Sainsbury's Stonebaked Pizza Bases II: Return of the Bases - 13/12/14

A while ago I wrote about these pizza bases from Sainsbury's and how they are the complete tits. Because I liked them so much, I was very quick to use them again, this time in tandem with the cheddar version of the Violife pizza cheese I also wrote about in ^^that^^ post and MOZZARISELLA!!! which is a vegan version of mozzarella cheese. This is the most "real" tasting vegan cheese I have eaten ever ever (and I think I have eaten quite a lot) - it tastes, looks and feels exactly like mozzarella, and it's way better for you as it's completely plant based. Honestly, it's a complete revelation, and it tastes unreal on pizza.

The first pizza we made was pretty much exactly the same as the one in the last post about these bases (sweetcorn and black olives on top, with the additions of the Violife cheddar cheese and the Mozzarisella):

Like last time, it was really tasty and garnishing with basil helped to bring lots of the flavours out. The Mozzarisella really took it up a notch though (I will not stop gushing about this cheese). V good, v tasty.

Pizza rating: 9/10

The other pizza we made, however, was even better. It was a sort of 'spicy meat feast' deal (we had chilli 'beef', fake pepperoni and red chillies on it) and it was so unbelievably dope: 

The spiciness here was what really made it delicious, and in particular the chilli beef was my favourite of all the toppings (vegan chilli beef recipe: put vegan mince in a pan, cook it, fuck a load of hot sauce/liquid smoke/chilli powder/paprika into the pan also, cook it for a bit, put it on the pizza) - it gave such a yummy meaty texture and was overall really tasty. I couldn't really find fault with this pizza: the beef and one red chilli gave the perfect amount of spiciness and I think it might be my favourite home-assembled pizza I have ever had which is cool.

Pizza rating: 9.5/10 (0.5 knocked off because I had to make it myself and also because I had to share it)

I really cannot implore u enough to buy these Sainsbury's pizza bases bc they really take "homemade" pizza to another level. Truly delicious and authentic.

CHEEZLY BLOODY CHEEZLY - more forays into the world of frozen vegan pizza

Holland and Barrett is a pretty essential shop if you are attempting to live that vegan life, because they sell lots of vegan convenience food, and as much as I enjoy being vegan, convenient is often one thing that it is not. One such convenience food is the range of VegiDeli frozen vegan pizzas that they sell (I previously talked about the Cheese and Tomato flavour one here). These pizzas are great because they are topped with vegan cheese (VegiDeli's Mozzarella style Cheezly), and I have been going pretty hard on them lately so I wanted to write about that, because I want to bring my authentic pizza experience 2 u, my loyal readers.

First of all, here is the seasonal 'Festive Pizza' that is currently available in the range:

(sry for shitty picture, me and Ben were sharing/rly hungry so forgot to take a pic of the full thing, but this gives you the right idea) 

The Festive Pizza has on it turkey style chunks, Lincolnshire style veggie sausage, green peppers, sweetcorn and cranberries. It is very very good, and I was especially into the sausage (edit: that's what she said tehe). Unfortunately, like any frozen pizza really, the base is not of great quality, but I would definitely say that the toppings make up for it. If u are in the market for a tasty vegan pizza for like a Christmas buffet or maybe for your second Christmas dinner (lmao u really expect me to celebrate the birth of Jesus with a fucking roast when pizza, his favourite food, exists?) or something then this is your guy. I am considering buying them up so that I can enjoy them in January and prolong the period before my inevitable withdrawal sets in. 

Pizza rating - 8/10

Secondly, here is that Cheese and Tomato flavour pizza again, accompanied by the 'Meatless Feast':

(yep I had two pizzas they are really small get out of my face haters)

Again this is a shit picture, but you get the idea. The Cheese and Tomato pizza is yummy enough - you kind of get what you expect which is not a bad thing. The Meatless Feast is again very tasty - I especially like the pepperoni slices (you can buy those in a packet from VegiDeli's chilled 'meats' range which is also sold at Holland and Barrett but ur reading a vegan pizza blog so you probably already know that) and the ground beef style pieces, but I coulda done without the ham style chunks - the turkey ones on the Festive Pizza are lots superior. Again, the base isn't great but is much improved by a dip (I'd suggest BBQ) and the cheese is Cheezly so you know you can rely on it. 

