from the get-go.

2. Use flax eggs AND cornstarch. Makes the crust nice and think and will ultimately be a more successful binder.

3. Have some spray oil (I use coconut) handy for your hands (see what I did there) so you can quickly and effectively press the crust onto your hot pan before you burn yourself and before it turns into a gloopy mess.

4. Try to make the crust slightly thinner in the center and thicker on the edges. The edges cook much more easily than the center, especially once you put the toppings on so if you want it to crisp up nicely, try to make the crust thinner as you get to the center.


Cauliflower Crust

• 1 medium head cauliflower, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup gluten free (or not) breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup chickpea flour 
• 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 Tbsp flax + 4 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup Daiya (or other non-dairy cheese)
• 2 Tbsp Dried Italian spice blend (basil, oregano, thyme or any other combo that you like)
• Onion/garlic/salt to taste 

To Assemble 

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Place your pizza stone or pan inside to let it warm.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flax and water to make a "flax egg." Set in the fridge to thicken up for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, whisk in the cornstarch.

Using a food processor, pulse the cauliflower until it resembles the texture of cous cous, maybe slightly coarser.

In a large skillet, mix the cauliflower and flax/cornstarch mixture over medium heat to "sweat" the cauliflower and activate the cornstarch. Let it warm, turning the mixture slowly with a wooden spoon for about 5 minutes.

Turn the heat off and let cool slightly. Then, mix in the remainder of the ingredients, using the wooden spoon until everything is combined. Spray your hands down with oil and form the dough mixture into a ball.

Remove your pizza stone from the oven.

Spray the stone down with oil and spray your hands at the same time if you need another coat. Quickly place the dough mixture onto the hot pizza stone. Press the dough down onto the stone (careful not to burn yourself) until it is in your desired shape (I like mine in a flat circle - call me crazy).

Place the pizza crust into the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until beginning to brown.

Place your toppings (including spreading your creamy sundried tomato pesto - recipe to follow) onto the crust. Place back into the oven and continue to bake for 5-10 more minutes or until cheese is melty/veggies nicely browned.

Creamy Sundried Tomato Pesto

• 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (packed in oil or water or dried + rehydrated)
• 1 cup marinara sauce
• 1/4 cup tahini paste
• 1 cup fresh packed basil
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 large dollop of agave
• 1 Tbsp sriracha (optional)

Place all ingredients into food processor and blend until smooth! You shouldn't need to add oil or liquid because marinara sauce is more watery than pizza sauce - it should have a nice consistency :)

Yum yum yum! This was DELICIOUS. Colin and I ate the whole thing. I could have eaten the whole thing by myself. EASY.

Live long and prosper! And get crazy with your Pinterest recipes!!

15-Minute Farro Salad

I love making grain-based salads.

They make great bases for barbequed tempeh, grilled veggies or veggie burgers, or even oven-roasted tofu.

You can take them to any kind of pot-luck, barbeque or event.

There are infinite varieties of grains, veggies, herbs, beans, sauces and spices that can go into them, and there is always room to personalize or incorporate seasonal veggies!

Plus they are EASY, TASTY, HEALTHY and look great!

In this particular take, I utilized Trader Joe's BRAND NEW "10-Minute Farro"

It comes in this pretty little blue bag (but you could just as easily use the 10-minute barley or 10-minute bulgar or even just good ol' fashioned quinoa)

Then, I sauteed up some onions and garlic with a nice dollop of coconut oil

While the above two things were on the stove, I diced up some tomatoes, chopped some kale and chiffonaded some fresh basil (could use any type of fresh herb here!)

For the sauce, I just mixed together some tahini with a bit of lemon, balsamic vinegar and agave in a small bown (for brightness and sweetness) (again, you could use ANY type of sauce here - even pre-made/store bought!)

Then, when the farrow was done cooking, I mixed in the onion and garlic and then tossed it with the tomatoes, kale, basil, fresh edamame beans and finally, stirred in the sauce.

The heat form the farro wilts the kale beautifully - just enough that the bitter, crunchy edge is lessened.

