More homemade pizza sauce! Perhaps you’ve noticed that this week’s batch is more colorful and not quite as homogenous in appearance as the sauce I blogged last week? (In which case: yay, you get a gold star!) That’s because I blended the tomatoes in the food processor before cooking them, not after, and so all the extra spices and veggies and good stuff didn’t go through with them. Basil, who knew you were so pretty in red?

While both sauces are equally delicious, this recipe is a little less tedious because you don’t need to slice and dice the tomatoes – just pop ‘em in the food processor and let it do all the work! Plus, no oven roasting, which is mos def a bonus in the hot summer months.

Put it on a pizza:

Or a bowl of pasta or use it as a dip for french bread. I won’t judge, I love all the carbs equally.

As always, click on over to the PPP blog for the recipe!

(I know I’m such a tease.)

Stepping up my game with homemade pizza sauce, yo! This blend is a mix of the Marinara Sauce from Cooking Vegan and slow, oven-roasted tomatoes straight from the garden. Seasoned with basil, oregano, garlic, onions, black pepper, and just a hint of brown sugar and pulverized in the food processor for a sauce that goes on creamy but still knows how to do the truffle shuffle. (Read: “is chunky.” Goonies reference for the win!) Perfection!

Exhibit B: a tomato and Daiya cheese pizza slathered in homemade sauce.

I love summer, heat waved be damned.

As per usual, the recipe can be found on the PPP blog!

Ranch dressing! On a pizza!

I have seen the hidden valley, and it is divine!

Seriously though, this pizza? THIS PIZZA.

With diced zucchini, carrots, broccoli, and green peppers, vegan bacon bits, and mozzarella and cheddar Daiya cheese.

File this one under “excuses to eat more pizza.”

With garden-fresh tomatoes, homemade marinara sauce, and Follow Your Heart cheese, all on a rosemary crust.

And there’s a recipe, praise be!

Cooking Vegan: You Know It!

(Full disclosure: the publisher sent me a free copy of this book for review.)

The second collaboration between (vegan) dietician Vesanto Melina and (not-vegan) professional chef Joseph Forest, Cooking Vegan: healthful, delicious, and easy is a nice introductory vegan cookbook, particularly for newbie vegans and skeptical omnivores, as well as veteran vegans who want to eat a more healthful diet.

With chapter headings like “Vegan Nutrition” and “Vegan Ingredients,” the first fifth of the book is devoted to describing the basic building blocks of a vegan diet: fats, sweeteners, nondairy milks, soy foods, thickening agents, etc. (Spoiler alert: the age old question “But where do you get your protein?” will be answered!) There’s also some more general info about organizing your workspace, following recipes, and the like. Twelve suggested “theme” menus (Children’s; Super Simple; North American; Japanese) provide additional guidance for overwhelmed cooks.

Now for the food! The recipes in Cooking Vegan are divided between nine categories: breakfasts and beverages; dips, spreads, snacks, and sandwiches; soups; salads; salad dressings; entrées; sauces and gravies; side dishes; and sweet treats. Each recipe is accompanied by detailed nutritional information, and many come with suggested variations.

Before I begin reviewing a cookbook, I leaf through the recipes and come up with a list of dishes I’d like to try, so that I can check my pantry for ingredients and update my shopping list accordingly. For Cooking Vegan, this meant about thirty recipes, give or take – roughly enough to fill up a sheet of legal paper. At this point, I’ve tackled about half of them – enough that I feel comfortable writing a review.

With few exceptions, I enjoyed nearly all of the dishes I tried. In particular, the Scrambled Tofu, Marinara Sauce, Tapenade and Pesto Pizzas (including the pizza dough!), Good Morning Granola, Mac Uncheese, Light Mushroom Gravy, and Vegan Dazs Ice Cream stand out in memory, and all will be joining the regular rotation here in the Garbato-Brady household. (Actually, the Vegan Dazs already was a staple, just under another name: One-ingredient banana ice cream. Look it up!) The sole dud? The Holiday Pie Topping, which has a rather unpleasant aftertaste.