Pizza rating: 7/10

So yeah these Cheezly pizzas are great when you can't be bothered to make/assemble/order a vegan pizza, and I would especially recommend the Festive one so get your hungry lil mitts on that while u can! Hopefully VegiDeli bring out more limited edition pizzas for me to eat and then tell you about. That would be great.

28/11/14 - Jamie's Pizzeria, Oxford

A cool thing that has happened to me recently (who knew I had a life outside of pizza) is that I now sing in a super dope band called Dot's Funk Odyssey which is made up of people who are at my university and who like (and are really good at) playing funk and soul music. DFO is so great and so full of stupidly talented people that I am not entirely sure how I fooled them all into thinking I am anywhere near good enough to be in it, but it happened and here we are. 

Anyway, enough of the Self Deprecating Humour™ that u have come to ~know and love~ from restinpizza, and onto the actual point of me mentioning the band I'm in (other than for attention and to have people telling me 'omg of course u are good enough to b in DFO hun :-) ur a star xx'). Most weeks before our gigs we eat as a group before we play, and a few weeks ago, PIZZA was our meal of choice. Obviously I was very excited to combine two of my (v professional) interests, and so here is the review of that pizza. 

The night was November 28th, the place was Jamie's Pizzeria (an offshoot of Jamie's Italian which specialises in pizzas, because a man from Essex has not monopolised the Italian restaurant market enough lol) on George Street in Oxford, and the pizza was a special vegan one made just for ya girl over here. As you can see from the picture, they didn't scrimp on the toppings and I was very pleased that when I asked, the ingredients of the dough could be counted on one hand. The crust was thin and crispy, with satisfyingly chewy crusts, the sauce was a pretty standard tomato sauce, and the quality of the veg on top was really good (special shout out to the mushrooms tbh). For a cheeseless pizza, this was very yummy and I think that I would probably go to Jamie's Pizzeria again which is a good sign. Although they were a bit heavy handed with the chillies on my pizza, which was sad. 

After the pizza, we went to play a gig and I truly believe that the pizza made us funkier. Just another of pizza's divine properties, I guess. *looks into the distance, shakes head wistfully*

Pizza rating: 8/10

Jamie's Pizzeria, 24-26 George Street, Oxford, OX1 2AE

at home with pizza - Cheezly and Tomato // some other next pizza I made ft. Sainsbury's bases and Violife pizza cheese

At the minute I cannot afford to be a fancy lady who is wining and dining on delicious vegan pizzas all the time because I am an idiot student who was really bad at trying to save money in the summer. That however is a story for another day.

What I want 2 talk to you about today is (duh) pizza, and more specifically, homemade pizza. I haven't yet taken the plunge into making my own dough (but when I go home for Christmas I swear down it's gonna happen and when I post about it you will all cry like you have seen the face of God) but I have assembled a number of pizzas over the last few weeks, so I can definitely give you the lowdown on what's good in the world of shop-bought(ish) pizza.

So first of all there was this cheezy lil number, which I bought from Holland and Barrett for probably about £3, and then added peppers and tofu:

This is a pizza made by the company which makes all of the Cheezly cheeses (the ones you can get in Holland and Barrett) and it is pretty yum. Though I would not say that the tomato sauce or the base are anything particularly special (this is not to say that they aren't satisfactory/can't be jazzed up with some herbs and olive oil) it is super convenient to be able to go to the shop and buy a vegan pizza with actual cheese on that you can just freeze and then shove in the oven at your behest. I love being vegan, but it is not often this convenient, so this pizza gets plus points for that. My only real downside to this pizza is that it is quite small and is obviously not ready for the jelly of a seasoned pizza eater such as myself, as I could probably easily eat three pizzas this size in one sitting. In all though, I was into this Cheezly pizza/would eat it again/am interested to try the 'meatless feast' variety. 