Give it a few good mixes and you are good to go. A gourmet, customized hearty and uber-healthy salad ready for dinner, to keep in the fridge for the week's lunch, to serve up as a side at a BBQ or to take to a potluck! (Can you tell I'm ready for spring!)

 

Enjoy!!

Live long and prosper! And remember that sometimes the most delicious and nutritious things are also the simplest!

One-Pot Gluten Free Eggplant Parmesan

Colin decided a couple weeks ago that he wanted to try being gluten free. My initial response was something along the lines of "ummmm...why?" and then, without pause: "you know that beer has gluten in it, right?"


Yes, he knows that beer has gluten in it, but still, he insisted, there might be something to this gluten free thing.


My knee-jerk reaction was to dismiss gluten-free as a near impossibility while also being vegan, but between living in Portland and the endless dept of the blogosphere, I knew that was a total cop-out.

Instead, I decided to embrace the GF diet as a challenge and an educational opportunity. I mean, as a self-proclaimed foodie, cook, and health nut, how could I ignore understanding the gluten-free lifestyle and at least learning to cook a few dishes GF?

Plus! Wine is still gluten-free so it can't be all that bad, right :)?

Well it was bad for me when it came to pancakes. I completely failed at pancake making. And I spent nearly an hour researching oats to understand whether or not they are gluten free. And Clif Bars. And a myriad of other things I literally had no idea about, but I won't completely bore you with the details.

Like I said, it was an educational opportunity.

One dish that did go particularly well and was super simple + healthy was this "one-pot" eggplant parmesan.

I was having a particularly lazy night, but I really wanted to make eggplant parmesan so instead of slicing, battering, breading, and then baking each individual slice of eggplant, only to then cover it with marinara sauce and cheese and bake it someone, I decided to just cut out some of the steps.

GF Eggplant Parm

• 1 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1 medium eggplant, sliced and salted (do this 1-2 hours ahead of time if possible!)
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup GF bread crumbs, either store bought or homemade. I used something similar to these (which, admittedly, were like $8 so if I did it again I would probably make them myself)
• 1 jar YOUR favorite marinara sauce
• 1 cup vegan cheese (I used Trader Joe's new brand in place of Daiya and loved it!!)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Spread the coconut oil evenly across the bottom of the pot and then layer the eggplant as evenly as you can (see: my gorgeous Le Creuset cast iron pot that Colin got me for Christmas!!) Sprinkle cayenne and any other seasonings over the top.

Place the pot in the oven for about 15 minutes until the eggplant slices have softened and are beginning to brown.

Pull the eggplant out and let it cool briefly. Then, take the bread crumbs and spread/stir them into the eggplant, trying to get all the slices covered as evenly as possible. Then, place the eggplant into the oven for another 10 minutes.

After the breadcrumbs have had a chance to "set," take the pot out of the oven and dump your jar of marinara sauce right over the top, followed by the cheese.

Continue to bake for another 15 or so minutes or until a cheese, delicious layer has formed and the sauce is beginning to brown at the edges of the pot.

Should look kinda like that :)

Allow to cool for a few minutes before spooning onto a plate.

I will warn you! This version is not as firm as the fried or individually breaded original, but it tastes just as good or better and it will save you so much time!

With the right seasoning and marinara sauce, this dish is a piece of gluten-free cake!

Stoked on the GF challenge. But I am not convinced it is the right choice for us long-term. It's been a GREAT learning experience and I will definitely incorporate a lot of what I learned into my day-to-day cooking and am SO happy to have learned how to cook GF for all my friends with intolerances, but for many reasons (summed up nicely in this article) I don't think GF is a forever lifestyle for me!


Live long and prosper. And don't be afraid to challenge yourself!

Cauliflower Hot Wings

Exciting News! This is my 100th blog post!!

Can you believe it? I can't.

I really wanted to have this post done BEFORE the superbowl, but school has sucked every ounce of my free time for the past several weeks and my family had to put our 14 year old goldren retreiver down, so I'm just finally getting to it!

