Vegan Deep Dish Pizza with Cheese-Filled Crust

If you love pizza, if you are one of those people who can eat pizza all-day every-day, and if you believe that pizza is the best food ever invented, then this is for you!

I make pizza every week for my family, but today I wanted to take my pizza to the next level.  Pizza is so easy to experiment with.  The list of toppings is endless, an array of cheeses and sauces. Then there is the thickness of the crust...

When I pulled this pizza out of the oven even I was amazed!

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups organic non-bleached all-purpose flour

2 cups warm water

4 1/2 teaspoons yeast

1 teaspoon sea salt 

2 cups Daiya mozzerala cheese

1 1/2 cups for the crust and 1/2 cup for the topping

1/2 cup chili sauce (Organicville)

Assorted toppings

Method:

In the bowl of your stand mixer, add yeast and warm water; let sit 5 minutes.

Add 2 cups flour and salt and mix on medium speed for 1 minutes.  Add remaining 2 1/2 cups flour.  Continue mixing for 3 minutes.  The dough should come clean from the bowl while mixing; you can add more flour if needed 2 tablespoon at a time.

Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise 1 hour.

Lighlty butter a cast iron skillet.  Remove the dough from the bowl and place in skillet. 

Using your hands spread out the dough while also pushing the dough up the sides.

Place the cheese around the edges.  Fold over the edges while at the same time pulling the dough back up the sides.

Spread out the sauce; add cheese and your toppings.

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Vegan Blueberry Crisp

My sister picked blueberries on vacation recently and brought me back several pounds of the large sweet berries.

The first dessert I ever make when I have fresh blueberries is blueberry crisp.

This is a quick and simple recipe that will become one of your favorites.

Ingredients:

2 cups blueberries

2 tablespoons organic brown sugar

1 cup organic non-bleached flour

1 egg replacement (I used flax seed)

3/4 cup organic pure cane sugar

1 teaspoon non-GMO, non-aluminum baking powder

2 teaspoons organic pumpkin pie spice 

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup non-dairy butter, melted

1 teaspoon non-dairy butter to grease baking dish 

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Butter a 1-quart baking dish. Place blueberries evenly over the entire bottom.

In a small bowl, mix brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of flour.  Sprinkle over the blueberries.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin spice, and salt.  Add your egg replacement and mix until absorbed.  The mixture will become clumpy.

Evenly distribute over the berry mixture.  Pour melted non-dairy butter over the entire surface of the berry mixture.

Bake for 45-55 minutes.

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Herb Wands

Aren't these the neatest? Won't your family and friends be impressed at your next dinner party when you place these herb wands on your table?

You can use any herb you like! Try oregano, thyme, tarragon, or rosemary.  I used chives and cilantro.

I use these wands on corn on the cob. Dip the herb wand into melted non-dairy butter and brush your corn on the cob.  Not only is this the easiest way to get butter to stay on your corn but you also flavor your corn with whatever herb you use.

You will need small branches, string or twine, and herbs.

I used branches from my apple trees, cut to the length of 8 inches.  Cut herbs long enough so you can tie them onto the stick securly with enough herbs hanging off the very top.

Place your twine under the herbs and and the top part of the branch.  Make a knot and start to wrap both ends of the twine around the top part.  Stop when you have enough to tie another knot, snip off any excess twine.

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Vegan Corn Salsa

My dad loved corn salsa; my mom would purchase the salsa in a jar at the market. When I was younger corn salsa didn't have much appeal to me.  The idea of corn as the main ingredient in a salsa seemed way to exotic for me.  My dad liked his corn salsa spicey and he would eat the salsa straight from the jar.  No chips or bread, that was strange to me also.  Gotta have chips with my salsa!

Now years later, I enjoy eating corn salsa as well as making it myself.  The appreciation of this condiment must come with age.

Ingredients:

3 organic ears of corn, boiled for 3 minutes 

3 tablespoons organic extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons organic red onion, finely diced 

2 tablespoons organic cilantro, chopped 

2 tablespoons organic jalapeño peppers, diced 

1 teaspoon sea salt

Method:

In a large pot, boil corn for 3 minutes.  Let corn cool to the touch before removing corn from the cob.

In the mean time, in a large bowl add the onion, cilantro, and peppers.  Add cooled corn, oil, and salt.  Combine thoroughly, cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

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Vegan Cilantro and Chive Butters

It's not often that I can get organic corn on the cob at Whole Foods.  So, when I went shopping this week and saw that they had some, I was so excited and bought several packs.  The corn was delicious! I even went back yesterday to buy several more packs to freeze.

