Going Vegan? These Products Make it Easier Than Ever

More and more people are going meatless these days--a fine thing for our planet. The less we rely on meat products, the less we'll need factory farming, and that means fewer pollutants in our air and water supply and fewer greenhouse gases. But those of us who have trouble giving up animal products entirely need good substitutes. I'm not talking meat substitutes, per se. I'm fine with tofu and tempeh and other proteins that are really nothing like animal products. But I think turning vegan would be easier if there were more good vegan butters and cheeses. I've tried several over the years and have been pretty unimpressed. Most vegan cheeses are even more plastic-like than pasteurized processed cheese "foods," and their flavor is...let's just say they don't taste very good. I stumbled upon Miyoko's creamery last year and tried a sample of their French Style Winter Truffle soft cheese, thinking it was dairy cheese. (I didn't have my glasses on.) I thought it was mighty tasty stuff--lighter than cream cheese or boursin or brie, yet still cheesy-tasting, with a nice truffle aroma and flavor.

When I took a closer look, I was astonished to see it was completely animal-free. When I complimented one of the ladies who was preparing more snacks, she suggested that I try the butter. So I did. Vegan butter has been around forever--think margarine--but the closest it has ever gotten to tasting like butter is...never. I think that Earth Balance is pretty good, but Melt tastes too much like coconut to pass. Miyoko's Creamery butter, however, is pretty damn buttery. I tried one of the little squares of rye bread schmeared with their European Style Cultured VeganButter and was impressed at how close to cow's milk butter it tasted. I'm not saying it tastes like cultured dairy butter (like Kerrygold, for example) which has its own special funk, but more like conventional butter. Still--it's a vegan product that tastes like butter. Hallelujah!

Miyoko's secret is that they use proprietary bacteria cultures in their products, like in dairy cheese- and yogurt-making. Some of their cheese products also use miso, a fermented product that helps with the flavor.

I also sampled a bit of panini made with their VeganMozz, and can say that yes, the cheese does melt. It browns, as well, making it great for vegan pizzas. Better than dollops of mostly flavorless vegan "ricotta," IMHO. Miyoko products are available in Maryland at Whole Foods, MOM's Organic Markets, and a few other places. Check out their web site for more locations.

Another vegan product that struck my fancy was Amella caramels. Most vegan caramels I've encountered are made with coconut oil, and they taste like coconut. That's fine if you like coconut, but if you don't....then what? Amella caramels use cocoa butter as the fat, which is super clever if you ask me. Of course that means their product tastes like chocolate, but as they dip all of their flavors in chocolate, you know you're getting that flavor from the start. (Personally, I've always thought people who don't like chocolate are weird.)

Amella's caramels are fragrant and have a lovely chew, like a butter caramel. They come in flavors like coconut almond, habanero pink salt, and gray sea salt. I've tried them all, and want more.... Buy them online at Amella's Caramels.

Finally, another product that struck my fancy recently was Maprao Coconut Jerky. I don't like meat jerky. I don't like the texture or the smell or anything about it. But coconut jerky is lovely and smooth, yet somewhat chewy. There's no fibrous weirdness like there is with meat jerky. Coconut jerky of course has a coconut flavor, but the spices gave it a savory kick. I liked it. I have no idea where to buy it, but there's another company called Cocoburg that also makes coconut jerky; their products are available at Amazon.

There are even more interesting vegan products available these days, and I hope to talk about them more in the coming months.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Purple Cauliflower Tacos

I purchased the most gorgeous purple cauliflower at the University of Maryland farmers' market the other day. It was ridiculously purple, and I had to have it. But when I got it home, I tucked it into the bottom of the fridge and forgot about it for a few days.

Then came the weekend and I had to rustle up something for dinner. Purple cauliflower to the rescue! I'm perfectly content to eat my cauli simply steamed and salted, maybe with a nice knob of butter on top. Honestly, I could eat a whole head myself--and have--and be completely content. But that wouldn't work for Mr Minx. He likes to have a more balanced meal, one with starch and protein. But I didn't feel like fussing with protein. I wanted to do something creative with the beautiful purple cauliflower.

So I made tacos. With cauliflower fritters, harissa mayonnaise, pickled carrots, and esquites. You may think that one (or more) of those things doesn't belong, but oh, they do! These tacos were full of intense flavors and textures - the herbal and crispy fritters, the pop and sweetness of fresh corn kernels, the salty funk of feta cheese, and the spicy tang of the yogurt. They were soooo good!

