A Super Easy Vegan Pizza Recipe

I can safely say that I can't cook to save my life. The best I can usually do is throw some dried pasta into a pan and then add a jar of sauce. Unfortunately everyone has to learn how to cook, especially if you're becoming vegan and need new recipes. So here's a really really easy recipe of how to make a vegan pizza. The best part about it is that you can have absolutely whatever you want on top. Perfect for lunch and dinner!

Ingredients:

The dough - Bread flour, 450g

           Yeast, 1 tsp

                  Olive oil, 1 tbsp

             Pinch of salt

              Water, 250ml

            The sauce - Chopped tomatoes, 1 tin

                Olive oil, 50ml
                                2 Garlic cloves, chopped

                              1 Onion, finely sliced    

                Basil, chopped

 Topping suggestions - Pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms, artichoke, red onion, eggplant, etc.

Recipe

1. To make the pizza dough first combine the yeast and warm water. Whisk with a fork and then set aside for 5 minutes.

2. Mix the flour and the salt together in a large mixing bowl including the olive oil and yeasty water. Feel free to mix the ingrediants with a wooden spoon on feel free to use your own hands.

3. Once everything is mixed together into the dough so that it is sticky but also forms into a ball, place on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough  by pushing it back and forth with both hands shown in the image above. Push, rotate 90° and then push into the board and repeat. After ten minutes roll the dough back into a ball, place in a clean bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave in a warm place to rise.

4. Wait for the dough to double in size, usually after about an hour. Separate into however many pizzas you want, place on a lightly floured surface and roll into thin disks with a rolling pin.

5. To make the tomato base heat half of the oil in a saucepan of medium-low flame and throw in the chopped onion, garlic, salt and pepper for 15 minutes. When the onions are transparent add in the fresh tomatoes and the rest of the oil. Cook gently for a further 15 minutes.

6. Add the tin of chopped tomatoes and simmer for an hour. Take the pan off the heat and add the chopped basil. Use a hand-blender to mix for a few minutes.

7. Add the sauce to the rolled out pizza base. Add any ingredients you want. Place in the oven at the highest heat and cook until browned. Serve with salad and garlic bread.

Voila! Vegan pizza, baby ~

Introducing the Thin Tea Teatox

Thin Tea is a detox tea used by thousands of people to predominately help them lose weight. I’d previously tried the tea a year or so ago, and pleased with the results I’ve come back for more. ThinTea were kind enough to send me a 28 day package which includes two different types of teas; the Detox Blend and the Fat Burn Blend, and a cute little tea infuser. The website gives you the choice of a 14 day ($34.95) or 28 day ($69.90) teatox and a number of individual teas.

I don’t tend to ever have bad skin and I’m fairly confident with my body but long flights do bad things to my general well-being. After my grueling flight from Australia to England I’ve had terribly dry skin for a while. I’m hoping that Thin Tea will be able to fix the issue and maybe give me a better body whilst I’m at it. Other than this I can be very prone to bloating, especially when I eat acidic foods so I’m excited to see what the Detox Blend will do for me in this regard.

The detox is meant to be coupled with frequent exercise and clean eating. The website helps you with the nutritional and fitness side of things giving you a guide to follow to optimize your weight loss goals.While I already do a little bit of exercise I'll be upping my game a bit to working out five days a week with the occasional run. I will also not follow a strict diet but encourage myself to choose healthier options and minimize my intake of unnecessarily fatty foods.

I’m not going to beat around the bush here. Teatoxes are notorious for being seen as a scam, the testimonials on their site are accused of being fake and it’s even gone so far that some detoxes are apparently linked with causing illnesses. Although on my first go I was pretty apprehensive of the promises made by some companies, after doing my first two week round of Thin Tea I was definitely happy with my result, hence why I’ve committed to round 2. You can read my previous review here.

I’ll be starting the detox in about a weeks time, after I get back from a short trip to London. Look out on my Instagram @KitsuneKennedy and Twitter for updates!

Sealevel Restaurant, Cronulla

For my 21st birthday we decided to go to Sealevel Restaurant in Cronulla, Sydney for lunch, now one of my favourite restaurants of all time. I've never been a particularly big fan of seafood until I came to Australia. The only thing I would eat would be fish from the chippy or canned tuna; crab and sweetcorn soup from the Chinese I classed as adventurous. Then coming to Oz I realised that the seafood here is immensely better than anywhere in England and it opened up a whole new era for my taste buds.

Sealevel is very upmarket, situated right on the beach with huge open glass windows taking in the entire of North Cronulla Beach. You're best to go for lunch, as when it gets dark you lose one of the restaurants greatest assets, it's amazing view. Anyway, there's something uplifting about it being socially acceptable to have wine at 12pm. The staff there are incredibly kind and flexible if you have any requirements. We went with an autistic woman who tends to become stressed in certain situations and is incredibly picky about her food however the staff were very quick to make her feel comfortable and happy.

The food itself is astonishing. The reason we picked Sealevel in the first place is because one of the women I went with told me a story about how she used to work in catering for a very picky chef. One of the only places in Sydney that this particular chef had any praise for is of course Sealevel. There's ample selection of starters, mains and dessert, most of which are infused with some form of seafood. If you're going with someone who doesn't like fish then naturally this isn't the best place to go, even with the ectra options. The crowning glory is the seafood platter of which you have a choice whether or not to include lobster for an extra $40. As a friendly note definitely add the lobster.

I can confidently say that Sealevel has brought me out of my seafood rut and solidified any curiosity I had about the cuisine. Who knew I'd love baby octopus when I'd never even eaten a prawn until a few months ago.

Cafe Patissez, Canberra

Social media, whether you view it as a blessing or a curse, has undisputed power in getting the word out. One of the most recent case studies that can be found is the now world famous Freakshakes from cafe Patissez in Canberra. In a moment of weeks this fairly unknown cafe became the talk of the internet with just a few Instagram posts of their monster shakes.

One of the things that first confronted me about the place, and quite frankly almost put me off, is that I've read reports that you sometimes have to queue for hours just for a table. Just for some context I went on a Sunday, the busiest day for the cafe, at 3pm, the busiest time. When I first arrived at the cafe I was shocked to see that there wasn't much of a queue at all, although there were tons of people sat down. We waited a mere few seconds before we were at the front of the queue where we were told that they'd text us when there were some free seats, telling us that there would be a fifteen minute wait. Five minutes later and our table was ready. Considering how much people complain about the wait in various articles (although fair enough considering the initial buzz has died down a little) it was one of the quickest and efficient places I've ever been to.

But the milkshakes, my god, the milkshakes were the most insane thing I've ever seen. I'm a dairy drink fanatic and this was something I can barely describe. You get a choice of five different flavours, which change depending on the season. I chose the Gay Pat having not had a Golden Gaytime in my entire life. Now from top to bottom, you begin with a lolly stick (?) of thick caramel coated in chocolate, then there's the chocolate mousse, then around the rim is more caramel and Gaytime pieces, and finally the actual milkshake. I couldn't even drink half of the damn thing. The price is fairly hefty for a milkshake at $13 but I think everyone agrees this is a special case.

Obviously Patissez doesn't just sell Freakshakes, they have an amazing selection of cakes to complement and the new Freak Burger. With such intense milkshakes they have the best savory options to even out your blood sugar levels, with an all day breakfast (always a winner).

I kid you not if you're looking for the perfect balance between Heaven and Hell I guarantee you'll find it at cafe Patissez.

Kawa Café: Bohemian Haven in the City

 The first time I heard of Kawa was when someone invited me for a job interview there. At first I was excited, it seemed like such an awesome place to talk to someone about a job I really wanted, but then learning that it was 15 minutes away from the train station I nearly requested another café. However, going for the second time I couldn’t be happier that I stuck with it. Since then I've been back a number of times, ad hopefully much more in the future.

Kawa is a quaint little café deep in the suburb of Surry Hills, Sydney. Their design is unquestionably boho, wooden tables and a fresh white interior for the inside, metal garden chairs, quilt poofs and tables for the outside. They’re famous for their chai tea, although after also trying their Senchu green tea and to-die-for I can vouch for more than one of their products. Not only are the drinks amazing they come in beautifully patterned china teacups offering the perfect photo opportunity.

As for the food Kawa offers all the healthy options you wish you could make yourself. With one of the best breakfasts in Sydney, so much so even the Veronicas wandered in for a quick bite, Kawa gives a diverse range of nibbles, lunch and breakfast options. Personally I've had the tuna sandwich, full of a ton of beautiful ingredients I can't currently recite, and the savory croissant with ham and cheese. Both were amazing.

