Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

When I was still a vegetarian, before my vegan venturing began, pizza was one of my all time favorite foods.  Seriously, my number one choice.  What is more delicious than the combination of crispy crust, tart tomato, and gooey cheese when hunger strikes?  As I've said before, pizza was the hardest food for me to give up when I went vegan.  Cheese cravings are intense and I now know this is because we are chemically addicted to cheese.  As addicted as morphine addicts are to morphine and for good reason, our brain uses the same receptor sites to respond to cheese as it does to opiates.  This dairy crack is probably why in my first few months of being vegan, I'd dream about breaking into pizza shops and eating all the pizza! 

 

Pizza is definitely high on my list of must have foods and thanks to the vegan food gods, we vegans have been blessed with delicious and healthy pizza.  We Seattleites have had the good fortune of having a local, vegan pizza parlor called Pizza Pi which is where I tasted these perfect pies:

 

Hard to believe they are vegan, right?  We loved their pizza so much that we ordered four pizzas!  And of course, we snapped a shot while we waited for our pizza.

 

If you ever happen to visit Seattle, the Pizza Pi is a great place to eat.  We had so much fun checking out the University District which also has a huge farmers market.  Eventually, the day got away from us and we had to head back to the ferry and back to our little island.  But just before we boarded to the ferry back to Bainbridge, we saw this beautiful sunset.

 

 

Well, one taste is never enough and my venture into Pizza Pi inspired me to make some of my own pizza.  This post will be the first of many more pizza posts to come.  I hope this becomes a staple for you as it has for me.  Making your own pizza is easier than you think!  Just give it a try and enjoy the fun of making pizza any which way you want.  For a delicious pesto pizza, check out my recipe for  Perfect Pesto!

 

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

 

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 package active dry yeast or instant yeast

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup hot water

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon sugar (I used raw coconut nectar)

 

Prep:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F

 

Directions:

1.  In a small bowl, add the water to the yeast.  Gently stir with a wooden spoon.  Add the sugar and gently stir.  Allow the yeast to dissolve.  This will take about 5 minutes.  You know the yeast is active when bubbles rise to the surface.

2. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, and olive oil.  Then slowly add in the activated yeast.  Stir until well mixed.

3.  Cover and let raise for 1 hour or until mixture has doubled in size.

4.  Remove dough from bowl and transfer to a greased 12 to 14 inch pizza pan.  Press the dough to cover the pan.

5.  Add toppings and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

 

Pictured is the pizza I  made.  My toppings are, tomato sauce, olive, artichoke, mushroom, spinach, onion, sun dried tomato, and Daiya mozzarella.  It turned out beautifully. 

 

 

I hope this pizza crust recipe works as well for you as it did for me.  Once you try it, you'll be amazed how easy and simple it is to make pizza at home.  If you happen to have a helper like I did:

 

then it makes the process even more fun!  What kitchen fun is complete without a selfie pic while the pizza bakes?  That's me cooking up a storm on Friday night in :)

 

I hope you enjoyed this recipe and post.  If you did, please feel free to share this recipe with your friends and family or anyone else who you think might enjoy some plant based grubbin'.  If you want to follow me, then you can check me out on facebook.  Thank you for reading this post!  Happy Pizza Making!

 



Strawberry and Apple Crumble Cake

Anyone else out there have a new live in boyfriend?  Well, I do and he is ALWAYS hungry!!  He loves my vegan cooking and very rarely eats meat anymore but he is always hungry even right after he eats.  The other day he bought apples at the store and asked if I would make an apple pie.  Being short on whole wheat flour for crust, I decided to give my coconut flour a spin and I made this beautiful cake instead.  This Strawberry Apple Crumble Cake was a gift from the vegan food gods!  Not only is it simply divine but the boyfriend was finally full!!  Sure he ate half the cake but he loved it and after dinner he snacked on more cake when he got hungry again.  I guess this is what it is like having kids in the house! Stay tuned for lots more vegan baking since I know have someone who will eat all the leftover goodies from the kitchen.

This cake was very delicious for me and I enjoyed making it.  After all, who doesn't love to bake and then eat a beautiful treat straight from the oven as your boyfriend praises your kitchen prowess?  Cake is always a good idea!  This cake is a lesser evil as it uses whole wheat flour, coconut flour, oat flour, and walnut flour.  Naturally, to minimize ingredients you could just use whole wheat or whole wheat and coconut but I wanted to add a different flavor for the crumble on top so I opted for ground up walnuts and oat flour.  I took lots of notes so that I would be sure this recipe could be shared with all the other vegan bakers out there!