Pizza rating: 7/10

This takes me onto the second pizza that this post will cover:

This pizza was more of a self-assembly job, but considering the toppings were sweetcorn and olives, it was not very labour intensive. Just letting you know in case you were worried I was putting myself through extreme trauma in the name of pizza. (FYI I would probably put myself through minor trauma for pizza i.e. like maybe I would stub my toe or stand on a plug) I have made lots of this kind of pizza and written about it on this here blog before, but with this one I do actually believe I have perfected the art of the assemble-at-home vegan pizza, because I have found both the optimum crust and cheese. 

The baby angels over at Sainsbury's (big up yourselves Sainsbury's honestly) have, in their Italian section of the fridges, started stocking freshly stonebaked pizza bases which you can top yourself at home. I think that everyone can agree, this is a complete gamechanger. Whilst the types of self-assembly pizza bases you can buy in boxes are okay, they never ever pack that authentic crunch of the crust that you always get with a stone bake. Sainsbury's have changed all of that. They have changed everything. *Prayer hands emoji* 

However, to add to my elation (lol), I also happen to have finally found a truly great vegan pizza cheese (it rivals my love of Tofutti Mozzarella style slices and also smells way less terrible/is not slimy) - take a bow VIOLIFE PIZZA STYLE. A truly cheese-like vegan cheese which is also soy free if that's what you like, it melts absolutely great and gives a very authentic cheesy flavour and texture. I'm also pretty sure it's what Basilico use on their vegan pizzas, so there's that. Put together, this cheese and a Sainsbury's stonebaked base created a pizza that I absolutely love and which will be my home cooked pizza standard for a while to come I think. It reminded me of the Pizza Express shop bought pizzas which I used to absolutely love before I went vegan, so that was a nice trip down memory lane for me. 

Basically, meat/dairy eater or not, get to Sainsbury's and make a pizza on one of these bases bc it will be a tru party in your mouth. And not a shit party either, like one after a christening. I mean a properly sick one, like that one New Year's Eve house party which is actually good and makes you disappointed on every New Year's that follows it. 

Pizza rating: 9/10

That is it from me now folks - until next pizza xoxo

Voodoo Ray's, Dalston - 1/11/14

When people hype stuff you automatically go in expecting fireworks. It's why I thought Nando's was going to change my life in 2010, and it's why I bought some New Balance last year and some Nike Free Runs this summer (don't worry I hate myself so you don't have to). Hype, therefore, is obviously terrible.

But apparently I never learn not to trust it, because I was super pumped to go to Voodoo Ray's last Saturday. I heard they did vegan pizza by the New York-style slice, all of which sounded more than good to me, but I shoulda known better (actually feel a Tay Swift style ballad about this place coming on). The pizza was… okay. We ordered 4 slices of their vegan special which had a bunch of veggies and a pesto-like sauce on it, but, um, they dropped one of our slices and we had to get like a Halloween special with a curried pumpkin base. It was fine, but I was sad that I didn't get the pizza I wanted. Here are some photos of the pizza:

The top photo is the pumpkin one, and the bottom photo is the veggie one. The quality of the toppings on these pizzas was definitely pretty good, but I felt like the base was slightly hard (maybe something to do with the slices being reheated after sitting and waiting on the counter). I do enjoy a crispy base, but I like there to be a little softness on top, too, which just was not there. The tomato sauce was, again, pretty nice but largely unremarkable. It was a fine pizza, but I gotta admit, I expected more. 

It wasn't like, a bad experience, and if you find yourself on Kingsland Road needing pizza/a vegan snack, you could totally do worse than going here. But just make sure they don't drop your damn slice *side eyes Voodoo Ray's to infinity*

Pizza rating - 6/10 (minus 1 point for dropping the pizza. Y'all should be carrying pizza slices around like newborns. Protect them at all costs.) 

SORRY/A MASTERPOST OF AMAZING PIZZAS

I am literally terrible and haven't posted anything for about two months. I am very sorry to the one avid reader of this blog (Hector Craft) for my transgressions. But now I am back with good news - first of all, the restinpizza zine is still on its way. We have experienced some delays in the process (i.e. me being incredibly lazy) but things are getting back on track and we're hoping that it'll be with you by the beginning of December. We're also working on doing a launch night at a venue in London which will hopefully be super dope and involve bands and free pizza.

