food trucks! pizza mike's award-winning pie

Season Three of The Great Food Truck Race saw 8 brand new teams competing for the $50,000 prize and the privilege to keep their food truck. While $50K is nothing to sneeze at, the food truck is worth a heck of a lot more, to the tune of 30-200K, depending on how tricked out your truck is, and the Food Network has some sweet rides. The lower end of that budget will only get you a trailer to pull, a used one, at that.

Season Three featured the truck Pizza Mike's from Columbus, Ohio. Michael Evans was the owner and operator of Michael's Pizza, an establishment that burned down around 2008. Not having the funds (or the desire?) to reopen the same place, Mike entered The Race and is currently still operating his own food truck in Ohio, albeit not the same one as he drove on the show. Mike and his team left the race in the third episode. 

In 2001, Mike represented the USA in the World Pizza Championship in Salsimiogorre, Italy, where his "Michael's Traditional" was awarded "Best in the USA" prize. The winning pizza was topped with his Grandfather Collura's sausage recipe, pepperoni and sweet onions. 

Making it vegan, I used Yve's pepperoni substitute and doctored Gimme Lean Sausage. Relatively easy pizza to replicate given vegan ingredients. I figure the sausage, the crust and the sauce are the necessary ingredients to work on. 

In addition to "Michael's Traditional," I also made another of his popular pies, this time topped with pepperoni, roasted red peppers, green peppers, olives and onions.

 Roll your dough thin, bake on high and allow it to rest before cutting. 

Not much chance that Pizza Mike's has anything vegan, so head to the kitchen and make your own "Best in the USA," or at least in your kitchen, pizza pie. 

That's Amore!

Mike's Traditional Pizza Printer-Friendly Recipe

mother's cafe and garden (MoFo 7)

Mother's Cafe and Garden is located in Austin, TX. Anyone who has traveled through the great beef state knows that Austin is the haven for vegetarians in a sea of meat-aholics. I even think they have their burgers with a side of beef.

Anyway, that is what it was like back a decade ago when we lived there. As with all places things change and there were some unfortunate turn of events concerning the veg establishments there. One was that Mother's Cafe burned down. Since then they have rebuilt, but after being open since 1985, they had to keep their doors closed for eight months during the refurbishment. Boy, we're gone for a few years and the whole place falls apart!

This was the very first place we frequented as newly indoctrinated vegans. Although the place is vegetarian, they have very strict sanitary practices regarding segregating vegetarian instruments and cooking vessels with vegan ones. Looking back now, I realize we were the 'vegan police,' and such vigilance is best reserved for omni restaurants, but for what we were looking for then, they certainly fit the bill.

They are not high end, have reasonable prices and pretty good food. So if in Texas, you know what city to aim to get to.

Starting with a drink, the Iced Hibiscus-Mint tea is a must. Hibiscus not only is reported to lower blood pressure, but tastes refreshing with the mint. No sweetener was ever required by me - the complimentary flavors of the tea were enough without having to mask it with sugar.

On to the Garden Patch Salad. This was my first taste of sunflower sprouts and it made me try to grow them myself. Not as easy to grow as alfalfa sprouts, they are worth the extra effort. Let me tell you about the Cashew Tamari dressing! I must have spent at least a pound of cashews trying to get the flavor just right so we can have it at home (we weren't exactly next to Mother's, you see). 

The Chili Rellenos alas were filled with cheese and we never got to try them, but that is only extra impetus to make them vegan. Rellenos are poblano peppers (usually) that have been roasted, skinned and seeded. They are then stuffed with cheese, covered in an egg batter and fried. I stuffed mine with Native Chi's that I made for Native Foods menu mixed with black beans. The Native Chi's melted (yay!), but you can use Daiya or Follow Your Heart or any cheese from the Uncheese Cookbook. They will melt. I advise against using only cheese (even dairy) since it is just too much. 

The batter is really the most challenging part. It has fry light and not leave the relleno oily. My version was very good and I was very happy that we could have a relleno again. I think it does need more testing since the authentic version uses whipped eggs and just like flan or sunny side up eggs, eggs are eggs and I am not mother nature. Although, I certainly pretend to be sometimes!

Lastly, I couldn't omit my oldest daughter's favorite dish at Mother's: Sage Mashed Potatoes. Go light on the sage since it can be overpowering, but make sure not to add so little that the flavor is not evident.

Cost Breakdown:

hibiscus tea, mint: $1

Salad:

carrot, cuke, tomato, onion: $2

lettuce, purple cabbage: $3

tamari, cashew, balsamic, oil: $2

sprouts: $2

Total to make 4 servings:

$9.00

Relleno:

poblano: $4

cheese: $1

tomato, onion, garlic: $2

black beans: $2

ener-G, cashew, flour: $1.50

Total to make 4 servings:

$10.50

Potatoes, milk, sage: $4

Hibiscus-Mint Tea

Garden Patch Salad

Chili Relleno





Sage Mashed Potatoes

HIBISCUS-MINT TEAS PRINTER FRIENDLY RECIPE

GARDEN PATCH SALAD PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE