Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone has a great day celebrating our Independence! 

For some reason I'm extra excited about this weeks recipe. My inspiration for this was a recipe from "fine cooking." It's somewhat of a unique idea, sort of like a refreshing flat bread- a nice summer meal, maybe I'll even have it with a glass of wine (it must be holiday! :)) Our zucchini is fatter than the kind we can buy in the store and that will work great in this recipe.

I think I mentioned in a previous week that I love beets; if you don't you can leave them out of this recipe (like the photo.) 

What you'll use from your bag:

• Zucchini (about 3-4 zucchinis, cut in thinly sliced rounds)
  
• Beets (1 or 2, shredded- raw)
  
• Garlic (roasted, directions here)
  

What else you'll need:

• All-purpose flour (1-1/4 cups)
• Cold Vegan Butter (2/3 cup)
• White vinegar (1/2 tsp.)
• Cold Water (3 or 4 Tbs.)
• Olive Oil (2 Tbs.)
• Salt & Pepper
• Cashew Nut Cheese (see recipe here)

First, make the dough:

• Place the flour, cold butter, and a little salt in a food processor and mix/pulse until the butter is in small pieces
• Add the vinegar and cold water and continue pulsing until the dough forms
• Shape the dough into about a 1 inch thick disk, then wrap in plastic and place in the fridge for 30 minutes (look to the next section for preparations while you are waiting for the dough)
• Roll the dough onto a floured service into an 11 inch round, transfer to a backing sheet or pizza pan; then cover with plastic and refrigerate another 30 minutes (or until you are ready to use it)

Next, more preparations:

• Roast the garlic (recipe from last week, here, at the bottom of the page)
• Toss the zucchini rounds with 1/4 tsp of salt and place in a strainer, let sit & drain for 30 minutes
• Prepare the cashew nut cheese (recipe here)
• Preheat oven to 400
• Process 1 or 2 roasted garlic cloves with the cashew cheese in a food processor

And then...:

• With your hands squeeze the zucchini to release all the water, then place in a bowl and toss with 1 Tbs. of olive oil and some dashes of pepper.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and bake for 30 minutes
• Spread the cashew cheese evenly on top
• Then arrange the zucchini in overlapping circles (like the photo) 
• Drizzle the remaining 1 Tbs. of olive oil on top
• Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until zucchini is slightly browned

Finally...:

• Remove tart from oven. 
• Top with dollops of shredded raw beets
• Cut and Enjoy

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday! Namaste

We had two other couples over from different
boats for pizza night on Santosha.  Everyone made pizzas- we had a lot and ate a lot!  My contribution was a pesto pizza (this recipe) and tomato vegetable. 

This is really a recipe for the pesto; you can use any pizza crust you like (or try this one from me.)  This time I used a fresh pita that I frequently buy from the bakery but if fresh pitas aren’t an option for you I suggest making a crust or you can always buy crust or pitas….

These ingredients will work for 4, 10” round pizzas
Start preheating the oven at 375

What you’ll need (for the pesto):
-1/3 cup pine nuts
-1/2 cup olive oil
-1/4 cup nutritional yeast
-1 tbls. lemon juice
-1 ½ cups basil leaves (no stems)
-3 cloves of garlic (leave it out if you’re on a more satvic diet)
-salt & pepper to taste

What’s Next (for the pesto):
-Toast the pine nuts in a pan for a couple minutes
-In a food processor mix all the ingredients (including the pine nuts) until well blended
*If it’s too chunky/thick for your taste add a bit more olive oil.  If it’s not thick enough add more basil

What you’ll need (for the toppings)
-Nut Cheese (click for recipe)
-1 cup green pepper (thinly sliced)
-1 cup spinach leaves
-1 cup zucchini (sliced in half moons)
-16 tomato slices (4 for each pizza)
-4 pitas or pizza crusts

What’s Next:
-I always prebake my crust or pitas until spots of light brown start to show before I put on any toppings
-In a pan with a splash of olive oil sauté all the vegetables except the tomatoes- not for long just til the spinach is wilted
-Put plenty of pesto on your pre-baked crusts/pitas
-Use a fork to drag the nut cheese on top (it will get mixed in with the pesto but it’s fine)
-Arrange the vegetable toppings as you desire and put back in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, or a bit longer if you’re using a thicker crust

