Personal Pizzas with Eggplant Crust

Ever thought, why does pizza have to come on a doughy crust? I did too. Well, I was perusing the internets when I came across a unique take on homemade pizzas. Eggplant pizza? What, even? Intrigued, I scanned the recipe; realizing I had the majority of the ingredients I seriously went to Trader Joe's just to buy an eggplant. Only an eggplant. That's all. This is the aftermath which a few of my friends so luckily got to enjoy.

Photo courtesy of the Instagram: ZeroDecorum

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant                              ($0.89)
• 1 cup marinara sauce            ($0.53)
• 4  vegan italian sausages      ($1.35)
• ½ cup vegan mozzarella        ($0.96)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil                    -
• enough coarse sea salt to coat both sides of the sliced eggplant but I did not measure so I am not sure how much that is, sorry

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to bake at 400ºF. Slice the eggplant into ½ inch slices. If sliced too thin, the salting and baking will cause the eggplant to get soggy and crumble. If sliced too thick, the baking process will not make the eggplant crispy enough to hold the weight of the ingredients. I have found that ½ inch thick slices yield the most sturdy, crispy pizzas; every eggplant is different so you may have to adjust the thickness for your liking. Coat both sides of the eggplant with the coarse salt and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Salt brings out the bitter taste inherent in the eggplant; after 20 minutes wipe all moisture and residue off of the eggplant slices. Slice the sausages and fry them in oil until crispy. Heat the marinara sauce on the stove until warmed through. Lightly sprinkle the eggplant slices with sea salt and set on an oiled baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes but do not let the eggplant get mushy when baked too long. Remove the slices and top with the sauce, sausage, and cheese. Set the oven to broil and place the pizzas in for about 3 minutes, just to melt the cheese. Remove and devour. 

The smaller end of the eggplant will make mini bite sized pizzas
while the larger end makes personal "pan" pizzas

Place the eggplant slices on a paper towel before salting to ensure
the most moisture is absorbed and the bitterness removed

Sometimes the smaller slices will get crispy quicker than
the larger slices so keep checking while baking and remove if necessary

Tofurky is my go-to faux meat
WATCH OUT: Trader Joe's meatless Italian Sausage contains egg whites! 

Slice the sausage into ½ inch slices for a more meaty texture
Slice thinner for a crispier variation

I usually place the cooked sausage bites on a paper towel
to soak up that extra oil
I KNOW, I am THAT person who dabs their greasy pizza...

Fav sauce right now: Trader Joe's Tomato Basil 

Yurm

Whatta feast!

Oven Roasted Chili-Crusted Cauliflower

Impoverished Vegan is not dead. I promise. I had a really crazy past few months and had to take a little break from cooking and writing. I had to take a school trip to Washington DC at the end of the semester with finals falling as soon as I got back; I was also in the middle of a huge job change. Things have finally settled down. Enough with the personal details. Let's cook some cauliflower!!

Ingredients:

1 whole cauliflower                  ($0.99)

1 tbsp vegetable oil                      -

1½ cups vegan sour cream     ($0.75)

1 lemon, zested and juiced     ($0.10)

2 tbsp chili powder                  ($0.20)

1 tbsp cumin                            ($0.05)

1 tbsp garlic powder                ($0.03)

1 tsp curry powder                       -

2 tsp sea salt                                -

1 tsp black pepper                       -

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread the olive oil evenly over a baking sheet. Peel the green leafy stems from the base of the cauliflower. Cut the base level and flush with the florets so the cauliflower will sit evenly on a flat surface. Stir together the sour cream, lemon zest and juice, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, curry powder, sea salt, and black pepper until fully combined. Dunk the cauliflower into the marinade and spread it across all the florets. Make sure the whole head is covered except the bottom. Place it on the baking sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes or until browned and slightly crispy. The marinade will create a dry crust across the cauliflower. Let it sit for 10 minutes before slicing it into wedges. Enjoy! 

You can use vegan yogurt instead but make sure it is plain

I added extra cumin and garlic powder for an extra KICK!

Do not be afraid to get your hands dirty to spread the marinade!

Yeah... the marinade looks goopy and gross before it is baked

I use a sheet of aluminum foil to keep the baking tray clean

Baking for a little bit extra will make a very crispy crust!

