Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Super Melty Pizza (and no, I did not use Teese!)

I have mentioned before that I have never loved cheese, even before going vegan. However, everyone craves pizza once in awhile, right? I really enjoy a pizza with a nice crispy, chewy crust piled high with vegetables, but "cheese" pizza is the ultimate comfort food for me. Wait...I take that back- "cheese" pizza with veggie pepperoni and sliced green peppers and onions is the best! I thought about using the pound of Teese that I have in my freezer, but I realized that I also had some Follow Your Heart Mozzarella that needed to be used up, so I decided that I'll save the Teese for something really special. I have used FYH cheese in the past and found that grating it really doesn't help it melt at all, so I decided to freeze half of the package, let it thaw overnight, sliced it super thin, and then placed it over other toppings. After about 12 minutes in the oven at 475 degrees, I broiled it for another 3-4 minutes, and I was amazed! I pulled out my pizza to find that this:

...had become this:

Wow! I would have never believed that this pizza wasn't topped with (nasty) dairy cheese upon looking at it! The FYH Mozzarella still did have a "soy" taste to it, but only slightly, and I didn't mind at all with all of the other toppings on the pizza as well.

Feeling the need for a quick meal that is much healthier than cheese pizza, I searched through my copy of ED&BV, and the Sweet and Sour Chipotle Tempeh with Sweet Potatoes caught my eye. I thankfully had all of the ingredients on hand, so all I had to do was mix together the sauce, toss it with the other ingredients and wait an hour for it all to bake while I steamed some brown rice. The sauce became super thick, sweet and tangy and the chopped cashews on top were an excellent touch. Yet another winner from this cookbook!

12 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Did my comment save? I left it here the other day...

Animal-Friendly said...

Veggiegirl- Unfortunately, it did not....your second comment was the first one that I have been able to publish.

J said...

Wow, it melted! Oh my goodness! That pizza looks fantastic, and I'm with you, a pizza, piled high with veggies is all I need!

I hope your comment situation gets worked out soon, I bet that's frustrating.

Janet said...

Your pizza looks so delicious, I am totally craving one now!

Kati said...

That pizza looks so incredible - wow!

Erin said...

Nice job with the FYH, that's pretty impressive actually. And the whole pizza looks great. Veggieroni, peppers and onions is one of my favorite combos too, with mushrooms. The tempeh and sweet potatoes sounds really good too.

Anonymous said...

I am so glad I found your post because I have been looking to make a veggieroni pizza too! This looks fantastic! Well done!

Rural Vegan said...

That did melt beautifully, even if you still had to broil it. FYH is still my favorite vegan cheese if I were forced to eat one, but I still haven't tried Teese either!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Mmm, pizza!
I feel like I keep discovering recipes on other blogs. I have ED&BV, yet never noticed the Sweet and Sour Chipotle Tempeh!

Becca said...

Great job on that pizza! I recently became veggie and haven't tried out any "melting" cheeses yet... what do you suggest for best taste? Did you pick FYH for taste or convenience?

Animal-Friendly said...

Becca- I used FYH for this pizza because it's not too difficult to find at some of the grocery stores in my area, mine had been frozen for a few months and I was paranoid that it would spoil, and I'm saving the Teese I ordered for something really special.

As for taste, I think FYH is pretty good, but not the best and I do know that a lot of people haven't had the most success with melting it. While I haven't tried Teese yet, I hear it is WONDERFUL and I think it is probably the best tasting/most melty.

Hope that helps!

Green Eyes, Green Heart said...

I think this is my first time visiting your blog, and needless to say, I love it!
Everything on this site looks delish--especially that pizza!

~Erin @ "Vegan & the City"