Cooking

Cooking With Steve: “Northern Pizza”

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In my book series, there is pizza. Sure the worlds around the star Avenoth are fictional, but pizza exists there. In fact, in two forms: Northern and Eastern.

Eastern pizza is like the pizza we’re used to, with a bit of a Korean/Mediterranean flair. Thin crust, lots of stuff.

But Northern Pizza, the original pizza, is different – its thick bread baked with mashed beans, greens, and spices. A one-stop lunch that originated in large bakeries and working-class restaurants.

So I decided to try and create it. Here’s the recipe – so far

Ingredients:

  • One whole wheat pita or thick, large slice of German Farm Bread or similar thick, dark bread.
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup Hummus (or mash up garbanzo beans, 1 tbsp crushed garlic, 2 tbsp lemon juice).
  • 1 cup highly shredded greens like spinach or highly chopped broccoli. Add some onion if you want.

Instruction:

  • Mix greens and hummus.
  • Spread evenly on bread.
  • Bake until toasted and top is slightly browned.
  • Serve.

I’ve made this a few times and really enjoy it. I’ve got to perfect it a bit, but as a kind of “open face hummus burrito” it’s good. Doubtlessly I’ll experiment more – and maybe tweak my backstories a bit.

Tofu Scrambled Eggs

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This was a hopeful attempt at creating a scrambled egg that was vegan – I have a recipe for egg muffins, but that’s not the same. So I just crossed one of my recipies with some stuff I found online and it worked!

Done right, these are really close to scrambled eggs. The only caution is to not use a firm tofu else it becomes kind of crumbly. Experiment to find what works for you.

Otherwise, whip these up and you can fry them up like any eggs (though I might try baking to make it even more healthy).

Ingredients:

  • 16 oz tofu.  Firm may not be best, you want something soft, so try different kinds depending on your local brand.
  • 1/2 tsp kala namak
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp ground bk pepper
  • 2 tsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

  1. Mix all but tofu together, then slowly fold into the tofu while mashing slightly.
  2. Stir-fry until it browns.

Cooking With Steve: Root Vegetable Mash

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Gonna take a break from posting my healthy recipes and post this for Thanksgiving – this is sort of “Mashed potatoes plus,” putting together lots of root vegetables.

The parsnips add a great flavor, and I suggest swapping in other root vegetables like rutabagas, and maybe kick it up with garlic.

It’s fast, simple, different, and a way to impress people!

  • 2 medium potatoes, diced (peeling optional)
  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, diced
  • 2 parsnips, peeled, diced.
  • About 4-6 cups of water

To prepare:

  1. Put all ingredients in a pot and bring to boil. Cover loosely and keep at a good boil until everything softens.
  2. Place vegetables in dish and reserve about a cup or more of the water.  Mash vegetables, adding water as needed to get a creamy consistency.
  3. Serve with butter, spread, or salt and pepper.

Steven Savage