I still love these two things. A lot. Minus the fast-food varieties, of course. And truthfully, when I became vegan my biggest fear was that I’d never find a vegan pizza that quite satisfied my love of stretchy cheese and the once-per-year pepperoni fix. I suffice to say that I lived the past five years as a vegetarian[with the exception of When-Uncle-T-bought-steak or Pepperoni-was-calling-my-name]. It’s true. Even if it was only a couple of times per year, but let’s be honest...
So this past week, as you all know by now, I did a lot of celebrating. Little did I know that homemade pizza would happen in my tiny kitchen not once, but twice! I feel so happy. I forgot what I loved so much about making homemade pizza. Sure, it’s the end result. Ohmygod who doesn't love BREAD with STUFF on it?! I think it’s the crack of our era.
But what I forgot most about making homemade pizza, something I’ve done a lot of over the past few years, is that it almost always involves cooking with other people or at the very least for other people. Pizza is not something to make for oneself alone. Even if you’ve sorta kinda [ahem]mastered it.
But seriously, this was the best decision I made all week, next to choosing to have the next day off so I could do some very intentional catching up on my z’s. (It was more like zzzzzz’s, but who’s counting?) Vegan Pizza is only slightly to blame for the coma that ensued the previous evening. That evening I was surrounded by so many great folks - Friends - whom each act as a muse to me in some way, shape, or form. I had some oldies but goodies around (my friend Alex whom I’ve known since my original pizza-face era, for example) and some newbies from work (Matt and Taylor, whom I feel like I could talk for hours with about food, vegan-stuffs, art, you name it) and the grand collection of those in-between, tangential friends and acquaintances, my wonderful boss-friend, and many others whom I cherish and know I will share many a future pizza with.
These are the hearts and minds that warmed my birthday spirit into it’s most satiated state.
Cashew Cheese.
I’ve had plenty of them, sure. They’re usually delicious, though a few have warranted the response of yep, that’s made of cashews. So I wanted to do this right. I wanted it to taste like cheese, because hell it’s my birthday and I can want cheese if I want to. I just may not have any.
When it comes to her cashew cheese, though, she offers three basic options: Rejuvelac Nut Cheese, Cashew Cheese, and Miso Cashew Cheese. The rejuvelac process scared my socks off, so I went with the easier overnight option of Miso Cashew Cheese. Rejuvelac sounds fun to play with, but again - if I haven’t already told you - make it sweet and simple, people. An overnight cashew soak was as complicated a mood as I could promise at this point in my nut-cheese curiosity. I’ll save the Rejuvelac-IE:moldy-water-sitting-on-your-counter-for-days Project for later.
The Bohemian Forest European Seasoning spice blend consists of the following: mustard, garlic, rosemary, black pepper, thyme, parsley, lavender (no wonder I like it), and sage. I’m serious when I say that this is the gods’ gift to Me. I may never eat real cheese again specifically thanks to how this blend blends with the Miso Cashew Cheese.
Keeping Vegan Classy,
Hannah