Roasted Squash and Vegetable Pizza with a Pizzolato Pinot Grigio Review

When Whole Foods contacted me to try this Pizzolato Pinot Grigio I was like, "Umm a thousand times yes. Send me all the alcohol, please." Then I thought to myself, a pinot grigio is white wine? I had to look this up. I don't drink white wine. To my credit, I did notify my contact that my preference leans heavily to the red variety. I have bought one, count it one, bottle of white wine in my lifetime. It was a riesling and I almost had to cut my tongue out. White wine apparently isn't my jam.

Needless to say I was feeling a bit of hesitation in sampling this pinot grigio. I knew I wanted the perfect dish to go with it and I knew white wine goes well with seafood but, obviously, seafood was not going to be on my menu. So, I turned to Google. "Google, what pairs well with a pinot grigio?" I asked. Google wasn't extra helpful. Some sites said to pair it with with a tomato sauce based dish, others said to stay away from acidic foods...like tomato dishes. Some said it pairs nicely with a heavy, buttery dish, while others advised to keep it paired with light dishes. Yet, they all could agree on the seafood. Boo that. I found a few that noted pizza and cooked vegetables were a good match. And so it was.

With a throng of vegetables from my CSA box waiting to be drafted (see the fruit in the background, they're next), I knew a roasted veggie pizza was meant to be. I found a crust that I adapted from Garnish and Glaze. It only needed 10 minutes to rise and with no kneading necessary, we had dinner done in about an hour and a half!

“Caramelized pistachios green pear aromas follow though on a soft entry to a dryish light-to-medium body with tangy baked apple and kiwi notes. Finishes in a quick, slightly pithy, nutshell accented fade with chalky fruit tannins.”

— Tastings.com

The Pizzolato Pinot Grigio is certified vegan by The Vegan Society of the United Kingdom and is the #1 selling organic pinot grigio in Italy. The wines are made with organically grown grapes or certified organic with no sulfites added and are also Non-GMO Project Verified. All great news! I hate finding a wine that I enjoy only to discover it's filtered with fish bladders, or eggs, and has sulfites added. Some people find they are sensitive to sulfites which  can give them headaches. 

Because I am not exceptionally familiar with white wine, I asked some friends for their thoughts. They told me it would be a great "afternoon" drinking wine...I think this means that it's light and refreshing.

I will definitely reach for Pizzolato wines when I can find them. Knowing they are organic, GMO-free and sulfite-free, and vegan will make wine shopping easy! I pretty much try to buy only organic wine because I know it's filtered in a vegan-friendly way, so I found a few good organic wines and I tend to stick to them. Find this Italian Pinot Grigio for $9.99 at Whole Foods. 

“Think like a proton. Always positive. ”

— Unknown

Roasted squash, sweet potato, carrots, and other assorted vegetables adorn a sweet and doughy homemade pizza crust with creamy, vegan mozzarella. A perfect compliment to a crisp and refreshing pinot grigio. 

Roasted Squash and Vegetable Pizza

Roasted squash, sweet potato, carrots, and other assorted vegetables adorn a sweet and doughy homemade pizza crust with creamy, vegan mozzarella. Serve with a crisp and refreshing pinot grigio for a fun and comforting winter meal. NOTES: Any assorted vegetables good for roasting can be substituted. Use a pre-made pizza crust if you wish. The crust is sweet and bready, so if you like a thin cracker crust maybe swap out for your favorite. Swap the 1 cup wheat flour for an additional cup of all-purpose flour if like. This recipe makes two large pizzas, so feel free to cut in half or just save the other half for another day like we did.

