Sun dried tomato and red pepper pizza sauce

Bella wished for pizza for yesterday’s dinner and I was excited to make it for her. However I had almost no tomato to make sauce from so I had compromise and made sauce from sun dried tomatoes and red pepper I had instead. It worked beautifully and Bella was super happy. Because of that one ½ red pepper I had dried with the tomatoes, the sauce had a slight sting to it but luckily the kids did not object. The dried pepper can be substituted with a fresh pepper instead off course.

20 sun dried tomatoes, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes

½ dried hot red pepper or ¼ fresh red pepper, seeds removed and minced

¼ cup red onion chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

¼ cup fresh herbs chopped, I used parsley, marjoram, basil and chive

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. honey or sugar

1 tbsp. tomato ketchup

1 cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine in a saucepan sun dried tomatoes, red pepper, water, red onion, garlic, fresh herbs, olive oil and sugar or honey. Bring to a boil and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Add more water if seems dry. Remove from heat and add ketchup, salt and pepper. Puree in blender or food processor. 

Swiss chard pesto

Back to normal again, whatever that means. Bella and James just left for school and Noah is trying to to talk him self to sleep while I'm working and cleaning up.

Bella wanted pizza for dinner last night but I felt like pasta with pesto so we compromised and I made pizza with pesto. I used swiss chard to switch it up a bit and skipped the raw garlic so Bella would like it better and she did. For the pizza I used this recipe and spread the pesto on instead of tomato sauce and then sprinkled grilled zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and shiitake mushrooms. If you think the pesto is too "raw" for pizza you can always make it creamy by mixing it with some cream cheese.

2 cups swiss chard

2 tbs capers

1/2 cup almonds

Garlic salt to taste

1/2-3/4 cup olive oil (maybe more if it seems dry)

Salt & pepper to taste

Combine swiss chard, capers, almonds and garlic salt in a food processor or blender for 20 seconds. While machine is still running, slowly add the olive oil until smooth and combined. Stir in salt and pepper by hand.

Pizza for dessert

No you did not read it wrong and it's not a miss. On Friday we made pizza for dinner and oh boy did I bake a lot of pizzas. I learned that wearing black and baking is not a good idea so at the end I was covered in white flour.

Since we had a little dough left we used it to make a dessert pizza. It was so good and so fun especially since I had just gotten some super fresh and sweet local strawberries so they were added. The combinations of chocolate and strawberries sure is a match made in heaven.

1 small piece of pizza dough ( I used my spelt pizza dough)

1 tbs brown sugar

Topping:

1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

1 tbs maple syrup

1/2 cup cream

Vanilla ice cream ( I used coconut ice cream)

1. Use a rolling pin to roll out dough to a small pizza.
2. Fold sides in and sprinkle sugar over the bottom.
3. Bake for 5 minutes in a F475 hot oven.
4. Heat cream in a small pot on medium heat.
5. Remove from heat and add chocolate and stir until melted and creamy.
6. Stir in maple syrup.
7. Pour chocolate sauce over, arrange strawberries all over and scoop ice cream on top.
8. Serve immediately!

White pizza

I found this pizza with white sauce recipe on the amazing site vegalicious and I give it thumbs up. There are some amazing and creative recipes there. The white sauce on this pizza was a key ingredients however, I did change the sauce and I used spelt flour for the crust instead of white flour to make it a little more wholesome. We all had different toppings on as always. I had a lot of veggies and mushrooms on mine with a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar over while my husband had veggies and soy chorizo on his. I ended up having some leftover sauce and used that in a millet and veggie casserole the next day and that worked too.

Pizza crust:

3 cups spelt flour

1 pkg. yeast

1 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 cup warm water

Mix spelt flour, salt, yeast and sugar in a bowl. Add water and blend until you have a nice dough. Work the dough for a few minutes, until you have a firm dough ball. Rub oil around the dough. Place plastic over the bowl and let the dough rest in a warm place for about 1 hour. Preheat oven to F375. Place dough on a flour dusted surface, and kneel it for a few minutes. Divide it into smaller pieces and use a rolling pin to roll out each pieces to desired thickness.

Spread the sauce over crust and add toppings of your choice, be creative! Bake pizza in a pizza pan or on a pizza stone until crust in golden brown.

White sauce:

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup cream cheese

1 Tbs nutritional yeast

1 1/2 tsp vegetable bouillon powder

1/2 tsp mustard powder

Mix everything together in a bowl and set a side.

Family pizza night

Bella requested pizza for friday night dinner so that's what we had. Making your own pizza is fun because kids can help out, it's cheap and healthier than takeout pizza. It's also very easy to make your own. I used sour dough culture in this pizza crust but it can be done without. Here is a great link to making your own sour dough starter. I also make my own pizza sauce which by the way, also is very easy. The crust we make is a thin crust and everyone can choose what he or she wants on their pizza Bella likes tomato and cheese, James likes faux pepperoni and caramelized onions while I like arugula and veggies on mine.

