Vegan Caramelized Onion Pizza

I've had periodic vegan stretches in my life, and these were not years notable for my enjoyment of pizza. No-cheese pizza is usually a depressing disappointment. But it doesn't have to be. It takes time (and thyme), but you can make an entirely vegan pizza that will leave nobody feeling the slightest bit deprived. Caramelized Onion Pizza is Henry's worst nightmare (he calls it "Ucky Slimy Bits Pizza), but to me it's a dream come true.

Vegan Caramelized Onion Pizza 
Makes a 16-inch pizza. Serves 4.

1 recipe pizza dough (try this one - you won't be sorry!)
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 pounds onions, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon thyme
generous pinch black pepper
optional pinch cayenne pepper
7-ounce jar roasted red pepper, drained well and chopped
1/2 cup black olives, pitted and halved

Prepare pizza dough and set aside to rise.

Warm olive oil on medium heat in a deep skillet, add onions, garlic, bay leaves, and salt, and stir until it sizzles. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 50 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500.

Uncover onions, remove bay leaves, add thyme, pepper, and optional cayenne (and more salt if necessary), increase heat to medium and cook uncovered for 10 more minutes to brown onions and evaporate most of the liquid. Turn off heat and stir in red pepper and olives.

Press pizza dough into pan. Spread onion mixture on top, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the perimeter.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Let pizza cool a few minutes before slicing and serving. Try it with a cold glass of rosé.

Let Jake Eat Cake

Now for a short pause in the cooking lesson proceedings while we commemorate a slew of Lovesmiths milestones: Henry is graduating from 8th grade; Jonah, just home from his first year of college, landed his first job and will turn 19 in a few days; and Jake got tenure at Northwestern. We have been doing our fair share of celebrating, but things took a greater turn for the festive when our friend Dale Lawrence arrived up at our apartment last week bearing an Atomic Cake. I am an okay baker, but there is nothing I could make that approaches the gorgeousness, deliciousness, or outrageousness of this south side chocolate/banana/strawberry/vanilla/cream classic. I can't imagine a more appropriately celebratory slice of food.

The Quest for Super Thin and Truly Delicious Pizza Crust

The Quest for Super Thin and Truly Delicious Pizza Crust taught me as much as it taught Henry. I can't claim any amount of expertise in crust-making, so we have been figuring it out together, trying different recipes, and soliciting advice from friends.

We wanted thin, crisp, and flavorful. We also wanted whole grain, but our 100 percent whole-wheat flour attempt was too dense and heavy. A friend suggested using whole wheat pastry flour instead of regular whole wheat, and using it in combination with unbleached white flour. Bingo. I wanted a slightly sweet note, and a friend's recipe that called for honey inspired me to add a little maple syrup, just a little, and wow. Olive oil and a generous dose of salt rounded out the flavor.

When you start researching pizza crust, you quickly discover the millions of pizza stone advocates out there. They are convincing. They will make you believe that it is not possible to make a good pizza without a stone. I was sold, but when I priced pizza stones I changed my mind - I want to get one someday, but it's out of my budget right now. Instead, I bought this very cheap 16-inch pizza pan:

It works great! Don't let the pizza stone people deter you. But if you have one already, this recipe should translate well.

Pizza Crust
Enough for a 16-inch pizza.

2 cups flour (we like a blend of unbleached white and whole wheat pastry)
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt (or a little less if that scares you)
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup warm water

You can do this by hand with a wooden spoon, or in a stand mixer.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together water, maple syrup, and olive oil.

Add water mixture to flour mixture and stir until everything is well combined. This will just take a few seconds in a mixer, a little longer if you're working by hand. Dust your hands and a clean surface lightly with flour, turn dough onto the surface, and knead briefly (1 minute or less) until it comes together into a smooth ball.

Oil a clean bowl, place the dough in it, cover with a towel, and set aside to rise for about an hour while you prepare your sauce and toppings. (sauce recipe and topping suggestions coming next week!)

Preheat oven to 500.

Lightly oil your pizza pan or do whatever you do with your fancy pizza stone.

When you're ready to bake:
Put the dough in the middle of the pan and press and stretch it, starting from the center and moving to the edges, until it covers the whole pan. Pinch around the edges to make a rim.

We got good results with pre-baking the crust before adding any sauce or toppings. I recommend that you bake the crust for 5 minutes, remove from the oven, add toppings quickly, and then return to the oven for 9 or 10 more minutes, for a total baking time of 14-15 minutes.

Mission accomplished!

Mission: Pizza

Henry wants to learn how to make pizza, which is not something I've mastered, so we are learning together. Attempt number one -  red sauce, arugula, and a little mozzarella on a whole wheat crust - was good, not great. We need a better crust recipe, and next time we need to stretch it all the way to the edge. We want thin crust, crispy crust, flavorful crust. If you have any tips or recipes, please share!

Mission not accomplished. To be continued next week. It's a tough job, but somebody's really got to.

Fried Eggs and Asparagus

I have been swooning over asparagus this spring, and gearing up to teach Henry 101 ways to prepare it, but he requested homemade pizza-making lessons, which means this is my final word on asparagus, for now. Given that, I thought I'd better teach Henry how to make Fried Eggs and Asparagus.

Henry already knows how to fry an egg, so this was really a lesson in roasting asparagus, my favorite technique for cooking my favorite vegetable. Roasting intensifies its flavor, and I love how the tips get browned, frizzled, and crispy.

