If I haven’t told you what my favorite foods are, well, here goes: pizza and french fries. Never mind that this love triangle (I’m the third in this equation, you know) started in high school, when my plate on Fridays would be mounded with both. Oh yeah. Greasy Domino’s pizza and cafeteria french fries, with a couple of sides of ranch dressing.
I may never admit the above again, so please - take it in while you can.
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.
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.
So when I was planning to have friends over for my birthday shindig on Thursday, which I originally planned to be a Dessert and Drinks Drop-in, I had a moment of clarity that resulted in another mass text to 50 folks saying, “STOP THE SWEETS. Bring pizza toppings!” Great, great call, Hannah. I don’t know what I was originally thinking. Don’t get me wrong - I love sweets. But I’ve been experiencing consistent sugar-induced headaches, and my skin even reacts when I have too much of it. DUH. Pizza rules, and takes the cake. Pun intended.
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.
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.
Then there’s the final element, that I may or may not have already told you about: my favorite recent find, the most beautiful vegan cookbook I have ever seen. It’s called Vegan Secret Supper, and the recipes are lavish, the photos stunning, the recipes doable. Yes, very interesting combo indeed. Surprisingly, it’s the first vegan cookbook I’ve acquired that I’ve ever attempted to cook out of. Usually I hear about recipes, do some google searches, and see what I can scramble together. Cookbooks are for making your shelf pretty, right? But this time, I had something serious in mind that I know very little about:
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.
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.
In Vegan Secret Supper, Merida Anderson provides 8 different nut cheese recipes, each that lends itself to a myriad of flavoring options. This doesn’t include her baked and spreadable options, scattered throughout the book, where each “recipe” is unapologetically comprised of four or five separate masterpiece concoctions. I love that.
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.
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.
When I originally planned to make this cheese, pizza was nowhere on the brain. I wanted to pair it with beets and figs for a potluck, but the combo ended up surprisingly bland and tasteless. I found a seasoning blend from my favorite spice shop in town that I truly believe saved the day. Merida’s Miso Cashew Cheese plus the Savory Spice Shop’s Bohemian Forest European Seasoning may as well be my new bread and butter. Oh my GOD.
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.
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.
So, without much further ado, I’m going to share with you my favorite pizza dough recipe (a concoction I derived from many mistakes), my slightly varied version of Merida’s Miso Cashew Cheese, and how to put it all together to make what became the best birthday pizza ever.
Keeping Vegan Classy,
Hannah
Keeping Vegan Classy,
Hannah