But the good news is - this is a REALLY awesome post.

I mean, cauliflower hot wings?! 

I honestly don't know how I've gone my entire life without eating these. I haven't had wing sauce in YEARS. Turns out...I really like it. Like by the spoonful directly into my mouth like it. 

So these 'wings' are a fun and super healthy way to get the satisfying experience of hot wings without the fat, cholesterol or guilt.

And they are gluten free! Which is great because I've been dabbling more in GF cooking. Fun challenge! 

Oh and one more thing: I chose to bake my hot wings but you could just as easily deep or pan fry them to get a more 'authentic' wing taste. It's up to you. 

I told you this was a special post :)

 Cauliflower Hot 'Wings'

• 1 large head cauliflower, chopped into pieces
• 1 bottle Franks Red Hot - Wing Sauce
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)
• 3/4 cup chickpea flour
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Lightly spray a large non-stick baking sheet with oil.

Combine the flour, and onion/garlic powder in a bowl and stir until well combined.

Coat the cauliflower pieces in soymilk and then with the flour mixture. Place on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until crispy.

While the cauliflower is baking, combine the hot sauce and earth balance in small saucepan on the stove top and heat over low heat until the Earth Balance is completely melted.

When the cauliflower is looking crispy and lightly browned - pull it out of the oven and place it in a large bowl. Pour the hot sauce mixture over it and toss to coat.





Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until you reach your desired level of crispiness.

Serve ASAP!


In other fun news - a friend of mine made some delicious vegan 'hedgehog' cookies for the party.

I thought they were so cute and delicious I had to take a picture. I didn't get the recipe from her but I'm sure if I bugged her I could wrangle it out so if anyone is interested let me know!! They are so fun!

See? So cute!

They really did look like hedgehogs.

I think I ate half the plate...


















All right, lovers! Hope you had a beautiful and fun superbowl and that you were as upset as we were that the niners lost!! Made for a long night, I'll tell ya!

Live long and prosper. And happy 100th post anniversary to me!

Christmas Brunch

 

 

Merry Vegan Christmas!!

 

This is the third Christmas I have spent with my wonderful boyfriend and mom and we are creating Christmas traditions right and left.

 

Every year, my mom demands homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. So, naturally, every year I try a different recipe. This year, I used a recipe inspired by Chloe Coscarelli (Winner of Cupcakes Wars - twice - and publisher of 2 BOMB cook books).

 

It was hands down the best vegan cinnamon roll recipe I've come across. She knows her stuff, thank is for dang sure. Sorry for the questionable presentation - I literally just stuffed as many rolls into this pan as possible so they were a little wonky coming out of the oven :)

 



Cinnamon Rolls

• 1 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Scant 1/4 cup WARM (not hot) water
• 1 envelope yeast
• 4 cups flour

For the Filling

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 Tbsp Earth Balance

For the Glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 Tbsp orange juice

Preparation:

Heat the almond milk, sugar, salt, and Earth Balance in a small saucepan over low heat until the margarine is just melted. Remove from heat and add vanilla. set aside to cool until warm to the touch.

Place the warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar, and yeast in a 1-cup measuring cup. This is a really useful way to tell if your yeast is still alive and will allow your dough to rise. Stir everything together for a few seconds and then set aside for 10 minutes. The yeast will double in size and should reach aboutm the 3/4 cup line. If not throw it out and get either cooler water (if it's too hot it will kill the yeast) or new yeast.

In your kitchenaid or other mixer, beat Earth Balance mixture with yeast mixture on medium for about 2 minutes. Then, on low, add the flour slowly. Beat until fully combined.

Remove dough from mixing bowl and place on a lightly floured surface and knead about 2 minutes with your hands. Then place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover and set aside until the dough has doubled in size (between an hour and two hours). Once the dough has doubled in size, take it out of the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface.

Meanwhile, prepare your filling! Combine all ingredients except Earth Balance in a small bowl. Melt the earth balance until it is spreadable. Spread it over the surface of the dough and then sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar-nut mixture over the entire rectangle.