Enjoy pizza night!
*Feeds 4 Martys*

We very recently came back from visiting the states where I picked up some inspiration to create some new dishes.  In Chicago, NYC, and Baltimore, it was so nice to eat at actual vegan restaurants again!  I’m experimenting with easy raw recipes.  I’d like to get more into raw “cooking” but we don’t have room for a dehydrator or other materials needed for such recipes. In the states I did pick up a new puree machine from Sur La Table that was on sale for $49.  Previously I had been using this small one that I’ve had for 10
years and cost about $10.  It’s done the job for me for a long time but I had to do everything in batches and now my new 4 cup puree-r seems luxurious. 

This week, using my new puree-r, I made my first attempt at a half-raw pizza.  It is now near the top of Marty’s “favorites” list.   

What you’ll be preparing: pizza dough, any raw veggies you like, raw nut cheese, raw pizza sauce

For the Pizza Dough:
You can always buy fresh
pizza dough but this is a good easy recipe that I like to use:
**Makes enough for 2 fairly thin crust, 8 ½ x 11 pans**
• 3 Cups flour
• 1 Pack dry yeast
• 2 tbls. Oil (canola, vegetable, sunflower)
• 1 Cup of 100 degree water
• *a little salt and sugar if you like those things

Mix all the dry ingredients together then add the oil and water.  Mix and knead the dough with floured (or oiled) hands until completely incorporated then let sit covered for 10 minutes or so.  Spread some flour on the counter or whatever service you’ll be rolling out the dough so it doesn’t stick.  Form the crust in your pan or pizza stone.  I use half the dough on an 8 ½ x 11 pan because that’s all that I have to fit in my oven! Then bake the crust at 375 until it shows signs of golden brown on the top.

Meanwhile, make the nut cheese and pizza sauce…

Raw Nut Cheese:
**This will make enough (or more) for your two pizza crusts**
•  1 cup of macadamia nuts, cashews, or any other white nut (preferable soaked for an hour)
• ½  lemon juiced
• ½  teaspoon salt or ½  celery stalk for a salt-free version
• (optional)chunk of onion 
• water to blend while using your puree-r or blender
• (note) you can add any twist you like to this basic recipe, I use local sweet & spicy peppers.

Put everything in your blender of choice and pulse- keep adding
small amounts of water until well mixed but not at all runny.  Remove the
nut cheese from the blender and set aside.


Raw Tomato Sauce
**This will make enough (or more) for your two pizza crusts**
• 1 ½  cups baby grape tomatoes
• 1⁄2 cup raisins
• ½  lemon, juiced
• 2  garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup fresh basil or tablespoon of Italian Seasoning or dry basil
• sea salt to taste

Add everything in your blender of choice
and blend until smooth. Adjust for flavor and set aside.


Very Lightly Sautéed Veggies:
We like to cover our whole pizza with veggies.  This last I used…
• Broccoli
• Variety of Bell Peppers
• Spinach
• Sliced Roma Tomato
• Fresh Basil

Cut the veggies up to the size you like for your pizza.  This
time, in a small bit of olive oil, I briefly sautéed the broccoli, spinach, and
bell peppers until the broccoli just turned bright. Remove from heat.


Now, your pizza crust should be done and you can begin assembling your pie.   This is the fun part…I have previously spread the nut cheese on first and also tomato sauce first- experiment or do half and half- whatever. In the picture the tomato sauce is the base. But lets say you spread the nut cheese on first.  Use a spreader to lay a good amount all over your crust. Then, arrange your sautéed veggies then add the sliced tomato.  Now, using a small spoon, take on spoon full at a time of the tomato sauce and drag it along
the length of the pizza in rows.  Sprinkle the fresh basil on top.  At
this point your pizza is ready to eat or you can pop it in the still warm oven
for 5 minutes or so to warm everything up.


***One 8 ½ x 11 pizza crust (the dough recipe makes 2 crusts) is enough for 2 hungry Martys!***