Instead of egg, I used flax eggs which are a wonderful and healthy alternative for baking.  To make a flax egg, just add 1 Tablespoon ground up flax seed to 1/4 cup water and mix.  Set it aside for 5 to ten minutes to allow it to thicken and then you will have this:

Strawberry Apple Crumble Cake
Ingredients:
7/8 cup vegan butter, room temp
3/4 cup vegan sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean
2 flax eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup almond milk
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 apple, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup strawberries, washed, hulled, halved

Crumble Topping
1/2 cup flour (I used 1/4 cup oat flour, and 1/4 cup ground walnut but you can use wheat or coconut)
1/2 cup chilled butter (I used coconut oil)
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Directions:
1. Into a medium bowl, add your dry ingredients.  If using vanilla bean, add it here.
2.  Into a small bowl, add wet ingredients and mix.
3.  Slowly add wet ingredients to dry and mix well.  The dough will seem dry but this is normal.  Prepare a pie pan or springform pan by greasing with melted butter or coconut oil, and place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom.  This will allow for easy removal once your cake is done.  Using a spoon, drop the the batter into prepared pan. 
4.  Prepare crumble topping by mixing flour and sugar in a small bowl.  Then mix in your chilled butter or coconut oil until combined.
5.  Arrange apple and strawberry slices on top of your cake batter.  Then on top of this, drop your crumble mixture evenly over the surface of the fruit.
6.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  Enjoy!

Y  U   M

Cinco de Mayo Gone Raw!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone and happy May!  I'm elated at the moment because this weekend Washington's coast has seen temperatures that feel like home back in Southern California!  I'm also very happy because my boyfriend bought me these beautiful flowers which he assembled all by himself!  Half impressed and half delighted, these were a great gift to kick off May and some fun in the sun!

 

To celebrate the sunshine, I went with my boyfriend to his brothers house an hour and a half away in the mountains.  Nestled between gorgeous evergreen peaks was a stunning, sparkling, and oh so inviting Lake Cushman. 

The drive up was beautiful and close to the farm he took me to last October to go picking for pumpkins!  The length of the trip was along the beach and I had this pretty view to gaze at while we chatted and listened to some Kayne West and stopped to take photos.

We spent the day with  his family at the lake working on our tans and watching the kids jump in that beautiful but icy water! 

 

 

 

Matt's family is not vegan, same goes with most of Washington state.  I've learned that when you are going to be in a social situation where food such as picnics or bbq's will be involved, it is a must to either bring a dish to share or bring food for yourself.  I opted to make myself a Killer Kale Salad to relieve the stress of what to feed the vegan girlfriend.  As an offering, I brought blueberries and dates to share.  One tip for vegans who are trying to maintain the "vegans are cool and totally sociable" vibe: help out with the food even if you aren't eating it.  Typical bbq fare is burgers and since I didn't get a chance to bring veggie burgers this time, I made sure I helped out in the kitchen by slicing tomato, avocado, and pickles for everyone's burgers.  Personally, I think the food snobbery that can be associated with being vegan (y'know, the "I'm not eating what you guys are eating because I have a special diet") can easily be broken down if you don't make a big deal over what others eat.  If you help out, that will be remembered over the fact that you didn't eat what everyone else did.  Give it a try, it works every time.  We had a day and no one seemed to notice that I didn't eat the burgers.  Only problem was, everyone wanted some of my kale salad!  I'll have to bring more next time! 

Since today is Cinco de Mayo and I am a San Diego native, I'm going to share with you my recipes for Awesome Guacamole, Raw Sunflower Chorizo, Cashew Sour Cream, and Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette.  Wrapped up, they make my Raw Burritos!  Check it out and I hope these recipes get you all in the mood for sun, healthy eats, and family fun!

Pictured are the ingredients for my Raw Burritos!  Awesome Guacamole, Raw Sunflower Chorizo, Cashew Sour Cream, Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette, shredded zucchini, chopped cucumber, corn, and tender greens all get wrapped up in a giant and beautiful collard green leaf to make this a mouth watering raw experience!

Awesome Guacamole
2 large, ripe, Avocados, chopped
2 tablespoons cherry tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon lime juice, fresh
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Salt to taste
Optional: 1 small glove of garlic, minced or a dash of garlic salt to taste
Optional for Spicy: Add sriracha, cayenne powder, or freshly minced jalapeno

To remove the flesh of an avocado, cut the fruit in half length ways.  Use a spoon to sun around the edges of the skin to remove the flesh.  To remove the pit, use one of two ways.  Either scoop out with a spoon or gently whack the pit with a carving knife and then pull it out.  I find that it is difficult to remove the knife from the pit once it is out so I always scoop it out with a spoon.

