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Food Blog Vegan MoFo

#VeganMoFo Day 6: There, There, Have Some Pizza

Since going vegan, I’ve taken time to develop my own take on pizza that doesn’t require cheese. I miss real, melted, pizza cheese – Daiya and its ilk DO NOT work for me – so I had to re-work what makes pizza “yummy” to me altogether.

A few things I’ve figured out:

Need a protein. Faux sausage/seitan is good, but seasoned tempeh crumbles are often even better: I dice up a package of tempeh, simmer it in a shallow bath of broth, soy sauce, wine or wine vinegar, red pepper flakes, oregano, fennel seeds, and lemon zest, then mash it and let it brown a bit with olive oil.

Sauce is simple. Usually I just put a little bit of tomato puree directly on the rolled-out crust – a tablespoon or two, it should be a thin layer – plus microplaned garlic. I’ll add herbs/spices if they aren’t in whatever layer goes on top, but with tempeh, I don’t think it’s necessary.

Greens are a must, but they should be sauteed first.

Nooch is good; nooch ground up with nuts/needs (almonds, hemp) is better.

Homemade pizza dough isn’t nearly as hard as it used to be. But if you haven’t gotten the hang of it, TJ’s and Whole Foods sell dough in baggies that works great.

Anyway, for today’s prompt, I made pizza with homemade whole wheat sourdough crust, tempeh sausage crumbles, wilted arugula, chopped artichoke hearts, and a generous sprinkling of nooch-hemp-almond “parmesan.” Lord, it was delicious. I honestly do not miss the cheese.

Good homemade pizza makes me so pleased. And I can be extra happy that it’s thanks to my own effort, and not something I can get in a restaurant.

“I don’t know about you, but I take comfort in that.”