Whenever I make this you would seriously think I've prepared an elaborate three-course feast, the way my family carries on. It's pretty satisfying to toss asparagus stalks in the oven, fry up some eggs, pile it all together, and find yourself greeted at the table like some kind of culinary genius.

Fried Eggs and Asparagus
Serves 4

2 lb asparagus, washed, patted dry, hard ends snapped off
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
8 eggs
Salt
Pepper
Optional grated cheese (parmesan is good)

Preheat oven to 375

Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper

Put asparagus in a mixing bowl and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 2-3 generous pinches of salt. Use your hands to coat every spear with oil and salt. Spread asparagus in a single layer on cookie sheets and roast undisturbed for about 20 minutes. If you're not sure if it's done, eat some to check. Just try not to eat it all.

Warm remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in two frying pans over medium heat and crack 4 eggs into each. Cover and cook until whites are set but yolks are still a little soft.

To serve:  Divide asparagus onto four plates, top each with two eggs, season generously with pepper and salt, and add optional cheese. Don't delay, serve immediately.

Pasta Primavera

Who cares about your cheap fork, bent out of shape, when the dish it's spearing is fresh and herby and cooked in one pot in twenty minutes, and includes the year's first asparagus?

This is Pasta Primavera, a Lovesmiths standard, a recipe included in the handmade cookbook I assembled twelve years ago for my husband during a hectic period when I was working full-time during the day and playing in a couple of bands at night, and couldn't manage to always make dinner for the family. It was called "The Man's Cookbook" and I wish I could find it, but it has moved across the ocean a couple of times and I don't know if it fell off a boat or dropped into a corner, but I haven't been able to dig it up.

Fortunately, I couldn't forget this easy recipe. I especially love the technique of parboiling the vegetables, scooping them out, and then using the vegetable cooking water for the pasta. I also love how infinitely versatile it is - you can use any vegetable, any kind of pasta, and any bean - or skip the beans and add cubes of tofu or cheese, especially if your son insists bitterly that you put chickpeas in absolutely every every everything.

It was easy to teach Henry how to make Pasta Primavera since he has loitered around the kitchen many times while it was being made, and has eaten countless versions over the years. He just seemed to know the process instinctively. I will definitely ask him to make this on his own sometime this spring. It'll be sans chickpeas, I'm guessing.

Pasta Primavera
Serves 6-8

1 lb asparagus, hard ends snapped off, cut into 1-2-inch lengths
1 lb broccoli, cut into small florets
2 large carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-2-inch lengths
2 stalks celery, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-2-inch lengths
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
4 cloves of garlic, minced very finely
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons dried basil, thyme, or oregano, or blend of any combination (or double that amount of fresh herbs)
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced. (optional)
1 can, drained, of chickpeas or any kind of white bean, or cubed tofu or cheese.
1 lb pasta
Handful of parsley, minced

Put a large pot of water up to boil. While it's coming to a boil, make the vinaigrette:
Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and herbs in a medium, non-metallic bowl until combined and emulsified. Add chickpeas/beans/tofu/cheese (and optional mushrooms) to marinate.

When water comes to a boil, add a pinch of salt and asparagus, broccoli, carrots and celery. Cook 2 minutes (don't go over), then scoop out into a strainer and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Add additional water to pot if necessary to bring it to approximately 3/4 full, return to boil, and add pasta. Cook according to package directions and drain well.

In a large bowl, combine pasta, vinaigrette and marinated protein and mushrooms, and cooked veggies. Stir gently but thoroughly to combine. Garnish with parsley.

Red Lentil and Cauliflower Curry

Henry and I took our first trip to the Spice House in Evanston last weekend, and had ourselves a little shopping spree.

I was in the market for a hot curry powder, but mainly I wanted us to browse and explore, to get inspired in the same way you get inspired in an art-supply store, and to remember that shopping for food need not always be an exhausting rush through the store, chucking the same old things into a cart. Shopping for food can be a delight.

Shopping at the Spice House was a total delight. It smells amazing, they have free samples of candied ginger (Henry's favorite), and just being there was inspiring in exactly the way I'd hoped it would be. Those overflowing shelves of herbs and spices would make anybody want to rush home and rustle something up.

I found my hot curry powder, but we also nabbed some Himalayan Pink Salt (not sure what to do with it, but it is so pretty), double-strength vanilla ("favored by bakers") and bright red paprika, smoked AND hot, how could I resist? 

Here's the thing we rushed home and rustled up. I'd made a batch of Red Lentil and Cauliflower Curry earlier in the week, using spices from the supermarket, and it was good, but our freshly ground, expertly blended curry powder pushed it right over the top. 

Red Lentil and Cauliflower Curry

Serves 3-4

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 tablespoon finely minced ginger

1 tablespoon hot curry powder

1/2 cup dried red lentils, rinsed and drained

1 cup water

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds

1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk

5-6 ounces fresh spinach, washed and chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

optional: coriander, parsley, or additional spinach to garnish

Heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, and curry powder and stir constantly for 1 minute. Pay attention - you don't want the garlic to brown and you don't want the curry powder to burn.

Add lentils and water, turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.

Add cauliflower, carrots, and coconut milk, bring back to a gentle simmer, and cook covered  over medium-low heat, 10-15 more minutes, until vegetables are tender. 

Add spinach and salt and cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes, until spinach is wilted and bright green.

Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, taste and adjust seasoning, and serve hot with optional garnish.

Would be nice on basmati rice, but we ate it on its own out of bowls and it was totally satisfying.