*cilantro butter is shown on top followed by the chive butter below.

As I was preparing the corn for dinner, I thought that plain butter was not good enough for this sweet organic corn on the cob.  So, off to the garden I headed with my kitchen shears.  

These butters are also excellent on bagels, pasta, rice, and even melted over popcorn.

Chive butter on a freshly baked garlic bagel.

Ingredients for both chive and cilantro butter:

1/2 cup Earth Balance, softened 

2 tablespoons fresh organic chives

2 tablespoons organic cilantro (leaves only)

Using 2 small bowls place 4 tablespoons each of the softened butter.

With your kitchen shears, snip the chives into small pieces.  Do the same with the cilantro leaves.

Add chives to one bowl and cilantro to the other.  Mix each thoroughly.

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Vegan Spelt Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Really needed a cookie fix, so I created this cookie recipe using spelt flour.  These cookies have a pastry like texture; I am assuming from the use of the spelt flour.  This is not your typical chocolate chip cookie; the use of coffee extract only enhances the chocolate flavor in this cookie.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups organic spelt flour

1/4 cup organic brown sugar

1/4 cup organic pure cane sugar 

1/2 t organic baking soda 

1/2 t organic vanilla salt*

2/3 cup organic coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup organic almond milk

1 teaspoon pure organic coffee extract*

1 cup vegan chocolate chips

*these recipes can be found here on my blog..
vanilla salt
coffee extract 

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees 

Line 2 baking sheets with non-bleached parchment paper, set aside.

In a large bowl thoroughly combine the flour, sugars, baking soda, and salt.  Add the melted coconut oil, extract, and almond milk, stir until dough forms and then add the chocolate chips.

Using your hands scoop out roughly a tablespoon amount of dough, roll into a ball and place on the lined cookie sheet.  Repeat until all dough is used.

Bake 12-15 minutes.

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Vegan Peara Colada Smoothie

On the first day back from our trip to the APMAs in Cleveland, OH (see yesterday's blog post) we craved a refreshing and replenishing drink from the trusty Vitamix. The banana is typically my favorite base for most smoothies; however, having been away for a few days our fresh fruit supply was diminished. With pears the only fruit left in the bowl, it was a good time to improvise a new drink...

Peara Colada Smoothie:

2 Organic Bartlett Pears (cored and pealed - frozen will work if you eliminate the ice)

1 Cup of filtered water

3/4 Cup of Organic Pineapple Chunks (frozen - if fresh add more ice)

2 Tablespoons Shredded Organic Coconut (unsweetened)

1/4 Cup of ice

Place the ingredients in a high speed blender (we love the Vitamix) in the above order. Start blending on low and increase the speed gradually all the way up to high for about 20 seconds. The high speed is quite necessary in order to blend in the coconut. 

This drink is light and sweet; a perfect way to help your body recover from getting out of your normal eating routine when traveling. 

Makes 2 servings, so share!

Post written by guest blogger Jeff.

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Alternative Press Music Awards

We attended the inaugural APMA's yesterday, July 21st in Cleveland, Ohio at the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.  It was an amazing show filled with punk, rock, and screamo musicians.  Joan Jett received the Icon Award, which she truly deserved, not only for her tremendous talent but also for blazing the way for women who otherwise would never have had a chance to break into punk music.

Before leaving Cleveland, we wanted to get a bite to eat.  We looked up vegan restaurants and luckily one was located 1 mile from our hotel, ALoft (which is dog-friendly by the way). Aloft is a lovely hotel with very friendly staff. I highly recommend staying there if you ever find yourself in Ohio! 

The vegan restaurant we found is called The Flaming Ice Cube.  We looked at their extensive menu online, and phoned in a to-go order.  The restaurant is located in the downtown area and street parking was easy to get.  I ordered the Vegan Burger for myself, the Pizza Burger for my daughter, and the Hula Burger for my husband.

All 3 burgers were delicious, probably the best veggie burger I have ever had.  My burger was thick and loaded with sliced onions, lettuce, tomato, mustard, and ketchup.  The bun was multi-grain, and was thick enough to handle the beast of a burger.

My husband mentioned he would return to Cleveland just to get another hamburger.

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Vegan Matcha Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Matcha is packed with antioxidants; it calms and relaxes and also is rich in fiber.

So, eating biscotti all day is good for you!

