Locavore Vegan Pizza + Homemade Omega-Rich Red Sauce

This pizza and it's unrelenting name, "Lovavore Vegan Pizza" are a mouthful x 1,000!  

It's delicious.  It's nutrient-dense.  It's sustainable.  It's VEGAN!  What more could a girl ask for on a super-warm summer afternoon?  Not a whole lot more.  WAIT.  Ponies!  Ponies would be nice.  Pizza eatin' ponies?  I hope it's got grass on it (not that kind, silly).  

This 'zah is dense enough to satisfy your biggest hunger pangs, but won't leave you with your head hanging like the Queen or King of lethargy. Indeed, it's delicious with it's perfect combination of the bittersweetness of the tomatoes and the creaminess of delicious Hemp Oil, combined with a perfectly browned crust.  Mmmm...  An added bonus is that this pizza is naturally and unwavering with nutrient density!  Packed full of omega's and fresh vegetables you'll find your skin glowing and your smile getting progressively more pretty and bright (not that you needed help, you beautiful person you!).  Basically this means that when you are ready to get movin' again it won't take long to get up to your favourite rate of speed -- which I imagine if you are reading my blog is fairly fast-paced, giggly and maybe a tad impish.  Teehee!

Where I live on little Whidbey Island in the Pacific Northwest, it is easy-peasy to find seasonal produce almost all year-round.  I often head North from my home-sweet-home to Coupeville where I can stop-by Mile Post 19 Farm and snag 3 pounds of delicious, farm fresh and chemical-free Raspberries for $12.  What a steal!  Even though I have my own small gardens, plus a large conglomeration of fruit trees, such as 4-5 different varieties of apples, pears, plums, peaches, kiwi's, and more; I still love to solicit other farms that grow things I haven't grown this year, or haven't got a clue how to grow in the first place!  My next door neighbours grow their own veggies on their gorgeous 20 acre farm called "SkyRoot Farm", part of which I am lucky enough to be able to let my horses graze on (bless your hearts, SkyRoot folks!).  A short walk and I can get to other farm stands filled with different seasonal produce or flowers.  My favourite stand for the past couple of years is Bur Oak Acres, who's delicious produce I used on the pizza that I'm sharing with you today.  Their farm stand is adorable and comfortable, and often bustling with other local fruit and vegetable lovers like myself.  I could probably survive on their mouthwatering melons alone, although the farmers at B.O.A are smart enough to know that a balanced diet should probably incorporate a few other things too (dang it...)

So without further adieu, I now give you the reason you visited my blog (it wasn't to read my ramblings and partake in my verbose enthusiasm?!); the 'ZAH, or more commonly known as... P-I-Z-Z-A! 

Note: I have broken this recipe up into three parts: the crust, the sauce, and the toppings/cooking.  I find it is easier to read recipes this way.  And if you don't like the recipe... well, have a Unicorn.


What I listened to while I wrote this blog:

Sherlock - SHINee
(click to listen/watch)

Locavore Super Hero Vegan Pizza

Ingredients

Pizza dough - You can make your own, or buy one from the grocery store that is already pre-made.  If you buy premade, I love Essential Baking Co.'s pizza dough, which as an added bonus is a locally made product from Seattle!

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 450 fahrenheit.

Oil a pizza pan or cookie sheet with Hemp or other omega-rich (Flax or Chia would work) oil of choice.  Roll pizza dough out to desired thickness and place on baking sheet.  Set aside.

For the Red Sauce:
4 large ripe Tomatoes
1 tablespoon Hemp Oil
1 tablespoon Braggs Amino's or Soy-Sauce (if you're allergic or sensitive to soy, opt for a soy-free sauce or just replace the sauce with a few pinches of salt)

2-3 tablespoons basil, rosemary, thyme, or a combination of the three
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup raw, whole chia seeds

           Directions:

Slice the tomato's into quarters and place in to a blender or food processor.  Add oil, Braggs/soy-sauce/salt, herbs and cayenne.  Blend until desired consistency (I love a few chunks).  Pour into bowl and stir in the chia seeds.  Allow to set until the sauce is a relatively thick, tapioca pudding like consistency (see photo). Now it is time to prepare your toppings.

For the toppings:

1 whole Bellpepper

1/2 large Yellow Onion

1/2 small Eggplant

1 bag of Daiya cheese, or other favourite dairy-free "cheese" (grated)

1 tablespoon Hemp Oil

Salt to taste

Directions: 

Chop all vegetables to desired size.  Set aside.  Once the tomato sauce has thickened; spoon it onto the dough and spread it evenly until it is about 1/2 inch from the edge.  Place veggies onto pizza as you like them, pressing down gently so they are "embedded" in the sauce a bit.  Cover with your dairy-free cheese.  Sprinkle with oil and salt.  Place in oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the top of the pizza is a light golden brown.  

