I don’t mean to brag, but I have the greatest neighbors in the world. Raising a toddler and being pregnant and working full-time can make a woman, well, borderline insane (I can use that kind of language, cause I’m a Social Worker so there). And I was THIS close to losing it last night. Let’s rewind a bit to a year ago when I was in LA for a few short days in order to find a place for the family to live. The process was stressful and I had a check list of what I was looking for (safe, walkable community with access to laundry on the floor and a garage). I found all of that in the place we live now. What I didn’t know was that I would also find Siona’s best friend and some incredibly supportive people; people I didn’t realize I would need so very, very much during the coming months of our first year in LA.

I first met Hallie on the day we moved in. All blond curly hair and mad SoCal style, she was jumping up and down on the garage door trip wire so that it would open. Husband and I were watching her attempt to open the door thinking, “What the h*ll is that lady doing? Just smile and wave and WALK AWAY QUICKLY. SHE LOOK CRAY CRAY”. Turns out she’s hilarious and smart and has the biggest heart in the world and also has a 3 year-old whom my child is 150% OBSESSED with and a hubby and is so funny I run the risk of piddling in my pants from laughter every time we hang out. We’ve got a good thing going these days, some 9 months after moving in. Our kids are in love with each other and they live 2 floors up so it’s insta-play dates several times a week. Currently, they’re entertaining my kiddo for the next couple hours so that I can get some much-needed ‘me’ time, which in the end, will make me a much better mom to the kiddo as I was nearing the point last night where I knew I needed some space to breathe. I try to repay them for their selflessness by cooking and baking for them but seriously, no amount of brownies and meatballs can repay the gift of amazing neighbors (but I’m still gonna try).

I’ve made my beloved neighbors pizza a few times in our short time as neighbors. I think Damian, Hallie’s hubby, ended up having the curry pizza featured below and it was thumbs up all around. I realize that might mean nothing to you, dear reader, but it meant a lot to me. Damian has a great palette. I think he’d actually love any and ALL of the pizzas featured in this delicious recipe round-up of vegetarian and vegan pizzas. They are all creative and I could seriously eat like 6 of them right this very minute . . . in one sitting. Oh dear, here come the cravings.

Enjoy!

1. Curry Pizza with Roasted Cauliflower + Eggplant – Jewhungry

From yours truly, Jewhungry!

2. Sweet Corn Caprese Pizza from The Creative Bite

3. Purple Potato and Romanesco Vegan Pizza from Steph in Thyme

4. Middle Eastern Flatbread with Eggplant, Tahini Sauce + Za’atar from What Jew Wanna Eat

From What Jew Wanna Eat

5. Spinach Artichoke Dip Pizza from Diethood

6. 3 Cheese Apple Cranberry Pizza from Ari’s Menu

7. Fresh Herb Pizza from Farm Fresh Feasts

8. Gluten Free Pizza with Beets and Blue Cheese from The Tomato Tart

From the Tomato Tart

9. Portobello Mushroom Pizza with Sautéed Balsamic Vegetables from Joyful Healthy Eats

10. Raspberry Cobbler Pizza from Crumb Blog

11. Beet Pesto Pizza with Kale and Goat Cheese from The Roasted Root

12. Rainbow Pepper Pizza from Super Healthy Kids

from Super Healthy Kids

13. White Pizza with Roasted Tomatoes from Taste and Tell

14. Roasted Mushroom Pizza with Garlic and Rosemary from the Lemon Bowl

15. Oil-cured Black Olive + Smashed Garlic Pizza w/Vegan ‘Parm’ from With Food + Love

from With Food + Love

16. Low- Carb Portobello Pizza from Busy in Brooklyn

17. Hummus Pita Pizza from Home Cooking Memories

18. Cheezy Butternut Squash Pizza + Garlicky Spinach & Caramelized Onions from The Plant Strong Vegan

from The Plant Strong Vegan

19. Creamed Spinach and Egg Pizza from Taste and Tell 

20. Cheese Pizza with Spicy Roasted Carrot and Red Onion Sauce from Eats Well with Others

Good news! I’m no longer nauseous. I have passed the unbelievably unpleasant 3 months of sickness and overall yuckiness of first trimester pregnancy and I’m back to eating EVERYTHING I SEE. I think my current state is best represented by the gif below:

Excellent news for me and the growing child in my uterus. Not so great news for me and the growing junk in my trunk. Though, I’m not one not to embrace this part of pregnancy so growing junk in trunk, be damned! Pass the french fries please (and the spaghetti, and the mac n’ cheese and that basket of hush puppies over there and, also? Could I get a bite or 5 of that burrito, please?).

Step 1: Cheese. And when you think you’re done, add more.

My biggest craving will always and forever my salt. I’ve always gone salty savory over sweet. Plus, for some reason, during this pregnancy, any time I eat sugar I feel like absolute poop. It just hits me in a way that makes me uncomfortable and again, yucky, so as much as I want all the milkshakes and hot fudge sundaes in the world, I’m just not doing it. I’m also still not doing hot coffee. That too, knocks me off my feet and not in a good way. But me and cheese? We’re back to being best buddies. Sweet hallelujah! Therefore, I bring you the following recipe.

