Tofurky Frozen Vegan Pizza in BOULDER!

Vegan Pepperoni Frozen Pizza?   That tastes good?  GET OUT OF THE CITY!   YES! It’s finally in Boulder at Whole Foods  after many months wait and we had to have a pizza party a few weeks ago to try them all out.   Tofurky Pizza comes in three flavours: pepperoni, cheese and sausage with peppers and grilled veggies.  Kids, this stuff is GREAT!   This is good for frozen pizza, period, much less vegan pizza.  The Turtle Island folks have done it again and they decided to be the very first vegan pepperoni pizza on the frozen aisle.      We used to love frozen pizza, it reminded us of our childhoods eating Totino’s Party Pizza and out of this box, the sight almost brought a tear to my eye.   I remembered my grandmother buying that particular brand of pizza for me to have on Saturdays as a treat when I’d go over to her house.  We’d have Kool Aid and Party Pizza.   (Admit it, this looks familiar!) :





This pizza  pie does our old fave justice with a similar dimension, crispy but light crust and CUBED pepperoni and a light (not gross) portion of Daiya cheese.  (In case you have been living under a rock, Daiya is the only non-dairy cheese that melts like the real thing and TASTES amazing– a review of that is underway for any of you rock-dwellers out there).    But where the old time Party Pizzas were a greasy, meat-slathered, sweet (on what I assume is a deep fried crust) kiddie-pie,  Tofurky Frozen Pepperoni Pizza is lean, vegan, cholesterol free,  high protein, critter-free  and all natural.  It’s an optimal choice for lactose intolerant, vegetarian or vegan diners.
I have always been on the look out for decent vegan pepperoni and have found most versions tasty, but not quite authentic. This stuff is amazing. The pepperoni tastes great and even has little “fat” globules and just the right texture (don’t start gagging – they replicated the authentic pepperoni flecks with brown rice) but isn’t as salty as the real stuff.    The crispy (but not card-board-crispy) crust is the best I’ve had on ANY frozen pizza.   The sauce was not my favourite element of this pizza, it could use a little saltiness or sweetness  to cut the acidic tomato-y bitterness but it was tasty nonetheless.  (* some of the taste testers thought the sauce was fabulous. )





The Cheese Pizza is REALLY good and, thankfully, it doesn’t have too much cheese on it. Diaya is a wonderful thing, but too much of a wonderful thing is not good. As with all cheeses, it turns gloppy or slimy if there is too much.  This is one you could spice up with your own fixins and toppings. The sauce tastes a little different on this version -and it might be my imagination, but it seems more delicate and less aggressively tomato-y and it pairs well with the mozzarella-cheddar mix of the cheese.  It’s also very “Tontio’s-esque”  but in a good way:




but my second favourite, behind the pepperoni Totino’s flashback of childhood, was THIS baby right here:





Of all the three varieties, this one is the most sophisticated.   This is a delicious combination of vegan sausage and grilled vegetables.  I wish they added a little more fennel to their  Italian sausage, but I add the fennel seeds on with a little dash of sea-salt.   Delicious!    The smokiness of the veggies and the savory sausage is a perfect match for the sauce and crispy crust. 
For 6 bucks and some change.. you can’t go wrong!!!

Note: I haven’t been up to blogging this year yet, as I’ve been very busy working, and also getting into a new dietary routine in which I am eating mainly unprocessed whole foods and limiting “white” and refined foods.  My rule is “single ingredients that are what they are.”   I will be posting some new recipes but I also wanted to post some reviews I’ve not had time to publish (like the above).   Of COURSE there will still be reviews from the “junk food” loving side of the family and I will still be sampling treats once a week.     After all, moderation in all things!  
~B~!

Match Meats Part 1: Beef and Pork

The reasons to not eat animal meat are numerous and obvious in the growing wake of devastating ecological and health impact.  Our bodies, and the planet, can’t keep up. What then, is this meaty-love affair?  One questions I hear a lot is, “Why would a vegan want to eat fake “meat”?     - and the answer is really simple; most people in the Western World grew up with meat dishes, and some people liked the taste before they changed their diet for ethical or health reasons.    For people who miss their burgers, chicken fingers and carnitas, there are alternatives that are better for you and the world.
Not one to love the “real deal” before I became a vegetarian, I used to shy away from processed “meat” alternatives but now there are more and more nutritious, natural and GOOD tasting substitutes out now that I’m on a veritable mock meat-jag, helped along with the ersatz carnivores in the family still missing their old treats.
Enter:  Match Meats.  After a client and foodie friend on the west-coast told me about her fantastically realistic sandwich one night, I was on a mission to find this stuff, and thankfully, Boulder is one of the test markets and it’s available at Whole Foods.   Match is being lauded as one of the best, most realistic, gourmet vegan  matches for animal meats.  These swankily packaged faux meats are seriously unlike anything else out there.
 
