Chow Vegan

Earth Balance Cheese Puffs and Popcorn

April 11, 2013 By chow 9 Comments

I’ve been anticipating the arrival of the new Earth Balance Vegan Aged White Cheese Puffs at my local Whole Foods for what seems like forever. That day has finally arrived. With great relish, I opened the bag.

I thought they would be fluffier, like the super bright orange cheese puffs. Those were a favorite childhood snack that I was sad to leave behind. Although the Earth Balance puffs are a bit crunchier, they more than fill that snacky void with their cheesy goodness.

Covered in a powder that I’m guessing is the aged white cheese flavor, I love them. Sometimes I like to eat the puffs with chopsticks so I don’t get powder all over my fingers. The only bad thing is I can easily eat a whole bag all by myself.

Besides the puffs, there’s also Vegan Aged White Cheese Flavor Popcorn. A bit more subtle in taste than the puffs as there’s not as much powder covering the popcorn. Still very good. Another popcorn is Vegan Buttery Flavor (not pictured) which I didn’t find to be all that buttery, more like regular popcorn with a hint of butter.

I prefer the aged cheese flavor, the butter flavor I can just make at home. If I’m going to pay $3.99 for a bag of popcorn, it’s going to be for something I can’t easily make myself.

The only one I haven’t tried yet is the peanut butter popcorn, P.B. Popps. I can’t wait to see that one in the store.

Vegan Eats World And It’s Delicious

March 27, 2013 By chow 8 Comments

In a previous cookbook review, I toured Europe. This time, it’s around the world with Vegan Eats World by Terry Hope Romero. Packed with 300 recipes spanning the globe, there’s something for everyone from the familiar to the I had no idea such deliciousness existed in the world. Let’s go.

Ever since my epiphany on savory pumpkin dishes, I’ve been on the hunt for a good pumpkin curry recipe. Delighted to see Pumpkin Coconut Curry on page 136, that’s the first thing I made.

It was a bit of a challenge locating a couple of the ingredients. I found fresh curry leaves at the Asian supermarket but I never did find the pandan leaves. I’ve eaten curry leaves before in restaurants, I just didn’t know what they were called. I see myself making this curry again and again.

Since I haven’t made jackfruit anything in awhile, Sweet and Savory Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos page 105 with Pickled Red Onions page 62 was another must make. It is not to be missed. It’s easy and don’t forget the pickled red onions, they’re the perfect topping and easy peasy too.

While I love peanut sauce, peanut soup was unfamiliar to me. But I imagined the Ginger Peanut Squash Soup page 129 would be similar to the sauce, just more of it. That’s a good thing, right? For a moment, I was a little skeptical while making it but it all came together in the end for a deliciously peanutty soup.

For the 15th day of the Chinese New Year celebration, I made Chinese Sticky Rice page 305 with Tempeh Sausage Crumbles page 53. As I’ve made sticky rice on numerous occasions, I didn’t quite follow the recipe step-by-step. I cooked it as I normally make sticky rice but it’s nice to try different ingredients and flavors in a familiar dish.

Not pictured is the Chorizo Tempeh Crumbles page 52 which I liked better than the Chinese Tempeh Crumbles. Basically they’re the same recipe but with different marinades. I’ve been using the chorizo crumbles to make burrito bowls for a speedy and tasty lunch.

Obsess with pickling lately, especially the quick refrigerator variety, I zeroed in on the Fast Lane Cabbage Kimchi page 56. Alas, I couldn’t find the Korean red pepper powder called for in the recipe. Luckily, there’s a variation without the red pepper, Cool Ginger Kimchi.

My favorite though is the Star Anise Daikon Pickles page 62. I love the licorice flavor of the star anise combined with the tangy and the sweet. I confess I’ve always been a bit scared of pickling, never knowing how easy it really is to make fresh refrigerator pickles. Now, I can’t get enough – I’ve been trying out the pickles on top of everything.

