Bianca Phillips's Blog, page 216

Kitchen Divided

At Vida Vegan Con earlier this year, I spoke on the Interdietary Cohabitation panel (along with the lovely Dawn of Vegan Moxie and Joni, author of The Best Veggie Burgers on the Planet and a million other amazing cookbooks).

We spent about an hour giving our tips and tricks for living with an omni partner or roommate. And we learned a few things from the audience as well, since many of them were also shacked up with meat eaters.

My main advice: Cook separate meals. And that works well for my omni partner Paul and I since we have different work schedules and social obligations. Plus, we aren't really into the shared meal thing. I like to read when I eat. He likes to watch TV. But that doesn't work for everyone, especially people with kids and more structured lives.

Enter Kitchen Divided: Vegan Dishes for Semi-Vegan Households, the latest book by my friend and cookbook author Ellen Jaffe Jones. I had the pleasure of sharing a booksigning table with Ellen at New Orleans Veggie Fest back in May. She's super-sweet, and she's like a champion runner. She gave me all sorts of running advice. She's also married to a meat eater. So she wrote this book to assist with harmonious interdietary cohabitation.


It's filled with vegan versions of classic comfort foods, the kind of stuff omnivores won't be freaked out by. You won't find any hippie-dippie weird vegan shit like spirulina or kelp noodles (nothing against kelp noodles, but you know, baby steps). Just good old-fashioned food that happens to be vegan and pretty darn healthy.

I wanted to test out a recipe on a real live omni, so I asked Paul to help me pick out a dish that he would be willing to try. He's an especially tough one to please since he has the palette of a toddler (if it's not pasta from a can or some sort of breaded, fried frozen meat, he probably doesn't like it). He's been getting a tad bit more adventurous over the past few months though. He finally settled on Chili Sin Carne.


This is a hearty chili loaded with just about everything and the kitchen sink. Let's see, there's kidney beans, rice, corn, zucchini, carrots, onions, tomatoes, bell pepper, vegan burger crumbles, and my very fave, cashews. I'd never think to add cashews to chili, but it's damn genius. The cashews get all soft, but they retain their nutty flavor.

I was actually shocked that Paul chose this. He's kind of purist when it comes to food. No extra vegetables. Just meat and sauce. But like I said, he's getting just a bit more adventurous. I loved this chili! But I wanted to see if it stood up to Paul's picky palette.


And we have a winner! Paul loved the chili too. When I asked him why he loved it, he said "I don't know. I don't know how to critique food. I just like it because it tastes like chili." And there you go. I see a career as a food reviewer in his future, no?

Ellen's book is loaded with dishes that families can eat together, even if some members are vegan and others are not. There's Tofu Pad Thai, No-Beef Bourguignon, Pasta Primavera, Spinach-Cheese Straws (made with vegan cheese and puff pastry), Potato Pancakes, and Stuffed Peppers. 

Her desserts would fool any omni too. There's Strawberry Decadence (made with vegan ice cream, cashews, and strawberries), Chocolate-Mint Parfaits, and the healthier Date and Nut Cake.

If you're looking to add a little harmony to your mixed diet household, Ellen's Kitchen Divided may be just what the relationship counselor ordered.

Vegan Sausage in Edible Casing!

Tonight's Mofo post is a special sneak peek at a product that's not even on the market yet!

The folks at Match Meat, the new love of my plant meat-loving life, are working on vegan Italian sausages in edible casing. When they sent me some samples of their other faux meat products a few weeks back, they included a package of these sausages for me to test out and see how they hold up to cooking. Today, I put that to the test at my friend Andy's house, where we fired up the grill for what will likely be the final time this season (sigh).

Here they are, lookin' all eerily like real pork sausage. I'm not sure what the casing is made from since these are testers. But it's a very thin casing that almost dissolves in your mouth when you bite into it.


First, we laid foil down over the grill grates and sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray. Then we grilled these for about 3 minutes or so on all sides. It didn't take long at all before the outer casing was crispy. Just for funsies, I google-imaged "sausage in casing cooked on grill" (not for the faint of heart, mind you), and the pictures of grilled casings on pork sausage look almost just like this!


Then we tucked them into whole wheat buns. I topped mine with relish and mustard and served alongside Kettle's new Maple Bacon Chips (OMG, have y'all had these????? Vegan bacon chips! OMG!).