Still on my to-do list: Gooda Cheez (for which I bought a bag of agar, all special!); Heart Healthy Hummus; Black Bean Soup; Tuscan Minestrone; Wild Rice Salad; Shepherd’s Pie; Mushroom Lentil Patties; Corn with Bell Peppers; Scalloped Potatoes; Cashew Cheeze Lasagne; Blueberry Muffins; Almond Butter Balls; and the Cashew Cream Topping. I’ll blog these as I get to them, so keep an eye out!

Based on my experience, the recipes found in Cooking Vegan are straightforward and easy to follow, with few unusual or hard-to-find ingredients required. While some of the recipes (such as the Mac Uncheese) call for a second recipe (in this case, the Gee Whiz Spread), this is kept to minimum, with one added recipe at most. (One notable exception are the pizzas, which reference recipes for dough and a topping. Both of which are super-easy to make!) When referring you to another recipe, the authors include a page number, which I really appreciate. (All that flipping back and forth to the index when you’re trying to cook dinner? No thanks!)

My main complaint is that Melina and Forest are rather light-handed with the seasonings. With the Scrambled Tofu, for example, I found myself doubling – even tripling – up on some of the spices. Likewise, before I worked my magic, the Mediterranean Lentil Soup could best be described as “bland.” Still, the fix for this is easy enough: taste, taste, taste! as you cook, and don’t be afraid to adjust the ingredients to fit your own style.

As someone who’s been experimenting with banana ice cream for a while now, I do have to point out one glaring error in the Vegan Dazs Ice Cream recipe. While the primary recipe uses a juicer to blend the fruit (I’ve yet to wrap my mind around the logistics of this…not a big juicer, me), one variation gives these instructions for using a food processor: 2 cups of frozen bananas to 1 cup nondairy milk; serve immediately. In my experience, it’s best to use as little liquid (be it nondairy milk, creamer, or water) as possible, since the liquid will form ice crystals as it freezes. While it’s clear that Melina and Forest don’t intend for this version to be frozen and enjoyed later, there’s no reason why it can’t be!

Either way, one part liquid to two parts bananas is still excessive, even if you’re enjoying it immediately as soft serve. Better to leave the frozen bananas to defrost on the counter for 30 to 60 minutes prior to making the ice cream – this will give you a richer, creamier dessert, whether eaten soft serve or frozen ice cream styley.

Under the jump: photos and summaries of all the dishes I tried. Feast your eyes!

 

(More below the fold…)

Happy Vegan Pizza Day, y’all!

We celebrated with not one, but two vegan pies:

#1 – A french fry pizza with cheddar Daiya cheese and thin-cut fries. It’s basically this recipe, but with thinner fries and slightly less cheese.

#2 – A breakfast pizza with garlic sauce, scrambled tofu & veggies, and cheddar Daiya cheese. Recipe coming soon! here! The recipe is here!

Don’t forget to share photos of your Vegan Pizza Day eats @ fuck yeah vegan pizza for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the vegan store of your choice. The contest is open internationally and you have until Monday night. Vegan pizza for all the peoples!

 

Happy Vegan Pizza Day, y’all! Well, VPD doesn’t technically begin for another nine hours, but we’re celebrating all weekend long at fuck yeah vegan pizza. (And at the Garbato-Brady household. I just polished off a slice of leftover za while writing this post. True story!)

The festivities include a shiny new contest! From now through Monday night, send us a pic of your Vegan Pizza Day (or Weekened! we don’t care!) eats for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the vegan store of your choice. It’s that easy!

Deets here. The giveaway is hosted tumblr, but you don’t need a tumblr account to enter! And it’s international! Vegan pizza for everyone!

 

Saturday Night is Pizza Night! Pie #1 = cheddar Daiya cheese, Lightlife Smart Pepperoni, and black olives. Pie #2 is topped with vegan mac n’ cheese – specifically, the “Mac Daddy” recipe from Veganomicon. The dough didn’t quite rise enough, but the pizzas are still delicious.

