Izze equse Watermelon

This past week plagued with a craving for watermelon so disproportionate to the season that I was certain cravings were in part genetics, I happened across a “new to me” product on the shelves of Whole Foods.  Izze-esque.  A low calorie version of their fruity sodas.  I almost passed it by with complete disregard–I wasn’t in a soda mood… and then I saw the watermelon flavor peeking out from the end of the shelf.  I added to the cart next to my watermelon and went about my business.

First, I like Izze sodas. I don’t buy them often, maybe 1-2 times a year since they are still calories with little virtue.  The Izze esque isn’t calorie free, either, but at 50 per bottle  (and the watermelon craving), I’m less resistant.  This lower calorie version is quite good.  It was surprisingly light and didn’t have a weird fake taste I expected a watermelon flavored soda to have.  It didn’t taste exactly like watermelon, but that was the predominant hint.  I don’t find the regular Izze sodas to be overly sweet, and this wasn’t either.   The bottom line – I liked it as an alternative and option on my shelves, but it still isn’t something I would buy with any regularity.

Almond Breeze Almond & Coconut Blend

Next up is the Almond Breeze coconut almond blend milk that has entered the market with much ado.  Perhaps there is only “much ado” in the world of non-dairy people who cook and write blogs and wonder why, for the love of almonds and coconuts, was this necessary?  As I posted earlier, I used this in my Sunflower Strawberry Soup recipe because the package was leaking when I got home.  I do not blame the makers of Almond Breeze for this–someone bagging the groceries in the self check out lane threw 24 cans of Fancy Feast on top of it.  (Note: Jake Cat doesn’t want his image as a fierce jungle beast tarnished with my slip that “Fancy Feast” was purchased, so let’s just say you didn’t read that part.)

In all fairness, I do not drink any of the milks I buy (soy, almond, or coconut) straight out of the container. In my dairy days, I also never drank any milk so there you have it.  On a rare occasion, I will make a chocolate milk to drink, but that’s generally when I don’t feel good… and everyone knows some Hershey syrup in a glass of almond milk makes everything better.  Mostly, I use the milks for coffee and cooking.  I did taste this though, and it does have a surprising heavy coconut taste to it… stronger, I would say, than a carton of coconut milk itself.

Would I buy it again? I won’t say no, but I’m not going out of my way to pick it up again.   It would be good in baking and coffee, which is probably how I’ll use it, but I’m leery of the coconut flavor in any sauces where a hint of coconut would be unwelcomed.

Daiya Jack Style Wedge

Admission: I’ve been stalking Whole Foods for the new Daiya product–”cheese” wedges.  I’ve not had any vegan cheese replacements I’ve liked, except Daiya.  Indeed, their shreds are great.  I do limit my use of them as they are not exactly low in fat, and it is a processed food… but just every… so… often… I need to fulfill that emotional cheese craving.  So when I saw that Daiya was coming out with a wedge version of their product, I was ready to sign on… but it took 6 weeks for it to make an appearance in my locale.  Having found it this week, I picked up the Jack Style, came home and immediately cracked it open.

It is a solid 7 ounce brick with the consistency expected of processed cheese (think Velveeta).  It is smooth, creamy, and the flavor is dead-on.  I tried it out first on my seitan sandwich… where it melted to a creamy, gooey consistency that will make any vegan reminiscent about childhood grilled cheeses to take pause and smile a little before breaking out the tomato soup.  So  yeah, I liked it.

Second (and perhaps the most important) test–how did this hold up on a cracker?  Cheese and crackers  used to be my ultimate dinner… and while I have no regrets about giving up this gourmet evening companion, I do long for a few tasty nibbles.  Not enough to endure the migraine cheese causes, or abandon my healthier lifestyle, though.  Daiya holds up here too.  It isn’t the same, but it is a reasonable and tasty facsimile–and good enough I wanted a second cracker!