The second bit of good news is, despite my absence, I have still been eating pizza! (How could I not though rly, I think at this point I would probably get withdrawal if I stopped) And I am here to provide you with a masterpost of all of those pizzas, including pictures to make you really really really hungry. Get excited.

1) Pizza Paco, Barcelona

We went on holz to Barcelona in September and this was the only pizza we ate because we couldn't find any anywhere else :( know that this pizza probably looks hella plain, but sometimes simplicity is best (also none of the other pizzas were vegan lol) - this pizza was a v pleasing experience, was topped with oregano and some chopped garlic and had a really crunchy crust. Big up Pizza Paco. 

Pizza rating: 7/10

2) Basilico, London 

We ate this pizza the day we came back from Barcelona. Basilico pizzas are really really nice, and have the cheesiest vegan cheese I have had yet. I was very into it. I am a thin crust lady, and this ticked all my dough-related boxes, and the sauce was really great, although it did get a lil overpowered by the cheese at points. Basilico do two different vegan pizzas, and one is a vegan margherita to which there's an option to add toppings so you can basically design yr own pizza. AND the garlic bread (below) is vegan! AND they deliver! AND they do hella big pizzas like 15 inches or something which I haven't had yet but someday will. Maybe I will buy one and wear it as an ostentatious pizza ruff, like in Elizabethan times but edible and delicious. I don't know what I am talking about either. 

Pizza rating: 9/10 (that cheese!)

3) Papa John's, Oxford

I have written before about my warm feelings for Papa John's pizza - it is really stodgy and satisfying and unlike Domino's they don't include like milk or whatever the fuck else in their pizza bases so well done to them. Sadly they don't do vegan cheese, and we were too lazy to put any on, but this pizza was still very tasty and it did its comfort food job very nicely. 

Pizza rating - 8/10

4) Gallery Café, London

I just wanna take a sec to profess my love for Gallery in general. It's an all vegetarian/mostly vegan cafe in Bethnal Green and it is so amazing. Their food is always so impressive, and they do breakfasts, cakes, sandwiches - basically everything you could ever want. They also have theme nights (they do a chip shop one every Thursday and serve tofu fish and chips which is obviously delicious, and I think a diner night every Tuesday with vegan hotdogs, burgers and MAC AND CHEESE). Also, as you can see, they do pizza. It is a joyful thing. ~Rustic~ but thin, soft crusts literally smothered in the cheese of your choice (vegan or dairy, bring ya mates) and topped with basically whatever veggies you like. The pizza above has black olives and rocket and it was rly rly tasty and filling. I am feeling happy just thinking about it. 

Pizza rating: 8/10

5) Pizza Artisan, Oxford 

…or, the first pizza to ever receive a perfect score on this blog some months ago. Srs accolade. Ben had never had Pizza Artisan so we went last weekend after finding out that not only do they make amazing pizzas, but they also do vegan cheese. If it is possible to improve on perfection, Pizza Artisan did it. All of their toppings are so high quality, their sauce is so authentic tasting and the crusts are baked to to optimum deliciousness in their wood oven. I have nothing bad that I could possibly say about this pizza. Their service is great too - you can choose from about 4 different kinds of oils to have on your pie and there are bespoke extras for certain kinds of pizzas (swear I heard fennel seeds being offered but only for some pizzas - that's some bespoke shit). Basically, top class pizzas taken hella seriously. These guys treat pizza as an art form and that is how everyone should treat it. *Kisses fingers*

Pizza rating: 9/10 (it was a really busy Saturday night and we had to wait for like an hour in the cold, so whilst the pizza was 10/10 the overall experience of the pizza was slightly tarnished by this)

I hope that this ~round up~ of pizzas has served as something of an apology for my absence. I promise to do better next time. Happy Friday, eat a pizza this weekend xxxxxx

a very belated Beacons Festival

hello lovely pals! apologies for something of an absence, but I am back with a very good and cool post. 

I wrote a few weeks ago about a gr8 opportunity I got to be the only food blogger at Beacons Festival 2014, and I now have for you here an ~official round up~ (that is something journalists say isn't it?) of all my favourite vendors at their Street Food Festival. Pretty much everything I ate was incredible, and I wanna say a particularly massive thanku to Dough Boys Pizza and the boy Ben Davy for all the hookups (feel like I'm doing an Oscars speech) and for choosing properly great food for me and all of the other hungry festival-goers to chow down on. 

