Shamless Plug

My oldest son, who is a wonderful cook of many things yummy, produces his own internet cooking show. It is called "Menu From Mars". Go find it (menufrommars.com) and enjoy watching his unique way of cooking...from ribs and wings (no, he is not vegetarian or vegan) to barbeque sauces and canning. Learn from him and you will find that you also can cook wonderful foods. He also has a Facebook page by the same name...go "like" him!

Anyway, he called me today and suggested that instead of roasting my veggies in the oven, I may want to go buy myself some Mesquite wood chips at a local big box store and use them on my backyard grill to smoke the veggies. I think that is a mighty fine idea, and even though I don't have any wood chips yet, I do believe I'm gonna go and grill me up some veggies out there this afternoon. Because, as I've said before, you can never have enough roasted or grilled veggies on hand.

Major yum.

Pizza, Pizza!

The way I now prepare pizza is below in my first "official" recipe on this blog. You can do it your way, however you like it or feel you would like it. You can even make your own pizza crust, or use some pre-made crust. That being said, the purpose of this is to encourage no cheese, no meat...so be brave and give my way a try. Consider it an adventure in eating. As you can see, there are now several "print" buttons at the bottom of the post/recipe. Not sure why there are 3, but at least now you can print what you wish to...haven't figured out if I can make it just print the recipe, but it is what it is, for now. Bon Appetite!!

Pizza, Vegan Style

Olive Oil (or canola) spray

"Flat Out" wrap*

Tomato sauce - marinara, pomodoro, Ragu (whatever you like)

Roasted veggies (remember that recipe?)

Sliced tomato

Soy Mozzarella (I use Lisanatti Soy-Sation) (optional)

Herbs & spices

Preheat oven to 350. Spray the top of the Flat Out wrap and put directly onto oven rack. Cook for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and spread tomato sauce, then mozzarella, then roasted veggies all over the top. Sprinkle herbs and spices on, then put back into oven directly onto rack and cook another 7 minutes.

Remove carefully with a large spatula and place on plate. Cut into three pieces, eat and enjoy!

*"Flat Out" is a brand name of a sandwich wrap that I eat a lot. You could possibly use any large tortilla, but we have tried several and "Flat Out" is our fave.

Note: You can add olives, garlic, or whatever else you'd like as a topping. You also can use regular mozzarella or whatever cheese you would like.

Roasted Veggies

Roasted veggies are important to have available when cooking vegetarian/vegan meals. Even if you aren't going to use roasted veggies in a recipe, having a container full of them in the fridge comes in handy for a quick and delish lunch. All you need to do is heat a serving up in the microwave, add to previously cooked brown rice, and eat! Or, you can top some leftover pasta with a serving of roasted veggies, and then cover with homemade pomodoro sauce (or jar/canned marinara)...heat and eat. There are many ways you can use them, only limited by your imagination! Roasted veggies are yummy all by themselves, too!

Roasting vegetables is easy. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice up zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, bell peppers, and sweet potatoes. Add, or replace any of these with, a sliceable veggie you love. Chop cauliflower and broccoli, add some shredded carrots. Arrange all these vegetables on a lightly oil sprayed foil-lined cookie sheet (or two), spray with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, pepper, italian seasoning...or any other herbs/spices that you find yummy. Put into the oven and roast for 10-12 minutes. Remove and stir, moving the veggies around to allow for even cooking. Put back into the oven and cook for another 10 minutes...check to see if they look done, and either put back in for 5 minutes or remove from oven. You don't want them to be overdone, but just tender and some may also have some brownish tinge. After they are done, you can do with them what you wish. As I mentioned before, I like having a container of them in the fridge for spur of the moment recipes, or just to heat up and munch on. Topping homemade pizza with these babies is the best!

Roasted veggies are healthy, filling and satisfying. Consider this my first recipe post, although it isn't in a normal recipe format. Search online for roasted veggies, and you will find different techniques for roasting them.

Oh, and even if you are not vegetarian/vegan...everyone should eat some veggies every day, and this is probably THE best way to do so!

Next up: Tools you will find helpful, if not essential.