BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Sorry I have been MIA to the max. I have just had a lot to deal with this month.
I am taking Bio AP, enligh 3 honors, spanish 4, and art 2 (my fun class) this semester and it has been a lot to balence along with the 3 days a week job I just started at a dry cleaner. I feel extreamly overloaded! Not a lot of cooking has been done, but I do have some pictures I will upload when I get the chance (though I do not know when that will be). Hope all is well with everyone.

The Best Kept Secret In Tomato Sauce

FIRE ROASTED TOMATOES!!!

They give the sauce the best flavor of smokey goodness you could ever imagine!

Tomato sauce:
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 ounce can diced *fire roasted* tomatoes
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
salt and pepper and onion powder to taste

Sauté the garlic in a saucepan with olive oil until it becomes translucent.Add the remaining ingredients, and cook for 15-20 minutes.

Pasta with sauce and nutritional yeast

Grilled pizza (recipe)

This grilled pizza looks like a lot is going on, but it was an experiment gone very well. I used my left over homemade sauce making this pizza completely homemade from scratch. It was awesome! On one side I have nutritional yeast. and on the other I have VeganRella. I had been wanting to try VR and I finally found some. It tasted gross plain but really good melted, hm. I don’t really miss cheese too much so I could go either way. I also topped my pizza with spinach and mushrooms.

Whole wheat pizza dough

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 (1/4 oz.) package of yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup lukewarm water(115- 125 degrees)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. Add the water and olive oil and mix until dough forms. Knead the dough for ten minutes. Oil a bowl. Put the dough in the bowl and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise for 45 minutes.

In the meantime: Cook your choice of veggies. With your leftover time you can clean up, start the grill, and even do a little dance if feel the urge. I mean come on, your only minutes away from amazing grilled pizza, you should be happy!

When 45 minutes is up, take the dough out of the bowl. The trick is to break the dough into four personal size pizza balls then roll them into circles on oiled pieces of foil. The one at the right is about 8 inches in diameter. Put half of the coals on one side of the grill (that's your direct heat) and leave the other half without coals (that's your indirect heat). Put the pizza dough side down on the direct heat side of the grill (go ahead and put it directly on the grate, it wont burn if the grate is oiled, I swear) and then slowly peal the foil off. Cover the grill until the dough looks charred. Flip the pizza over and put your sauce, veggies, and soy cheese (or your choice of any vegan cheese, or no cheese) on top. Cover and cook until the cheese is totally melted or the crust feels crispy. Remove the pizza and be prepared to change the way you view all other pizzas forever. This recipe can be altered in many ways.

There are a million different topping, sauce, and cheese combos to test so go crazy.

*I watched a special on Jane Goodall a few nights ago on Animal Planet. She is a vegetarian (possibly vegan?) and one of my heros. I will leave you with two quotes by her:

"The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves."

"The more we learn of the true nature of non-human animals, especially those with complex brains and corresponding complex social behavior, the more ethical concerns are raised regarding their use in the service of man -- whether this be in entertainment, as "pets," for food, in research laboratories, or any of the other uses to which we subject them. "

-Jane Goodall-