Who needs pizza delivered when you can make it!

I love beer and pizza as much as the next guy. Working at a laser tag centre with a pizza kitchen as a teenager (okay, and working there again now) meant lots of staff pizza heavy with cheese and not much else, maybe some ham & pepperoni (ew). I also had quite an affinity for BBQ chicken pizza for some time during my teenage years… Once I got over that and remembered my lactose intolerance, I didn’t eat pizza for ages and when I did it was a vegetarian without cheese on thin base… so pretty much exactly the same as I would order now if I was getting pizza delivered! The only Vegan pizza place (at least near me), Plush Pizza, closed down a few months ago and I resent having to pay through the nose for a pizza I can stomach at a gourmet shop, and I can tell you that making pizza bases at work with just tomato paste and garlic are pretty boring. 

There was a delivery error at work recently and I scored a bunch of thin wholemeal pizza bases. When we had a “Girls watching the Footy” night, I made pizzas and sweet potato fries and we drank Sailor Jerry & dry. Yum! The pizza was pumpkin purée, with soy cheese and rosemary, baked in the oven and then topped with fresh roquette (arugula). It was pretty awesometown. I was a bit inspired by the Organico pizza at Lucky Coq/Bimbo Deluxe which was my favourite but since I found out they use the brand of soy cheese that still contains rennet, I haven’t gone back for it.

Pumpkin, rosemary & mini-chol with roquette

The next one I made got interrupted, as I had oven issues (like learning how to use it) and then my lift to my dance workshop arrived just as the timer went off, so we ended up sharing it after class. I used a plain tomato and basil pasta sauce as a base and put spinach, mushrooms, red capsicum, tomatoes, olives, pine nuts and crumbled Cheezly over the top. It was heaven post workout. I grabbed a photo before I put it in the oven but because I turned the oven off and ran out the door, it wasn’t as photo-fresh when I got back. Still amazing to eat though.

Before it went into the oven

 Here’s my most recent creation – leftovers pizza. Which I feel is pretty much what pizza was invented for anyway, right? It collected pumpkin purée, zucchini, eggplant,  red capsicum, broccoli, vegie roast, red onion and mini-chol soy cheese. Loved it. Actually found it so filling that I could only eat half, even post-run. I took two slices to a friend to prove I can cook/assemble and two slices to go with my lunch salad the next day. Really happy with how it turned out. I’m a bit fussy with organizing my toppings though, I’d hate to have someone watch me and think I have OCD. Hah.

Leftovers pizza

I also made a garlic pizza last weekend using Nuttelex, garlic and mixed herbs and then just cut it into small triangles and served in a bowl as an afternoon snack with my housemate & guests. So quick & easy. I’m definitely going to keep some bases in my freezer now that I’ve used them a few times with great results. The ones I use are Bazaar Wholemeal bases. Bazaar make individual serve bases as well but I haven’t seen them in wholemeal yet. I tend to eat a whole pizza anyway because it’s mainly vegetables. Just keep me away from the garlic bread, I will inhale that stuff!!

What’s your favourite pizza topping?