Choriza Pizza

Vegan. Gluten-free. Yummy. Easy. One pan.

Cornbread base
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup gluten-free flour mix + 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
(or 1 cup regular flour)
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup vegan milk
1 egg replacer
1/4 cup vegetable oil  (or 1/8 cup oil + 1/8 cup apple sauce)

Toppings
1/2 cup or more corn kernels (can be fresh or frozen)
1 package Soy Chorizo
1/2 cup or more of vegan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients of cornbread base. Combine wet ingredients. Mix the two. Pour in lightly greased 8x8 pan.

Spread corn on top. Spread soy chorizo on top of corn. Layer cheese on top of chorizo.

Bake for 20-30 minutes. Let sit a few minutes before serving.

You can make this easier to make if you use a packaged vegan or gluten-free cornbread mix, but this one is pretty easy as it is.

 I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free Flour Mix and Daiya Cheddar Cheese.

Vegan Gourmet Tostada Part II

 Another easy tostada to make:

Chive-talkin' Tostada

Makes one

Corn tortilla
Tomato Sauce (I used my own Green"Red" Sauce)
Daiya Cheese (mozzarella)
Chopped walnuts
Chopped fresh chives
Chopped fresh basil
Cut up cooked yam or sweet potato

Layer on the ingredients. Putting the cheese on last helps it all to stay on the tortilla. Toast in oven or toaster oven until cheese is melted.

Pumpkin Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins

This recipe is based on the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes found in Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. I made it gluten-free and substituted what I had on hand. Here's my version.

Pumpkin Walnut Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients
1 cup of canned Pumpkin Pie Mix
1/3 cup oil
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
(I used 3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour Mix and 1/2 cup Millet flour)
1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum (not needed if using regular flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Topping
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup sugar


Directions
Makes 12 muffins
Preheat oven to 350 F

1. Mix Pumpkin, oil, sugar, milk and vanilla. 
2. I sifted in the flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Stir together with a  fork, but do not over-stir.
4. Fold in chips and nuts.
5. Fill muffin cups two-thirds full.
6. I sprinkled a little sugar and chopped nuts on top.
7. Bake for 22-24 minutes. Check with toothpick for doneness.

With these ingredients, the muffins were very moist and took forever to bake, easily 5-10 minutes longer than the recipe suggested. I made regular size muffins as well as mini-muffins, which take about half the time to bake. Don't over-fill, especially the mini muffins. They are a little crumbly and a big "muffin-top" doesn't hold up well. But eating your mistakes in this regard is not bad thing!

Next time I will reduce the oil and add some apple sauce instead.

The original recipe called for plain canned pumpkin, but all I had on hand was a canned pumpkin pie mix so I reduced the original sugar from 1 cup to 2/3. (I think I could reduce it further, either way.) And I left out the 1/2 tsp cinnamon. The original recipe also called for regular wheat flour, but I needed to make it gluten free so I used what I had left and added the xanthan gum. I also reduced the chocolate chips from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup.

My family (including the finicky 9 year-old) loved these muffins as did my organizer friends at my meeting. I'm making these again very soon!

It's truly a toss-up whether these are muffins or cupcakes. I opted not to icing them, but just sprinkle some sugar and chopped nuts.