Too bad Shane wasn’t home to try ‘em – he had to take Jayne to the animal e.r. after she was bit by a woodchuck she managed to corner in the yard. She’s had all her shots, so she’ll be okay, but he tore a decent-sized hole in her chest.

Of course this all happened just as the pies were going in the oven. Jayne, your timing.
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Don’t ask me why I decided to make such a labor-intensive pizza on a day when the heat index topped 100F –

so much sauteing! and the boiling! hot noodles! please dog just let me crawl into a hole filled with ice cream and die!

– but I did and it was totally worth it. Best pizza I’ve had in a while. 180+ minutes to make, less than 8 minutes to eat. NO REGRETS.

Inspired by a pie from Ian’s that I spotted on tumblr, this pizza sports a layer of lasagna as I typically make it: namely, filled with tender, sauteed goodness like mushrooms, garlic, carrots, zucchini, and cauliflower. And cheese. Mozzarella Daiya as far as the tongue can stretch!

To wit, a cross-section:

Just look at all that hot, juicy veggie action! What do vegans eat? THIS, PEOPLE! THIS IS WHAT VEGANS EAT!

Head on over to the PPP blog for the recipe!

Vegan pizza with a savory veggie broth crust! This is pretty similar to the crust we normally make, but with veggie broth in place of water and extra spices to amp up the flavor. Delicious and savory and not at all subtle. Like eating a bowl of vegan chicken noodle soup with your pizza!

 

Lane Gold’s Vegan Junk Food is my new favorite cookbook. (The previous title holder? Wheeler del Torro’s The Vegan Scoop – which should tell you a little sumthin’ sumthin’! Namely, that I like my vegan food filled with empty calories.) At my request, I was lucky enough to receive a review copy – along with two copies to give away – from the publisher, Adams Media. With a name like “Vegan Junk Food,” I figured it couldn’t disappoint.

Whether you like your junk food sweet or savory, chocolaty or cheesy, Lane (can I call you Lane?) has got you covered. The 225 recipes in this collection are divided into ten categories: breakfast foods; deli favorites (i.e., sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and sliders); comfort-meets-takeout foods (entrees); crusts and carbs (pizzas and breads); festive grub (party foods!); dips, hummus, and sauces (including sundae toppings!); savory treats; cakes; candies and cookies; and grab ‘n’ go sweets (brownies and bars). As you can see, the recipes are roughly divided between meal-type items (entrees, main courses) and snacks/desserts.

The husband and I tried out about twenty recipes before I sat down to write this review; and, while I don’t usually review cookbooks, this is easily the largest number of recipes I’ve sampled for a cookbook review, like, ever. (I just couldn’t stop myself; everything looks so good!) Possibly it’s the most recipes I’ve made from a single cookbook, period. Though I own a ridiculous number of them, I don’t use cookbooks with much frequency; more often I cook from memory or pull recipes off the internet. But Vegan Junk Food? Most definitely joining my repertoire!

The book’s obvious strength, of course, is the food: oodles and oodles of junk food! Pizza. Pasta. Tacos. Pot pies. Casseroles. Cupcakes, pies, and brownies. Empty calories as far as the eye can see! Wait, that’s not entirely fair: some of these foods aren’t all that bad for you. Ironically, many of the recipes in Vegan Junk Food are actually healthier than my own versions. The Mac and Cheese Bake, for example, uses a vegan Velveeta-like cheese sauce made of potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, nutritional yeast, and soy milk. Even factoring in the additional vegan cheese shreds in this dish, it’s still way better for you than my own mac & cheese recipe, which is basically just pasta and processed vegan cheeses (namely, Daiya and Follow Your Heart). Don’t let the book’s title fool you: while these foods may look and taste like junk food, they’re not all super-trashy.