Feel free to experiment with your spices! Use dill and parsley!

For an Indian twist, use more curry powder!

You can cut it into fourths to share with others...

...or just eat the whole thing yourself! (I did.)

Spinach Artichoke Dip

I actually had never really experienced spinach artichoke dip until I dined at Brixx Wood Fired Pizza. Sure, I tasted it at Super Bowl parties and family reunions but it was never really something that I saw as an exquisite dish or appetizer. Spinach Artichoke dip at Brixx is the most savory, warm, salty dip served with either pita bread or blue corn chips for the gluten-free. It completely opened my eyes to how amazing this dip can be. Since turning vegan, I have tried many imitations of cheese, cream, dairy, and meat. Other than when I made Vegan New England Clam Chowder, I feel like this recipe replicates the creamy, cheesy, gooeyness of non-vegan food the best! 

Ingredients:

• 3 slices whole grain bread                      ($0.16)
• 3 tbsp. vegan butter                                ($0.24)
• 1 medium onion, diced                           ($0.24)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil                                        ($0.02)
• 2 cans white beans, drained, rinsed      ($1.10)
• 6 tbsp. nutritional yeast                          ($1.60)
• ½ cup vegetable broth                           ($0.35)
• 2 tsp. sea salt                                         ($0.02)
• ¼ tsp. dried basil                                    ($0.04)
• 2 tsp. red pepper flakes                         ($0.06)
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced                      ($0.99)
• 8 cups of spinach, chopped                  ($1.60)
• 2 cans artichoke hearts, drained           ($0.99)
• 1 cup vegan mozzarella cheese            ($2.35)
• 1 can french fried onions                       ($0.99)

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the bread and butter in a blender or food processor and blend to create a dough like consistency. Set aside. Insert the white beans, nutritional yeast, vegetable broth, salt, basil, and red pepper flakes in the same food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside. Sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium heat until translucent. Toss the garlic in and cook for 2 minutes. Add the artichoke hearts and stir until warmed. Slowly throw some of the spinach in a few handfuls at a time. Wilt the spinach and then add some more. This will take some time but will yield a healthy, hearty dip! Turn the heat off and add the white bean mixture and half of the mozzarella cheese. Stir until warmed through. Place in a casserole pan and spread the dough mixture over the top of the dip. Add the rest of the cheese on top and place a layer of aluminum foil over the dish. Bake for 20 minutes; remove the foil and add the french fried onions. Bake for an additional 15 minutes; you should have an irresistibly savory spinach and artichoke dip! 

Bread and Butter

Gooey butter dough

Bean Batter

Blended bean batter

Just onions... 

DELICIOUS GARLIC ONIONS

ALL THE SPINACH

Starting to look like artichoke dip

REMEMBER THE BATCHES
ADDING ALL THE SPINACH AT ONCE WILL MAKE A MESS

Wet, wilted, wonderful spinach

Even more gooey than you ever thought possible

Dollops of dough

This is Daiya brand mozzarella but Trader Joe's has a nice version

Are you excited yet??

You do not have to add the whole jar
I LOVE FRIED ONIONS
The cheese is also optional but who does not love CHEESE??

Crunchy, creamy spinach dip

Layers of luscious dip

Another amazing artichoke entrée

Look at that oozing artichoke casserole!

Soooo....we ate the entire casserole in one sitting
It is seriously that DELICIOUS

Devilishly delicious dough makes a great addition to this dip

Look at my new kitchen! It is so much bigger than I am used to
I have room to take display food photos!
I still have a lot to learn so if you guys have any advice on
cooking OR photography, please let me know!

Alright, alright... this casserole dip concoction is a tiny bit more expansive than the recipes I usually post; if you do not eat it in one night it will save very well and actually evens out in price versus quantity of food. BUT WE ARE COWS AND VEGANS NEED MORE FOOD. Anyway, I just thought I would send a shout out to One Green Planet for providing the base for this amazing resskippee (how my boyfriend pronounces recipe, isn't he cute?!) and another should out to my coworkers for being the guinea pigs for this recipe. Except that would involve animal testing. And I am vegan. And I am against animal testing. So never mind about the guinea pigs; I just want to thank them for being so supportive and eating the delicious food that I make. That is all.