Flavours are:  ground beef, pork, ground chicken, italian sausage, breakfast sausage and even crab.  Amazingly, it smells,  looks, tastes and prepares like the real deal.  Unlike other vegan-meats that come pre-shaped and seasoned, Match Meats can be prepared according to your own traditional meat recipes and can be shaped to form many different types of dishes.
My first two to review shall be the Ground Beef and Pork  varieties.  The hamburger totally disarmed me out of the package; while it wasn’t pink (a nice burger-y brown) it SMELLED and FELT like actual cooked hamburger meat.    It was kind of neat to be able to form patties and add ingredients to the mix.  I wanted to keep it simple to better taste what the “meat” tasted like on it’s own so I added a dash of vegan Worcestershire sauce and a few shakes of chopped dehydrated garlic.    Man, were these burgers amazing!!  We were all just blown away by how “burger-like”  the texture was. Instead of the strange somewhat soft-texture of vegan burgers, this was exactly like HAMBURGER!  I had to resist the temptation to scrutinize the burger for gristle and fat the way I did when I was a kid. We ate this up on vegan buns with mustard, organic ketchup, pickles and tomatoes just to keep things plain and they were AMAZING.   MIL almost came unglued with joy at having her favourite burger taste back.   I will definitely be using this for my mom’s numerous ground beef recipes and and meatloaf.

and check out the texture on the inside:


Match Ground Pork,  was another experience that was just on the edge of being a little TOO realistic in terms of texture and smell… (pork was one of my least favourites) but, unfortunately, due to my preparation I didn’t get to taste the porkiness of the finished product because I prepared it ala molé  using a vegan adaptation of Mike’s Molé de Pollo  , a recipe I got at Savory Spice Shop here in town.  I used veggie broth and omitted raisins, but was extremely impressed by the smoky complexity of this powdered version of a notoriously difficult, labour intensive sauce.  The Match Pork held up beautifully, even with the addition of extra liquid.**     Most other faux meat would have turned into a  pasty mess.
I served with rice, chipotle corn and white corn tortillas. On the side I served a cucumber salad made with dried shallots, olive oil, cumin, green chile powder, lime-juice and Grand Garlic salt .
Delicious!  The picture below shows dad’s plate with some Daiya cheese sprinkles on top.  - Next time, crab-cakes and breakfast sausage.
**Guidelines for cooking with MATCH®;

• MATCH® comes frozen and takes 24 hours in your refrigerator to thaw, depending on the temperature. Keep it cold until cooking; this will give you a better texture.
• MATCH® is soft when cold, firm when warm. Keep this in mind when cooking. It is a low fat food, and requires oil or water when you handle it.
• MATCH® is firmer with less moisture in it and softer with more moisture in it. Baking, sautéing, poaching, and steaming all affect the moisture and texture, so you may have to experiment with it.
• MATCH® needs oil on the outside of it when placing it on the grill, or spray the grill; when baking, oil the pan. We spray burgers, breast shapes, medallions and patties prior to grilling. You may want to oil or wet your hands in cold water when forming patties or other shapes.
• MATCH® requires about half the cooking time as meat (thawed) and about 10% less time when cooking from a frozen state. Pay attention not to cook it too long as when it becomes over cooked, it will dry out. Covering loosely if cooking in an oven is a good idea.
• We do not use egg yolks, as they are not necessary and make the dishes too soft. Nor do we incorporate bread crumbs (except in recipes for crab cakes), as they compromise the texture of the product. Some chefs have found that egg whites are acceptable, but not necessary.
• Use roasted or raw vegetables sparingly. Raw vegetables release a lot of moisture, which softens the product. The more moisture you incorporate, the softer the end (cooked) product will be.
• Incorporate fresh herbs and spices use as you would normally for a recipe for animal proteins. For salts and peppers, use @ 15-30% less in comparison to meat recipes. Roasted garlic, garlic, sugar, honey, salt, pepper use is about the same.
• When using MATCH® in casseroles, remember that the vegetable protein is dense and it will take up some moisture. For example, in lasagna, you do not have to squeeze out the spinach nearly as much. Or you may want to keep your tomato sauce with more liquid, or your casserole will be too dry.
• Fresh vegetables stuffed with MATCH® make easy and hot appetizers since the vegetable provides additional moisture and flavor when baked.
• When cooking off to use for sauces as in lasagna or marinara or a pizza topping, and other sauces, season the bulk product and sauté in oil, using a medium heat. Work quickly, breaking up into desired size as you cook. Remember, MATCH® has a short cooking time.