So, with no further ado: 

1) Dough Boys Pizza///@DoughBoysLeeds

Starting with these guys 'cause my heart belongs to pizza. Dough Boys know what they're doing and they do it dope. Soft, bready dough compliments a super authentic-tasting sauce ('just like my grandma used to make!' - imagine me saying this in an exaggerated Italian accent and also wearing a large moustache and u get the idea), which is all topped off by really great quality toppings. Our special vegan beetroot pizza was all kinds of delicious, and the sunny weather made it even better. Also, these guys had my favourite sales patter of the festival so there's that.

If this sounds up yr street (if you're reading this blog it almost definitely is), you can catch the Dough Boys at their slice bar at the Belgrave Music Hall in Leeds. Tell 'em I sent you.

http://www.belgravemusichall.com/kitchen/

Belgrave Music Hall, 1-1a Cross Belgrave Street, LS2 8JP

2) Bundobust/@Bundobust

Bundobust had to come next 'cause they were the only stall I ate from twice. I ate two consecutive meals of the mung bean curry and if I'm real with you it might be my favourite curry I've ever eaten.  Simple and perfectly portioned, this not-quite-dal but who-cares-because-it's-better-than-dal has everything you could wish for from curry - amazing texture, gr8 flavours and just the right amount of warming spice for a cold night time at a festival. 

Again, Bundobust is based in Leeds - they just opened an ALL VEGETARIAN!!! venue which also serves craft beer (lol I say that so casually as if I know what it is) and I would get my butt down there sharpish if this curry is anything to go by. Easily my favey dish of the festival.

http://www.bundobust.com

Bundobust, 6 Mill Hill, LS1 5DQ

3) Yummy Yorkshire/@YummyYorkshire

VEGAN CARAMEL ICE CREAM HAD ME LIKE *PRAYING HANDS EMOJI*. I was so excited to try these guys out, 'cause I knew they'd have some vegan flavours. What I was not expecting was to be told, when I asked which flavours I could eat, that ALL BUT ONE was dairy free. It was so cool to have such a big choice, but I had to go for caramel and I definitely made the right decision (though it was a toss up between that and their mojito flavour which also looked amazing). This stuff was rich and creamy and everything you want from ice cream. I was in raptures (I kept going AS IF THIS IS VEGAN after every mouthful). Yummy Yorkshire are based at their family farm in Huddersfield, where the ice cream is also made. Swoon. 

http://www.yummyyorkshire.co.uk/

Yummy Yorkshire, Delph House Farm, HD8 8XY

4) Noisette Bakehouse/@NoisetteBakes

I wanna cry at the memory of this cake for real. I had a slice of the orange loaf and it did things to me. My mouth is literally watering as I type this. Noisette Bakehouse was hugely popular at Beacons - by the Sunday morning, these ladies had pretty much sold out of everything, and for good reason. The cakes all looked gorgeous, and tasted even better. I was also really heartened to see the number of animal friendly options on offer: again, there was more choice than I think most vegans are used to, so that was an extra treat. 

From what I can gather, Noisette Bakehouse doesn't have a permanent address just yet, but if you're anything like me, you'll be hoping to catch their Madeleine Express at a food market near u soon. 

http://noisettebakehouse.com/

5) Margo and Rita/@MargoandRitas

Ain't al fresco dining without a lil Latin, right? Margo and Rita were serving up tacos and nacho boxes over the weekend, and everything was in good, spicy, flavoursome order. Our nachos were doused in fresh pico de gallo and a smoky chipotle sauce, and finished off with a squeeze of lime and a sprinkle of coriander. The freshness of the salsa was especially pleasing, and the portion size was great (but where, for the love of god, were the burritos? I woulda dug that pico on a burrito so hard). 

Like Noisette Bakehouse, Margo and Rita are roving souls - you can catch 'em at events up and down the country.

http://www.margoandrita.co.uk

Beacons was great////I ate too much food////but it doesn't matter because it was all delicious////go visit and find out about all of these class vendors immediately. Mwah.