*recipe adapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Ingredients:

1/4 cup organic almond milk

4 teaspoons organic matcha powder (culinary grade)

2 tablespoons organic ground flax seed

1/2 cup organic extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

1 teaspoon organic pure vanilla extract

1 cup organic unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour

2 tablespoons organic cornstarch 

2 teaspoon non-aluminum non-GMO baking powder

1/4 teaspoon organic vanilla salt 

1 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with non-bleached parchment paper; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the almond milk, matcha, flax seeds, oil, and extract until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients.  Pour in the matcha mixture and mix thoroughly. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Form the dough into a 10" x 4" log on the lined baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until firm.  Let cool for 45 minutes on the baking sheet. 

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Gently slice the biscotti into 1/2 inch slices.  Put the biscotti back into the oven for another 25 minutes.  

Let cool before enjoying. 

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Not A Sponge Review

First of all, let's not get confusing here, the "Not A Sponge" (stylized as not.a.sponge*) is basically a sponge. It is made from the konjac plant. I'm not going to go into extreme detail about the benefits of konjac and yada yada, because basically, this thing is cool.

The Not A Sponge ships from Singapore which might be a problem for some people, but it arrived very quickly and cost next to nothing!

(Note: there seem to be many konjac sponges on the market which means there are probably ones that ship from the US, but I ordered from Not A Sponge because their website is pretty. Go look at it and tell me I'm wrong: http://www.notasponge.com.)

I ordered the Bamboo Charcoal Face sponge and the Volcanic Power Puff Face sponge. 

The Not A Sponge website describes the Bamboo Charcoal sponge as a great deep-cleaner for oily skin and I don't know if anyone is oilier than I am, so that was a must-buy.

 The Volcanic Power Puff supposedly helps fine lines and calms the skin. 

The sponges come hard and dense, but when you put them under water they become MAGICAL. 

(Pictured above: MAGIC.)

When wet, these konjac sponges become soft and squishy and soufflé-like. I absolutely couldn't wait to exfoliate my face with it, and it's as pleasant and easy as rubbing a squishy sponge on your face sounds. After you use the sponge, your skin is left feeling dewy and clean and surprisingly moisturized. I really really love the Bamboo Charcoal sponge; it helps my acne and leaves my skin feeling clean and soft. The Volcanic Power Puff is completely fine but not really a necessity for me. I figured using it would be a nice break from the Bamboo Charcoal sponge, but the Bamboo Charcoal sponge is actually still very gentle so I would rather just use that one every day. However, since you have to sanitize these sponges once a week, it is nice to have one for back-up in case you don't get around to cleaning your primary sponge quickly enough. 

It's difficult to say whether or not I have felt a permanent difference in my skin after using these sponges for a few weeks. I have recently gotten extremely into skincare which makes it difficult to attribute positive and negative effects to one product. However, I think it was a smart choice to add the Not A Sponge to my beauty routine because of its simplicity and fun factor!

*I discovered these products on my own and purchased them with my own money. This review was in no way endorsed by the aforementioned company.*

This is a guest post by Hannah.

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Vegan Raw Pea Soup

Oh how I wish my garden would produce the amount of peas needed for this soup.  Unfortunately, out garden-loving chipmunk won't allow it.

So off to the store I will purchase my organic peas. 

I will be enjoying this soup in my garden this warm summer day as I watch the chipmunk frolic through my veggie patch.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups organic peas

1 cup organic almond milk

1/2 cup filtered water

1 organic alvocado

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Using your VitaMix or a high speed blender, add milk, water, peas, avocado, salt, and pepper.

Process until you acheive the desired consistency you prefer.

I garnished my soup with chopped organic onions.  Fresh organic chives would be delicious also.

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Vegan Chocolate Walnut Avocado Muffin

Craving something chocolatey, fudgy, moist, and gluten-free?  Then whip yourself up a batch of these muffins.  The cacao and avocado in this recipe compliment each other like no other two ingredients I have ever used.  The rich flavor of the raw cacao can't be beat, and only an avocado could deliver such moistness.

*recipe adapted from Living Without

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour

1/2 cup organic raw cacao 

1/2 cup organic pure cane sugar

3 teaspoons non-GMO, aluminum free baking powder

1/2 teaspoon xanthan

1/2 teaspoon organic pumpkin spice

1/4 teaspoon organic cinnamon salt

1 cup organic almond milk

6 tablespoons organic coconut oil

1 teaspoon organic pure vanilla extract

1 organic avocado purée

1/2 cup organic walnuts, chopped

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.  Add milk, oil, extract, avocado, and walnuts.  Combine thoroughly.

Pour batter evenly into each muffin cup.

Bake 20-25 minutes, test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cupcake. The toothpick should come out clean.

