Italian Sausage Crumbles - Quick, Easy, Vegan

True story - I fell off the vegetarian wagon over homemade sausage. Yup, visiting friends in Montana more than 20 years ago and they offered homemade, homegrown pork sausage for breakfast and I didn't blink. Forget bacon, sausage and salumi are my downfall.

In my defense, I had been trying to make my own vegetarian sausage for years; I just couldn't stomach faux sausage anymore. And after too many failed attempts, I returned to the real deal. My sisters called me a "Sausa-tarian" to mock me. 

While faux sausage has gotten better - less unpronounceable ingredients - it still is expensive and or includes wheat, which I longer can eat. But Italian sausage is still one of my favorite foods, especially crumbled on pizza. So I created this recipe, and it is a winner!

Quick, easy and even stores well, I try to have it on hand for Friday Night Pizza, and it never lets me down!

Garlic Shrimp Flatbread with Spinach and Cotija

If someone where to tell me that I could eat either pizza or shrimp everyday for the rest of my life, but not the other, it would be a very, very, very hard decision. 

My response would probably be this concoction: lots of garlic sauteed with lots of shrimp on top of a flatbread (pizza crust). I knew it needed some sort of base and while I do not completely subscribe to the idea of no cheese with shrimp as the Italian traditionalist do, I wanted something bring and green. Rather than using pesto I steamed some spinach and pureed it with only a little water to make a thick spread. It was perfect!

Using cotija cheese as a finishing touch was a no brainer, as that's typical of shrimp tacos but when I didn't have any lemon, lime juice really took this to a another level! It was remeniscent of this pizza which is another favorite.

Pesto and Olive Pizza - Low Carb Crust

Pizza is my favorite food, hands down, no competition. And when you end up on restricted diets - no gluten, low-carb - the alternatives generally leave quite a bit to be desired. Enter this crust.

I cannot claim to have created it - that would be Fat Head Pizza Crust, whomever that is. But I did find it on the internet, and it is blow your mind good! Soft but chewy crust, crisp bottom, good flavor. Who'd a thunk it!

It does require a microwave, and in my wildest imaginings I cannot fathom how the creator dreamed up this recipe. But it works wonderfully. So prepare yourself for some delicious gluten-free, low-carb pizza!

Zucchini Crust Pizza

Zucchini - it's the epitome of summer vegetables and you love it...until you hate. it Because you bought a whole six-pack of starter plants without realizing that not only do the plants get really big but once they start producing, that cute little zucchini you saw yesterday will be the size of a baseball bat by the end of the weekend.

What to do with such abundance? (besides leaving them on your neighbors’ doorsteps, anonymously of course.)

Make Pizza Crust. Yes, crust. It sounds like some frou frou healthy thing, but in reality it is a delicious alternative to waiting hours for your pizza crust to rise. The added bonus is that it gets some vegetables in you and your family in a sneaky and tasty way.

Essentially, zucchini pizza crust is a large zucchini fritter. Fritters are shredded or chopped vegetables combined with egg and cheese and pan-fried to a crisp. Doesn’t that sound mouthwatering? So add some pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and a few toppings and you have a winner.

Since my first paid job was in a pizza joint, run by actual Sicilians, I kind of consider myself a bit of an expert on making pizza. The main way people ruin homemade pizza is putting on too many toppings. It prevents the pizza from cooking quickly and can make it soggy, leaving you dejected and disappointed. Secondly, grate your own cheese! Pre-grated cheese loses it moisture in the bag and your pizza will suffer. Lastly, make a good crust. Obviously, that is not an issue since you are going to make a zucchini crust. So let’s get to it!

Faux Pepperoni for Pizza

For most of my teenage life pepperoni and black olives were the only things allowed on my pizza slices. Day after day after day where I worked at Mazzatta's Italian Restaurant.

In the past 20 plus years as a pescatarian I have indulged in pepperoni pizza on rare occasions, but not often because I prefer my meat to be "happy" and generally pepperoni in pizza joints doesn't fit that description.

But since working as a lunch lady making vegetarian meals only in a groovy, alternative charter school where I hear the plaintive longing for pepperoni on the pizza, an investigation of alternative forms seemed in order.

And then I found THE recipe on the Minimalist Baker.

Can I just say easy, delicious and quick!

If you have kids, big or small, with a vegetarian diet who are craving pepperoni this is the ticket. Don't be put off by the list of ingredients, you probably have all them in the pantry, and this just needs a few whizzes in the food processor and a quick bake and Voila! Magic!