Just a small sampling of the deliciousness that awaits you in Vegan Eats World. I have many more recipes bookmarked with scraps of paper like little flags of the world beckoning for a visit.

Star Anise Daikon Pickles
Makes about 1 pint

1/2 pound daikon radish (about one slender 10-inch radish)
1/4 pound carrots (about 2 large carrots)
6 large green jalapeno or serrano chilies, stems removed
1 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns, black or mixed color
4 whole star anise

1. Scrape the daikon and carrots to remove the outer peel and slice into long matchsticks no thicker than 1/4 inch: I use a mandolin for this but you can take your time and use a chef’s knife. Or even better, use a Y-shaped julienne peeler. Slice the chilies in half, remove the seeds (or keep them in for really hot pickles), and slice into very thin slivers. Toss everything together and pack into a clean, dry, 1-pint glass mason jar.

2. In a small saucepan, bring to a gentle boil the vinegar, sugar, salt, peppercorns, and star anise and boil for 2 minutes. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt and then pour everything over the vegetables in the jar, including the star anise and peppercorns. Cover very tightly and chill for 30 minutes before using. Store tightly covered and chilled.

Disclosure: I received the cookbook free of charge from the publisher to review. The opinions and experience with the cookbook expressed herein are my own. There was no pay to say.

This post also contains Amazon links, I get a few coins tossed my way if you click on any of the links and make a purchase of anything.

Related Posts
Review/recipes from Viva Vegan!, another fine cookbook by Terry Hope Romero
Mojo Baked Tofu
Corn-Crusted Tempeh Pot Pie

Black and Orange Tofu

March 18, 2013 By chow 7 Comments

Have you ever tried black tofu? No, not blackened tofu. Not tofu with black bean sauce. Black tofu. Made from black soybeans. Though the color of the tofu is more of a greyish hue. It’s high in fiber and protein but relativity low in carbohydrates and may help reduce the risk of diabetes.

I tried a pan-fried sample at the Asian supermarket. Yes, they have food samples just like at Costco but only on the weekends and sometimes the sample person doesn’t speak English. I bought a package of the stuff home.

Instead of pan-frying though, I roasted the tofu. But I’m not convinced that’s the best preparation for black tofu. The pan-fried version seemed creamier; the roasted seemed drier.

The orange part comes from an adaptation of the Ginger Orange Stir-Fry recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Eating Appalachia. As soon as I saw Cara Cara orange in the ingredients, knew I was going to try it. It makes a beautiful vivid orange color. And it’s spicy. And it’s sweet without any additional sweetener.

I’ve made it several times now using regular white tofu and with various vegetables. I’ve even made it without vegetables, I like the sauce so much. I’ve also tried run-of-the-mill Navel oranges, it’s good but nowhere nearly as good as a sweet Cara Cara.

Below is the adapted recipe using roasted tofu. To pan-fry the tofu, click here for the original recipe.

Roasted Tofu in Orange-Ginger Sauce
Serves 2

1 14-ounce block of extra-firm tofu
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 small carrot, sliced on the diagonal
2-3 cups snow peas or other vegetable such as broccoli
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Corn starch mixed with a bit of water

Sauce
Zest of 1 Cara Cara orange
1 Cara Cara orange, juiced
3/4 inch ginger, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce or to taste

To roast the tofu, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a bowl, combine the oil, salt and paprika. Cut the tofu into cubes and gently toss to coat with the mixture. Place each tofu cube in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Roast for 15 minutes on one side, flip over and roast another 15 minutes.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Set aside.

Heat a wok to hot, add the oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add the carrots and stir-fry a bit and then add the snow peas (if using broccoli, parboil it first). When the snow peas are crisp-tender, toss in the roasted tofu. Add the sauce and cook for about a minute. To thicken the sauce, dribble in the corn starch mixture and stir until it’s the desired thickness. Plate and serve with rice.