In a medium sized bowl, add your chopped avocado and mash with a fork to desired consistency.  Add the chopped tomato, lime juice, and salt and pepper.  Give it a stir and taste, add more salt and pepper if desired.  That's it!  This is a fantastic, basic guacamole recipe that is simple and quick and always a crowd pleaser!

Cashew Sour Cream
1 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 cups water
1 small lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt, or salt to taste

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.  Will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.  Leftover sour cream makes a great base for salad dressing like my Herbed Goddess Salad Dressing!

Raw Sunflower Chorizo

When I made this batch of chorizo, I had a huge amount of sprouted lentils so I used sprouted lentils and sunflowers seeds this time and it was incredible.  You can swap the walnuts for sprouted lentils to make a nut free version.

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds*
1 cup raw walnuts
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup yellow or white onion, diced (you could even use red onion for more kick)
1 teaspoon, extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
pinch of cayenne (optional)

Add all ingredients to food processor fitted with the S blade and process until the texture is meaty and still a bit chunky - do not process until smooth or you will have a pate.

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
This is a fantastic salad dressing as is optional for this recipe but I am sort of obsessed with cilantro so I really put it on everything!
1 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro
1/3 cup red onion, chopped (red really works best to add kick)
3 limes, juiced
2 lemons, juiced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grapeseed oil (great because grapeseed oil is relatively flavorless and good for dressings)
2 Tablespoons of brown rice syrup
2 Tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon corriander
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons sea salt

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

To make the burrito, shave the stem of collard greed so that it is flat.  Place your leaf shiny side down and fill just like a tortilla.  Place a small amount of all your fixins' in the middle of the leaf, tuck in the edges, and roll.  I served mine with some roasted potato and carrot and it was a perfect and filling dinner!

For dessert, I surrendered to my sweet tooth and made a batch of my Spicy Mexican Fudge

 

Well, I hope that you have enjoyed these recipes and I hope everyone has a fantastic and fun Cinco de Mayo!  If you enjoyed these recipes, please share them with friends and family who are seeking to more Earth food recipes for a healthy planet and a healthy body.  Thank you!





Killer Kale Salad

This kale salad was inspired by watching the Engine 2 Diet documentary on Netflix.  In it, they made a kale salad where avocado was the only dressing.  For me, that tasted a tad too plain, since I'm not looking to keep fat and salt or TASTE to a minimum.  So, I dressed up my salad with lots of flavor and it was to die for! So, I named it appropriately :)

Killer Kale Salad
4-5 cups kale, de-stemmed and chopped to bite size
1 avocado, chopped
1 small lime, juiced
1 small lemon, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup corn
1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
dash of cayenne

Directions: 1. Add the kale to a medium sized bowl.

2. To the kale, add the chopped avocado, lemon and lime juice and massage, with your hands, the avocado into the kale. The same works for oil when dressing a kale salad. Massaging the leaves will make them softer, allow them to absorb the flavor of the dressing, and will make them less rough on the inside of your mouth. So, always massage your kale!

3. Once your kale is a tad wilty, reduced in size from the massage, and the avocado is smooth, add the rest of your ingredients and toss.

With so much fresh kale around the house, I love to be reminded of what I've got on hand to juice/cook with so I make kale boquets! 

 

When I wake up in the morning or come home at the end of a long day, these kale boquets are a great reminder to eat healthy, fresh, and nutrient dense foods!

If you love this salad, then try taking kale for lunch.  Avocado can tend to turn if left too long so I make the same salad with a tad of oil instead of avocado and add some Raw Sunflower Chorizo  for a fantastic meal on the go!

 

 

 I hope you enjoy this recipe.  If you do, then please share it with others who are looking to eat healthy and support a healthy body and planet.  Thank you!