The verdict: I look forward to a long relationship with Daiya… and am hopeful of trying out the cheddar version.

Earth Balance Coconut Spread

I’m  huge fan of Earth Balance products.  I routinely purchase their soy milk, mayo, and buttery spread.  They are non-GMO and almost always organic (or mostly).  I’m also a huge fan of their website–which is very interactive, and provides opportunities to win coupons through participation.  Indeed, I have several coupons for their products as a result.

I don’t go through their butter spreads very often–remember I stick closely to a low fat diet, but do use it on the occasional cinnamon toast, bagel, or frosting needs.  Having run out in a bad frosting ordeal, I was so elated about scoring the Daiya above, I noticed that the coconut spread was on sale… and of course, I had a coupon! I figured why not?

The first test I ran this through was cinnamon toast. The spread is a bit harder than the buttery spread version, with its base being coconut oil, but it melted dreamily, so no worries.  I actually like how this melts better than the buttery spread.  It obviously doesn’t have the same buttery pronouncement as the other, but on its own, it was great on the toast.

In the interest of fairness, and knowing that I probably won’t cook or bake with this, I decided on a whim while making popcorn to melt a little on the kernels and see how it fared.   Again, it melts so easily and a little goes a very long way.  I tossed some into my hot popcorn, salted and set down to watch some Big Bang Theory.  It was good, but it did have a distinct coconut flavor that I found pronounced on the popcorn–and I’m sure enhanced with the amount of salt I tend to use.  This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing and got me to thinking about a coconut caramel corn on a day when I want to be extremely bad.

The verdict:  I liked it, but it won’t be my first choice… unless it is on sale and I have a coupon.

Red Velvet Vegan Magic

Back in February, I heard mumblings about a new vegetarian restaurant that was to open in Bryn Mawr.  Then, I was shopping at the Green Street Consignment and saw the coming soon sign.  Last week, they opened.  I tried to get there all this week after work, and it just wasn’t happening… my first week back in the office left me a little tired by days end. So, I went today.  I cannot wait to go back again, very soon!

Vgë Café Menu

Vgë Café is located in Bryn Mawr on Lancaster Avenue, like I said, across from Green Street Consignment, and just down from the most charming toy store.

The restaurant is completely vegan–which made my day.  It’s a rare treat I can go to a place and order anything off the menu without question.  Ok, I always have questions, but this time, it wasn’t about if they could take the cheese off, or if there was dairy in blah blah blah.

Vgë Café Seating

The other thing I LOVE about this place is their commitment to sustainability.  All “disposables” are completely compostable–and are being composted.  The plates are made of sustainable bamboo fibers, they use local farmer & products and organics where possible.  They are working toward their green certification.

My lunch at Vgë Café (kale plant not sold here!)

And faced with an entire menu of choices, what did the Nikki partake of?  Obviously a cupcake–but they also have cakes and pies.  I also opted for a “Vgësteak” and a natural fruit (small batched) soda.  It was quite good.  Vgë Café uses local made Michael’s Seitan (New Jersey) and bread from Le Bus Bakery–a Philly favorite.

The Vgësteak

The Vgësteak incorporates the traditions of Philadelphia cheese steak into a healthy, plant-strong option.  Made with seitan, peppers, onions and mushrooms (nothing fried) on a Le Bus multi-grain roll.  It’s also topped with vegan cheese–the woman I asked wasn’t sure, but I’m fairly positive it’s Daiya mozzarella style shreds.

The cupcake was also quite tasty. I mean, really… you simply cannot go wrong with red velvet!  It isn’t a replacement for my favorite Dia Doce… but sans finding the truck (and that they are frequently sold out of vegan when I do get there), this is a nice sweet treat option.  I also made the sacrifice for the sake of a proper review and got a soda made with cane sugar.  It was quite delicious, if a tad too sweet for me.  I had the huckleberry, but they had multiple options, including cola and a zero calorie cola.

