Queens of the Stone Age ~ Smooth Sailing
VAST ~ I Thought By Now
Thunder ~ See My Baby Walking
Janiva Magness ~ My Bad Luck Soul
Mischa Maisky ~ Schbert: Ave Maria (cello)
Eurythmics ~ You Placed A Chill On My Heart
The Blow ~ Humble Pie
Thunder ~ Survivor
Donna Summer ~ Hot Stuff
Chris Cornell ~ Time
Mary Chapin Carpenter ~ Tender When I Want To Be
Yehudi Menuhin ~ Vivaldi: Four Seasons: Summer
The Gossip ~ Dark Lines
Thunder ~ Like A Satellite
Many moons ago I spent some time in New York...and shortly after arriving there my friend (native New Yorker and fellow vegetarian) took me for New York pizza. Up until that point in my life I really wasn't that bothered about pizza. Although I ate dairy cheese then I had always had a loathing of fatty and gloopy cooked cheese and often found that the pizza places in England just piled on extra cheese on the veggie variety of pizzas. However, I am not gonna say I resisted a slice or two after a night out. lol.
So when my friend Marce told me where we were going for the famous slice of pizza...I was underwhelmed. We took the ride to the pizza shop and stood in a queue that seemed to go on forever and I took in all the smells coming from behind the counter and marvelled at the people 'stood' at their tables with their slice...I mentally rolled my eyes that you didn't even get to sit down and eat your pizza. Finally we got to the counter and Marce ordered two slices of the 'regular' and two 7Ups and within seconds I was juggling my drink and slice as we manoeuvred our way to a clear space. I remember the noise of people talking and slurping soda being overwhelming at first. Then I adjusted and Marce stood there waiting for me to take my first bite. To me the pizza looked so thin and uninteresting...but when I took my first bite...I was so Wow'd that I was almost tearful. This thin slice of non-descript pizza was a freaking taste sensation. And I was converted...I even went back for a second slice just to make sure..lol. Divine pizza...it was in that moment that I realised my problem with pizza back home was 1. I detested deep dish pizza crust...I'd rather have more topping less crust. 2. A little cheese was ok and not a congealed wedge of cheese. 3. Freshly made...over frozen pizza...every time. Good..freshly made pizza! lol. This New York pizza moment..this slice of pizza that was no more than 1/2 inch thick..wafer thin base...rich herby tomato sauce and the thinnest layer of cheese made an impression on me that would last forever. I still crave it to this day although I would never eat the dairy cheese version now. But I felt this was how pizza should be and not the mass produced production line frozen nonsense. And since then (when well enough!) I've always made my own.
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| Happy Red Vegan Pizza on a Spelt base... |
It's been a while since I've been in the kitchen and blimey have I missed it. So you can imagine how happy I was this morning to find myself making pizza..(hence the name)..OK it wasn't a great effort on my part as all i really had to do was choose and chop the toppings but i enjoyed every single slice of the knife. lol. I love knife work...it soothes me. As my energy is limited I did have to make one
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| A little cheat now and then isn't a bad thing...lol |
As much as I loved my New York pizza slice days...once I became vegan I experimented with different toppings more instead of relying on the good old Margarita pizza. One thing I learnt was that I didn't like onion or mushroom on a pizza...as I don't enjoy onion if it is remotely crunchy and well...I just haven't found my mushroom love. lol. So when I am choosing toppings anything can happen..lol.
As a base for the pizza I made a simple chili infused tomato paste and schmeared it liberally and then got chopping...
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| Nowhere near as huge as the NY Slice...but just as tasty..lol |
Happy Vegan Pizza on a Spelt Base
2 10" Spelt pizza bases
Tomato and chili paste
Courgette, thinly sliced
Sugar snap peas, halved
Broccoli, cut into small florets
Red pepper, thinly sliced
Baby sweetcorn, halved
Vegan parmesan to taste, finally grated
Preheat the oven to 200'C/400'F/Gas Mark 6 and make ready two pizza trays or a pizza stone.
Schmear the pizza bases with the paste and then arrange the veggies in any fashion you so choose. Sprinkle with the vegan parmesan..(I find it very strong in flavour so therefore use the smallest amount)..
If you are having to use two shelves in your oven for two pizzas..cook them for 5 minutes and then swap oven to ensure even cooking for a further 5 more minutes. Enjoy!
(Oh! Yes...spelt flour bakes up quite dark so don't panic and think your pizza is burning after the first few minutes of cooking...like I did! lol Like I said its been a while..lol.)
Thanks for stopping by and I hope your Friday is a fantastic one...
~Red~