30 Minute Pizza Crust - Pesto Pizza with Homemade Veggie Italian Sausage

It was one of those nights, when cooking seems like the hardest thing to do - yes, it happens, even to me. And then Vegan Richa's new post popped up and she promised a 30 minute pizza crust. Intriguing and turns out, quite good!

Oddly enough it is a normal crust - flour, water, yeast, oil, salt. There is very little rise period, which makes for a very crispy crust. Take care not to overbake it or it will be too crispy!

Having just made some veggie Italian sausage and being gifted with two huge bunch of fresh basil, it was perfect for a pesto pizza with pan fried sausage on top!

Do note that I made my crust with spelt flour so the water in the recipe is slightly less; check Richa's recipe for the wheat flour version.

Moroccan Eggplant Pizza

This is truly one of those "no recipe" recipes. It was inspired by a lone eggplant hanging out in the refrigerator and my desire for pizza. And it was delicious enough that it made it to this space!

While the suggestion below is for squeezing lemon juice over the finished pizza - trust me on that, you need to at least do that - if you have preserved lemon, mince it super fine and sprinkle it over the pizza before baking. That will probably be even more fantastic!

Although fresh mozzarella is not usually my choice, it works better here than regular mozzarella because the tomato sauce needs to be more of a dominant flavor than it tends to be when covered up with melted mozzarella. Think of this as more of a flat bread than a pizza and you will have a better understanding of the concept I was attempting to create.

Zucchini Crust Pizza

Unless you have only been cooking from cookbooks (and if so, bully for you!) but everyone else should have undoubtedly heard of the cauliflower crust pizza. This is even better, trust me!

It is like a giant zucchini fritter with pizza on top, sooooo amazingly good! Feed it to your skeptical diners, they will reward your with praise! Even my hubby, who couldn't believe his eyes, actually said it might be better than real pizza crust! It was good enough that I planted extra zucchini plants to freeze shredded zucchini to have through the winter!

I have to admit that I have not been able to achieve the "crisp" crust that so many of the bloggers brag about, even though I bought a silicon baking mat specifically for that purpose. But it still tastes delicious!

White Spelt Pizza with Swiss Chard, Olives and Sundried Tomatoes

Spelt is a dicey flour to work with; on the one hand, it is softer than wheat yet it absorbs more liquid and thus requires less than traditional wheat flour. And if you have ever tried to make the perfect pizza dough, you know that the prospect of changing ratios of liquids and solids is not a simple one. So when I finally - finally!! - figured out how to make a good spelt crust, excitement abounded!

The best crust I ever produced was following Peter Rheinhart's instructions - and if you google his name, you will find that great pizza dough/crust and his name are synonymous. Thus making a great crust with spelt that could come close to what his instructions produced was a key goal of mine.

The secret is in the cold rise in the refrigerator. No kneading involved. How simply wonderful is that! Enjoy!

Ricotta White Pizza with Artichokes, Olives and Basil

Pizza is still my favorite comfort food, although a close second to chips and salsa. Since I could eat it every day and not tire of it, I limit myself to my homemade dough so that my addiction stays in check. Here I did a simple white pizza with lots of Mediterranean flair.

White pizzas are fun and can be made with just mozzarella and toppings or you can branch out and make it with a combination of other white cheeses like ricotta or cottage cheese or a mix of the two as I did here since it's what was in the refrigerator that needed to be used up.

White Pizza with Marinated Portabellos and Parsley Drizzle - Raw

Pizza really is my favorite food - it is comfort, it is sustenance, it is versatility, it is life. So when I realized that gluten really wasn't my friend, I started trying gluten free crusts, and while there are plenty to try, soooo few taste any better than sawdust. Once I started experimenting with raw foods, I knew raw pizza would be one of the first things I made.

I won't mislead you and tell you that raw pizza is better than cooked - for me, that is simply not true. However, the substantial crust along with really tasty toppings did sooth my pizza cravings in a way that gluten free crusts left me wanting. Since the crust is so different, it is more like a flatbread rather than a pizza crust, which seemed to make my inner-pizza lover happier.

As with any raw foods that require dehydration, this is not a 30 minute, throw-together meal. But I found it worth the effort! If you like eating cold pizza, you'll really enjoy raw style pizzas. I plan on doing lots more experimenting so stay tuned!