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Vegan Pretzel Knots

I had a taste for pretzels today so I made some!  I wish I had made a double batch though because once my family saw them, they were gone.

The pretzel knot technique still baffles me.  I need to make pretzels more often so I can perfect the knot.  Sometimes I get it right - other times I don't.  Today I didn't, but either way, it all goes down the same right?!

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

1 tablespoon organic pure maple syrup

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

2 cups organic non-bleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Method:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, using the bread hook, add warm water, yeast, and maple syrup.  Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.

Add flour and salt, mix on medium speed until combined and until the dough pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.

Knead the dough for 5 minutes on medium speed.

Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

Line a baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper.

In a large pot, place 6 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Once the water boils, add 2 tablespoons of organic baking soda to the boiling water.  

Divide the dough into 6 balls.  Roll out each ball into a 18" rope.  Knot each and place on the lined baking sheet.

Place one pretzel at a time in the boling water. Let the pretzel sit in the water for 30 seconds.  The pretzel should become puffy and bumpy.  Remove pretzel and place back on the lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pretzels.

Sprinkle each pretzel with sea salt.

Bake for 20 minutes or until nicely browned.

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iPad Easel

Pretty neat, huh?  I saw a similar project in a magazine earlier this year. I can't remember which magazine, but when I saw it I knew I had to make one.

I still use my many cookbooks and I have a book holder for them in the kitchen.  But I also use my iPad and I like having my iPad standing up rather than laying flat.

This holder can also be used anywhere in your home.  It's very convienent when I am sewing or crafting too.  All you need is a level surface and you are good to go.

I painted mine; you can also distress the edges for a shabby chic look.

For this project you will need glue.  I use Weldbond. It's from a company in Canada, and they don't test on animals.

Materials:

1 cutting board (mine is a wood 8"x 6" from IKEA)

Spare wood

Glue

Paint (optional)

Cut a piece of wood for the stand into a 30-60-90 degree triangle. The 60 side goes on the bottom, giving your iPad a 120 degree tilt.  Cut a piece of 1/4 round trim the width of the cutting board and glue it to the bottom of the board for the lip.  Paint the cutting board, the front lip, and the back stand.

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Pacifica Nail Polish Review

Recently, Pacifica (an inexpensive 100% vegan brand) launched a nail polish line. As luck would have it, I was just starting to get into both Pacifica AND nail polish at that time. I placed an order with them a few weeks ago for their Pink Moon nail color, matte top coat, glossy top + base coat, Alight BB Cream, and Vanilla Hibiscus Color Quench Lip Tint (these last two products will be reviewed in another post). To be honest, Pacifica's stuff is super cheap, so I wasn't expecting much at all out of these nail polishes. (Actually their nail polishes are a bit on the pricy side at $9, but after just spending $52 on four Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics nail polishes that turned out to be garbage, this seemed like a good deal.)

Let's talk about the matte top coat first:

Pictured above are my slightly-messy nails topped with Pacifica's matte top coat. In general, I like this top coat, but it's not AMAZING. I know matte top coats are often iffy, which leads me to be slightly impressed with this one. Maybe this is just me, but it's not really that matte, right? This time I'm wearing a single coat, but I tried two coats once and it didn't really make a difference. Sometimes, in the light, it looks perfect and crisp and flat, but other time it looks almost shiny. I do like this top coat, but I'm not entirely sure if it's the best it could be. 

Now onto Pink Moon! I love it because it has an adorable name. As far as colors go, though, it's just fine. It's probably one of my least favorite colors in my polish collection, but it's nice for when I'm not trying to make a statement. I actually think it pairs very well with the matte top coat; because this polish isn't very exciting as-is, the matte makes it very soft and pastel and cute.

NOW ONTO THE SHOW-STOPPER. HOLY GUACAMOLE, EVERYONE HAS TO BUY THIS TOP/BASE COAT. If you are like me and have had trouble finding the perfect vegan top coat, this product is for you. I can't even stress how amazing this is. It even makes my OCC polishes not that bad. When I use it with my precious Lime Crimes though, I actually have to remove my polish because it lasts too long. This is the best problem to have. It also works great with Pink Moon. I just painted my nails on Monday, and I can rely on my polish to last far into next week. This product is a holy grail among a bunch of okay items from Pacifica. I'll make sure I am never out of this product. (Just for reference, I have always used this product as both a base and top coat.)

