roasted red pepper, basil, green olive and "sausage" vegan pizza

how can it be pizza if there ain't no cheese?!! wouldn't that be flat bread? or focaccia? or some other weak-in-the-knees, braces-with-headgear-sportin, narrow-shouldered, clammy palmed, cry-baby flour yeast and water product? heck no, i say, in my best fake oregonian drawl. not only can it still be rightfully called pizza, it can me durn tasty to boot. and if you screw up on your pizza dough it just might chew like aforementioned boot.

here is a lil' feller i baked up the other night. a can of plum tomatoes in sauce (trader joe's .89 cents) simmered down with salt and onion powder, italian seasonings and fresh, raw garlic until thickened. pour over the dough in a uniform layer. saute up some gimme lean sausage flavor, adding extra fennel, garlic and hot pepper - or use the real thing if you are a carnivorous bugger. sprinkle this over the sauce. scatter a whole load of basil over the "sausage" and strips of freshly (they're all over the farmers market here in sf right now) roasted red pepper over the basil. for good measure i topped the pie with sliced green olives and more minced garlic. i'll bet if you sniff real hard you can smell me right from your computer.

the real key is to not skimp on the thick tomato-y sauce-y part. also key is to not use that yeast you've been carting around through four changes of residence and one change of country. you might notice my pie appears to be of the thin crust type, but be not fooled. it was supposed to be of the other, thicker, heartier variety. sadly, it seemed that most of my yeastie buddies were somewhat lethargic and worn out after so many years of travelling. at least that's what i think it was. my cobbler's fingers are crossed that my leatherette touch has not extended all the way to pizza dough!

anyone have a bunnyfoot-proof, i mean fool-proof recipe for the best pizza dough ever? oh, and by the by, i tried some old sourdough pizza crust recipe i picked up from somewhere in the internet-o-sphere that turned out quite horrendous. it was hard, like, oh my god, shoe leather!!! if i'd formed the dough into paddle shapes i could've played a mean game of ping-pong with it. or given out a solid bout of corporal punishment....now that's an idea. so a good sourdough crust recipe too. pretty please?