With options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, Vegan Junk Food is versatile. Mix and match the recipes for something new – or experiment to make them your own. For example, I used leftovers from some of the recipes to create new banana ice cream dishes!

While some of the recipes call for pricey vegan meats and cheeses, Gold doesn’t rely on these products exclusively. (Unlike the PPP blog, Vegan Junk Food doesn’t read like a Lightlife ad!) In fact, she offers diy recipes for many of these vegan staples so you can make ‘em your own bad self, oftentimes at a fraction of the price! See, e.g., gravy (page 61); ricotta (pg. 120); sour cream (pg. 120); cheese sauce (pg. 121) basil pesto (pg. 124); and ranch dressing (pg. 126), to name just a few!

My complaints are few and relatively minor. Some recipes reference other recipes – to return to the Mac and Cheese Bake, the Cheese Sauce is its own recipe, located in a different section of the book – but don’t include a page number alongside the recipe title, thus forcing the reader to consult the index in order to find it. A minor annoyance, compounded by the index’s lack of user friendliness. (I find it counter-intuitive and difficult to use.) An estimated cook time and rating for difficulty on each dish would have been nice too, but I suppose both are easy enough to gauge by reading through the instructions.

I also ran into issues with two of the recipes – the Almond Joy Bar Cake and the Red Pepper, Caramelized Onion, and Hash Brown Quiche – which I’ll explain below. Still, out of twenty recipes, two small glitches? Not so bad! Especially when you consider my lackluster track record with baked goods. Brownies, why you no like me?

What follows is a run-down of all the dishes I’ve tried thus far. I’ve only tackled about half the items on my to-do list, so I’m far from done with this cookbook! I’ll post additional pictures as I take them, so keep an eye out for those.

 

Pesto Chicken Pizza with Creamy Garlic Sauce (page 85)

This was the first recipe we tried out, and quite possibly it’s also my favorite! The pureed white beans, seasoned with vegetable broth, nooch, and garlic, makes for a savory and filling pizza sauce, and the Basil Pesto is simple yet delicious. Enjoy this pizza with a fork and bib, though – it’s a messy one!

(More below the fold…)

It HAD TO HAPPEN, people! I’m just amazed that it didn’t happen sooner.

And yes, it’s every bit as tasty and cheesy and carbalicious as it looks!

Anyway, you can check out the recipe here. It’s pretty simple, really: basically just red sauce, vegan cheddar cheese, and french fries on your favorite pizza crust. I experimented with some different prep methods on the french fries – frozen vs. half-baked vs. deep-fried – and am happy to report that they’re all winners.

In other news, I’m giving away five coupons good for free Lightlife products over on fuck yeah vegan pizza. You have until Sunday morning to enter, and need not have a tumblr account, so get to it! Free stuff!

Wanna win a copy of this awesome cookbook?

OF COURSE YOU DO, IT’S COVER-TO-COVER VEGAN JUNK FOOD!

The nice people at Adams Media sent me three copies of Lane Gold’s Vegan Junk Food, one for me and two for you. Enter for your chance to win a copy over on fuck yeah vegan pizza! Since I’m shipping these myself, the contest is open internationally. Don’t say I never did anything for you, Australia!

By the by, I’ve only been able to try one recipe out so far, but it’s a doozy: Pesto Chicken Pizza with Creamy Garlic Sauce.

Gold’s pesto is the besto, and the garlic sauce – made out of pureed white beans – is reminiscent of garlicky mashed potatoes. Super-delish, I could definitely see myself whipping up a batch to eat on its own.

Did I mention that Gold devotes an entire chapter to pizza and bread? MY KIND OF COOKBOOK! No ice cream, but that’s alright; I already own two ice cream books as it is. Although, I would love love love to see someone veganize Ben & Jerry’s flavors; Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night Snack, with the chocolate-covered potato chips, is the stuff that dreams are made of. Much like donkey semen.

Another pizza roundup, because it’s been entirely too long since the last one!