Ingredients

• -- Veggies --
• 2 small sweet dumpling squash (or about 2 lbs. of other winter squash), peeled, seeded, and diced small
• 1 lb. fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and diced small
• 1 lb. sweet potatoes, scrubbed and diced small
• 3 large carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1 inch slices
• 2 medium red onions, thickly sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch slices
• sprinkling of olive oil
• pinch of kosher salt
• dash of ground black pepper
• -- Dough --
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. quick-rise yeast
• 2 Tbsp. vegan sugar
• 1 1/2 cup warm water (110 F)
• 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat white flour
• 2 Tbsp. cornmeal
• -- Toppings --
• 1 lb. package of vegan shredded mozzarella cheese (I like Daiya)
• sprinkling of dried basil
• pat of vegan butter

Cooking Directions

1. Start by preparing the vegetables. Once they are all chopped, preheat the oven to 425 F with your pizza stone in the oven. Spread the chopped vegetables evenly among two large, rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle with a good amount of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Bake at 425 F for about 60 minutes. Toss the veggies have way through, and move the top pan to the bottom rack and the bottom one to the top. Remove from the oven when done, but keep the oven on.
3. Meanwhile, make the dough. Begin by combining the yeast, sugar, and water in a large bowl. Cover with a towel and allow to rest for about 5 minutes in a warm place, until the yeast is foamy.
4. Whisk in the salt, olive oil, and agave nectar. Then, stir in the flours ½ cup at a time. Continue to stir for about 5 minutes or so, until the dough begins to form a loose ball.
5. Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot to rise (at least 10 minutes) until there’s only about 20 minutes left for the veggies.
6. Next, transfer the dough to a heavily floured surface (don’t be afraid to use a lot of flour as the dough is very sticky) and cleave in half. Roll out one of the dough balls into the size of your pizza stone.
7. Remove the pizza stone from the oven and sprinkle with cornmeal. Transfer the rolled out dough to the stone and top with the mozzarella. Scatter with roasted veggies and bake at 425 F for about 15 minutes, until the crust just begins to brown.
8. Remove from oven and run butter along the crust edge. Sprinkle pizza with dried basil. Repeat with remaining dough ball.
9. Serve hot with a glass of Pizzolato Pinot Grigio!

Dutch Word of The Day

The word for a thing or person you can't find the name for --> dinges (ding-es)

Good Deed of The Day

This is my good deed of the day. Did you see that Field Roast has a new line of vegan sliced cheeses?!?! Sweet baby Jesus, Todd almost cried...I almost died!! We have yet to find them way up here in the boondocks of Alaska, so if anyone has made contact with this food of the gods, please let me know how it was! See the three varieties and learn more here. 

Tempeh & Kale Steamed Gyoza

Whew! Sorry for the neglect 'round these parts. We were having a little tussle with the internet. Never fear though, we're back up!

Can I just say...while the entire rest of the continental US is apparently having some sort of "snowpocalypse" (I get it Al Roker, okay? I get it!), in Alaska, we have not even a single flake of snow to our name.

I'm terribly upset about it. 

I had a real hankering for gyoza (more than usual) the other night, so I whipped up these little guys. Gyoza, or potstickers, or dumplings (they go by many names) are really very easy. If you've never made them before, don't be frightened. It's basically just a minced stir-fry that's wrapped in dough and steamed. Super easy. Pinky promise. 

“Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. ”

— Eckhart Tolle

Bob. Always giving me that, "Hey, when you get those done...you know...in my belly. I'll just wait here."

Have you ever thought about who your dog would be if he/she was a human? Bailey would 100% be an aloof, bossy and dramatic, gay accountant. We decided this years ago. 

Tempeh & Kale Steamed Gyoza

Tender kale and meaty tempeh fill a silky, steamed gyoza for a healthy and impressive meal. NOTES: Use a food processor for speedy mincing. Square wrappers, instead of round can be used. I like my gyoza steamed, but these can be pan-fried too. This recipe uses all the wrappers and filling, any leftover, cooked gyoza can be frozen.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 60 minutes

Yield: 40 gyoza

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/2 small red onion, minced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3 oz. crimini mushrooms, minced
• 2 large celery stalks, minced
• 8 oz. block of tempeh, minced
• 4 large kale leaves and stems, minced
• 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 1 package of 40 circular wonton/gyoza/pot sticker wrappers
• -- Dipping Sauce --
• 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. agave nectar
• 1/2 Tbsp. sweet chili sauce
• dash of sesame seeds

