Eat Dance Live

Once upon a time, there was a modest little bakery at the corner of Bank and Gloucester Street, named Bread and Sons . When they moved into town, the two heroes of our story learned that at 195 Bank Street, they would likely find one of the best vegan pizzas in town. Now, everyone knows that excellent vegan pizza is a rare thing to behold. Fake cheeses and processed soy meats abound, masking the health and deliciousness of what vegan food can be. Few are the vegan pizzas our heroes have truly considered delicious and consumable. Only once before, at Bread & Brew in Washington DC, had they had vegan pizza worthy of raising their four united thumbs to. The quest for a better vegan pizza was theirs to make.  However, life's trials and tribulations kept them from the little Ottawan bakery, and it quickly faded from their memory. Many moons passed... Papers were written, tears were shed, laughter rang within the halls of their home, walks were taken, meals were eaten...

This week's culinary creation was inspired by trying to finish the frozen Ezekiel sprouted corn tortillas that have been sitting forgotten in the freezer for too long. It's also kind of like these no cheese pizzas , but baked a bit for warmth. Problem is, I like these enough that now I just want to buy more tortillas to make more even though the point was to get rid of them... "No Cheese" Tortilla Pizzas Take 3 Yield: 4 "pizzas" 4 Ezekiel sprouted corn tortillas tomato sauce* nut cheese (optional)** toppings (broccoli florets, mushroom slices, roasted peppers, spinach, zucchini) *1/2C soaked sundried tomatoes + 1 date + 1/2 tomato, blended all together  ** 1:1 ratio of cashews and macadamia nuts (about 1/3 to 1/2C each), juice of 1/2 lemon, salt to taste, water (added slowly for consistency), blended slowly adding in water until it makes a thick cheese spread 1. Preheat oven to 325. 2. Layer tomato sauce, cheese, and toppings onto t...

Since we moved to Ottawa, we have a number of go-to places when we need a non-homemade vegan fix. While t he Green Door and the Table were always our favourites, there's a charm and quirkiness to our neighbourhood's  Wild Oat Bakery , which has always made us come back for more. My favourite vegan item on their menu is actually their raw "pizza," which is more of a big salad on a flax cracker. Andrew's is their Vegan "No Cheese" Pizza, which is essentially veggie toppings on a flat bread. Really the catch of that pizza is the sunflower seed-paste type thing they use instead of cheese and tomato sauce, so I knew that would have to be my focus. (For any local readers, their vegan hemp brownies or their raw truffles are to die for.) I knew exactly what to do. We also recently went to Montreal for a long weekend to celebrate the New Year, where we rediscovered our love for Aux Vivres , probably the city's most popular organic vegan haunt. On the fir...

I don't do raw gourmet foods nearly as often as I used to. When I first delved deeper into the world of raw foods, going gourmet was something that quickly became an obsessive culinary habit. Now it's something I probably do once in a blue moon, or in this case, Friday the 13th. Why? Mostly because I learned that I really do love raw foods for their simplicity, for their freshness, for their "alive-ness" so why mix and blend and dehydrate when you can have a food in all its natural glory? I realized that raw gourmet is exactly that: gourmet. It's a treat, something you have every once in a while like for a special occasion or when you want to put your chef cap on for an evening. However, whenever I do choose to go all out, I turn to my trustiest source: the Goddess of raw gourmet, Alissa Cohen and her bible, Living on Live Food . To me, Alissa is like the Julia Child of raw foods, bringing what seems like really complex un-cooking techniques to us plebeians and s...

I am so in love with Alissa Cohen 's pizza recipe... I made another super batch today using her easy pizza crust recipe along with the marinara sauce from her eggplant parmesan recipe and my own permutation of cheese like substance. All of this was topped with my usual favourites: pineapple, black olives, broccoli, and spinach. For the 'cheese', I used: -1 1/2 C macadamia nuts -1/2 C pinenuts -juice of 1/2 lemon -1 tbsp of Braggs Liquid Aminos Just blend in the Vitamix (you could probably add a couple tbsps of water if it's not creamy enough). It made about 2 cups which was enough to cover two 8'' pizzas with a little bit leftover. Though I did used to like pizza, I was never pizza crazy the way college guys are capable of being, but ever since I've discovered the raw version, I can't get enough! I can just hear my stomach screaming 'Piiiizzzzzzaaaa..." the minute the first slice passes through my lips. I think I finally understand how guys feel...