The Vegan Pizza Day That Was Giveaway!

Hey friends! Do you love pizza? Of course you do! Now through Monday afternoon, take a pic of your vegan pizza and share it with us at fuck yeah vegan pizza for a chance to win one of three prize packages stuffed with goodies from Tofurky, Daiya, Lightlife, Gardein, Nasoya, Tofutti, Field Roast, Bob’s Red Mill, and Upton’s Naturals (for US & Canadian readers) or a ginormous box of vegan meats and cheeses from Redwood Foods (for mainland UK residents).

Even if you lose the giveaway, you still win at life! (‘Cause you got to make and share pizza, duh!)

(Too much shameless self-promotion? Never!)

I am a Pizza, by Charlotte Diamond

So I was searching for music for a pizza mix tape (NO I SHIT YOU NOT) and found this video on the youtubes. I’ve listened to it at least a dozen times now and the lyrics are stuck all up in my head. I sang it to Peedee and O-Ren during our afternoon walk in the park, but I don’t think they enjoyed it. Whatever, they’re dogs, they eat poo. Anyway it’s dope and you should totally give it a listen so that it sticks in your noggin too. Then I won’t be the only weirdo wandering the streets yelling “I AM A PIZZA!” at the top of her lungs.

Cheesy Penne Pizza

With mozzarella Daiya, sauteed carrots, mushrooms, garlic and tomatoes, and baked penne pasta, all on a fluffy white pizza crust. I have yet to write up a recipe, but basically you just make up a dish of your favorite oven-baked pasta and set aside a few cups (three? four?) for the pizza prior to baking it. (Two meals in one!) Layer it on top of some red sauce, top with a lil’ extra cheese, and bake the pizza as you would normally. Nom!

Extra-Easy Vegan Bisquick Cheese Pizza

Aside from using store-bought bread, this Bisquick pizza crust is about as easy as it gets! Because it doesn’t contain any yeast, you don’t need to let the dough rise at all. (Pizza in a pinch, anyone?!?) It also makes for a pretty foolproof thin crust recipe – what you see is what you get! Quick and yummy, and super-useful for those nights when you’re craving pizza but are in too of much of a hurry to make a proper dough. Definitely a keeper!

(More below the fold…)

Okay, so maybe Vegan Pizza Day has moved to June 28th. But the party’s still on at fuck yeah vegan pizza!

Come celebrate the Vegan Pizza Day That Was with us, ALL WEEK LONG! Americans & Canadians, share your vegan pizza photos with us for a chance to win one of three awesome prize packages featuring buttons, tees, totes – & more free product coupons than you can wag your tongue at! – from Tofurky, Daiya, Lightlife, Gardein, Nasoya, Tofutti, Field Roast, Bob’s Red Mill, Upton’s Naturals, & more! I may or may not have burned a few mix tapes especially for the occasion!

We also have a special Early Vegan Pizza Day giveaway for those in the mainland UK. Share your vegan pizza photos for a chance to win a prize package of vegan meats and cheeses from Redwood Foods! There are enough goodies here to keep you happily snacking for a month or more. (Or a week, if you’re anything like me. omnomnom!)

A cheesy, saucy, sexy time will be had by all! Vegan Pizza Day, so nice we’re celebrating it twice.

Remember that hash brown pizza I was working on? Well, it’s done! And it is awesome! Seriously one of my favorites yet, third only to the Cheesy Vegan Tater Tot / Garbage Plate Pizzas and the Vegan Bacon & Cheddar Double Potato Pizza.

In contrast to the original hash brown pizza, I made a cheese sauce (a la mac & cheese) and mixed it with the hash browns and breakfast sausage before adding it to the pizza. This made all the diff. So much cheese! So moist and gooey! The hash browns alone are delish, but the cheese sauce is what makes this pizza amazaballs! It’s always about the cheese, amirite people?

Anyway, recipe here. Eye candy below. Holiday food roundup coming soon.