Bella loves making her own pizza!

My pizza baking on our pizza stone, the best investment ever

James's pizza with soy pepperoni and onions

Thin pizza crust:

1 packet active dry yeast

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil 1 tbs

1 cup warm water + 1/2 cup sour dough culture add another 1/2 cup warm water

3 1/2 cup all-purpose white flour

Blend all wet ingredients except for 1 tbs olive oil in a large bowl. Add yeast and blend. Add flour and work to a very nice shiny dough. Rub the 1 tbs olive oil over the dough. Let it rest for 1 hour under a towel. remove dough from bowel and kneel and punch any air out of the dough. Use a rolling pin to make a thin or crust. We bake our pizzas on a pizza stone but you can also make it on a cookie sheet. Place tomato sauce, cheese and whatever your fancy on the pizza. Bake in oven preheated to F500 (it has to be a hot oven to bake crispy crust).

Pizza sauce:

1 tbs olive oil

2 garlic cloves, grated

1 tbs white balsamic vinegar

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tbs dried oregano

2 tbs chili sauce

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Heat oil on medium heat in a sauce pan. fry the garlic for 1 minute, don't let it brown. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 5 minutes. Place in blender or food processor and blend to smooth sauce. Done!!

Pizza rolls

I made spelt pizza today and in the end had left over pizza dough so I made these pizza rolls which are just fantastic. They are crusty on the outside and creamy on the inside, a perfect combination in my opinion. The best part is you can "hide" all kinds of good stuff in them for picky eaters. I added tomato sauce, cheese and beans but they can be filled with pretty much anything. We have left overs which I'm planning to serve with soup tomorrow. The trick to good pizza dough is to let it rise for a couple of hours as well as working the dough to get the gluten working.

The pizza had tomato sauce, red and yellow peppers, onions, cheese and Swiss chard with a little drizzle on honey. Yum!

The pizza rolls were so much fun, they are probably a perfect party food

Spelt pizza dough

1 1/2 cups water, finger temperature

3 tsp olive oil

1/2 package dried active yeast

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1 tbs garlic powder

1 cups white all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup spelt flour

Milk to brush with

sesame seeds to sprinkle over.

Blend all dry ingredients and add water mixed with oil and work it into the flour mix well. Really work the dough for at least 3 minutes. It's easy if you use a kitchen aid. Place dough in a bowl with a towel covering in a draft free and warm place to rise for 5 hours. Remove dough from bowl and kneel and punch it for at least 5 minutes or more. Divide the dough in half and use a rolling pin to roll out dough to very thin. To make rolls spread tomato sauce or your choice in an even layer. Add filling and take one side and carefully roll it up to a long roll. Use a sharp knife to cut to desired size pieces. Place on a cookie sheet and brush each roll with milk and sprinkle sesame seeds over. Bake in a 500f preheated oven for about 10 minutes or until they a nice and brown.

If you are making pizza just roll dough to a thin round piece and place in a pizza pan or on cookie sheet and spread tomato sauce all over and roll up sides. Add topping. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Pizza tricolore

Ever since we got a pizza stone for Christmas I been thinking about fun pizza's to bake on it. At California Pizza kitchen they have a pizza with salad on top of it which is my favorite so I re-made it, my version off course. I added pizza sauce, cheese and much more interesting salad of arugula, avocado and roasted bell peppers. All I can say is Yum!!! It was a perfect Friday evening dinner and this pizza is so beautiful with all the colors. I made one small part of the pizza for Bella who is not so keen on tomato sauce and made it cheese and bell pepper pizza instead and added her salad on the side. To roast bell peppers, just place sliced peppers strips in a baking dish in a 450F oven for 5 minutes.

Pizza tricolore

Dough:

1 1/2 cup warm water

3 tbs olive oil

2 cup semolina flour (maybe more if dough feels too sticky)

1 cup spelt flour

1/4 package active yeast

1 tsp salt

Blend flour, salt and yeast together in a large bowl. Blend warm water and 2 tbs of the oil and then add to flour mix. Work the dough really well for about 10 minutes because you need to make the dough very elastic. It helps if you have a kitchen aid to do the work for you. Rub remaining oil around the dough and place dough in bowl under plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 4 hours in a warm and draft free place. Remove from bowl and kneel and work dough for 5 minutes on a flat surface. Divide dough in half and use a rolling pin to roll out to a thin round piece. Place on a pizza mold and roll up edges. Add pizza sauce and cheese and bake in a a 500F preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven Add remaining ingredients and serve immediately.