With the long end towards you, roll the dough into a long log. Gently press the seam together so it doesn't unravel. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into equal pieces until you have your desired number of rolls. Place the rolls into a greased baking tray and then cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for an additional hour or so.

 

Then, bake the rolls uncovered in a 375 degree oven. Allow them to cool slightly before glazing :)

For the Glaze

Combine powdered sugar and orange juice in a medium bowl and stir with a whisk unil smooth. Add more powdered sugar or orange juice as needed. Drizzle glaze over cinnamon rolls.

Sounds like a lot of steps but I promise they are super easy and SO worth it.

These cinnamon rolls were SO good. I'm tellin ya. My mom said they were her favorite of all the ones I have made. I'll probably even repeat this recipe next year...

BUT the cinnamon rolls were not all that graced our brunch table.


My personal favorite part was the mimosas made with fresh squeezed orange juice from the Vitamix. The mimosas were well deserved after the brutal run Colin, myself and my mom's boyfriend went on that morning. Pouring rain and a nasty head wind. And that was AFTER I'd been up for 2 hours getting all the food prepped. No wonder those mimosas tasted so good...



There was also my obligatory fruit salad. I make fruit salad for every holiday. It's just the best. Nothing says holidays and family cheer like fruit salad!

 

 Aaand the meat (not-meat) centerpiece of our brunch was a GIANT field roast loaf (now carried by Costco woo woo!) atop a slew of roasted seasonal veggies.

 

Pictured above are: zucchini, tomatoes, red onions, carrots, butternut squash, asparagus, mushroom and garlic.

 

This was an absolutely perfect way to start of Christmas. A beautiful start to a beautiful day.

 

In other Christmas houses - Colin's incredible roommate decorated their place and I took some pictures to really just beat in the Christmas spirit.

 

In case I didn't already tell you enough how much I love Christmas ;)

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty, right?

 

That's all I have for now, lovers. I hope you enjoyed your holidays as much as I did and that you are having a wonderful New Year.

 

 

Live Long and Prosper. And achieve your New Years Resolutions!!

Homemade Christmas! Peppermint Chocolate-Covered Pretzels

 

I absolutely love Holidays.

Christmas, especially. I feel SO incredibly fortunate to have such a rock solid family that makes the holidays so special. 

They are the greatest, seriously.

And friends, too! Which is why I decided to make them all delicious Christmas gifts!

I think homemade Christmas gifts from friends are the best, and Colin and I are lucky to have friends who really value things like time and energy and creativity in gifts over the dollar amount (...hopefully it's not only because they are all broke students like we are ;)).

Plus, everyone knows the best kind of homemade Christmas gifts are the ones you can EAT.

As much as I love cookies, I really wanted to do something a little different - and something maybe not SO heavy as a sugar cookie.

I decided on Peppermint Chocolate Covered Pretzels. 

We found these adorable 'holiday shaped' pretzels and world market which I knew would be perfect.

They are shaped like trees and bells and stars! Isn't that so cute? I think they are great. 

Peppermint chocolate covered pretzels are so simple: Really, all you have to do is melt coconut oil and chocolate chips on a double broiler on the stove, add a few drops of peppermint oil dip em' in and then sprinkle crushed candy canes over the top.

Easy right? 

It is time consuming, but totally worth it. And they taste DELICIOUS. The sweetness of the chocolate, with the saltiness of the pretzels and the double kick of peppermint.

YUM. And so Christmas-y. Your friends will love them, promise.

Peppermint Chocolate-Covered Pretzels

• 1  bag holiday shaped (or regular) pretzels
• 2 bags vegan chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, divided
• 8-10 drops of peppermint oil
• 6 candy canes

Prepare your work station. Lay out wax paper on several cookie sheets.

I like to do the pretzels in two batches, each time using a bag of chocolate chips and 1/8 cup of coconut oil. It's easier to deal with the chocolate that way and then you can make better use of your cookie sheets instead of having 6 cookie sheets clogging up your fridge (I don't even have 6 cookie sheets so I HAD to do them in two batches.)