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The Village Smithy, Carbondale Colorado

Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands. -  (The Village Blacksmith) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

One of our favourite vacation traditions in Colorado is the Village Smithy in Carbondale Colorado; simply called “Smithy's” by locals in the Roaring Fork Valley, it has been a breakfast institution since 1975.     When I was a kid, we’d visit the location that used to be in Glenwood Springs next to the Walgreen’s Drug Store.  Back in those days, in the mid-1970s, my main objective was to get to the world famous Hot Springs Pool as fast as humanly possible, but my parents insisted on breakfast. Lame.   Nonetheless, I loved this restaurant because it had a sandwich named after one of my favourite animals (the B.A.T.  - bacon, avocado, tomato), cool decorations like a huge old-timey coffee grinder, and was adjacent to the beach balls, nose-plugs and pool toys at the Walgreens.

The Glenwood Springs locale closed years ago, but the original Carbondale restaurant is as popular as ever with diners waiting to eat on the sunny patio.




These days, I’ve replaced my once-beloved “BAT” sandwich with one of their numerous veggie friendly dishes that can be customised to be vegan: scrambled tofu with veggies and “Smithy 7” (Kashi 7-grain pilaf with zucchini, mushrooms and veggies),  grilled veggie salad, famous “McGurks” hashed browns with peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and onions, vegan tomatillo green chili, southwestern wrap, and more.
My dining companions had all of the above, and everything was fresh, hot and delicious. The Kashi was a welcome, healthy change of pace from usual sides.  The only thing that was a little awry were English muffins that were stale and the texture of roofing shingles.

This time I had the “Southwestern Wrap”,  sans chicken, and sampled some of the “McGurks” potatoes and Kashi Pilaf.  The wrap contained romaine lettuce, guacamole, black beans, corn, rice and tomatoes.    It was all fresh and delicious, though the french fries were your standard diner variety chips.
Luckily for me, it still ended up being a “BAT” after all (beans, avocado, tomatoes? )  and my inner child was happy.

Mom’s Fourth of July Potato Salad Vegan Re-Do

 

My mom made a great traditional mustard potato salad!  ( I know, I know, everyone says their mother makes wonderful potato salad, but my mommy made the best.)    I have not had potato salad for a number of years because of the mayo and egg in it (not vegan) so this year I decided to do the Forth of July up right and grill  with all natural hardwood charcoal, some Amy’s vegan Texas burgers, home-made potato salad vegan style, and patriotic red-white and blue potato Terra chips.  Watermelon for dessert.   Here’s the potato chips (terrachips stripes and blues) :

Never mind that the grilling was interrupted by a torrential downpour and that the burgers had to be finished on the George Forman and the corn had to be unwrapped and stuck in an indignant steam bath.

The potato salad was AMAZING!!!  Absolutely 100% EXACTLY like the real deal.  I changed the onions to shallots and the pickles to real German garlic barrel pickles but it tasted just like mom’s Vlasic pickle-yellow onion- real mayonnaise version, and better still, drew rave reviews from the Midwesterners.

Potato SALAD:

Ingredients:

4-5  cooked RUSSET (it MUST be RUSSET) potatoes, chopped into 1 inch pieces*

3 dill pickles, diced (I used Gundelsheim’s Garlic Barrel Pickles)

2 table spoons pickle juice

4 ribs celery,  chopped

1 cup of vegan Mayo (use Veganaise original for EXACT flavour of mayo)

2 heaping tablespoons yellow mustard (use more after you taste the finished product if you like.)

