Vegan Pizza Revisted

Wow. Tonight I made THE most delicious pizza I've had since becoming a vegetarian/mostly vegan. This is so good...crispy crust that isn't too thick, and of course it can be made with cheese and all the traditional toppings, if you so choose. BUT, my version really was yummy with my homemade pomodoro sauce, lots of veggies and soy mozzarella.

Crust recipe from Robbie's Recipe Collection

Thin Crust Pizza Dough

.25 oz. packet active dry yeast

1/4 tsp. granulated sugar

3/4 cup 110 degree water

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

-In small bowl dissolve yeast and sugar in water; allow to rest for 8 minutes.

-In a separate large bowl, combine flour and salt.

-Pour yeast mixture over flour mixture and mix well with

a heavy spoon.

-Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes.

-Spray pizza stone or pizza pan lightly with olive oil spray.

-Place dough on stone/pan and working from the center spread

out to cover most of the area, leaving just a slight edge showing.

Finishing the pizza

-Spread a light to medium layer of sauce on dough.

-Sprinkle soy mozzarella (I use Soy Sation) on sauce, then layer

veggies. I used sliced zucchini, chopped grape tomatoes,

chopped broccoli, fresh baby spinach. Top with a light sprinkle

of soy mozzarella. Sprinkle with oregano and spray lightly with

olive oil.

-Cook in 450 oven for 12-15 minutes, or until crust is lightly

browned. Let sit for a couple of minutes before cutting.

Be sure to check on the pizza often during the last 3-4 minutes of cooking, and adjust the time accordingly.

I used a pizza stone, which does cook a bit differently than a pan, but I'm almost sure the crust will be crisp no matter what it is cooked on.

Feel free to use your own toppings. I am not a fan of making pizza dough from scratch, only to be disappointed by soggy, chewy pizza. I will only make my pizza using this recipe from now on, it's that good! Enjoy!

"I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." - Wimpy

Happy New Year!

This post is about hamburgers...of the lack thereof.

Pre-vegetarian days, I wasn't a person who lived to eat hamburgers. Sure, I enjoyed a good burger now and again...and avoided the usual fast food burgers. Now that there are some very delicious fast food burgers out there, I do miss enjoying the wonderful taste and experience of eating one.

I have tried my best to find a substitute. Realizing that there would be no vegetarian/vegan substitute for a really good burger...I was hoping there would be some sort of replacement that would be "good enough" to enjoy even though not made from meat. I don't think it is possible, though.

I've made black bean burgers (mushy & unattractive to both the eye and the taste buds), as well as had them in restaurants. I've made garbanzo bean burgers (not as mushy but kind of tasteless, depending on what you add to them). I've purchased and eaten Dr. Prager's California Veggie Burgers, as well. All in all, Dr. Prager's wins for me. You'd think homemade would be the best all around...but not so. Of course, I could be doing something wrong, but since I follow recipes exactly I really do think in this case pre-prepared wins the day. And really, I'm thinking of just skipping the whole veggie/black bean/other bean burgers because if I don't enjoy the food, then what's the point? I'd rather eat a plateful of roasted veggies with rice on the side.

All those vegetarian/vegan food bloggers and cookbook authors out there who offer very elaborate and detailed recipes for burgers not made from beef can try as they might to convince me that theirs is the BEST. I'm not buying it.

So, I just gotta say that if I'm going to eat a burger...then it isn't going to be a veggie burger. And it will be a very delicious and worthwhile burger. For sure.