Nifty Pizza #11 - Hawaii

It's that time of year again.  Temperatures are rising, kids are getting out of school, and people everywhere are dreaming about their summer vacation destination.  Some lucky individuals will be packing up their bikinis and flying to the beautiful, pristine beaches of Hawaii.  But what about the rest of us?!  Well don't worry...Nifty Pizza #11 should hit the spot!

We took the traditional "Hawaiian Pizza", made it completely vegan, and added a few extra ingredients to take this tropical pie to the next level!

Nifty Pizza #11 - HAWAII!

Dough for 1 Pizza Crust
1/2 cup Pizza Sauce
1/2 Green Bell Pepper, sliced
6-8 Pepperocini, sliced
5 slices Vegan Ham, quartered
1/2 cup Pineapple Chunks
1 cup Vegan Mozarella Cheese
1/4 cup Vegan Parmesean Cheese
Sprinkling of Dried Marjoram and Dried Basil

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Assemble the pizza by layering the sauce, peppers, pepperocini, vegan ham, and pineapple.
3. Cover the toppings with vegan mozarella and parmesean cheeses.  Sprinkle with marjoram and basil.

4. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.
5. Turn on some ukelele music, put on a flowered shirt, and slip on some flip flops before serving yourself up a few slices of Hawaiian Heaven!!

Looking for other Pizza vacation destinations?!  We highly recommend taking your tastebuds to either sunny Florida or California!  If beaches aren't your thing, why not try a gastronomical getaway in Arizona? No matter where you decide to travel this summer, we hope you have a good one...full of pizza!

Peace, Love, and Surf's up dudes!!
Pam and KT

A Tale of Two Sammies

Once upon a time there were two crazy vegans who happened to be mother and daughter.  After 21 years of never living more than an hour and a half away from eachother, the littler of the two packed up her things and drove 700 miles to a new adventure.  Although they were very far away, nothing could stop them from swapping recipes with eachother:  2 delicious sandwiches...one from each of us!

First, from KT: this sandwich was inspired by the BBQ Chicken Panini at the Oneota Community Food Co-op in Decorah, Iowa.  The awesome Co-op employees are happy to make any of their Paninis completely vegan!  This sandwich comes complete with BBQ tofu, vegan cheese, red onion, and cilantro mayo.  This is by far the best sandwich I've ever eaten.

BBQ Tofu Panini
1 container Firm Tofu, drained, cut into 1/2" slices, and pressed for 20 minutes
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 Red Onion, sliced thin
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 cup Veganaise
Generous handful of Cilantro, stems removed
Slices of Vegan Pepperjack and Cheddar style slices
Sourdough Bread

1. Marinate tofu in about 3/4 cup of BBQ sauce for at least 2 hours.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Remove tofu from sauce and place on an oiled baking sheet. Bake until tofu is browned and very firm, turning once about halfway through (about 1 hour total).

2. While the tofu is baking, combine the veganaise with the cilantro in a food processor and pulse to blend well.
3. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the sliced red onion and saute until it begins to caramelize.

4. Assemble the sandwiches by spreading the Cilantro Mayo on one slice of bread, and BBQ sauce on the other.  Layer on the vegan cheeses, 2 - 3 slices of tofu, and a smattering of red onion. Put the sides together and grill on a panini press or a grill pan. 

Second, from Pam: This sandwich is a Chicken-less Salad Sandwich!  After hearing dozens of people raving about a certain store-bought brand of Chicken Salad, I decided that I could make something that was not only better, but completely cruelty free!

Chickenless Salad Sammie
1 can of Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup Celery, finely chopped
1-2 Scallions, finely sliced
1 Tbsp Parsely, minced
1/2 cup Dried Cranberries, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp Slivered Almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 cup Veganaise
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce or Tamari
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Paprika
Freshly ground Black Pepper, to taste
Slices of Vegan Provolone style Cheese
Whole Wheat Bread

1. Put chickpeas in a bowl and mash about half of them with a fork or potato masher. Add celery, scallions, parsley, dried cranberries, and almonds. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the veganaise, soy sauce, lemon juice, paprika, and pepper. Pour over chickpea mixture and stir to combine.  Refrigerate for 1 hour or longer for flavors to marinate. 

3. Assemble sandwiches by toasting whole wheat bread, spread a generous amount of the chickenless salad on one slice, top with the vegan cheese, and second slice of toasted bread. 

No matter where you are or what you pair with it, nothing satisfies quite like a delicious sandwich. We hope you try one or both of these delicious sandwiches and continue to live happily ever after. 

Peace, Love, and Diagonally cut please!
Pam and KT

A (new) Family Dinner!

As many of you know, KT made the big move to Minnesota this March.  It was a tough transition for the mother/daughter cooking duo, but luckily Pam was able to come visit KT in April!  It was an amazing visit - full of theatre, iced coffee, and exploring (what more do you need, really?!).  Pam was also introduced to KT's new Minnesota theatre family.

We're not related or anything...nope...not us!

KT was pretty busy on the last full day of Pam's visit doing 2 shows with a rehearsal in between, but we still found time to have an amazing Friday night Family Dinner with her roomies before the evening show.  We love cooking and sharing with family, so we decided to make a SUPER special meal of SUPER Gyros complete with homemade Tatziki Sauce for our new family members!

First to be made was the sauce so that the flavors could marinate for a while.  We prepared this in between the matinee and the rehearsal (aaah the life of an actress...).

1 Medium Cucumber, peeled and shredded
8 oz. Vegan Souc Cream
1 Clove or 1 tsp Garlic, grated
1 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Fresh Mint, finely chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Add all ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine.  Refrigerate.
*Make sure to squeeze the shredded cucumber out in a paper towel or clean kitchen towel  before adding in order to remove excess moisture*

Next up was the Gyro "Meat."

2 8 oz. packages of Seitan strips.  Feel free to cut the larger strips in half!
1 Small Red Onion, thinly sliced
2-3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
1 and 1/2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Saute the onion until it begins to slump, and then add the minced garlic. Stir and let cook for an additional minute. Add the seitan and let cook until it begins to brown.  Combine the seasonings and sprinkle over the cooking seitan. Continue to cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

We don't like to toot our own horns, but we put together quite the SUPER spread!!  We served the Super Gyros in warm pita bread with fresh lettuce, tomato, pepperocinis, and of course the delicious Tatziki sauce!

On the side we had chips and kalamata olive hummus for dipping!  It was a meal fit for a Super Hero...or just 3 starving artists....

Carolyn, Gary, and KT!  The Southside Family!

The Super Gyros were a huge hit!  But the even huger hit was dessert...we served the newest family members our famous Mozart Ball Cupcakes.  We think they liked them.

Thanks for an awesome visit, Mama!!  Until next time!

Peace, Love, and Pillars,

Pam and KT