This pizza is a serious NOM-NOM-NOMBOMB, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Namaste! xoxox

Aubrie is an avid food blogger chew-and-swallower.  She loves pizza's of all types, the red sauce being the best part in her opinion.

Two-Cheese Vegan Macaroni Casserole + Ponies

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately...

...explicitly pertaining to my horses and horses in general, plus how and if I want to choose a career path that specifically relates or is the embodiment of the equine world.  There are tremendous options; many of which would be entrepreneurial and some of which I could easily incorporate into a position to be hired as a professional in a specific horse-related field, such as Equine Sciences, Training, Riding Instruction; you get it right?  So many years have been spent cleaning equine manure and being covered in their delicious-smelling filth, and not without substantial rewards!  Never would I be able to attribute more to my life and understanding of life than I could to the horses in my life, they have been a blessing beyond a blessing and I don't see myself ever living without them.

With that said, I have pined over the school Meredith Manor since I was a teenager after my Mother first introduced me to the school, "Meredith Manor, this is Aubrie.  Aubrie, this is Meredith Manor."  It's always been really prohibitive considering it is across the country from my small hometown on little Whidbey Island in Washington state.  Yikes.  It's one of those schools that could make a career with horses over-the-top successful, which just increases the temptation for me to drop literally everything and just go.  Go for 9 months, work hard, come home a changed woman with incredible business sense and riding skills that far surpass what I originally left with, plus so many memories, friends and stories that would carry me through my life.  It could, and would be the ride of my life.  Pun dually intended.

Needless to say I'm still uncertain.  We'll see where I go with this, as I have also wanted to be a competitive Endurance Rider since I was about 19 years old, and I know that my paint horse, Jackolantern Blues (pictured above, clearing that fence with ease!); would be the absolute perfect candidate for Endurance Sports.  His spark, endurance, willingness to jump over just about anything (and he's freakishly good at it!  Hands down one of the easiest horses that I've ever worked with over fences), and desire to GO are all tell-tale signs of a great horse for endurance.  Conformationally speaking I don't worry about much, as he is delightfully proportionate, although his hooves are that of a Halter Horse, so I would certainly invest in couple sets of boots made for Endurance Horses.  My dilemma, if you can even call this a dilemma; is often that I have so many options, and don't give myself a lot of latitude to pursue many of them.  Ahwell, we'll see where it goes...

And last but not least, I now present to you an Aubrie Original recipe (they are all original recipes, lol), my famous (and new) Two-Cheese and Rosemary Vegan Macaroni Casserole, which is also Gluten-Free depending on the noodles that you choose to use.  A casserole is typically served and eaten in it's original dish, but you can eat it any way you like it as not everyone is comfortable sharing the same dishes with other people.  But we're all from the same egg, right?  C'mon, lick eachothers spoons at least!  Maybe get naked while you eat it!  No?  I suppose dropping molten-hot cheese-lava on your naked body would hurt a little bit.  Not a lot, but maybe a little bit.

What I listened to while I wrote this blog:
When Did Your Heart Go Missing? - Rooney
(click to listen/watch)

Two-Cheese and Rosemary Vegan Macaroni Casserole
1 1/2 boxes of elbow pasta (I used a quinoa pasta)
2 Cups unsweetened dairy-free milk
2 different types of Vegan "cheese", or 2 bags of a "Fiesta Blend"
3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
2 Tablespoons Rosemary
1 Tablespoon Black or Cayenne Pepper
1 Tablespoon Braggs Liquid Amino's

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius.
In a pie or casserole pan, put your 1 1/2 boxes of noodles.  Pour dairy-free milk over noodles, stir; then add in dairy-free cheese(s), coconut oil, pepper, Braggs and mix well..  Sprinkle Nutritional Yeast over the top of the casserole and place into oven.  You'll want to bake this casserole for about 20-30 minutes, checking sporadically to make sure the top isn't burning.  About 10-15 minutes into baking, pull the casserole out of the oven and stir it well, making sure the noodles on top of the casserole don't dry-out.
Serve immediately when done, taking precautions not to burn yourself on the smokin' hot pan!

Enjoy, Vegan Food-Porn Lovers!

Love, Aubrie

Aubrie Rose is an avid food blogger eater.  She likes watching the food network and imagining it all as Vegan deliciousness.  One day...