Dissapointing first vegan effort

[buceriasdon]

My toppings came out way to dry or too crispy. Not enough water or oil in my cashew cream base, although it is was tasty it was difficult to spread and didn't give moisture to the top, needs more olive oil. I roasted the Brussels sprouts first and they burnt, won't do that again. The one saving point was the crust. The rest, bleh. I do want to perfect a vegan pizza with what is available to me here. Live and learn.
Don

[CMY]

The rest, bleh. I do want to perfect a vegan pizza with what is available to me here. Live and learn.

Don, what exactly is "available to you" there?

Ms. CMY follows a Vegan diet so we always cook up a pie for her as well.. it's really not a lot different from what I do, she just adds more veggies and uses Daiya Vegan cheese instead.

Having had years of experience with this I really don't try to over-think it anymore. Here's a shot of my first attempt at cooking a vegan on my crappy two-burner grill last night. Obviously I have plenty of room for improvement, but she was thrilled with the result (we've only been using the oven prior to this).

[buceriasdon]

CMY, Thanks for the response and the picture of a great looking pizza. Now that looks apppetizing. As of yet here in Mexico the vegan thing hasn't caught on. I have searched high and low for vegan substitute cheese to no avail. I even made some calls to Guadalajara, nothing.  I was then going to try a recipe I found for a tofu nutritional yeast combination and struck out on the yeast, hence my attempt with the cashew paste which I found quite tasty but too dry in the recipe I came up with. Needs work. Once again, nice job.
Don
a link to homemade:    http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1755438/homemade_vegan_cheese.html?cat=22

[CMY]

Gotcha- I go to Mexico two or three times a year and I'm always kind of shocked just how bland most of the store cheeses are (and I certainly wouldn't expect a vegan derivative). Same with the nutritional yeast. I guess I forget how lucky we are to have a Whole Foods market a block away!

That being said, I just pulled an Amy's Vegan Pizza out of the freezer to maybe change your mind on trying to replicate the cheese (at least for a while). Just a really great sauce with toppings that are complimentary.

I really can't see MX going vegan anytime soon, unfortunately. It definitely perks my interest from an entrepreneurial standpoint but I've found "No queso, no crema" isn't a very popular request. 

[buceriasdon]

CMY, The local Mega supermarket is beginning to carry more imported cheeses although very pricey. I saw some feta the other day was was $50 dollars a kilo. Searching the net more I did come across a homemade vegan cheese substitute(I don't think it should be called cheese) recipe that I think I can modify to make my own with what I can obtain here. I was able to find some imported silken tofu for $3.00 for 14 oz. that looks to be very good. The problem is they may never have it again I set the bar for myself fairly high and many of my early attempts fall far short but thanks for the posting on the Amy's pizza. It won't be my last dismal failure I'm sure.
Regards, Don

[CMY]

It won't be my last dismal failure I'm sure.

Yeah, just wanted to throw it out there as my vegan 'expert' is currently out of the house. I'll see if she has any good recommendations (we're also going to be trying a few things once we get a little more confident with dough/bake times).

Keep us posted!

-Chris