White Pizza with Broccoli and Mushrooms

I can never eat too much pizza. I just love it. My "problem" is the "cheese problem." It has been difficult for me to not eat it especially on foods such as pizza. And I'm sorry folks, but I just don't care much for the fake cheeses, even Daiya. At this time I am reading "The China Study" which is actually helping me to overcome this addiction to cheese. But I digress. This recipe comes from The Vegetarian Times and it was vegetarian – not vegan – until I got a hold of it. You can use any crust recipe you like. I am on a sourdough tangent at the moment so I made a sourdough pizza crust which turned out quite nice even if I forgot the pizza in the oven and over baked it for a couple of minutes! This recipe made more sauce and toppings than you really should put on your pizza. Too much "stuff" makes for a soggy pizza so it's a balancing act. The left over sauce and broccoli mix I'm going to mix up with a bit of whole wheat fettuccine, fresh basil and sun dried tomatoes. But that's another post! This pizza pairs up nicely with a nice pinot gris. Makes one medium pizza.

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
6-8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

8 oz. broccoli florets, cut on the small side
-----
1-1/2 TB Earth Balance margarine
1-1/2 TB all-purpose flour

1 cup soy milk

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup shredded Daiya mozzarella
1 pizza dough

Directions

1. Place pizza stone in center of oven, and heat to 500°F for at least 30 minutes; 60 is better. You want your oven as hot as you can get it.

2. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until beginning to brown, stirring frequently. Add broccoli and 1/3 cup water. Cover tightly, and steam broccoli in skillet 2 to 3 minutes, or until barely tender. When done add some seasonings, stir and drain. Set aside.

3. Meanwhile, heat margarine in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook a minute or two; add flour, and cook 2 minutes, or until pale golden, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and salt. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, or until mixture thickens and begins to boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in mozzarella and whisk until sauce is smooth and cheese is melted.

4. Shape pizza dough and place on piece of parchment paper on pizza peel.

5. Spread white sauce over dough. If you're a fan of Daiya cheese go ahead and add a bit more if you like and top with broccoli mixture. Slide on to top of pizza stone and bake for 6 minutes. Then slide parchment paper from underneath pizza and cook for several more minutes until pizza is brown on edges.