All in all… I can’t wait to go back and work my way through the menu.  I”m especially intrigued by the gluten free mac & cheese on the menu.

Raw Burrito with Collard Green

This topic reminds me of the story of 7th grade art class, where I got kicked out for refusing to make my owl’s head “more square.” This is true. We were to make a drawing from a nature picture–or some such nonsense.  The teacher (and I use that term loosely) and I got into something of a verbal match bordering on the loud side when he would not approve my drawing because the head in my drawing was not as squarely shaped as in the photograph.  If memory serves, I only passed the class so he wouldn’t have to have me back for a second go round.  Funny, I went on to almost double major in college with a series of successful art classes, projects, and a tendency to not follow the directions (though my paper on why Dennis Rodman should be considered a form of live art did get me an A and a kudos for original thought).

But as usual, I digress… today I was inspired to make some recipes I read in VegNews last night.  Not in any particular mood this week to think up my own concoctions, I selected three based on the following factors: (1) I want to get the hang of making seitan, (2) I can’t resist a veggie dog recipe, or miso, and (3) I’ve been experimenting with raw wraps all week.  So the recipes I chose were for seitan gyros, a Japanese style BBQ veggie dog, and a raw burrito.

To the kitchen, Batman!

Due to the time to make the seitan, I started there.  45 minutes in a steamer and 30 in the oven… whipping it up: literally

The Seitan Gyro From the Oven

seconds!  But the first dilemma to solve is that my steamer is still in absentia and I haven’t replaced it.  I was not deterred. I Googled quickly and found I could create a quick make-shift steamer from items in my recycle bin. SCORE!  I started making the seitan and quickly realized the recipe called for soy flour, which I do not have. I decided to sub in chick pea flour. Problem (hopefully)solved. The recipe also called for red wine… I had no intention of opening a bottle of red for a 1/4 cup when I can’t drink any of it.  So I subbed again, this time with vegan Worcestershire sauce, tamari, and red wine vinegar.  The dough seemed to form well enough and I threw it in the steamer I made.

Next up was to mix up the tzatziki sauce and chop the veggies for the burrito.  Since I had remembered to buy the soy yogurt at Whole Foods earlier, I didn’t need to compromise by making my own (whew!).  With that all made and nicely in the fridge, I started on the veggies that needed to marinate for the burritos.  And of course, I didn’t have the specifics that the recipe called for, so I used what I had… onion, white mushrooms, asparagus, carrot, and green pepper.  Chopped and in the marinade, I worked on the gauc.  Another recipe that I didn’t follow. Sigh. I made my guac with half avocado and half green peas to reduce the amount of fat/calories. It’s actually quite delicious. (Oh, and I admit, I swapped things in the marinade recipe, too.)

It was now time for the Japanese style BBQ veggie dogs.  I pulled my package of veggie dogs from the freezer and whipped up the miso sauce. There was only one ingredient I didn’t have: arrowroot powder, which I swapped corn starch for successfully.  I also didn’t realize the recipe called for cabbage, so my veggie dogs are sans fried cabbage, which I’m A-OK with… I like the miso sauce just on the grilled veggie dogs.

Seitan Gyro, Ready to Bite

Even with the best of intentions of following a recipe through its course, I can’t seem to do it.  The gyro seitan turned out incredibly amazing… I’m siked!  The burritos are also quite good, though I would personally cut back the amount of cumin used and add a little more cayenne or Red Hot–but I love the collard green for the wrap (I’ve been doing this with various fillings all week).

The conclusion? I had a successful cooking afternoon… and learned quite a lot.  Fortunately, I also have quite a few goodies to enjoy the week ahead as all my swaps, subs and better judgements worked out this time. Good recipes are forgiving like that.

Mahalo.

Edit: Note that because VegNews is an independent publication, I won’t be posting their recipes, but you can pick up the June 2012 issue for these and a ton more delicious recipes.  They also post a lot of recipes to their website you can check out, too.