The fritters themselves were a bit of a gamble. I had never made them before, so wasn't sure about the texture at all. Would they fall apart in the pan? Would they get crispy enough? Should I make balls or patties? No, yes, and both. The cauli mixture (I can't really call it a batter) was very sticky. There was a lot of veg and very little binder, so it was easiest to make quenelle-style blobs that were roughly the same size and place them into the pan. Once I deemed the bottoms were browned enough, I flipped the balls onto their opposite sides as best I could, then smashed them flat with the spatula. Like a smashburger. It worked perfectly--they didn't fall apart, and it was easier to get them browned on all sides, as after smashing there were only two of them. I flipped them once or twice to make sure both sides were amply browned before draining them on paper towel-lined plates, and cooked them in two batches so as not to crowd the pan.

Since I had made the fritters with feta and mint, I thought I should just stick with Middle Eastern/Mediterranean-inspired flavors. I had a jar of fairly mild harissa in the cupboard that I thought would make a nice sauce with some Greek yogurt, and figured pickled carrots could add a bit of tang. (I totally cheated with the carrots. We were gifted with a jar of pickled yellow beets a while back, and after we ate the beets themselves, we saved the brine. It was perfect for a quick pickle with no effort on our part. I recommend saving your favorite pickle brine in its original jar in the fridge for such occasions.)  But then I had two ears of sweet bi-color corn to use. I was originally going to put the corn in the fritters, but thought it might get lost and simply become a texture. Salsa came to mind, but then I decided to make esquites, the off-the-cob version of Mexican street corn. Completely Minx-ified, of course, with little or no authenticity. It's the taste that counts, right?

Pretty and delicious. What more do you need from dinner?

Purple Cauliflower Tacos

For the harissa yogurt:
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
2-3 tablespoons harissa, or to taste (depends on the brand you use)
Lemon juice
Pinch salt

For the esquites:
2 ears corn, cooked and still warm, kernels removed
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped scallions

For the cauliflower fritters:
1 medium head cauliflower
Salt
1/2 cup chopped mint and cilantro (one or the other, preferably both)
1 scallion, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup AP flour
Vegetable oil for frying

To serve:
Pickled carrots
Cilantro
Feta cheese
Taco or fajita-sized flour tortillas

To make the harissa yogurt: Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To make esquites: Mix everything together in a bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature

To make the fritters: Remove the leaves and bottom of the stem from cauliflower and discard. Rinse the cauliflower well and place in a large pot with a couple inches of water. Cover the pot and bring the water to a boil. Cook the cauliflower until a knife inserted through the top goes through with only slight resistance. Drain the water and transfer the cauliflower to a bowl.

Flip the cauli over and remove the rest of the stem and any overly large "branches" that might still be a little hard. Bash the florets into small pieces with a potato masher - you don't actually want to mash the vegetable, just to break it into very small bits. Discard any other hard stem bits you may find during this process. Stir a large pinch of salt into the cauliflower and let it cool to room temperature.

Once cool, add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. You'll have a purple and green sticky mess in a bowl. Using two tablespoons or your hands, form the mess into 15 or so football-shaped blobs, placing them on a couple of plates or a clean cutting board.

Heat a tablespoon or so of the oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet. Place as many of the purple blobs in the skillet as will fit comfortably without crowding. Cook until the bottoms are nicely browned, 3-4 minutes. Flip the blobs so the browned sides are facing upward, then gently smash each ball into a patty with your spatula. Continue frying until browned on the bottom side, then flip again to cook the exposed still-purple bits that didn't get browned the first time around. Once browned on both sides, remove to a paper towel-lined plate and hit with a pinch of salt. Repeat with remaining blobs.

To serve: Place a stack of tortillas on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with a damp paper towel and nuke for 45 seconds to 1 minute, until tortillas are warm and pliable.

Put a warm tortilla on a plate. Smear with some of the harissa yogurt. Top with one or two fritters, depending on the size of the tortilla. Add a spoonful of the esquites, some pickled carrots, a few bits of feta, and some cilantro. Eat and repeat.

Makes 8-12 tacos.



Posted on Minxeats.com.