Cooking Directions

1. In a large rimmed frying pan, heat the sesame oil over low.
2. In a food processor, pulse the onion, garlic, and mushrooms until minced. Add to the sesame oil and sauté for a few minutes.
3. Now, add the celery, tempeh, and kale to the food processor and pulse until minced. Add to the sesame oil and sauté for a few minutes.
4. Mince the fresh ginger by hand and add it to the frying pan.
5. Add the soy sauce and agave nectar to the frying pan and continue to sauté, stirring often, for about 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, whisk all the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Fill a seperate small bowl with water for making the gyoza.
7. When making the gyoza, I like to do them in batches. Make as many as will fit in the steamer without touching and while they’re steaming, assemble more. To assemble the gyoza, place about ½ Tbsp. of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Dip your fingers in the small bowl of water to wet the edges of the circle. Fold in half, and crimp along the edges, pressing very firmly to close the wrapper edges.
8. Place as many gyoza as will fit on a parchment paper lined steamer basket. Steam for about 5 minutes. Remove and repeat with remaining gyoza. This recipe should use all the wrappers and filling.
9. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.

Good Deed of The Day

The University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers are poised to begin lethal experiments that will take baby monkeys away from their mothers and inflict anxiety on them. I had heard about this being done in the past on a podcast I listened to last week and apparently it's still being carried out. Please sign this petition to urge Chancellor Rebecca M. Blank to intervene and prohibit these experiments from moving forward.

Dutch Word of The Day

Dumpling --> knoedel (kah-noodle) ... I'm going to start calling Todd knoedel, muah haha. 

Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash

Carnival squash. Have you heard of it? I had never! It came to me on a chilly, leafless and blustery day, neatly packed in my CSA box. Speckled, mostly green and yellow, with odd pools of vibrant orange marked it's skin. Carnival squash is probably most akin to acorn squash, but delightfully unique in its own way. 

This little guy is lovingly filled with only the most scrumptious of autumn goodies. Honeycrisp apples, earthy sage, crunchy pepitas, silky red chard, Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage Grain-Meat Sausage, and pumpkin. Oh yes, we are now filling winter squash with pureed pumpkin.

This is how the pros do it. 

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world”

— Anne Frank

You guys are going to love this squash! This is an easy and impressive festive squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.

Stuffed Sage Carnival Squash

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

This is an easy and impressive festive carnival squash stuffed with apples, kale, pumpkin, and vegan sausage. It’s the perfect star or companion of any Thanksgiving dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 carnival or acorn squash, halved
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp. ground sage
• 1 small apple, diced
• 1 Smoked Apple Sage Field Roast Grain-Meat Sausage link, diced.
• 4 large kale or swiss chard leaves and stems, chopped
• ½ 15 oz. canned pumpkin
• 1 Tbsp. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. pepitas

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place face down on a baking sheet coated with a nonstick cooking spray. Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until tender when pierced with a fork.
2. Meanwhile, in a large rimmed frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium low. Add the onion and garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
3. Now, stir in the salt, pepper, and sage. Add the apple, sausage, and kale. Sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the kale is wilted.
4. Add the remaining ingredients, mixing well to combine. Stir occasionally while over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes. The apples should be softened but not cooked through. Remove from heat to rest, until the squash is done baking.
5. When squash is done, keep the oven on, and divide the stuffing evenly between each squash half filling the center. Place back in the oven for about 3 minutes to heat through. Remove from the oven and serve hot.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 00:45
Total time: 00:50
Yield: 2 servings

More Easy Squash Recipes

Smoked Gouda and Butternut Pasta

Eggnog Roasted Acorn Squash

Herbed Acorn Squash Bisque

Cheesy Stuffed Autumn Delicata Squash

Dutch Word of The Day

Stuffed --> gevuld (who-feld)

Good Deed of The Day

Milk. It does the body bad. Real bad. A new study from the British Medicine Journal "...found that those who drank three glasses of milk daily were more likely to die of heart disease and cancer. For the women, milk drinkers had a significant better chance of suffering a hip fracture." Yikes. Maybe it's time to switch to one of the other thousand non-dairy options, yea?