Beetnik pizza

Remember how I went crazy with Babs when I first started this vegan eating experiment? Well, I quickly figured out that daily, fresh, homemade loaves of bread in the house were actually going to increase my dairy products significantly . . . in the form of cottage cheese on my thighs.

So, Monday through Friday, Babs gets some downtime. But come the weekend, we fire her up for what has become our family favorite -- homemade pizza. I told you recently that I was surprised by how much I enjoyed pizza with no cheese. Look at me. It's obvious I didn't get where I am today without loving pretty much all foods, and among my most treasured has always been cheese. So, please, believe me when I tell you how good pizza can be without it.

Pizza crust in the breadmaker
3/4 t. salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 t. active dry yeast
1 and 3/8 cups water (70-80 degrees F)
3 T. olive oil

Combine all ingredients into bread pan.
Select dough setting.
Pat dough into 12x15-inch jelly roll pan or 14-inch round pizza pan.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Spread pizza sauce over dough. Sprinkle toppings over sauce.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

I'm in charge of the crust. Paul (and his sidekick/sous chef Eloise) does the toppings.
Here is what we ended up with this weekend.

Babs does her magic.


Getting the dough patted down.
We're teaching her to spin it next weekend.
(Oh, and yes, those are Elo's shoes in the window sill.
Posey has developed a taste for sole food. Ba-dum-bump!)


Paul whipped up a whole bevy of yummy veggies
for toppings.
carmelized onions
sauteed mushrooms
diced roma tomatoes in olive oil, basil, and crushed garlic
roasted corn
kalamata olives


For sauce, we like the pizza sauce from Trader Joe's.
Then, just a sprinkling of cheese on one corner
for Eloise . . .
and, voila!



Getting rave reviews from a tough crowd . . .


Posey enjoyed her favorites, too. Cheese and grapes.

There you have it. Pizza a la Beetnik. I love it because we save money, we know exactly what is going into our dinner, we have leftovers, and we have a good time working together.

The only thing I would change would be the components of the crust. I'd like it to be whole wheat -- that recipe we're using is the one that came with Babs' manual. If you have a good, whole wheat pizza crust that can be made in a bread machine, would you pass it along to me, please?

Oh, and what are your family's favorite toppings?

Weigh-in Wednesday

According to the scale this morning, I lost one pound last week. Well, I'm calling it one pound. I made the mistake of stepping off, and then stepping back on, the scale three times. Obviously, I have trust issues. But the scale read -2, -1, and -.8. So I'm settling on the middle-of-the-road -1.

I have to say, I expected a little more than that. But I can see why it wasn't more. Ever since that clever vixen known as the Bad Ass Bread Machine (or Babs, as I like to call her) entered our lives, I've been carbo-loading on fresh bread for at least 2 meals each day. I think it's time to revisit one of my basic goals for this vegan trial-run, which is: Eat more fruits and veggies!

In true chunky girl fashion, I've been gravitating toward old familiars lately. Oh, they're vegan, but they're not exactly holding up the base of any food pyramids out there, you know? Sour cherries, anyone? Wine. Bread with Earth Balance (vegan, buttery-like spread). Chips.

So, I'm not going to abandon Babs, but maybe I should consider limiting the bread to one meal per day? That sounds reasonable, no?

We'll find out next week.