Party Pizzas and a Pair of Sour Soups

I threw a party recently and made a bunch of last-minute snacks.  My go-to is always hummus, baba ganoush, etc., etc., but I wanted to try something a little different.  So I made snack pizzas!  Essentially, all the same foods-- and your guests have less control over what they're combining on their plates-- but nevertheless there was something fun and pretty about this.  Of course, I forgot to take photos until everything was eaten.


Pizza One:
Brushed whole wheat dough with mixture of olive oil, zaatar, and salt; sprinkled slivered onions on top, then baked.


Pizza Two (cold):
Brushed garlic-herb dough with olive oil and baked.  When cooled, sliced into pieces, reassembled, and topped with hummus, olives, and salad greens.


Pizza Three:
Made baba ganoush from scratch with flame-roasted eggplant and harissa.  Spread it generously on unbaked whole wheat dough, then topped with chopped sundried tomatoes.  Baked, then added avocado slices as well.

I made mouhammarah as well but couldn't fit it on a pizza, so I served it with some other homemade flatbread.

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I know I've made a hundred soups like this one, but this one's worth noting because the broth was invented to address a specific problem.  When I saw that my new udon noodles had 40% of one's daily sodium per serving, I decided to attempt a broth that was flavorful but not salty, since the noodles were going in the broth anyway.  First, I sauteed mushrooms, garlic, and ginger in a sauce pan; then, I added carrots and continued cooking.  When the mushrooms had expressed liquid, I deglazed with about 1 c beer, simmered, and then added some water and chili garlic paste as well.  Finally, near the end, I added kimchi+juice, seasoned rice vinegar, and lime juice.  The mushrooms gave the broth a meatiness, and the kimchi, vinegar, and citrus gave it brightness and a little bit of pungency.  I couldn't believe it didn't have any boullion, tamari, or miso in it!  This was served hot with the infamous salty noodles, green onions, basil, and cilantro.

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Secondly... here's a smoky mushroom-sauerkraut-lentil stew.  It started out as a tester for Vegan Eats World, but after I realized that testing was closed, I added some other things, like lentils and liquid smoke.  Mushrooms and sauerkraut balance each other out nicely here.