My Thanksliving Day eats, in all their carbalicious glory! The Thanksgiving Pizza came out smashingly; I’m super-glad we decided to do a test run, since this gave us a chance to tweak the recipe. The assembly was still a little messy, but not the hot mess of last week.

Anywho, this pizza features a layer of garlic and chive mashed potatoes mixed with gravy, followed by hickory smoked Tofurky slices, more gravy, and carrots, sweet corn and green beans. As much as I would have loved to have thrown some stuffing directly on the pizza, Shane and I couldn’t figure out how to properly cook it together with the pizza – since the breadcrumbs need to marinate in vegetable broth and all – so instead we gave the crust a hint of stuffinf flavor by infusing it with veggie broth. And, for bonus points, we served stuffing on the side, along with extra gravy, homemade cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes and mixed veggies (both left over pizza toppings). For dessert, we dined on razzleberry pie topped with vanilla ice cream. Both store-bought, since we were exhausted enough after cooking the main course to even think about making the sweets by hand!

You can find recipes for all of the homemade items (PIZZA INCLUDED!) here.

 

Two slices down, six to go!

 

Shane’s plate; he slathered his stuffing in cranberry sauce.

 

Personally, cranberry sauce – being sweet and sugary and all – strikes me as more of dessert item. Which is why I enjoyed a few spoonfuls with a bowl of vanilla ice cream while waiting for the dough to rise! But I digress…

 

My plate! “Gravy” is the word of the day, dontchknow.

 

The only time it’s acceptable to eat a pizza with a fork is when it’s
a) covered in mashed potatoes or b) a deep dish pie of some kind.

 

Licking my plate clean!

 

Bring out the pie!

 

Pizza & ice cream, could a more perfect pairing exist?

You heard me right people! Shane and I made a holiday pizza tonight and it was YUM-TASTIC! Gravy, Tofurky slices, garlic and chive mashed potatoes, carrots, even a crust flavored with veggie broth – this pizza has it going ON! If these pies were able to withstand the vagaries on the US postal service, I’d send several each to every lucky Jane and Dick on my x-mas list come December. AND LEAVE THEM BEGGING FOR MORE!

Unfortunately, our execution was less than stellar – my Facebook status from earlier tonight was full-on panic mode, to wit: “emergency alert: pizza disaster in progress!!!” – so I don’t yet have a recipe to share with y’all. BUT. The good news is that we know where it all went wrong and are trying again come Thursday! So probably you’ll have a proper recipe by the weekend.

Until then, feast your eyes:

(The final product will be topped with a variety of mixed veggies; if this pizza looks a little sparse, it’s because we had all but given up by the time we got to the last layer. The dough gave out on us and we needed to get the pie in the oven, asap. NOTHING THAT TWENTY MINUTES AT 425F CAN’T FIX!)

omgs you guys, I’m working on a “breakfast” pizza right now and jkshdgds!

I’d still like to experiment with a few different prep methods before posting a proper recipe, but the first try (pictured above) consists of a fluffy white pizza crust, brushed with a few tablespoons of margarine (softened at room temp) and topped with garlic salt, a layer of cheddar Daiya cheese, fried Lightlife Smart Links (diced, of course), hash browns, and a second layer of cheese on top. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes and then fall into your soft bed of carb-on-carb pizza action. (Pssst! Daiya is your comforter!)

Warning: do not operate heavy machinery while eating this pizza! You WILL shoot someone’s eye out.

* I would totally change the name of this place to Junk Food Vegan if www.junkfoodvegan.com wasn’t already taken! But there’s nothing up there! FOR THE LOVE OF DOG GET ON IT PEOPLE!

Updated to add: AND WE HAVE A WINNER!

The resemblance is spooktacular!
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Earlier this week, I feeling hungry and lazy and craving some pizza, but the husband – oh maker of all things pita pizza ’round these parts – was at work and thus unable to service me the way I so often required servicing (i.e. WITH FOOD. I’ll pause for a sec so that you can picture that, mkay.) The horras, right? After a little moping and low blood sugar-induced faintness (I know, such a child!), I realized that I had some white rolls sitting in the fridge. Perfect for mini toaster oven pizzas, just like dad used to make me as a kid!