Chick Pea Flatbread with Fava Puree and Kale

Once you discover the deliciousness and simplicity of this flatbread, you'll understand why its is used all over Mediterranean cuisines - Italy, France, Gibraltar, Morocco - as well as India, where I first ate it as a pancake. It's quick, easy and so tasty plain or topped with your favorite vegetables, spreads, or simply olive oil and dried herbs.

Known as farinata in Italy, it is often topped with whatever leftover cooked vegetables are sitting in the refrigerator from the last meal. Since that is always the case in my kitchen, this presents the ideal way to use up those odds and ends for a perfect lunch or light dinner.

For this version I took advantage of the bumper crop of fava beans at my local farmers market to make a simple rosemary fava bean puree. But sweet peas would be equally good as a substitute. In keeping with the pantry nature of this dish, I've eaten it with sauteed onions and steamed broccoli as the topping as well.

Another great upside to this flatbread is that it is of course gluten-free and packed with protein. While I have yet to test-drive it with children, the creamy mouthfeel of the bread will probably be a winner if you can get the vegetables past their lips!

BBQ Tempeh Pizza

The first time I became a vegetarian it was a pretty simple transition - living in a dorm in graduate school the meat was appalling to look at let alone eat, and eating meat out on a student budget was rare. So when my roommate urged me to go veg like she was so we could share meals, it was no hardship. But my recent transition was a little more cold turkey (pardon the pun!) While meat had been an irregular visitor to my table, I did eat a burger a month and the occasional slice of charcuterie. But what I truly craved was a local pizza called "BBQ' Chicken."

Pizza is probably my biggest weakness, and I will generally try almost anything (savory) on my pizza so when Dagwood's "BBQ Chicken" landed on my plate I was smitten: tangy BBQ sauce, mozzarella, sliced chicken, and cilantro. Sounds incredibly unhealthy and decadent, right! But oh so delicious! Cutting meat out of my diet meant no more BBQ Chicken, or did it? Always one to experiment, I decided to make my own version, and it turned out pretty darn well, if I do say so myself!

Spelt Focaccia with Swiss Chard and Roasted Garlic

A couple of months ago when I was in the throes of my limited diet, I found this focaccia recipe at Cook (Almost) Anything. Not only was it easy to make, but versatile and really tasty. Alas, it turned out spelt was not distant enough of a cousin to wheat and had to be exiled from my diet. Fast forward to now when my ear is healed and my beloved breadstuffs are once again consumable, I made this focaccia again. Just as great as I remembered!

The swiss chard and roasted garlic are my additions, so make whatever pleases you. The original recipe called for dusting the top with fresh rosemary and that was it - simplicity at its best. But being an avowed bread-aholic, adding vegetables to the focaccia assuages my guilty conscience! 

Snacks for Superbowl - Part 2 - Pizza and Big Bites

Continuing on to the heartier portion of Superbowl Snacks, here are my suggestions for entree-like finger food. Enjoy!

Stuffed Mushrooms are so simple to prepare and even reheat well if you want to make them the day before. Try to find mushrooms that are uniform in size to ensure they all finishing baking at the same rate.

While it seems tempting to buy lots of fried food from a package and bake it off in the oven, here's a recipe that will blow all of that packaged food away: Prosciutto Wrapped Stuffed Jalapenos. Oh yeah, they're as good as they sound, and stuffing them with cream cheese is surprisingly easy. Baking them off helps keep the jalapeno crunchy and the prosciutto will dissolve any protests about the lack of deep-frying.

Here's a bit of summer in the dead of winter - Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes. If you're lucky enough to get the roma tomatoes that are coming out of Mexico right now (as opposed to Florida-grown) than make these delicious little amuse-bouche. They look great and are oh so satisfying!

No Superbowl spread is complete unless the hallowed wings are on the table. Forgo buying them from some fast-food joint, just double bake them at home! Last year I was inspired to re-create the Hot Wings I cooked at one of my college-era jobs and they were spectacular! Don't forget the creamy dressing as well (and simply add blue cheese to make it so.)

Ahhh pizza, my favorite food, bar none. Below are a few suggestions for types and toppings that I love, but of course make it your own! If you have the time making your own crust is so worth the effort. But do not let that limit you, buy premade dough if you have to.

Corn, Lime, Cilantro and Jalapeno Pizza
Crazy topping combination = crazy good. Don't knock it until you try it!

Roasted Tomato and Spinach Pizza
A classic that never fails to please.

White Mushroom Pizza
I am a late comer to the "white" pizza, at least as currently interpreted, but I'm loving it!

Sundried Tomato, Spinach and Shrimp Pizza
Very California influenced and delicious year round, don't spend a fortune on the shrimp, canned ones will work well.