I honestly can’t believe I haven’t done a cheese fry post before. In my mind, cheese fries are the answer to all of life’s problems. Like, maybe, if Bibi Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas got together over some cheese fries, there might just be peace in the Middle East. I’m just sayin’, no one’s tried it yet so . . .

Step 2: Top with sautéed veggies.

Final Step: Top with EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT.

Honestly, I set out to make this a nacho recipe and then I realized, “That’s ridiculous! I love fries! FRIES!” So I sautéed up some of my favorite veggies and delicately placed them on top of 2 different kinds of melted cheese and then topped all of THAT with spinach, cilantro, cherry tomatoes and a dollop of sour cream and bada boom, bada bing, you basically a delicious answer to the same ol’ nachos you always have. I mean, with all those veggies and leafy greens, it’s basically a salad, right?

Cheese fries or Salad?

Loaded Veggie Cheese Fries

Ingredients:

1/2 bag of froze waffle fries
1 zucchini, diced small
1 small eggplant, cut in 1/2 inch rounds
1 red pepper, diced small
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese
1/2 cup of Pepper Jack cheese
1/2 cup of fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
handful of cilantro, chopped
2 radishes, sliced thin
Cotija cheese (optional)
sour cream
Kosher salt
pepper (to taste)
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp garlic powder

Directions:

Place sliced eggplant on paper towels, cover with kosher salt and let ‘sweat’ for 30 minutes (minimum). Once done, dab excess moisture with paper towel and dice eggplant small.

Cook fries based upon directions on bag (tip: cook your fries on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil so that when you top with cheese, you won’t be cleaning melted cheese off your sheet pan).

Place olive oil in a saute pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Place diced eggplant in the pan and cook for roughly 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the red peppers and zucchini as well as the garlic powder, pepper, cumin and cook for another 5 – 7 minutes, continuing to stir occasionally.

Once fries are done, turn off oven, take out the fries and top with shredded cheese. Let melt on their own for a minute and then place for an additional minute in the warmed (but turned off) oven. Once melted, top with veggies, greens, tomatoes, radishes, Cotija cheese and sour cream and really anything else your heart desires.

Enjoy your salad fries!

2011 Whitney is giggling like a little school girl right now. See, I was just starting out in this blog game and I already had a girl-crush on one special food blogger—-one Amy Kritzer from What Jew Wanna Eat. I loved her creativity. I loved that she didn’t fit into any textbook definition of “Jewish”. I loved that she gave voice to a Jewish crowd that loves Jewish food and their cultural identity. Plus, she’s funny. Fast forward 2 years and I’m receiving an email from her asking if I’d like to collaborate on an e-cookbook.  I mean, are you kidding me!?!?! I didn’t even have to think about it. YES! And then my husband was all, “You work full time, you have an infant and you are going to write a cookbook in 6 weeks!?!?” Again . . . YES!! Amy asked me!! Clearly, he didn’t understand the amazingness of the situation as much as I did. Marine scientists? What are ya gonna do?  Anywho, you can find out more about our cookbook in Amy’s post below so let me keep on gushing. I am extremely grateful to Amy for making this here guest post and for being a mentor to me in this blogging world. I truly admire her career. I admire her take on food. I admire her for her fun outlook on life and most importantly, I admire her for being incredibly successful and not taking herself so seriously. Check out the post and recipe below. I hope everyone is having a happy, peaceful and meaningful Passover.

Hello, y’all! Amy from What Jew Wanna Eat here. I’m pumped to guest post for Whitney today. I don’t remember how I first found Whitney and her adorable blog, but I was immediately drawn in by her candid stories and cuter than cute family (not to mention, mutual love of Jewy blog names).

Last year, I got to know Whitney even better when we wrote a Passover e-book along with Sarah and Liz. Not only was it super fun chatting with Whitney and the girls on our weekly video chats, but I got to see first hand some of her creative recipes like Zucchini Fries with Horseradish Aioli and Mashed Potato Bar (um, can I eat a mashed potato bar every night?)  So when Whitney recently announced she’s expecting baby number two, I was obviously psyched, but sad to learn she had pretty much only eaten matzah ball soup her first trimester! I love matzah ball soup as much as the next Jew, but there is such thing as too much of a good thing.

Now that it’s Passover, I thought Whitney could use some easy, kid-friendly, chametz-free noshes. My go-to breakfast of late is the Pinterest-worthy avocado toast, so I thought why not create a Passover version? This one has a Middle Eastern inspiration with za’atar, and a little kick from crushed red pepper (for my Texas roots).

Avocado Matzah Toast with Za’atar and Radishes

Ingredients:

1 small avocado

1 teaspoon za’atar, or to taste (if not eating kitniyot, leave out sesame seeds)

½ lemon, juiced

2 matzot

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

2 radish, sliced thin with a knife or mandolin

1 hard boiled egg, sliced thin

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

In a small bowl, mash together avocado, za’atar and lemon juice with a fork. Carefully spread on matzah pieces, making sure not to break matzah. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper and garnish with radish, egg, and olive oil. Nosh!