The first few batches came out looking like angel wings to me, at least when you touched them tip-to-tip, like so; but, after further noming, I saw that the shape of the rolls was just the slightest bit curvy, and vaguely reminiscent of a ghost. And so Casper the Friendly Ghost Pizzas were born! (Also: an excuse to eat more mini pizzas!)

These are super-simple and quick to make, with maybe five minutes of assembly and ten minutes of cook time required. You just need:

one ghostly roll, cut down the middle (mine is from a megachain store which shall remain nameless but rhymes with “Mall Fart”; each roll makes two pizzas)

red sauce

vegan mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded

something round for the eyes and a mouth. I used black olives and cherry and Juliet tomatoes, but you could just as easily use any round fruit, veggie or vegan meat. Think: carrots, zucchini, sausage or hot dog links, etc.

Start by cutting the roll down the middle. Add the red sauce, followed by the cheese, “eyes” and “mouth.” Bake in a toaster oven at 425 degrees F for ten to fifteen minutes, or until the cheese is nice and melty. Eat and repeat!

(Fyi, if you can’t find any ghost-shaped rolls, use something round – like a soyburger bun or English Muffin – and make a mummy instead!)

For the cheese, I went with Vegan Gourmet’s Follow Your Heart. Rather than shredding it, I cut thin strips from the block, thinking that layered pieces would give more even white coverage. I also added a few shreds towards the bottom of each ghost’s body, for that ragged, ripped sheet effect. Pre-cooking, they looked more like goatees than anything else. Pubescent Casper, represent!
 

 
As it turns out, the cheese got so melty that everything just kind of melded together. So use that Daiya if you’ve got it! As long as the cheese reaches maximum ooziness, you should be safe with cheese shreds or slices. (Plus I find that I pile on less cheese when I stick to shreds. I fail at thin-slicing things.)
 

 
Clearly, Casper is the ghost on the left; as per the line drawings, he’s white with sparse black facial features. Plus I fashioned him outta the top piece, so he’s fluffier and so much the better for hugging and cuddling. (It’s Casper the FRIENDLY ghost, yo!) But who is his red companion on the right?
 

 
An evil twin? His lady friend, if you know what I mean? (AND I KNOW THAT YOU DO.) Casper’s pizza boss, perhaps?

Kelly food. Yeah, that’s what.

 
* Sorry for the caps, I JUST LOVE PIZZA SO MUCH!

 

So regular readers, Facebook friends, passing acquaintances, the cashier at my local Green Acres, et al. are already all-to-familiar with my mac & cheese pizza recipes, mostly because I talk about them ALL THE TIME. As in, EVERY CHANCE I GET. (I love macaroni and cheese, yo. YOU DO NOT WANT TO COME BETWEEN ME AND A POT OF MAC & CHEESE! Throw in a pizza pie and it’s on like Donkey Kong!) And veganmofo is no exception! Why should it be? More people to share my soon-to-be infamous Creamy Vegan Mac & Cheese Pizza with!

I’ve actually made three different versions of this pie, including one with twice-baked macaroni and cheese, and a similar dish using Daiya Pepperjack cheese in place of the traditional cheddar. But version #2 is far and away my favorite: because the mac & cheese – made with both Daiya and Follow Your Heart cheeses, for double the cheesy goodness! – is added to the pizza pie after it’s baked, it retains its oozy, gooey, melty, liquid cheesy deliciousness. And if I love anything, it’s a hot, soupy bowl of vegan macaroni and cheese on a chill fall evening. Like hot chocolate, BUT WITH CHEESE! Pizza in a cup, drink up!

Okay, done now. Promise. I JUST LOVE MAC & CHEESE SO MUCH!

