"Cheese" and Veggie Pizza

I haven't made a "traditional" style pizza in a long time because I don't like most vegan cheese---and because I like my hummus version better anyways. There was a sale on Daiya cheese so I thought I would give the mozzarella a try since I like their cheddar.

I was a little disappointed because it tastes just like the cheddar. I wanted the slightly salty and creaminess of the mozzarella, instead it was slightly sweet and dense. These are good qualities for cheddar cheese, but not mozzarella. They must use the same formula, just minus the food coloring. I didn't hate it, but I would not call it mozzarella. It's just a nice generic white cheese substitute.

I used my usual array of veggies I bought pre-chopped from the salad bar at the grocery store. But, this time I loaded it up with fresh basil. I even added some to a store-bought sauce. The rich herb flavor blended really nicely with the sweetness of the cheese.

Cheese and Veggie Pizza
1 pre-baked pizza crust (try mine)
1/2 cup tomato basil sauce
1/2 cup vegan mozzarella cheese (Try Daiya)
Handful fresh basil
Handful fresh kalamata olives, chopped
1/2 of a tomato, sliced
1/8 cup red onion, sliced




Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Spread the sauce evenly over the pre-baked crust.

Sprinkle on the mozzarella.

Place an even, single layer of basil on top of the cheese.

Top with the remaining veggies.













Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the veggies are cooked. Since this is non-dairy cheese, it will not get all bubbly and brown like real mozzarella does. It will burn if you leave it in the oven longer than 15 minutes. Although it doesn't bubble, it does get pretty gooey. 

It was yummy and definitely a nice change, but I still like my hummus version better.

Taste of the South: Collard Greens, Black-eyed Peas, and Fried Tofu.

One of my favorite vendors at the Hilo Farmers Market had a special on greens---kale, Swiss chard and collard greens. I got a bunch of each for only $5 total. Like I said before,  your local farmers market will always have the best deals. I haven't had collard greens before so I thought I'd make  a whole Southern dinner to have the full experience: collard greens, black-eyed peas, and fried tofu.

Love the deep green color.

Collard greens are amazing. Although kind of bitter raw, they are buttery and rich when cooked. They are also loaded with vitamin C, fiber and can even fight cancer. And it smelled sooooooo good while it was cooking. I looked up a bunch of recipes and decided to stay pretty traditional, just minus the bacon. I based this recipe on the Kickin' Collard Greens from Allrecipes.com (although Paula Dean's recipe looked really good too).

However, I am no stranger to black-eyed peas. They are buttery like collard greens but saltier, which is why they are perfect for a salt queen like me. I've tried several recipes before, but I came up with my own recently. It's still fairly traditional, just minus the bacon and add some Tabasco.

Now, do not freak out at the sound of fried tofu. It is amazing. For those people who say they don't like tofu, I question how they had it prepared. Is plain, unseasoned, undercooked chicken good? No. So why would plain, unseasoned, uncooked tofu be? Tofu will take on the flavor of whatever you cook or marinade it in, so don't be afraid to experiment and slather it in anything. There are also several preparation techniques that can alter the texture to be more meat-like too.  For fried chicken, I recommend freezing it, which I explain later in this post. There are many fried tofu recipes on VegWeb, but I had trouble with most of them. I came up with this recipe after many trial and errors. The tofu needs to freeze overnight. The other two dishes come together quickly, but you need to plan ahead for the tofu. 

My kitchen smelled so good!

Collard Greens
1 large bunch collard greens (sorry I don't have a precise measurement)
1/2 tbs olive oil
1/2 large white onion
2 cloves of garlic
3 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Chop into smaller pieces so it cooks faster and is easier to eat.

Wash and dry the collard greens. Chop off the ends, the stem is edible so only take off the browned parts.  Chop the greens into 2 inch pieces.











Chop the onion and garlic.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

Don't burn the garlic, it gets bitter and nasty.

Add the onions to the pot, cook until tender and slightly translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about another 2 minute. Be careful not the burn the garlic, it will ruin the flavor.

Add the collard greens and mix together well. Cooked for another few minutes, just until the leafs start to wilt.

Pour in the vegetable broth then season with the red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.




Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until tender, about 45 minutes. Try not to open the lid unless absolutely necessary.

Spicy Black-Eyed Peas
1 can black-eyed peas, drained
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup white onion
1/2 tbs chili powder
1/2 cup water
5-10 shake of Tabasco sauce, depending on taste



 

Put everything into a small pot, mix together well, and cook over medium-low heat until majority of the liquid is gone, about 10 minutes. So easy!

 

Fried Tofu
1 block extra firm tofu
Marinade:
1tbs soy sauce
1tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup vegetable broth
Batter:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp Ener-G Egg replacer
1/2 cup plain, unsweetened soy milk
2 shakes Tabasco sauce
pinch of salt and pepper
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Pinch of salt and pepper
Olive oil

Drain the tofu.

This part may sound crazy, but it is very necessary. Place several sheets of paper towels on a flat, clean surface. Put the tofu on the paper towels, then place some more paper towels on top. Now get something heavy (I use my science textbooks, my mom uses stone bookends) and place it on top. This will squeeze out all the liquid so it will get a denser texture when cooked. Leave this for at least an hour, but the longer the better.


Next, place the tofu in a freezable container and freeze over night.

It will have a slightly leathery appearance.

The next morning, place it on the counter to thaw.

Once fairly thawed, combine all the marinade ingredients and marinade the tofu for at least 2 hours. I know it's weird to put more liquid in when you just spent all that time getting it out, but now you are putting in flavor.

Marinated and dried again.

Pour off the excess liquid and pat the tofu dry.

Slice the tofu into 1/2 inch strips. You can cut it lengthwise so it's more steak-like, but I find it doesn't fry as evenly.

Batter tastes pretty good on its own too.

Now, in a small bowl mix together all the ingredients for the batter, except the 1/4 cup flour and second pinches of salt and pepper.  It should make a fairly thick mixture.


In another small bowl, mix together the remaining flour,  and salt and pepper.

1 tbs of olive oil, only 120 calories and gets the job done just fine.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Get the pan good and hot. The pan is ready when a sprinkle of water sizzles and bounces straight off. You really don't need tons on oil if you have the pan heated properly and are patient.






Now it's finally time to bread and cook the tofu. It's best to set-up an assembly line: dry flour bowl, batter bowl, then the your heated skillet.

First, lightly coat the tofu strip on both sides in the flour.

Next dip the the strip in the batter, making sure it is coated in a thick layer on both sides.

Then drop it straight into the hot pan.

Repeat with the remaining strips.

Cook on each side till golden, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side.













Plate up your fried tofu with generous scoops of the collard greens and black-eyed peas. It went lovely with a glass of ice cold lemonade.

The tofu is crunchy on the outside and has the perfect "meaty" texture" on the inside. Some mushroom gravy would be good with the tofu....too bad I didn't think of that beforehand. However, just like chicken, it also goes wonderfully with ketchup (and a bit more Tabasco).  

Tastes like chicken, but even better!

The black-eyed peas are a bit spicy and the buttery collard greens are heavenly. This meal is not only a good balance of flavors, but so good for you too. I am normally not a big leftover fan, but I am more than happy to have this again tomorrow.

Mexi Pizza

Sorry I haven't posted recently. Finals week and moving to a new place kind of sucked up all my time. But now I am finished with the semester and all settled into my apartment (that's right, no more dorms!). I went to Walmart to buy some stuff for my place and saw 12 inch pizza pan on for $3.99! No more square pizza made in a sheet pan for me.


I must have Cinco de Mayo on my mind still because I've been thinking about a Mexican pizza all week. A vegan Mexican pizza is similar to any other Mexican pizza---salsa for the sauce, cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella, and anything you would put in a taco for the toppings.

Since I liked the Daiya cheese so much in my Mac and Cheese, I thought I'd give it a try on my pizza. I was once again surprised that it actually melted--- well kind of melted. When you first take it out of the oven, it doesn't look that different. But once you cut it and bite into it, it melts and gets gooey. I used some of my Pizza Dough I made and froze a few weeks ago and bought my veggies pre-cut from the salad bar at the grocery store.