The only negative thing I can say is that if you sit outside sometimes the traffic can be loud, especially during peak hours, but that’s to be expected of a café that opens to the fresh air.

Kawa Café is open from 7:30 – 17:00 Mon-Sun.

Sydneysider's Last Minute Valentine's Day

It’s only one day to Valentine’s people and I’m guessing a small percentage of you haven’t actually arranged anything yet. Don’t fret; I have the perfect list of what to do with your other half in Sydney that can be organised in a matter of minutes.

Go for Dinner

As of now it's almost a guarantee that the restaurants in the city won't have any reservations whatsoever. You can try, sure, but chances are you'll fall flat on your face. But this doesn't mean you have to rule out a romantic meal in an amazing restaurant. Start looking further afield in your own suburbs, there are plenty of places to eat. And it doesn't have to be for dinner, go for breakfast or lunch while the suns still up.

Moonlight Cinema

Maybe you were thinking of taking your bae to 50 Shades of Grey? If you want to go the classier way rethink your night and take them to the Moonlight Cinema to see Breakfast at Tiffany’s under the stars. Bring along your own snacks or take advantage of the onsite food vendors for a casual but magical evening. The Moonlight Cinema is based in Centennial Park,

Cupid’s Undie Run

At 2pm Sydney kicks off its third Cupid's Undie Valentine’s run. The twist? Strip down and run 1.5km in just your tighty whiteys. The reason I’ve included this is because you’re able to go with your little darling if you feel like having a massive change to the normally classy day, or with a group of friends. And at the end of the day you’ll feel like you’ve done something truly rewarded as all the money you raise goes to the Children’s Foundation of Australia.

Hike

This might just be me but I find that hikes can be incredibly romantic, especially when you’re surround such natural beauty like Australia holds. If you’re looking for a cheap alternative to Valentine’s then taking a picnic and going for a wander in the national park or even around the Botanic Gardens should be the top of your list.

Go to the Beach

 Now if there' one thing Sydney is known for it's their pristine beaches. Just because it's Valentine's Day doesn't mean you have to stick to the traditional ways of celebrating it. Go to Bondi on the 29 day and hire a Bondi Beach Cruiser for just $25 for the whole day and cycle on your Valentine's Day. Alternatively take a roadtrip to one of Sydney's lesser known beaches, which on the day, if you're lucky will be completely derelict. Go with a picnic and you're set for the day.

El Gordo: Bendigo's Spanish Secret

If there’s one thing I had to choose about Bendigo which I loved above anything else it would be Chancery Lane, a beautiful little alley hiding some of Bendigo’s best kept secrets, one of which being El Gordo. Stopping for a quick coffee doesn’t have to mean finding the easiest café to swing in to. This place alone is practically in the heart of the town and boasting a million fliers for future and past events it’s like a rejuvenated quirky information post.

Although the actual café is probably smaller than your bedroom there is ample seating outside where the walls are decorated with plants and weird little sketched art pieces. Even more predominantly local bands, folk music and one-man guitar solos casually play outside making the café possibly one of the smallest venues ever. One of the reasons El Gordo is such a hit with the locals (and the tourists who stumble across it) is the ambiance and sheer character of the laneway. Stumble down a few more meters and you’re met with clothing stores from thrifty to high-fashion, salons and even a rest stop for your pooch.

With a mix of delicious food and fine beverages it’s a great place to unwind and relax without having to be situated right in front of a road. Light lunches range from pastries to --. Even if you have a sweet tooth white chocolate muffins and macaroons await. The drinks are coupled with strawberries instead of marshmallows, a welcome change from the sloppy sweet substance you have gooing up the bottom of your mug after the milk has gone. One more thing I must add in about the hot chocolate, it tastes like a bloody hot chocolate, not warmed up milk with a little bit of a sprinkle, actual heated up chocolaty goodness. I’ve had better so I’ll try not to hype it up too much but compared to a lot of the places in El Gordo’s vicinity it’s your best bet if you like your drinks made with sense.

All in all I have a single golden nugget of advice for you, go there. Even if just for a quick snoop it’s one treasure of Bendigo that you can’t afford to miss.