 

Herbed Goddess Dressing

 

 

As April winds down, I hope that everyone has had a good dose of sunshine, showers, and satisfying vegan food!  Earth Day always surprises me in April with a renewed sense of possibilities.  Maybe it is the budding of new flowers or the the change in seasons and shedding of our heavy winter coats, but Earth Day always makes me feel like I have a fresh start and a new chance to improve myself.  This year, my fresh start includes eating more raw foods, at least two raw meals a day, lots and lots of flowers, and a daily fitness routine.  There is nothing like spring to remind us that summer is just around the corner and since I love to eat, I know that eating raw foods will allow me to eat all I want and still lose weight and get in shape for summer.  I usually eat oatmeal for breakfast when the weather is cold outside but now that it is warming up, eating fruit for breakfast isn't only easy, the seasonal goodies in my kitchen are just begging me to do so.  Recently, I read this article on eating fruit for breakfast and it has encouraged me to reach for those berries and bananas instead of bread and butter first thing in the a.m.  Everyone is different and some people swear that they need something more solid for breakfast but for me fruit is the best way to go.  Something light, fresh, and hydrating like a fruit salad, smoothie, or raw fruit cake always gives me more energy and makes me feel less bloated and more hydrated ALL day long. This morning I had this yummy fruit plate that took mere minutes to prepare.

I encourage everyone to try to eat more fruit for breakfast and feel the refreshing and invigorating benefits of a raw and color filled wake up call. Then for lunch or dinner I aim for salad.  If I have fruit for breakfast and then a salad for lunch, it better be one tasty salad to make me feel satisfied.  So, I aim to only post salads that are incredible and beyond my wildest dreams.  A good way to start sinless salad satisfaction is to master a few good dressings.  Therefore, I give you my Goddess Dressings.  A series of kitchen experiments gone right and made until they are blog-worthy, yum-worthy, and main dish salad-worthy.  This  first dressing is my Herbed Goddess Dressing that is insanely fresh.  Not just fresh but blow your mind, infuse your cells, and rock your mood fresh that'll leave you happy and blissfull all day.  Worthy of a goddess.  Since I believe all happy, healthy women are goddesses then I gladly name this dressing after the girls and gals that will enjoy and thrive on this delish dish. 

Herbed Goddess Dressing

1 cup cashews

Juice of one small lemon

2 tablespoons Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

1.5 cups water

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons chives, chopped

1/2 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce)

1.5 teaspoon raw honey

Place cashews, water, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar in blender and blend until smooth.  Add the herbs, tamari, and honey and blend again until smooth.  Will keep refrigerated for about a week.  If you would like your dressing smoother, add a touch more water.  If you would like to make a dip, add 1/2 cup more cashew and refrigerate for an hour.  Oh the joy of effortless dressings that are fresh and not store bought!! Yum!

Right now I live across the bridge from an Indian reservation and I have started to do volunteer work with the tribe to help the community.  Recently, I have been doing volunteer hours at the library and one day I happened upon a book of local, edible plant life.  I hit the trails behind my house, book in hand, and was amazed at how much vegetation is edible.  I had started to notice these pretty little yellow blooms in lots of the shrubs along the trails and in my yard.  Turns out they are Oregon grapes and the blossoms are edible!  More than edible, they taste like orange nectar!!

A perfect and tasty way to celebrate Earth Day is to eat local.  Can you possibly get more local than right in your own backyard?  Heck, no!  I gathered a bunch of these little flowers and added them to a salad of local and organic veggies.

 

This salad includes tender greens, persian cucumber, golden beets, carrots, avocado, tomato, and Oregon grape blossoms.  It was so good and tastes as refreshing as it looks.  Herbs will infuse loads of flavor and freshness to whatever you put them in.  This dressing is the perfect choice for any salad and I hope you enjoy it!  I had my salad alongside a glass of my citrus infused water.  I just sliced orange, lemon, and lime and put them in water.  Chill for an hour and you will have a homemade vitamin water/hint water!

If you enjoyed this blog or know someone who might, please feel free to share.  All recipes are free and made with love and the hope that a peaceful, plant-based planet is in our future!  Check back for more Goddess recipes or follow Venturing Vegan on instagram and facebook for daily doses of plant-based inspiration. 



Ginger Miso Salad Dressing

Rarely do I ever buy salad dressings at the store.  Even with the basics, I can whip up a quick balsamic, vinaigrette, or a simple olive oil, lemon juice, and salt n pepper dressing.  When you buy premade dressing, they usually have lots of sugar in them and they just don’t taste fresh.  I used to think dressings required lots of time and ingredients but once you’ve made one or two, you can make a decent dressing with pretty much anything you have on hand.  Ginger salad dressing has always been a favorite of mine since I first tried it at a Japanese restaurant.  Since I like to keep mine as unrefined and sugar free as possible, this Miso Ginger dressing requires zero added sugar and is simply divine.  The sweetness and added orange color comes from carrots!  This will instantly become a favorite in your house if you love ginger as much as I do.  Once you’ve made it, you’ll see how easy it is to make incredible, healthy and fresh dressings at home!  This dressing will keep for about a week in the refrigerator.

