sweet fruit pizza

Always looking for  tasty recipes without animal products I invented the sweet fruit pizza. The dough is basically a pizza dough, with the addition of 4 tablespoons of sugar. I also exchanged the water in the original recipe with vanilla soy milk. Eventually all you have to do is spread out the dough on a baking tray and cover it with seasonal fruits.

In the last few months I have read plenty about the positive effects of a vegan diet. Ever since I have tried to cut animal products down to a minimum in my kitchen. However the most vegan recipes keep me wishing for more excitement, more variety and not the plain taste of health. My biggest goal is to create a kitchen, delicious and gourmet, that guests won't even know that it is composed entirely without animal products.

The tea is a rooibos called "Capetown". The trigger to buy was of course the name, and it hasn't failed: everytime I take a sip I sink into pleasant nostalgia.

Sweet pizza dough

200 g                   flour

1 sachet               dry yeast

a pinch of            salt

4 tbs                    whole cane sugar

150 ml                 (vanilla) soy milk

Mix all the ingredients and knead the dough until smooth. Let it repose for half an hour.

Roll out with a rolling pin. Put it on the tray and cover with topping of your choice.

Leche Merengada - with love from Spain

It's so delicious, I keep offering it to everyone, so that I can excuse having more of it myself. It's taste is traditional spanish, so every spoonful loads me up with wonderful memories. Leche Merengada is a cinnamon-and-lemon-flavoured frozen meringue. I recommend you try it with a shot of hot espresso poured over.

you need:
500ml whole milk (soy milk works the same for me)
100g  sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cinnamon stick or a small amount of ground cinnamon
1 lemon, unsprayed
2 large egg whites

Heat the milk in a saucepan, adding the cinnamon, the salt and 3/4 of the sugar. Zest the lemon directly into the mixture. Once the sugar has dissolved transfer the mixture to a bowl and chill thoroughly.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Whip in the remaining sugar and continue beating until the whites are stiff and glossy.

Remove the cinnamon sticks (if using) and fold the milk into the meringue. Now it's time for the ice cream machine! Leche Merengada takes a bit longer to freeze than a sorbet or traditional ice cream, but it's worth the wait.