Mexi Pizza
1 Pre-baked pizza crust (try mine)
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded vegan cheddar cheese (try Daiya)
Handful of sweet corn, off the cob
Handful of onions, sliced
Handful of olives, sliced
Handful of bell peppers, sliced
Handful of mushrooms, sliced






Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spread the salsa evenly over the pre-baked pizza crust. I used a chunky salsa, but a smoother one is fine too.

Next sprinkle on the vegan cheese.

Top with the veggies. Try to keep them in a thin layer so they cook evenly.












Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the veggies are cooked and the cheese is slightly melted. It won't get bubbly so don't leave it in for too long, it will just burn.

The salsa gives it a little spice, while the corn and belly peppers are a little sweet. And gooey cheese is always awesome.  It went lovely with a glass of wine and a pepperoncini.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo: Tostadas and Margaritas!

On May 5, 1862 the Mexican Army had a surprise victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla during their occupation after the Mexican-American War. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day like most Americans think. The holiday has minor significance in Mexico, mainly celebrated in the state of Puebla. It was first celebrated in the United States by Mexican immigrants in southern California as a way to celebrate their heritage.

The holiday is mostly celebrated by Americans because it's an excuse to party during the week. I can hear the phrase "Cinco de Drinko" echoing all over college campuses now. The victory actually had great significance for America as well. France had been giving supplies to the Confederacy at the start of the Civil War. The loss stopped France from continuing aide to the South, who already was being crippled by lack of goods and supplies.  So, might as well toast to Mexico for helping end slavery if you going to get totally wasted on Thursday.

Sadly, this college kid has very tough finals all next week and will be shutting herself up in the library studying for the week, so I will not be partaking in the festivities tomorrow. But today was the last day of class, so I thought I'd throw my self a little fiesta to celebrate surviving my first year in Hawaii.

As a West Coast girl, I grew up eating killer Mexican Food. I loved going to my Mexican friends' houses, nothing like a homemade tortilla. And there is no shortage of awesome Mexican restaurants. Two of my favorites in the Portland area are Maztalan and Lupe's Escape. And if you are in Eugene, you have to try Daniel's or The Mission, spent some good May 5th's in those places as an undergrad at University of Oregon. As for Hilo, there is only one Mexican place, Ruben's. It's good, but nothing special to be honest.

Mexican is my second favorite cuisine after Thai, so I had a hard time deciding what dish I wanted to make. After probably more thought than necessary, I decided on tostadas because I had not had one in awhile. This also works out well because they are gluten free and May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month. But, I knew there would be margaritas. I love tequila, and there is nothing like a sweet and tangy margarita to refresh you after a long day. I will forever think of my friend Joely every time I have one. During my senior year at U of O, she and I would often go share a pitcher (or two) at The Mission and gossip for hours. I miss you terribly girl, please come visit me soon!

This recipe should feed 4 people, 2 tostadas each.

Pinto Bean Tostadas
2 cans pinto beans, drained
4 cloves garlic 
1 cup water
1 tbs chili powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
Salt to taste
1 large red bell pepper
1 large green bell pepper
1/2 medium white onion
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 Anaheim pepper
8 Corn tortillas
Salsa
Vegan sour cream

Margaritas
Sweet and Sour Mix
Gold Tequila
Salt
Fresh lime
Ice

The smoked paprika makes all the difference.

Drain and rinse the pinto beans. I picked pinto because it is very common in Mexican cooking and I like the mild flavor. Mince the garlic cloves, and add along with the pinto beans to a sauce pan. Add the water, chili powder, smoked paprika and salt. I really suggest you used smoked paprika, it can be found in most stores and really gives the beans a great flavor.

Similar to refried, but way less fat and sodium.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Coook until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

All organic, of course.

While the beans cook, cut the bell peppers and onions into thin strips. I picked red and green for the colors of the Mexican flag.

Love the smell of cooked bell peppers.

Spray a skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add the veggies to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are slightly golden and the peppers start to blacken a bit.

All organic corn tortilla.

Remove the peppers from the skillet and cover to keep warm. Spray the skillet again with cooking spray and keep it on medium heat. Depending on the size of the skillet, put 1 to 2 tortillas in at a time and heat until they crisp up and start to blacken slightly. Watch carefully, they tend to burn quickly.

