Vegan Pizza

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Here I am … back again in NZ and in the bus blogging about food.  We have just spent a wonderful 2.5 weeks away in Thailand immersing ourselves the culture, food and heat.  It took us a while to get used to a new rhythm of eating out for each meal, not having to do dishes, seeing amazing sights, getting our chores done for us and relaxing however not really that hard to adjust to. 😉  Being able to see the food being cooked and going through the markets was a real eye-opener for themselves and one I’m sure they will remember for a while to come.

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One of our eating spots in Bangkok

With the heat there tends to be more liquids comsumed and the appetitie just doesn’t seem as big. Now that we are back though the body is definitely feeling different and the difference in diet ….. going from lots of rice and noodle soups to our usual (and a bit stodgy) fare has left it feeling more than a little ‘blah’.  In addition to this it was our boy’s birthday over the weekend so there appeared all the treats that he had requested and missed by him while in Thailand.

Aside from some Vegan baking there was also a request for vegan pizza which I have recently been making with a damper base.  This damper base super quick and easy to make and much more obliging to be stretched or rolled into shape than my usual pizza base.  So it is my number one go to base at the moment ;).  While himself didn’t want anything much on his … as the photo bears witness …. this is delicious with more veg (grated root vegies, sprouts, mushrooms and fresh herbs) or with some refined beans, avocado, cornchips and salsa for a different twist.  For those of you non-Vegan (to which I am assured are the majority, by himself) a bit of cheese and/or sour cream on top finishes it all off.

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A little sparse but just as requested by our boy.

Vegan Damper/Pizza base

makes one large pizza or 2 small (22x27cm)

  • 1.5 cups white flour
  • 1/4 cup wholemeal flour
  • 1 tsp Baking powder
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 3/4 cup cold water
  • Pinch/grid of salt
  • your selection of dried herbs (basil, sage and thyme are nice)

– Pre-heat the oven to around 180-200 Celsius

– Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until they form a dough.  There is no need to knead however you may want to stick the dough together a bit with your hands.

– Divide into half if you are making two pizzas or leave in one lump then stretch and roll out the dough onto a baking paper lined tray.

– Apply topping as you wish and bake for around 10 mins or until cooked.  I gauged this by the base rising up a little in ‘bubbles’ or by the cheese melting on non vegan ones.

– Enjoy!

Until the next blog (whenever that may be) I hope this finds you happy, healthy and enjoying life to the full.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz

Yay for the real foodies out there!

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Thank goodness there are ‘real’ foodies out there who are creative and innovative in the kitchen! Otherwise honestly what would I have to blog about 🙂  My forte, I feel,  is in adaptations of recipes and in passing along good ideas so this week I intend to do just that.  This is a substitute for tomato paste/sauce which contains no deadly nightshades and which the awesome Hungry Cub blog has brought to my attention.

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Simmering the carrots and beetroot.

I ventured to make this up today ready for tea tonight (still deciding between pasta, nachos or pizza ….. so definitely in an easy dinner mood) and found it very easy to make. Mine did turn out quite sweet though even with the apple cider vinegar added in so I did add a bit of Worcestershire Sauce and tamarind puree to give it more of a tomato paste taste.  Seems my thinking was not entirely new however as I found a similar ‘Nomato Sauce’ recipe over on ‘Enjoying this Journey’.

Anyway here is the recipe with adaptations that I made and if you wish to see the two original recipes then please hit the links above 🙂

Nightshade Free Sauce (makes 750ml)

1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 brown onion, roughly diced
3 garlic cloves, roughly diced
2 cups peeled & cubed beetroot (1 large or 2 medium)
2 cups peeled & cubed carrot (approx 2 carrots)
Dried herbs – basil and thyme
1 cup veg stock  (sadly I just use some veg bouillon and then add water)
a few good grinds of salt
2 Tbsp Tamarind puree and some Worcestershire sauce if desired.
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
8 pitted black kalamata olives

  • Cook the onion and garlic in the oil until they are translucent and softened.
  • Add beetroot and carrot and cook for 5 mins before adding the herbs and stock.
  • Cover and simmer until the veggies are soft – around 30 mins. You may need to add a bit more water for cooking (which I did) which will effect how much sauce you end up with.
  • Remove from heat and cool before blending smooth.
  • Add the AVC, olives, tamarind paste and some Worcestershire sauce to taste and blend again.
  • Transfer into a container.  Hungry cub says to use within the week or freeze 🙂

Hope this finds you enjoying life and the food in it.

Arohanui

Y

www.becominghealthy.co.nz