Final thoughts:

While the Gloss 7-Free Top & Base Coat is now my holy grail, the Matte 7-Free Top Coat and 7-Free Nail Color in Pink Moon did not blow my mind. But that's okay, because I still like them. However, the big problem is, out of Pacifica's 25 colors, Pink Moon is the only one that appeals to me. The only other two colors I could maybe see myself buying are Heart of Gold and Unicorn Horn (that one's kinda a must just for the name). All of the other colors just scream "60-year-old-woman trying to stay hip on her Caribbean cruise with her big shawl and gold jewelry" to me. This is actually a legitimate problem that I have with Pacifica as a whole; they could do with some rebranding. I mean, seriously, the best top coat EVER is hiding behind this horrible image. SET IT FREE.

Thanks for reading! Happy polishing!

*I discovered these products on my own and purchased them with my own money. This review was in no way endorsed by the aforementioned company.*

This is a guest post from Hannah.

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Vegan Carrot Cake with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Frosting

Making a carrot cake today came to mind while I was filling up our bird feeders this morning.  I have begun to leave bird seed on the ground for our resident mother rabbit who just had her babies in our backyard, for the second time this year.  At least I think it's the same rabbit - she used the same hole.  Maybe it isn't actually the same rabbit, but nevertheless, we have baby bunnies that we are keeping safe from our Basenji.

Rabbits adore our garden and have come to feast on many of our offerings for years, including the bird seed that the song birds drop from our feeders.

I know the mother rabbit feeds her babies early in the morning.  Then she's off in a huff to find food for herself.  I see her in the mornings searching for bird seed on the ground.  This morning as I was carrying an over-loaded scoop of bird seed, the mother rabbit was already there on her seed-search.  I approached the feeders slowly as not to frighten Mama Rabbit.  To my surprise she slowly hopped around me and did not leave the area.  She must have smelled that I had food!  I filled up one of the feeders, then made 3 small piles of bird seed on the ground.  I gently walked away while I watched Mama Rabbit hop up to a small pile of seed.  Breakfast is served!

Oh, and that's why I made carrot cake today.  Can't look at rabbits without thinking of carrots!

Ingredients for the batter:

2 cups organic spelt flour

1/2 cup organic pure cane sugar

3 teaspoons non GMO non-aluminum baking powder

1 teaspoon organic baking soda 

3 teaspoons organic pumpkin spice 

*1 teaspoon organic vanilla salt 

1/2 cup organic coconut oil, melted 

1/2 cup organic apple sauce 

1/4 cup organic almond milk

*2 teaspoons organic pure lemon extract

1 1/2 cups grated organic carrots 

*You can find these recipes under my baking category.

Ingredients for the frosting:

1 cup of non-dairy butter, softened 

1 cup organic confectioners sugar

1/2 cup organic brown sugar 

2 teaspoons organic cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons pure organic vanilla extract 

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Lightly butter and flour a 9" square baking pan and set aside.

To make the batter, whisk together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Next add the wet ingredients along with the carrots.

Pour batter into greased baking pan.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.  Let cool in pan, remove to large plate.

Method for making frosting:

In a large bowl beat butter and sugars until well-combined. Add vanilla extract and cinnamon.  Beat until light and fluffy.

Frost cooled cake.  Keep cake covered when not enjoying.

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Vegan Cheddar Cheese and Herb Bread

Does a loaf of bread last long in your house?  It doesn't in ours!  I bake bread several times a week.  I may mix it up a little by throwing a biscuit or a roll into the line-up every now and then, but when it comes down to it, nothing replaces a freshly baked loaf of bread.

For this recipe, I used non-dairy cheddar cheese, but you can use any non-dairy cheese you like.  Same goes for the herbs.  This bread makes a scrumptious sandwich!

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast 

2 1/2 cups organic, unbleached flour

1 1/2 cups non-dairy cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons organic, extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon organic, garlic powder

1 tablespoon organic, onion powder

1 tablespoon organic, dried dill

2 teaspoons chive salt

*recipe for chive salt is available under seasonings

Method:

Using your stand mixers bowl, add yeast and water.  Let the yeast bloom for 5 minutes.

Add flour, mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Add non-dairy cheese, olive oil, herbs, and salt.  Continue mixing on medium speed for 3 minutes.  Turn the mixer up to high for an additional 3 minutes.

Cover bowl with a clean dish towel and let rise 1 hour.

During the last 5 minutes of rising time, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees, and lightly oil a loaf pan with olive oil or non-dairy butter.

After 1 hour, punch down the dough to release the trapped air.  Form the dough into a log and place it in the greased loaf pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the top turns a golden brown.  Let cool, remove from pan, and enjoy!

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