3 shallots diced (or 1/2 small onion) , finely minced

Boil potatoes until tender but not mushy   (*I use boiled potatoes with the skins removed but you can use baked, boiled with skins on etc. )  chop into 1” pieces,  and cool in the refrigerator.

Chop the shallots, celery and pickles, and toss with potatoes. Add the pickle juice.    In a separate  bowl mix the mayonnaise and mustard and blend.   Mix mayo/mustard mix with the rest of the salad and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to let the flavours blend. 

You can mix in carrot, radishes, veggies or celery seed, but this is the standard mom version.

serves 8  (or 5 big heaping portions)

 

B

Nonny’s Pea and Beet Salad

This salad was inspired by the late-night cravings of a dear friend and fellow night-owl.  This is a basic Midwestern mayo salad gone vegan.  The basic core of the recipe is mayonnaise, peas and beets.   but you may add the spices I did, green beans, fresh, raw, frozen, or canned, use more or less vegan mayonnaise – use the high fat but just-like-the-real-deal VEGANAISE, or something more low-cal… vary it however you like it.  I was in a hurry and not feeling well so I whipped up a lazy-version with CANNED veggies.

I used these…

Ingredients;

1 can sliced beets (then chopped)

1 can peas

1 can french style beans

1 cucumber (diced small)

1 table-spoon Veganaise mayo

1 table-spoon plus Nasoya  mayo  (use as much vegan mayonnaise as you like to just coat everything but not be a mayo-mess)

1 small shallot (or freeze dried shallots)

1/8th tea-spoon garlic powder (or more to taste)

seasonings to taste (I used Thyme, garlic salt, fresh cracked pepper – use what you like)

chopped chives

fresh dill

If using canned veggies, drain and rinse them, mix with the ingredients above and refrigerate for at least an hour.  

VOILA:

The BIG (magnificent) SALAD

I love salad. It’s probably one of my favourite foods and nothing could be easier on a day when I’m in super-lazy-sloth-mode than to get some fixin’s  from Whole Foods to add to my own greens, or use up left-over cut up veggies, grains, pasta or salads.  
When I say salads, I don’t mean pitiful American Salads with iceberg, a few pale splinters of carrot and some plastic tomato slices.   I mean Elaine Benes’  “BIG SALAD”  - salad with lots of stuff in it.
In my BIG entree salads, greens like lettuces or spinach only constitute another ingredient.  I don’t use them as a basis for the salad so there’s just as much veggies as anything else. This makes for a heartier, tastier salad.  I typically use cooked grains, left over veggies (Raw or cooked) pasta, chopped veggies, herbs and even fruit as long as the ingredients are cold, they can go in the salad.  One tip:  cut veggies small… that way the mix blends better and no-one gets huge hunks of objectionable ingredients like kale or broccoli. You’ll be amazed what you can eat if it’s cut into small pieces! 
Last night I tossed in a small amount (high fat content) of Annie’s GODDESS DRESSING  and a bunch of good stuff served with garlic bread and some warmed up vegan meatballs.  Everything is raw unless otherwise noted:

curly kale (chopped)
basil
baby spinach
romaine
cucumber
tomatoes
peas
edamame
shredded carrots
shredded beets
green French lentils (cooked)
grains mixture (cooked jasmine rice, quinoa, radish seeds, red rice)
artichoke hearts
roasted garlic cloves
chopped celery
red and green capiscum (bell peppers)
chive flowers (mild onion flavour! very pretty)
parsley
slivered almonds
zucchini slices
a few spirals of left over cooked fusilli and  steamed veggies
cauliflower
broccoli

Caramel Frapaccino VEGAN?!?

Oh joy of transcendent joys! I know it’s cow-towing to the corporate monster and not remotely healthy. But – one of my favourite pre-vegan treats is FINALLY (after much complaining by vegans especially) accessible in SOY version:  The Frappacino at Starbucks.   They’ve revamped their “blended beverage”  so that people can choose what type of milk, decaf-coffee, espresso, etc. they want.  Many of the varieties can be made vegan.

I was even more excited to find out that the soy CARAMEL frapaccino is vegan. (*make sure you don’t get the caramel sauce topping… it’s NOT vegan=made with butter and, of course, no whipped cream).

Wow is that good.

 

 

 

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