The picture above shows the basic ingredients I use to make a variety of ginger dressings.  This dressing calls for miso which is pictured below.  You can see how the combination of a few staples like soy sauce, rice vinegar, oil and a few fresh ingredients like carrots, ginger, or green onions can make a delicious dressing.  The combinations are endless and with time, you will master combinations and come up with your own favorites.  In the meantime, allow me to share my favorite with you!


Miso Ginger  Salad Dressing
Ingredients:
1/4 cup Grape Seed oil (you can use olive oil but will slightly alter the flavor)
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
3 tablespoons White Miso Paste
1 tablespoon Dark Sesame Oil
1 inch fresh Ginger, minced (add more if you really want a strong ginger flavor)
2-3 medium sized Carrots, roughly chopped for blender
Salt and Pepper to taste
Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.  Enjoy!  Below is a picture of this tasty ginger dressing over a garden salad and served alongside lentil dal and vegetable korma.  Delish!

Classic Lasagna

Words cannot describe how incredible this lasagna is.  If you’re thinking vegan might be too tough or not filling enough, this dish will more than satisfy even the most hardcore meat lover.  The tofu cashew ricotta is inspired by Vegan Artisan Cheese and is absolutely like the “real”thing.  When I first became vegan after having been vegetarian since I was 9 years old, cheese was the hardest to give up.  We have receptor sites in our brain that respond to the casein in dairy, the same sites also respond to morphine!  Yep, that’s right, cheese is as addictive as morphine!  No wonder this “dairy crack” is such a pleasure trigger when we eat it, even though we know it is loaded with cholesterol and saturated fat.  Kicking the habit was hard, very, very hard.  When I went vegan 5 years ago, the vegan cheese options and recipes were extemely limited.  This lasagna would have saved me many a night of crazy cheese cravings.  I hope this lasagna warms your heart and fills you with fond memories of eating the not-so-vegan version around the dinner table as a kid.  Enjoy!


Classic Lasagna
Ingredients:
8 sheets lasagna pasta
1 jar organic tomato sauce
1/4 cup zucchini, sliced to bite-sized half moons
4 cups spinach
1/2  medium onion, sliced
1/4 cup green bell pepper, seeded and sliced to bite-sized
1/2 cup broccoli florets, chopped to bite-sized
1 carrot, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
Tofu Cashew Ricotta Ingredients:
1 package organic firm or medium firm tofu, pressed
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
good squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
Parmesan Topping:
1/4 cup raw cashew, grated to look like parmesan



Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Bring a stock pot of water to boil.  In the meantime, take the pressed (to press tofu, wrap in kitchen towels and press the water out by covering with a heavy book, or object for about ten minutes to remove the water) tofu and crumble it into a bowl.  Crumble well.
2.  Into a blender, add the cashews and water and blend.  Then add the garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and blend until smooth.  Add cashew puree to tofu and mix together so that it resembles ricotta.
3.  Once the water is to boil, drop in four sheets of lasagna at a time.  Cook according to package, usually about 6 minutes until slightly al dente. Set aside to cool before handling.
4.  In a medium sized sauté pan, add the onion, broccoli, zucchini, carrot and bell pepper over medium heat.  (I’ve not added oil to reduce fat content.  The vegetables will release their own juices while cooking and shouldn’t stick.  However, if you want to add oil, a tablespoon of olive oil should do the trick).  Sauté for about 5 minutes then add the spinach.  Stir in the spinach and cook until lightly wilted.  Remove from heat and set aside.  The vegetables will continue their cooking process in the oven.

5.  Into a baking dish, spoon about 1/4 cup of tomato sauce onto the bottom of the pan.  Then add your fist layer of lasagna noodles.  After the noodles go down, spoon the tofu cashew ricotta in a thin layer.  Next add the veggies as the next layer.



6.  On top of the veggies, add more tomato sauce. Next, lay down another layer of 4 lasagna sheets.  On top of that, another layer of tomato sauce.  Make sure to take the sauce to the edges to prevent the lasagna from sticking to the pan while it bakes.  Place the lasagna uncovered into the oven for 30 minutes.
7.  After the lasagna has cooked for 30 minutes, pull it out.  Add the cashew parmesan to the top.  Pop it back in the oven to brown.  This should be about 7 to 10 minutes more.  Then remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.  It will look something like this…


If you want a little kick, (yes, I love everything spicy) add a nice shake or two of cayenne on top!!  The plated lasagna is pictured with a quick side salad of kale.  Massage kale with some olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper for a quick side.
I hope you enjoy making this dish!  Please let me know how it works out for you, comments are always welcome