Thursday, March 15, 2007

Quick Dinner


Things are getting busier and busier!! My Eat, Drink and Be Vegan manuscript is due mid-April. I am finalizing the last ten or so recipes, editing all the recipes and writing to pull the entire book together.

Since the 'main course' recipes are finalized for the book, most dinners these last couple of weeks have been quick and simple. Like this pizza.

Any of you 'old-timers' to this blog have seen variations of this hummus pizza before. This time, I used my new recipe for Almond Red Pepper Hummus (which, by the way, is ahhhmazing!). I slathered the hummus on a whole-wheat tortilla (prebaked just to get crispy), topped it with sun-dried tomatoes, olives, parsley and scattering of Lightlife Tempeh Bacon. Bake at about 400 or 425 for just about 6-10 minutes... enough just to heat it through, and then presto! Ready to eat!

Since this pizza was fairly rich and pungent with the salty toppings, I paired it with a very big fresh salad (more than you see on this plate). Lots of greens, cukes, mini bell-peppers, tomatoes, sliced green onions, and then tossed the lot with Lemon Zinger Vinaigrette from Vive. I LOVE this vinaigrette, it is quite tangy and lemony, and just the perfect type of salad dressing to cleanse your palate when eating spicy, rich, or 'heavier' main courses.

Have you tried the Lemon Zinger Vinaigrette yet? Do so! It's so refreshing and tangy. Recently I've been using walnut oil in place of the olive (or hemp) oil listed in the recipe, and it's delicious... and another great source of omega 3's!

Oh, when the pizza is ready to serve, give it a nice drizzle of a good olive oil (or use your balsamic-flax oil).

10 comments:

Heather said...

Looks so yummy. I have not eaten any pizza in a long while when I gave up cheese. I made an all veggie pizza the other night and I have to say it was better than any cheese pizza!!! I wish I didn't wait so long. I will give hummus a try. I saw in an older post you were coming out with a DVD. When and where can I get one?
Heather

scottishvegan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
scottishvegan said...

The pizza looks very yummy! I will need to try the Lemon Zinger Vinaigrette...I have a bottle of walnut oil languishing in the fridge because I don’t know what to do with it...thanks for the idea!

Teresa said...

Dreena, good luck with all the final editing. I know thats definitely not the most fun of the stages. But how exciting, for you to be so close to finished!

I love your hummus tortilla pizzas- so quick, easy, versatile and most of all yummy! I can't wait to try it out with your new almond red pepper hummus. Next- I must try balsamic flax oil (I just have to suck it and pay the big buck for flax oil).

Teresa

JENNA said...

almond red pepper hummus sounds ahhhmazing!!
good luck fininishing up the manuscript!

JENNA

Anonymous said...

Dreena-
We love Lemon Zinger Vinagrette! It is sooo yummy on top of you broccoli walnut phylo pie. And salad. And sandwich wraps...
I am making your Sunny Squash Pizzas from Vive this week. Any tips?

Aurelie said...

Good luck with finishing up!

aimee said...

O, I just love your lemon zinger vinaigrette! So perfect on so many types of salads (especially spinach w/ mushrooms, red onion and mandarin oranges!)! The new hummus sounds scrumptious! I just made some hummus with chipotle peppers that is really yummy!
Thanks for working so hard on your new book, Dreena! We, your fans, sure do appreciate you!
Aimee

Carrie™ said...

Oh, how I do love pizza! This is such a quick alternative to traditional. No waiting for dough to rise. I haven't tried the lemon zinger but you make it sound so good, I have no choice now.
I'm planning on making sunflower lentil pie for the first time and I'm wondering if you serve it with any of your sauces or just plain. I thought I saw a post about it a while back, but I couldn't find it here, so maybe it was on someone else's blog. Thanks in advance Dreena!

Dreena said...

Hi Heather, I agree, I think well-seasoned veg pizzas are far better than their cheese-laden counterparts! The dvd is just a little later than we expected, but should be ready for ordering within a few weeks. Once they are, I'll mention it here in a post and where to link to purchase it... thanks!

There you go, Scottishvegan, instant solution for that walnut oil! Hope you like it as much as I do!!

Hiya Teresa, yeah, the flax oil is expensive, but worth the money for its nutritional value. Look for occasional specials in your health food store, just make sure it's well refrigerated. Thanks for those good luck wishes too. :)

Thanks Jenna!

Hi mom2wilmo, oh yeah, those two ARE yummy together... I forget that sometimes, even though I mention it in the cookbook!! For the SS Pizzas, use a cark orange squash, like a butternut, rather than a lighter, less flavorful squash like acorn. Go with a deep orange variety as mentioned in the recipe. Also, try to caramelize your onions a little bit if you can - will make the overall taste that much better!! Oh, and definitely a drizzle, either the flax/balsamic oil that I mention in the recipe, or the Lemon Zinger Vinaigrette would also be good. Good luck, hope you like 'em!

Thanks Liliy!

Ah, Aimee you're a sweetie, thank you. That salad combo you mentioned sounds really good too, with lots of flavors in there!

Hi Carrie! I don't have much time/patience for pizza dough, so either I buy a prepared crust or I use the tortillas, which I particularly love with bean spreads/hummus. Oh yes, yes, for that pie most definitely serve it with a sauce. The Sesame Mustard Tahini Sauce from Vive or the Tahini-Tamari Sauce from TEV. Very good with either of those sauces! Let me know how you like it!! :)