Cheesy Vegan Pizza

Who doesn't love pizza? Although I didn't eat it a lot, when I gave up dairy, I was sad to say goodbye to pizza. Now I know that you don't HAVE to have cheese to make a good pizza, but to me, it really makes it. So I set about looking for something that would add the same deliciousness. And I think I've become pretty darn close with this spreadable tofu based alternative. It stops the base from drying out and adds a cheesy richness - all with the low fat content of tofu.

This pizza base recipe is a brilliant one because it's so easy - all the proving is done in the microwave so there's no waiting around while the dough sits in the hot water cupboard for hours. It's from a fabulous little book called Destitute Gourmet by Sophie Gray. Originally for calzone, it makes enough dough for 2 large, thin crust pizzas.

Ingredients:

For the base...

1 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

1 Tbs dried yeast

1 cup plain flour

1 cup wholemeal flour (or another of plain instead if you prefer)

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbs oil

For the 'cheese'...

400g carton of silken tofu

3 Tbs nutritional yeast

Salt and pepper to taste

Toppings...

Tomato paste

Crushed garlic

Mushrooms, sliced

Capsicum, sliced

Red onion, finely sliced

Olives

Mixed Italian herbs

Salt and Pepper

To make:

1) Start by turning the oven to 200°c.

2) In a small bowl, mix the water and sugar, then sprinkle the yeast evenly over the top and leave somewhere warm for 10 minutes, until it goes frothy.

3) Warm the flours in a large bowl for 1 minute in the microwave on 70%. Stir in the salt and oil, then add the frothy yeast and water mix.

4) Stir together and kneed on a well floured surface (you may have to add a little more flour as you go) for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

5) Put it back in the bowl and microwave for 1 minute on low, stand for 10 minutes. Repeat this until the dough has doubled in size, normally 2 cycles is enough.

6) While you are letting the dough stand, prepare the 'cheese' spread by pouring any excess water off the tofu and tipping it into a bowl. Add the nutritional yeast and salt & pepper and blend with a stick blender for a smooth consistency. Season to taste.

7) When the dough has doubled, divide it into 2 even portions and roll out on a floured surface. Transfer this to a greased pizza tray.

8) Spread each with tomato paste and crushed garlic, followed by the 'cheese'. Then arrange the toppings and bake for 25 minutes until the edges are risen and golden.

Pear and Banana Breakfast Loaf

This makes a delicious, nutritious and satisfying weekend brunch. Lovely on its own, or served with jam or honey and some plain soy (or dairy) yogurt. It's best served warm and fresh out of the oven, but we discovered it's still really tasty cold - if you're lucky to have some left over for afternoon tea!

Adapted from a recipe in the trusty ol' NZ cooking bible, the Edmonds Cookery Book, it uses barley malt extract to sweeten which provides slow release energy.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c self raising flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

pinch salt

2 tsp egg replacer, mixed with water (or I used apple juice) according to the packet

1/4 c rice milk

70g vegetable margarine, melted

1/3c barley malt extract

1 large banana, mashed

1 medium pear, peeled and finely chopped

rice milk to brush

sunflower seeds to scatter

To make:

1) Turn the oven to 180°c and grease a loaf tin.

2) Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl and mix.

3) In another bowl, whisk the egg replacer mix, milk, barley malt extract and melted marge until well combined. Mix in the mashed banana and pear.

4) Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Fold together until just combined.

5) Spoon the mix into the loaf tin (it'll be quite a sticky mix) and brush with rice milk. Scatter sunflower seeds over the top and bake in the oven for 50 minutes, until it comes away from the edges and is slightly golden.

6) Let it sit in its tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Minty Lebanese Salad

A wonderful friend gave me a recipe book from her favourite cafe in NZ for my birthday. She knows me too well! This recipe is adapted from that book - Ripe Recipes by Angela Redfern. There are so many different flavours and textures, it was declared 'a taste sensation' when I tested it.

I usually use tinned beans, but this time I thought I'd give dried ones a go. Not sure if they are worth the effort to be honest, but it was gratifying seeing the hard little beans turn into something edible. You can easily use tinned chickpeas here though, just add them into the salad at the end - in this case use about a cup.

Ingredients:

100g bulgur wheat

1/3 c dried chickpeas, soaked overnight

1/2 c fresh mint, chopped

1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 c whole almonds

12 Kalamata olives, chopped into big pieces

zest of 1 lemon

100g fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped

1 Tbs pumpkin seeds

1 Tbs sunflower seeds

Salt and black pepper

For the dressing...