This recipe – along with dozens more – was originally published on the Perfect Pizza Press blog. If things go as planned, we’ll be able to give away some shiny pizza presses for veganmofo vi! But alas, those were my plans last year, so we’ll have to see how things play out. WHO KNEW THAT IT WOULD TAKE SO LONG TO GET A PRODUCT SAMPLE!?! Six to twelve months, pfffft.

 
Creamy Vegan Mac & Cheese Pizza, No. 2

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 cup warm water (110 degrees F / 45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 1/4 tablespoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the mac & cheese:

1/2 cup Follow Your Heart cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Daiya cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup uncooked macaroni (Mini shells are my personal fave!)
2 tablespoons margarine
6 oz plain soy milk

FYI: this is 1/4 of my recipe for Creamy Mac & Cheese with Daiya and Follow Your Heart vegan cheeses; double or quadruple this recipe you’d like some extra mac & cheese to serve with that mac & cheese pizza – or if you’d just like the mac & cheese, please! For a healthier pizza, sub in a mac & cheese recipe that uses a nutritional yeast sauce.

For the pizza:

Cornmeal or cooking spray with which to coat the pizza stone or pizza pan
Two to four tablespoons of margarine with which to coat the dough
1/2 to one cup of vegan cheddar cheese for the pizza (We used Daiya – it melts better than cheddar FYH, at least in the oven. Stovetop, they’re roughly equal.)
Eight to twelve strips of of vegan bacon, diced into small bits (Optional; we used Lightlife Smart Bacon.)

Directions

Prepare the dough!

1. Stir the water, sugar and yeast together until dissolved. Add the olive oil and salt, as well as any extra spices or seasonings. Stir in the flour until blended. Form the dough into a small ball and let rest in large bowl, covered loosely with a towel, anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours.

Assemble the cheesy pizza!

2. Once you’re ready to make the pizza, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

3. As the oven is heating, spread a dusting of cornmeal onto your pizza stone (or lightly coat your pizza pan with cooking spray). Using fingers dipped in olive oil (optional), pat the dough onto the stone, spreading it out evenly.

4. Next, lightly spread some margarine onto the uncooked dough, taking care not to press down too hard as you do so. It helps if the margarine is near room temp when you try this! You want even but sparse coverage; too little margarine means that the pizza will be a little on the dry side, while too much will compromise the integrity of the crust. We used between two and four tablespoons to coat the entire pizza.

5. Spread the diced bacon onto the pizza, followed by the cheddar Daiya cheese.

6. Bake at 425 degrees, for between 15 and 20 minutes for a single pizza, or 30 minutes for two pizzas.

Make the cheese sauce!

7. Once the pizza’s in the oven, it’s time to make the macaroni and cheese! Begin with the cheese sauce. In a small saucepan, bring the soy milk to a boil.

8. Reduce the heat to medium and mix in the margarine, stirring until melted.

9. Add the cheese shreds, stirring gently until they combine with the liquid to form a creamy cheese sauce.

Optional: season to taste with salt, pepper, onion or garlic.

10. Reduce the heat to low, stirring every few minutes.

Make the pasta!

11. In a skillet or sauce pan, cook the pasta according to the directions provided on the package. Stop when about 90% done and drain, leaving a little hot water with the pasta. (This will mostly cook down as you continue to heat the pasta.)

Combine the two to make mac and cheese!

12. Mix the cheese sauce into the pasta, stirring well. On medium low heat, let the pasta continue to cook until it’s the desired consistency. Stir constantly during this last step so that none of the pasta or cheese sticks to the pan.

Mac & Cheese Pizza, holla!

13. Once the pizza’s done cooking – and hopefully you’ve timed this so that the pizza and pasta finish cooking at roughly the same time! – remove it from the oven and top with a drizzle of mac & cheese. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy warm, perhaps with a side of extra macaroni and cheese?

Hey, it’s not too hard to double or even quadruple the recipe, giving you two glorious vegan junk food meals in one!