Beet Hummus! from Healing Tomato

It is high time for a guest recipe! I have been following the Healing Tomato blog for a couple months now and have been fascinated by all of her recipes. It is a vegetarian blog but it would be very easy to turn her recipes vegan either by omission or vegan substitutions. When she posted this recipe for beet hummus, I just knew we were meant to be friends. I LOVE BEETS! I grew up on beets. My mom fed me beets like candy and I developed a taste for healthy vegetables. She used to put beets on cottage cheese and it was one of the best meals in the whole world. I have been meaning to look up some vegan cottage cheese to bring this memory back to me in vegan form. Anyway, back to the Healing Tomato. I do not even know her name but she is fabulous and the blog is a great read! Check her blog for the recipe for beet hummus! She is on Google+ as well. I will be making this as soon as I get a free moment. Working two jobs and being a full time student is very difficult, especially when trying to move across town during the middle of mid-term week! All this work will pay off in the long run. Who knows? Maybe this blog will transform from the Impoverished Vegan to the Almost-Above-Poverty-Line Vegan! Just one step closer to being the Rich Bitch Vegan that I have been dreaming of becoming.

 

Try it on apple slices, carrot sticks, pita bread, or triscuits!
The options are endless.

Roasted Red Pepper Mac & Cheese

Mmm*Mac & Cheese! Everybody loves it. It seems everyone I talk to says, "Yeah, I could not be a vegan because I would miss cheese too much!" Let me be the first to say I thought the same thing! I loved eating cheese. I had cheese with every meal. Cheese was a meal. Mac & Cheese was my favorite meal to eat when it was cold outside. My mother would always make me homemade cheese sauce over spaghetti noodles. I would request it every morning and it was my absolute favorite breakfast. Vegan cheese recipes can be super simple simulations of ooey-gooey cheese. 

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup raw cashews (soaked)              ($0.95)
• 2 tsp. olive oil                                           ($0.01)
• 1 onion, diced                                          ($0.18)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced                           ($0.38)
• 2 cups vegetable broth                           ($0.65)
• 1 1/2 tbsp. corn starch                            ($0.05)
• 1 1/2 tbsp. nutritional yeast                    ($0.18)
• 1 roasted red pepper                              ($0.45)
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste                              ($0.12)
• 1 tsp. salt                                                 ($0.01)
• 1 tsp. ground mustard                            ($0.03)
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric                                      ($0.03)
• 1 box of pasta                                         ($0.99)

Preparation:

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Sauté the onions in olive oil until they become translucent. It should not take more than 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté 30 seconds. You do not want to overcook the garlic and lose the flavor. Add this mixture to a blender or food processor. Add the drained cashews, vegetable broth, corn starch, nutritional yeast, red pepper, tomato paste, salt, ground mustard, and turmeric. Blend until smooth. Smoothness is important. If you have read my previous blogs involving cashews, you will understand that it is very important to have a smooth sauce. The texture is gritty, rough, and crunchy. Transfer the sauce to the pan used to sauté the onions. Heat on medium-low for 10 minutes or until it starts to thicken. Once thick, add the pasta until the whole mixture is warmed through. SERVE and MUNCH! 

Sautéing the garlic for only 30 seconds will keep the flavor
of the garlic at the optimal level 

At first it was weird to add hot onions and garlic to a blender
but the flavors of these are key to creating a cheesy flavor!

The sauce will slowly thicken. KEEP STIRRING!
The first time I made this, I slightly burned the bottom
of the cheese sauce; it burns very easily so keep stirring

I used Lumaconi pasta instead of shell pasta or macaroni
because they look way cooler and they were
significantly less expensive at Aldi

There you have it. Delicious mac and cheese! 

Since it has been so long since I have had actual dairy cheese, the vegan mind will almost forget what actual cheese tastes like and this faux cheese will totally satisfy all of your cheese cravings! I will challenge any cheese-eater to try this cheese sauce and tell me that it does not imitate mac and cheese extremely closely. I am still working on a few more cheese blogs so get hype! I hope to publish them very soon! For now, enjoy this delightful take on the American staple using cashews instead of dairy! 

This is a modification of Isa Chandra's Pizza Mac & Cheese recipe from Post Punk Kitchen. I love her work and she is the most exceptional vegan chef! Check out her blog at the Post Punk Kitchen!