One of the more vapid arguments omnivores use to dismiss vegan-ism is “I once knew a vegan and they were always sick” as if we vegans believe just eating vegan is a magic path to improved health.  Being vegan is not magical, just like anything else in life if you’re gonna be a vegan then you gotta make the effort to do it right.  One could survive on a diet of vodka, Oreos and french fries, well for a little while at least, and legitimately call themselves a vegan, but it wouldn’t be healthy.

Fortunately for our readers, the DFV crew lives on the edge and spent the past Friday eating yummy but nutritionally substandard vegan food so you don’t have to!

Things kicked off at Seattle’s brand spankin’ new vegan bakery Violet Sweet Shoppe up by (but not in the U Village).  I was excited to see banana bread in the display case.  Mom vegan is allergic to bananas, she can’t even touch them and kid vegan just doesn’t like them, so they are rarely around the house. Banana bread?  Forget it…..

Anyways, the bread was excellent, as were the kid’s tart and mom’s espresso opera cake in a dark chocolate cup.

In an effort to burn off our caffeine and sugar buzz, we stopped by a park we’ve been meaning to hit for a while now.  With 200 parks to see, that’s a lot of playgrounds to for us to romp through.  After we climbed, jumped spun and slid, our bellies were empty and we were ready for ‘lunch’ at Full Tilt Ice Cream in White Center.

We all indulged in a variety of ice cream as we hung out with FT owner Justin.  Full Tilt has some exciting news for PacNW vegans, look for a post on Justin and Full Tilt later this week.  Until then, enjoy this abnormally warm Seattle spring with ice cream and pinball at your local Full Tilt.

In an attempt to redeem myself as a parent, we opted for pizza.  Done properly pizza can be healthy…right?

There are few foods more widely debated in the world than pizza.  NY vs Chicago, thin vs thick crust, traditional vs modern, every variation has its ardent supporters and equal vocal detractors.  Some folks take the attention to detail to crazy levels. There is (was?) a place in the San Fernando Valley that imports water from Boston for their dough, qqand for the record it did make a difference.

True story, I was once tried ordering pizza with pineapple from an old school Italian restaurant.  “Why would you want to put pineapple on my pizza?” or “Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza” the grandmotherly sounding woman on the other end of the phone sweetly responded each time I repeated myself.  This went on for a couple of minutes until it became abundantly clear there was no way in hell she was going to allow pineapple on one of her pizzas.

Now we avoid militantly purist pizza-philes by making our own.  This is a Felipe K.I.S.S. special using all off the shelf ingredients.   I do realize this is technically a calzone but that’s close enough for this discussion.  Save the nitpicking for something that matters.

DFV Spicy Calzone
The Basics
Trader Joes Pizza Dough
Trader Joes Arrabiata Sauce
Tofurky Spicy Tempeh
Diaya Pepper Jack Style Shreds

These are some of our favorite veggies/fillings but you’ll use fillings of your choice:
Onion
Bell Pepper
Mushrooms
Spinach

Preheat Oven & Pizza Stone to 500 Degrees.

Saute grated tempeh (about half the package) & veggies in olive oil to desired tenderness, top off with about half the jar of arrabiata sauce, lower heat and simmer.

Prepare the dough according to the instructions (note, the dough instruction say it should sit out for 20 minutes before you kneed it so you might want to do that first).  Transfer stretched dough onto a piece of parchment paper before adding toppings.  Trust me, have the calzone on parchment paper makes transferring in & out of the oven much easier unless you have an oven paddle

Add topping to half the surface of the dough, then cover with Diaya Shreds.  Fold dough so that it creating a an extra large pizza dumpling.   Spoon arrabiatta sauce over the top and add a handful of shreds.

Bake for about 10 minutes.