I have been asked both in person and via email how the whole 'vegan thing' is coming...
Well to be perfectly honest it has been much easier than I expected.
I have learned to make both cashew and almond milk. Egg substitutes work great in baking. Cheese isn't something we ate much of anyway. Since we went from vegetarian to vegan giving up meat wasn't an issue. So it really has been a smooth transition...really!
Tonight we are having my all time favorite dish...pizza!
Now how can you have pizza with no cheese I can hear you wondering...
Well the secret to vegan cooking I have found is using the freshest ingredients (the toppings for the pizza are all from my garden) and ramping up the the taste so you don't miss certain things like cheese!
Now before I lose you all let me explain...
First I start with homemade crust, an olive oil dough that I always have in my fridge thanks to my 5 Minute a Day Bread Book. I make it according to the recipe but substitute 1/2 of the flour with white whole wheat flour.
Next instead of regular bell peppers I have used fire roasted peppers done on the BBQ, they are sweet and smokey.
I have also roasted onions and eggplant from the garden...drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
How does it stay on with no cheese?
Glad you asked...the trick is to put the sauce over the veggies!
Instead of a canned pizza sauce I am using a sauce that I made from slow roasting tomatoes and garlic with some olive oil and then pureeing.
Put in the oven and bake on a pizza stone...
This is an delicious and intensely flavored pizza
You won't even miss the cheese...
Really!
