This vegetarian brunch pizza is one of THE BEST brunch foods we’ve ever made! If you love runny eggs, smoked cheese, and sourdough bread, this is the pizza for you.

The weekend near my birthday and our blogiversary is always a fun-busy time. Last week was that weekend and we celebrated with a pizza party and this drool-worthy deep dish pie. I love throwing themed parties and coordinating the menu, decor, and photobooth because I’m #extra and value #aesthetic but for some reason, when it came to my own birthday, I just wanted something simple, easy, and laidback. No theme, no dress code, no set menu, no photobooth set up. Just me, my friends, fun games, and a lot of pizza.

I’ve been wanting to remake this hoisin mushroom pizza for a while now, and have had many non-veggie friends request it so my birthday was the perfect excuse to host a pizza night. After all, one of my favourite things to do is feed my friends (yup, I’m that mom friend); it’s my way of thanking them for putting up with a weirdo like me for yet another year.

I was so excited to cook up a feast for my friends that I woke up at 4am on my birthday. Just kidding, insomnia doesn’t care that it’s your birthday (it’s merciless, I tell ya). Starting the day early meant I had time to curl my hair (albeit terribly) and make myself a pancake breakfast before the grocery store opened. The sun warmed my skin as I drove to Superstore and for once, the shelves were fully stocked with produce; besides my poodle-y hair, the day was going well! Even though I was home alone for most of my birthday, I thoroughly enjoyed having the house to myself without having to fight for kitchen space, singing out loud to my favourite Spotify playlist twice through, and slaying the pizza prep. Since it’s nearing the end of the semester, school has been overwhelming my life so it was so nice to just not be doing or thinking about school at all. The solitary ‘me time’ recharged me for the evening of entertaining to come. As you can see, I’m an extroverted introvert.

The rest of the evening filled my heart with all the warm fuzzies. Watching friends from different groups get along and laugh together and delighting them with vegetarian food is literally the best feeling ever. Pretty sure this is the first birthday that I’ve had this many people over and this many social groups mingling. As a person who is used to small, intimate gatherings and hanging out with the same handful of people, I wasn’t sure if people would enjoy the company of strangers. Once we started playing our signature karaoke game and the fishbowl game (my default activities because it always brings out the competitive side of people and results in abdominal-cramping laughter), those worries vanished. Even though I might be running around the house to make sure everyone is taken care of, as along as my guests are having a good time, I’m also having a good time.

At some point in the night, I returned to the living room to see my friends upside down and on their heads. Then it progressed into helping each other into inversions and acro yoga. The strangest part was that none of them are normally into yoga-ish stuff… I was perplexed at the turn of events, but I do love sharing the little knowledge I have about yoga and watching others succeed in their newfound party tricks (teddy bear headstand was the posture of choice that night). Never in a million years would I have anticipated getting that sweaty at 11pm on my birthday. Besides Az’s bruised bum from Chew dropping her on the granite step, I think/hope we all had a lot of fun.

I kind of live in the middle of nowhere so my friends started trickling out relatively early so that they could make it back to their homes before the last bus departed. After everyone had left (besides Chew, because she’s my wifey and helped me clean up), I sat at the dining table sorting through and editing photos and just being super thankful for the many amazing people I get to call my friends. Physical gifts aren’t my love language, but the gift of time is something I treasure dearly. Time is pretty much the most expensive gift I could ask for, priceless actually.

Especially on my birthday, I feel extra blessed and loved by those who gave up their evening to come hang out at my house and let me feed them vegetarian pizza, those that sat on public transit for several hours to get here, those that spent their day preparing food (Chew made me this incredibly delicious 4-tiered gingerbread cake that tasted like a brownie and had coconut caramel, pecans, and the cutest straw piggy topper that luckily didn’t get caught on fire by the sparkler candles we tried to light while the camera was on a 10 second timer and sorry this is another one of my run on sentences so I shall stop here), and those that remembered me during the day and took time to write me a lil’ birthday message. Even as I’m writing this days later, I still feel so full of joy and gratitude for the many wonderful friends I get to live my 23rd year of life with.

For once I can say that I do feel different after my birthday. 23 is a going to be a year of many changes. I won’t be a student anymore and for the first time ever, I have no plans. No idea what I’ll be doing or where I’ll be in the near future (beside my grad trip). Will I move home? Travel abroad and drain my bank account? Land a big girl job and stay in the city? Do more freelancing? I couldn’t even give you a prediction. The upcoming year is like a blank notebook, ready to be filled with stories beyond my wildest imagination. Having no direction is terrifying, but the idea of freedom is also exhilarating. I’m a mixed bag of emotions right now.

This vegetarian brunch pizza wasn’t one of the pizzas I served at my birthday party, but it would’ve been if I had hosted it during the day. It’s more indulgent than our usual recipes but special occasions call for special foods! This brunch pizza has a bit of everything: crispy kale, creamy aioli, smokey cheesy bechamel, fresh basil… but one of the best parts about this pizza is ripping the bread-y crust off and dipping it into the jammy egg yolks. YUM! We devoured a healthy serving of this straight out of the oven and you should too.