FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

Resolution Pants Pizza – Part Deux

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I paid a long overdue visit to the friendly folks over at Viitals today.  I was in the mood for more pizza and thought it best to baby step my way to homemade.  Viitals offers pre-made, gluten-free pizza crust locally at their cafe AND they’re willing to ship if you’re not so local.

If you recall, I had already sampled this dough at Gourmet Pizza Company on New Years and knew it was a sure shot to goodness.

I ran my plan by Silvia, the owner, and she suggested that I brush the crust with garlic and olive oil.

So I did.

I spooned a layer of homemade sauce on the crust, topped with a layer of spinach, spooned a little more sauce, and then added sliced baby bellas.

I baked the pizza in a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes and sprinkled with nutritional yeast.

It was the first time this year that I missed cheese.  It was really good, but it would have been AMAZING with some mozzarella and feta.  So here I am, 16 days into the no-meat, no-dairy new year, missing real cheese pizza.

I’ve found the perfect crust, now I just need the perfect vegan cheese. Suggestions please!

Oooh La Lavender

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Oh you read it right, I not only downloaded, but prepared a recipe from the ‘Vegan Yum Yum’ app.  Don’t make fun.  It could be cool.  After all, the recipe called for rosewater and I am  a sucker for anything rose.

The hunt for rosewater was a tad on the difficult side.  Fresh Market had orange blossom water, but had discontinued rosewater.  And Whole Foods…  I ended up finding it at Whole Foods, but not where one would expect.

Luckily I called ahead, because I would have never checked the Whole Body section for something that would soon be ingested.  And you better believe I fact checked the salesperson that told me rosewater was unavailable in the baking aisle.

It’s all good though, right?  I now have the ability to bake with a hint of rose, cleanse my face, and perfume myself and my home, all with the same product.

I cringed when I added the rosewater to the traditional baking aisle ingredients.

The verdict?  Undecided.  I didn’t love them, but I sure found myself making multiple trips to the kitchen to break off another piece.  Perhaps being the baker halted this cookie’s climb to my favorites list.

The Fungus Among Us

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Remember a few posts ago when I said Vegan with a Vengeance’s pesto was the jam?  Well it is – and even more so than I thought.  The recipe calls for nutritional yeast which, turns out, has the instant ability to kill a cheese craving (i.e. has made the past eleven non-dairy days completely tolerable).

Needless to say, I’ve gone through an ungodly amount of yeast over the past few days.  And it was the first thing on my mind when I thought of how delightful a stuffed shroom dinner would be.

SO super easy. Just make the Vegan with a Vengeance Pesto, stuff the baby bella caps, and cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  I filled the bottom of the dish with a tiny bit of water just in case, but I’m not certain it was necessary.

The best part (other than being extremely tasty) is that nutritional yeast contains 18 amino acids (forming a complete protein), 15 minerals, and is rich in B-complex vitamins.  It’s probably the perfect food for me to be addicted to these days!

Cheapest. Day. Ever.

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Pictured above is one of the many highlights of my sunny Sunday – Cafe Hey’s quinoa salad.  Amazing.  As I read the daily specials I thought ‘this place will be key in my no-meat, no-dairy twenty eleven and it’s going to make me broke’.  Not the case.  The total was a mere $2.12.

The other highlights of my Sunday?

Breakfast was quite wonderful.

A sprouted grain english muffin with tofutti and jam washed down with a tall cup of green ginger tea.  This would be breakfast daily if I didn’t fifteen minute fire drill out of my house every morning just to arrive at work approximately 5 to 10 minutes late every day.  I thought about adding ‘no snooze button’ to my resolution list, but it just won’t happen.

And then the I, not so hesitantly, camera creeped around town.

It was solo exploration at its finest.

A little cookbook hunting for a recipe that justified a trip to the oceanic market, which just happened to be adjacent to Cafe Hey – well planned, right?

$10.02?!  Cheapest.  Day.  Ever.  Now off to FREE yoga in the park!

Oh and today?  I love you.