Veggie Garden Pizza and Graduation!

I love pizza and I happen to be married to a pizza fiend. Instead of measuring the cost of things in dollars, he measures them in Little Caesar's five buck Hot N' Readys.

"That costs four pizzas!"

"If we cut back on X, we could save six pizzas a month."

You get the idea.

The other night, I had a vegetable drawer full of stuff that needed to be used, so I whipped up a whole wheat pizza crust from the recipe from Better Home and Gardens, slathered on some homemade pizza sauce and piled on every veggie I could find.

Here she is all decked out in eggplant, mushrooms, sweet peppers, spinach, arugula, garlic, and onions. I used real cheese because I haven't yet found a non-dairy cheese I like and I'm a little leary of cheeseless pizza. Another adventure for another night.

10 minutes later at 350, I added a little black pepper and some grated parm, and here it is:

I thought it was amazing, but Sam was a little disappointed. "Where's the meat?"

I guess I need to go buy Sam some meat, because I've forgotten for the past few months...

Oh well. This is a great way to use up random veggies. You can just buy a pizza crust, use a mix or find a good crust recipe online or in a cookbook. This one was only ok, but I think my yeast might be a little too old. I'll try again another time.

And...I graduated! It's really weird to NOT be a student anymore. I jumped right out of high school and into college and worked right through without a break, so this newfound freedom, delicious as it is, is kinda scary.

But I'll get over it:)

My parents (The Hungry Mommy and Daddypillar?) and paternal grandparents. This is where I get my good looks, intelligence, etc. :)

I love my Sam!

Have an awesome Monday!

Kella

Move over Lunchables!

Remember those nasty things? In Elementary, the cafeteria introduced their own version of Lunchables complete with cold cuts, crackers and dried-out veggie sticks. I tried one to be cool once...I'll take greasy cafeteria food any day.
But don't worry, I've got you covered for lunch, with not one, but TWO yummy recipes I threw together in the name of using up leftovers.
For fun, I decided to try Chocolate Covered Katie's Chopstick Challenge. I bought a bunch of fun chopsticks in China last summer, so I eat with them all the time, but I'm always up for a challenge.
Here we go:

Recipe #1: Orange-cashew seitan



Ingredients:
1/2 daikon, cut into matchsticks
1 C chopped cabbage (or bok choy if you really want to get fancy)
1 T sesame oil
1/4 C water or broth
1/2 small can mandarin oranges, drained
2 T orange juice
2 T soy sauce
1 t apple cider vinegar
2 T minced chives
6 oz seitan, cubed (this is a guestimate. I just threw in a big cutlet. Also, feel free to omit or use tofu if you don't do gluten.)
1/4 C cashews

Saute the daikon and cabbage in the sesame oil until tender. Add all other ingredients and stir-fry until mixed and heated through. Eat by itself or on a cooked grain. I put mine on millet.
Eat with chopsticks! (note: millet is not the easiest thing to eat with chopsticks!) Serves 2

Recipe #2 Hash-brown tofu scramble



Ingredients:
1/4 chopped onion
1/2 chopped bell pepper
1 small potato, grated, thinly sliced, or cut into matchsticks
handful of spinach
4 oz. firm tofu
1/2 tomato
3 T snipped chives
1 T nooch
salt, pepper, tumeric, and cumin to taste
Salsa and diced avocado for topping

Spray a skillet and cook the onion, pepper, and potato until tender. Add the tomato, tofu, and spinach. Add chives, nooch, and spices. Stir until everything is cooked and the tomatoes start to get saucy. Top with avocado and salsa, then devour. This one is more chopstick-friendly.
Serves 1 if you're hungry, 2 if you're willing to share.

Stay tuned for dessert!

Kella

Say it ain't seitan...

I'd never heard of seitan until I started reading vegan blogs, but I looked it up, and I get some vegetarians avoid it on principal because it's too "meaty" tasting. My curiosity was piqued.
So I ran down to a local store that specializes in emergency food storage and bought a carton of vital wheat gluten.
I found a few different recipes online, so I decided to try a chicken-style version and a pepperoni version you bake in the oven.
I mixed the gluten with the spices, broth and soy sauce. I can't remember the last time I followed a recipe to the letter, but I figured I'd better learn to do this right before I play with it. So here's what I got:

I love kneading this stuff, it's stretchy and globby. Mom, you should have taught me not to play with my food!
So I separated it into two blobs, and I made 3 sausage shapes with one section and rolled it up into tin foil and popped it in the oven at 350 for 75 minutes, like an obedient little cook. I separated the other half into four cutlets and boiled it in chicken-flavored broth with some onion and ginger for an hour.
It poofed up pretty far, so I had to switch the biggest pan I own. After an hour, I had this:

They looked like they were 'sposed to, but they were still pretty spongey, so I threw them on the griddle for a few minutes to let some of the broth cook out.

They firmed up a bit and I sawed off a little piece to taste. Really interesting. Too salty, so I'll probably leave the soy sauce out next time, but they texture was better. I boxed them up and threw them in the fridge and once they cooled, they had firmed up.
The pepperonis? I opened the oven and laughed.

They escaped!

So what do I think of this stuff? I honestly don't know. I might play with the recipe a little more, but I'm not jumping for joy or anything. Also, I had some tummy troubles after eating about half a cutlet for lunch. I've never had trouble digesting wheat products, but straight-up gluten might be a little rough.

What do you guys think of seitan? Does anyone have a really good recipe or any tricks?

Have an awesome Tuesday,

The Kellapillar.