Pizza sauce:

1 small yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 can crushed tomatoes with garlic and basil

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tbs miso

1/2 tbs dried oregano

1/2 tbs dried rosemary

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tbs brown sugar

salt & pepper to taste

Place everything except herbs in a large pot and simmer for about 1 hour on low heat. Remove from heat and process soup in a food processor until smooth. Return to pot and bring to a boil and add herbs. Reduce heat and simmer for another 20 minutes.

Pizza party!!!

My husband got a pizza stone and pizza cook book for christmas and a pizza baker (me) when he got married so last weekend was pizza party time. Pizza stone making it easy to get great crust since it helps the heat to spread evenly. I even used the pizza stone to make grilled sandwiches and mini pizzas.

Making pizza dough is a lot of work because the dough needs a lot of kneeling and working. I finally placed myself in front of the TV and worked it. I made Sicilian thin crust which is a little more work but we love our crusts thin and crispy. I made a tomato sauce that was amazing and actually was part left over tomato sauce from New Years Eve dinner, I just mixed it with chickpeas to add some protein for Isabella plus some spices. I topped the pizzas with vegetables, daila cheese and vegan chorizo. We agreed it was as good as take out pizza which me never do with one vegan who can't do soy cheese and two lactose intolerant people.

Pizza crust

2 cup fine semolina flour

1 tsp active yeast

1/2 tsp sea salt

2/3 cup water, finger warm

1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tbs olive oil

Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix wet ones together. Blend wet and dry carefully together and start working the dough. It need to become very elastic so the more work the better. You can test if it's done my taking a pieces and making a small log with it and pull each side. if the dough is done you should be able to play around with it without it breaking off. When the dough is worked place it in a oiled bowl and place plastic wrap over. Let it rest on a warm and draft free place for about 1,5 hours until it has doubled in size.

Preheat oven for 425F? and place pizza stone in oven. It must be in the oven for 30 minutes before baking on it. Remove from bowl and punch out the air from the dough. Cut and make two pieces and take one and begin rolling it out to a flat round with the help of a rolling pin on top a parchment paper. Spread the tomato sauce on the round and fold the edges. Place whatever topping you want except the cheese. Place pizza on parchment paper on pizza stone and bake for 5 minutes. Remove and from oven and sprinkle cheese on top. Slide the pizza back on stone and remove paper and bake for about another 10 minutes.

Tomato sauce

1 cup of my tomato sauce or use store bought

1/2 cup chickpeas

1 tbs oregano

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbs non-dairy creamer

Blend everything to a puree in a blender or food processor.

Suggestion for toppings:

cheese

sliced zucchini

bell peppers

sliced tomatoes

asparagus

onions

chorizo

fake bacon

Cauliflower and bean soup with mini pizzas

We're in full swing of preparing for tomorrows dinner so tonight's dinner had to be something very simple and fast and taaadahhh!!! And we have this soup and mini pizzas which really is leftover pita breads grilled with tomato and cheese topping. Mmmm it was unbelievable good and very much a comfort food, great for a rainy day like we're having.

Cauliflower and bean soup

2 cup cauliflower crown, cut into smaller pieces

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup white beans

1/4 cup vegan sour cream

1/2 cup vegetable milk

salt & pepper to taste

fresh parsley to sprinkle on top

Bring stock to boil, reduce heat, add cauliflowers and simmer for about 5-10 minutes depending on size or until they are soft. Separate cauliflower from stock and place cauliflower in a food processor along with beans and sour cream. Process until a very nice creamy puree. Return to pot and add stock back along with milk. Blend well and

heat. Taste and add salt and pepper. Serve hot in a bowl and sprinkle parsley on top.

Mini pizzas

1 large pita bread, cut into 8 small triangles or 4 large

honey mustard

1 tomato, sliced thin and then cut into half

vegetable cheese ( I used daila cheese)

smoked paprika and oregano for dusting

Preheat oven to 400F

Spread each piece with mustard, place a tomato half on and sprinkle with cheese. Dust with smoked paprika and oregano. Place on a cookie sheet on a parchment paper. Place in oven for 5 minutes. Enjoy right away.

Pizza, Pizza!!!

It was pizza time at home tonight and it was mmmmmm yummy. The pizza crust in gluten, wheat-free and dairy free. We used Dr. Cow's Tree nut cheese as base and put chopped vegetables on top, we used zucchini, tomatoes and peppers. The crust has such nice flavor.

Pizza Crust:

1,5 cup frozen corn

1 small red pepper, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Salt, pepper, cumin, to taste

Process everything in a food processor until a dough. Spread the dough on a wax paper or oiled cookie sheet. Cook until desired consistency in 400F. Flip once.