1/4c white wine vinegar

3/4 Tbs soft brown sugar

1 clove garlic, crushed

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 c chopped, fresh mint

1 Tbs wholegrain mustard

To make:

1) Cover the beans in plenty of water and bring to the boil. Turn them down after about 10 minutes and cook rapidly for a further 50 minutes or until tender.

2)Put the bulgur Wheat in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to soak for about half an hour.

3)Toast the almonds and seeds in the oven on about 180°c for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they'll quickly go from toasted to too-toasted.

4) Mix all the dressing ingredients in another bowl and use a stick blender to get a smooth(ish) consistency.

5) Chop the almonds roughly, but so they are still in large chunks.

6) Combine all of the ingredients, except the seeds, in a big bowl and carefully mix. Seaon with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over and again, mix carefully.

7) Sprinkle with seeds to serve. Goes really well served with roast veggies.

Serves 2 for dinner with leftovers.

Spinach, Potato and Mushroom Curry

Easy to make and very healthy, this curry is a lovely Sunday night supper. It's got some great earthy flavours, which contrast really well with a nice sweet chutney. It's a distant relative of a Nigel Slater potato and spinach dish.

Ingredients:

500g potatoes

1 tsp hazelnut oil

1 large onion, finely sliced

3 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 tsp chili paste

1cm piece of fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp crushed cumin seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp garam masala

salt

Juice of 1/2 lemon

200g mushrooms

300g baby spinach

To serve...

Nigella seeds

Basmati Rice

Chutney

To make:

1) Peel and chop the potatoes, cook them in a large pot of water until tender. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.

2) Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion. Fry for about 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent and start to colour.

3) Add the garlic, chili and ginger and cook for 2 more minutes, stirring. Then add all the spices and mustard seeds. Cook for another 1 minute, stirring.

4) Tip in the potatoes and a cup of water and bring to the boil. Stir well to get the potatoes coated then add the mushrooms and turn down to a simmer.

5) When the liquid has reduced, add the lemon juice and salt, followed by the spinach. Cook 3-4 minutes until the spinach is well wilted. Sprinkle with Nigella seeds and serve with Basmati rice (or naan if you prefer) and chutney.

Serves 2 very well for a main.

Strawberry and Almond Divine

I planned on this recipe coming out like the frangipani tarts I have made before, but the creme patisserie that I made from a fairly distant memory didn't set as I had remembered. As I result I ended up folding it into whipped soy cream for a smooth, indulgent dessert. It was licked clean from the plates.

This makes 1 smallish tart, for 2-3 people (or would make 2 individual small tarts). The recipe would be easily doubled to make a larger dessert. The soy whipping cream was fairly hard to get hold of, I ordered it especially in from my local health food shop. The brand is Soya Too.

Ingredients:

For the almond pastry...

75g plain flour

50g ground almonds

25g vegetable margarine (the firm kind, like Stork)

40g caster sugar

1 egg yolk

1/2 Tbs cold water

For the creme patisserie filling...

2 egg yolks

1/2 tsb vanilla essence

50g caster sugar

1 Tbs cornflour

300ml non-dairy milk (I used oat milk)

150ml soy whipping cream

To top it off...

4 large, ripe strawberries

a little honey, melted

To make:

1) Turn the oven to 200°c or gas mark 6 and grease the pie dish/ramekins you want to use.

2) Combine the flour, ground almonds, sugar and margarine in a bowl, and either rub together or whizz in a food processor until it has the appearance of fine crumbs. Add the egg yolk, mix well, then add the water and mix until well combined. Put the mix in the fridge for at least half an hour.

3) Roll the pastry out on a clean, floured surface and line the pie dish. Cut some greaseproof paper to fit in the bottom of the dish, lay it over the pastry and then cover with some raw beans, or ceramic baking beans for the posh option. Bake it blind it in the oven for 20 minutes until lightly golden. Remove the beans and baking paper and return to the oven for a final 5 minutes. Set aside to cool completely and turn off the oven.

4) Put the milk in a small saucepan over a medium/low heat and to warm.

5) In a medium sized bowl, beat the egg yolks well, then gradually add the sugar and beat until really thick. Add the vanilla.

6) Spoon about a tablespoon of the warm milk into the egg mix and mix together well, then add it all to the pan with the cornflour, heating the mix and stirring continuously for about 10 minutes.

7) Remove from the heat, pour into a bowl and leave to cool completely in the fridge.

8) Whip the soy cream with electric beaters for about 2 minutes until stiff. Gently fold this, a spoonful at a time, into the creme patisserie. Put this mix in the fridge.

9) Cut the strawberries in half lengthwise and melt the honey.

10) Spoon the creme patisserie into the pastry shell, arrange strawberry halves on top and brush a little honey over the strawberries. Refrigerate until you are ready to eat.