Caramelized Onion and Kale Pizza

I think pizza is a very personal thing. Before I started my vegan adventure, I loved Papa John’s website where you could specify “light” or “heavy” cheese, sauce and toppings. So because of that giving a pizza recipe is very tough! I’ll post approximately what I use and please adjust to what you love.

I purchased a cornmeal crust for this recipe because I was feeling lazy and hungry and didn’t want to take the time to try a recipe that might be awful. Maybe next time I’ll try a recipe.

For the cheese I went to buy Daiya mozzarella because it is amazing and delicious, however Whole Foods was completely sold out, and none of the other mozzarellas they carried were vegan so Brian suggested we try the pepper jack because it “would probably be exactly the same thing.” It wasn’t but it was delicious.

Tonight was a silly night when we went to choose the tomato sauce. While Brian was loudly commenting on how we had to buy the canned sauce because it was cheaper, I noticed Shia Labouf was shopping right next to us. I giggled. I love tomato sauce, I think it is wonderful and I don’t mind buying the plain stuff because I always add a ton of garlic, onions and sometimes-chopped tomato and basil to it. But I thought it was funny that we were so loud about buying cheap sauce next to a movie star.

For the toppings on this one I used kale and caramelized onions, yum! Make sure you put the kale underneath the onions, or it’ll get very crispy. (I’ll do a recipe for kale chips soon. Super delicious.) Spinach can absolutely be substituted. Ugh- just do whatever makes you happy. This is what I did:

Caramelized Onion and Kale Pizza

1 8” pizza crust

¾ cup tomato sauce (more or less to your liking)

¼ cup of shredded vegan pepper jack (or more)

2 big leafs of black kale shredded into small pieces

1 medium red onion (Thinly sliced)

1 clove of crushed garlic

Coconut oil

1.              Preheat oven to 425 or whatever your crust suggests.

2.              Put a little oil in a skillet on low heat.

3.              Add the onions stir till they are covered in oil. Stir occasionally for the next 15 to 20 minutes.

4.              While the onions are going heat up the sauce, add the crushed garlic. Add a few onions too if you want.

5.              Spread the sauce over the pizza crust.

6.              Arrange the kale over the sauce.

7.              Sprinkle the cheese over the kale.

8.              Add the caramelized onions to the top.

9.              Bake for about 12 minutes, until cheese has melted.

10.           Let cool for a few minutes, slice up and enjoy! 

Welcome to Vegodactyl- A Vegan Adventure!

I started eating strictly vegetarian since I was about nine. The taste, texture and idea of it bothered me. I’ve always thought that veganism is a fascinating idea. I've been interested in it for a while now. Recently I decided to not only go vegan, but also give up white flour and white sugar for 10 days. I loved the way I was feeling so much- I decided to keep it up.

Now I'm blogging my adventures in order hopefully stay on track. I’m lucky to have vegan and/or gluten free friends that I can borrow recipes from and try recipes with. I’m even luckier to live with an amazing meat-eating boyfriend (Brian) who not only tolerates my vegan adventures but enjoys them as well. I feel like I can always get a good opinion from him on whether or not a non-veg would enjoy a recipe.

I love all things creative, and cooking is just one of my many loves. With that said, please be sympathetic while I try and learn how to write recipes. I'm very silly and since I was very young, I decided that recipes were more “guidelines” or even “suggestions.” Brian’s been on me for years that whenever I change a recipe to write it down. This blog will be that- but also twist your creative bone. You may discover where I used black beans- kidney beans are better. Or you may change flours or spices; whatever you do have fun and good luck!

Since I just started the transition into a vegan (and hopefully gluten and sugar free!) life, I'm trying to stay healthy and still satisfy my sometimes-scary sweet tooth. Keep an eye out for my favorite recipes, food adventures, reviews, and probably pictures of my kittens. Hope you enjoy.