Enjoy and hugs to all!

Corn, Lime, Jalapeno, Cilantro Pizza

Here's one from the archives - white pizza with corn, jalapeno, lime and cilantro - with an updated photo. It is a fabulous combination that too few people know about unless you live near the Berkeley Cheeseboard, which makes it often!

Adding the jalapenos is optional; my original post only had green onions. But I wanted some spice for this version. Placing them on top of everything else makes it easy to pick them off if you prefer.

This time around I had a store bought crust - cornmeal and wheat to be exact and the perfect two serving size at 9 inches round. As a result the recipe below is for a "personal" size pie so refer to the earlier post for a larger pizza for 3-4.

As always, do not forgo the lime - it brings out the goat cheese and cilantro flavors so beautifully!

Fresh Mozzarella Pizza with Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce

 

Ahhh, pizza, the true love of my life. It comforts and soothes me after a rough day, makes me feel warm and gooey on the inside, and conjures up so many happy memories. Offer me a slice from anywhere and I will probably eat it but some of the best pizza is made in my own kitchen.

Making a homemade pizza sauce can be very time consuming - hours of simmering on the back burner, if you choose - or as quick as 30 minutes. When I'm looking for comfort food the 30 minute option always wins. Pizza really is so forgiving because the magical combination of bread, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese is so miraculous; for me it is one of the most perfect food combinations, ever. Period.

Pita Pizza - Quattro Stagioni

Pizza is probably my favorite food. I could eat it everyday; with new toppings, new crusts or simply the same thing over and over and over again. I really love it. But sometimes I just want it now, no waiting for dough to rise or defrost. That's when I make lazy pizza, pita pizza.

One of my closet friends introduced me to pita pizza - a South Asian from New Delhi no less! It is truly a life saver when you need a pizza fix. I even love this cold (but then again, I love any pizza cold as well as hot, and warm, and room temperature.... you get the picture.)

Purple Potato Pizza with Napoletana Style Dough

Pizza is one of my favorite foods by far. Even when it's bad, I still want to eat more and when it's really good, I have to exercise Heruclean restraint to not over eat. It used to be that finding really good pizza meant shopping around restaurants, which always meant there would be several disappointments. That was until I discovered Peter Rheinhart and The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

I have mentioned my love of this recipe in several other posts but never gave out the recipe. I wasn't being perverse or trying to get my dear readers to buy the book, it's just that Rheinhart's recipes are long; not only 2-3 pages long but most of the bread is made with homemade starters so that the breads themselves take up to three days to make, which adds up to time-consuming recipes that are often overwhelming to some people. On top of that, knowing me, I do not follow the pizza recipe to a T, so I was nervous about posting what I actually do for fear that I would leave things out and readers would end up with less than desirable results and be disappointed.

Roasted Tomato and Spinach Pizza

In the dead of winter (no matter what climate you live in) I usually cringe when I see people buying fresh tomatoes. I'm not a "loco" locavore, but the idea of eating those orangish looking things that claim to be tomatoes in February or March just seems sad and so out of place. When tomatoes come through my check out line at Co-opportunity they look anemic, like they haven't gotten enough heat and sunshine to bloom into the beautiful fruit/vegetable that they can be.

However, I subcumbed to buying tomatoes in February after watching Giada di Laurentiis on the Food Network make magic with cherry tomatoes. Cutting them in half, she roasted them in the oven with garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper, and then tossed them with pasta and fresh mozzarella. While I'm usually not a huge fan of the cherry or grape tomatoes, I had to try this dish and the grape tomatoes looked like real tomatoes so I went for it.

What a delight they were! Instead of pasta I mashed them up and used them as a sauce for pizza. Topping the pizza with spinach and mozzarella and fontina cheese made the most perfect pizza I've made yet!

Roasted Tomato and Spinach Pizza

Dough to cover a cookie sheet
coarse cornmeal to sprinkle
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 cup steamed spinach
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup fontina cheese, shredded
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Cut tomatoes in half and toss with olive oil, minced garlic and salt and place in roasting pan large enough so that tomatoes are in a single layer. Roast for 20 minutes and remove. While tomatoes are roasting, sprinkle cornmeal on cookie sheet and stretch pizza dough over it as thinly as possible. When tomatoes are done, mash with a fork in the pan and then scrape onto dough. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Sprinkle mozzarella over all, dot top with spinach and top with fontina cheese. Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes or until crust is browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes before cutting.

Hugs!