I leave a few seeds because I like it hot.

Lastly, chop up the Anaheim peppers. You can use any hot pepper you like. I strongly suggest doing this last so you don't contaminate everything and make your food insanely hot. Cut the pepper down the middle. If you want less heat, clean out the membrane and seeds with a spoon. Chop into small pieces. WASH YOUR HANDS afterward, the juice will soak into your fingers and can get into your eyes.

Green, white, and red like the Mexican flag.

Now time to assemble. Plate one crisped tortilla and evenly spread about 1 to 2 tbs of beans on top. Next put on about 1/4 cup of veggies.

Tofutti sour cream is so good.

Then top with as much fresh salsa and sour cream as you like. Then sprinkle on some of the Anaheim peppers and squirt some lime juice for kick. A little cilantro is wonderful too.

Both on sale, score.

Now, for the margaritas.  I like mine on the rocks instead of blended. I am not the best bartender so I used sweet and sour mix. I don't like triple sec  and I don't notice a different without it, so I don't use it.

The salt is red because it's Hawaiian sea salt, tainted from algae

I used a regular drinking glass since I used my margarita glasses for my Chocolate Chili Mousse yesterday. Wet the rim of your glass with lime juice. Pour some salt on a plate and roll the rim in the salt.

Here's to the end of my first year as a geology undergrad!

Add a handful of ice cubes to the glass. The best ratio is 3 parts mix to 1 part tequila. Pour the liquids over the ice and stir gently. Squirt in a little lime juice and garnish with a wedge. 

Yeah for Mexico's victory over France that prevented aide to the Confederacy! Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

I am one happy gringa.

Chocolate Chili Pepper Mousse

May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder that effects the small intestine's ability to process gluten protein. Common side effects are fatigue, severe digestive problems, and even growth problems in children.

Although I do not have a gluten allergy, I have several friends who do and I am always more than happy to post recipes they can eat too. If you do not have Celiac Disease or another type of gluten allergy, than there is no reason for you to cut all gluten out of your diet. But, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a gluten-free meal every once and awhile, give your body a break from processing the same gluten-heavy stuff over and over again. Like corn, it's pretty much in every processed food today.

Gluten is a protein that comes from the wheat family, which include rye, barley, and oat. It is a great binder and leavener, which is wheat-flour breads are so common. It's also used as a thickener, so it is used in a wide array of processed foods.  Because of it's chewy texture, it is also used in many meat alternatives so gluten-free vegans and vegetarians need to read labels carefully.

My gluten-free friend Michelle asked for a chocolaty dessert, and I instantly thought of this Chocolate Chili Pepper Mousse recipe my mom found on VegWeb awhile ago. Remember in the movie Chocolat when Vianne said that chili enhances the flavor of chocolate? She wasn't kidding. It doesn't overpower the dish at all, just gives it that perfect little kick. Try chocolate with other spices too, like a cup of Mexican Hot Coco with a dash of cinnamon. Chocolate and spices are loaded with antioxidants.

The only change I made to the recipe was I used grade B maple syrup instead of agave because that is what I have on hand. In the American  maple syrup grading system, grade B just means it is darker and less sweet than grade A.

Chocolate Chili Pepper Mousse
1 package of silk tofu, drained
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tps peanut butter
1/4 tps chili pepper flakes 
Berries, fresh or frozen







Throw everything into a blender, except the berries and blend until smooth. I was going to take photos, but this dessert is so simple there really is no need for visual aide. You may want to mix with a spoon after blending to make sure everything is incorporated.

Pour into bowls or decorative glasses. I used martini glasses.

Refrigerate for at least two hours. The flavors develop more the longer it sits.

Top with the berries or any desired fruit. Also good with vegan whip cream or some crushed nuts. Sprinkle a bit more chili flakes if you like an extra kick.

Topped with sugar-covered frozen strawberries.

The texture is so smooth and creamy, it's hard to believe it's not dairy---or gluten. It also makes a great pie filling and comes out kinda torte-like if you freeze it. Hope this is chocolaty enough for you Michelle!

P.S. My next two posts will also be gluten-free. Check out the Cinco de Mayo one tomorrow.