Using a double broiler, melt the coconut oil and chocolate chips over low-medium heat.

When warm, add in the peppermint oil. Depending on how peppermint-y you like them, you can adjust the amount of oil you use accordingly. Start on the conservative side because that stuff is strong.

While the chocolate is heating, unwrap the candy canes and place them in a gallon sized plastic bag. Using a meat cleaver, crush up the candy canes (you could use a food processor I guess but crushing them with a meat cleaver is SO FUN. And if you're vegan like me, this might be the only action the meat cleaver ever sees...)

Then, once your chocolate is melty, start dipping your pretzels! Dip about 8-10, laying them out on the wax paper and then sprinkle crushed candy canes over the top. I find that doing 8-10 at a time is a good number to keep them moving but not too many that the chocolate starts the harden. Adding the coconut oil makes it a little more forgiving - it won't set up as quickly and melts a lot easier. Definitely use coconut oil if you can!

Then, once your first cookie sheet is full, pop it in the fridge.

Rinse and repeat until all pretzels are covered!

You can present them however you want. I chose to put mine in little mason jars and decorate them as pictured :) I thought they were cute that way but be creative!

 

 In other Christmas news - some friends and I did the Peacock Lane run put on by Portland Running Company and got to run down the brightest and most Christmas-y street in all of Portland :)

It was a blast.

 So so pretty. And it DEFINITELY got me in the Christmas spirit.

The only thing better than running is Christmas running!

I hope you all have beautiful holiday plans!

More Christmas posts to come!













Live long and prosper! And Happy Holidays!!

Massaged Kale Salad w/Lemon Garlic Tahini Dressing

Yet another Vitamix inspired recipe for you today...this time I take on Dressing.

And kale.

Pretty much if you've ever met me you know that I LOVE kale.

I talk about kale an inappropriate amount. Sometimes I am reminded how socially awkward I am when I find myself talking in excess in public about things like kale...and vitamixes. In other words, I found yet another way to mix two of my obsession into one amazing dish.

Even if you don't like kale you would probably like this. When you 'massage' the kale it gets all soft and pliable, losing its rigidity and bitterness to take on more of a salad-green type texture but with lots more flavor and lots more vitamins.

Here, I combine kale, homemade dressing, chopped carrots, avocado and a handful of spicy roasted pumpkin seeds for a powerhouse lunch.

 Massaged Kale Salad
Serves 2 

• 1 bunch lacinato or 'dinosaur' kale, chopped
• 1/4 cup lemon-garlic-tahini dressing (recipe below)
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 carrots, chopped or grated (I used the Vmix on setting 2 for about 20 seconds to chop mine!)
• About 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Lemon Garlic Tahini Dressing

• 3 cloves of garlic
• Juice from 1 large or two small lemons
• 2 Tbsp tahini
• 1 Tbsp white or yellow miso paste
• 1 tsp fresh ginger (doesn't need to be grated if you are throwing it into the Vmix)
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 small handful basil or parsley 

To assemble the dressing: place all ingredients in the Vmix or blender (or food processor) and blend until smooth.

I love the vitamix so much because it has this amazing ability to make everything super creamy and delicious. From smoothies, to soup, to this dressing, I guarantee you won't be able to get the same creamy consistency with a regular blender as you do from a Vmix.

They really are amazing.

Once the dressing is blended, pour it over your chopped kale. Then, using your hands, 'massage' the dressing into the kale for about 3-5 minutes or until you can feel the kale softened under your fingertips. Taste a sample and if it doesn't seem 'massaged' enough - feel free to give it a little more time. You won't over-massage it.

Then, once your kale is nice and relaxed, add in the carrots, avocado and pumpkin seeds and mix until just combined.

Such a perfect, light summery dish. Just in time for the dead of winter and (almost) the longest day of the year.

And the end of the world.

...

But hey, if the world is going to end tomorrow, I want to be eating kale.



Live long and prosper...and when I say live long, I hope it's longer than just December 21st, 2012 ;)

(Don't worry, NASA says we'll be fine)