The verdict? My friend Greg and I both agreed that these were some the most authentic vegan sausages we've had. I figured they would be since Match hasn't let me down yet. I loved how the casing got crispy but not burnt. On the inside, the sausages had a very similar texture to meat sausage, and they seemed to be spiced with fennel and other sausage-y flavors.

When Greg took his first bite, he said, "This is really good. But it's almost too good, like almost too realistic." But then he scarfed down the whole thing and went for seconds. "Too realistic" is a good thing in my book. I didn't stop eating meat because I didn't like the taste and texture. I stopped eating meat because I believe eating animals is morally wrong. But if plants can taste and look like meat, count me in.

Because these are very much a test item, I can't tell you when to expect them on shelves. But hopefully soon! I want more. By the way, if you don't have Match in your area (we don't here in Memphis), they're available all over the vegan web.

Vegan Ramen Burger!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's the first day of Vegan Mofo (Month of Food)! In case you're not familiar, Mofo is an annual month-long blog-o-thon when vegans take over the web with daily posts. Some bloggers take on daily themes. Others just aim to blog everyday.


There are some bloggers who ONLY blog during Mofo and not the rest of the year. And there are others who blog once or twice a week but really it step it up during Mofo. Since I already blog daily, Mofo isn't much out of the ordinary here on Vegan Crunk. I briefly considered going with themed posts this year, but the very idea stressed me out so much that I nixed that idea. But I do hope to bring you a few more original recipes and maybe a giveaway or two throughout the month.

That being said, I'm starting this Mofo off with a BANG! You wanna know why? Cause I veganized the Ramen Burger!!!


The Ramen Burger is all the rage on the internetz these days. Some chef in New York came out with it, and it straight up stole the spotlight from the once-adored cronut. HuffPo posted a video tutorial on making ramen burgers, but of course, the original recipe contains eggs. What's a ramen-obsessed vegan to do?

I turned to Facebook and asked my friends their suggestions for an egg replacer here. MeShell had already successfully used flax goop, but I didn't want to steal her recipe. A few people suggested Vegg powder, and Stephanie told me to go with pureed silken tofu. In the end, I used a combo of silken tofu and Vegg as the binder to hold the fried noodles together. You could probably leave Vegg out and just use tofu, but the Vegg does seem to add an extra binding factor.

The ramen makes the bun, but you can stuff whatever you want inside. I used a Match Stuffed Mushroom Burger, lettuce, pickles, sriracha ketchup, and mustard. You can definitely pick this sandwich up with your hands, but because the noodle bun is fried, it's kind of messy. I ended using a fork halfway through.

And I'm sure someone will ask me how it tastes, but I mean, duh, it's a RAMEN BURGER!!! Of course, it's amazing. 

Here's the recipe!


Vegan Ramen Burger
-------------------------------------------
Yields 1 burger

1 pkg. vegan ramen noodles & seasoning packet
1/2 cup crumbled silken tofu
1 Tbsp. Vegg powder
2 tsp. olive oil
1 vegan hamburger patty
Lettuce, tomato, pickles, condiments, vegan cheese, whatever fixins you desire

Boil the noodles according to package instructions. Drain off the liquid and stir in the seasoning packet. Set aside.

Crumble the tofu into a food processor. Add the Vegg powder. Process until very smooth and creamy, stopping at least once to scrape down the sides of the processor.

Put the tofu mixture in a bowl, and stir in the noodles with a fork, making sure to coat evenly.

Spray two bun-size ramekins with non-stick cooking spray. Use the fork to lift out half of the noodles, and place them into one ramekin. Place the remaining noodles in the other ramekin. Press the noodles down into the bottom of the ramekin, spreading as necessary to fill the entire bottom of the bowl. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over each ramekin and press down so the plastic is touching all of the noodles and no air can get in. Set a heavy 28-ounce can (or a smaller can if you're using smaller ramekins) on top of the plastic in each ramekin. This will weight the noodles down so they will form a tight bun. Place the ramekins into the fridge for 15 minutes.

Heat 1 tsp. oil in a small non-stick skillet. Remove one ramekin from the fridge, and remove the heavy can and plastic. Using your finger or a butter knife, lightly go around the edges of the ramekin to loosen noodles from the side of the dish. Then carefully turn the ramekin upside down into the skillet and tap on the backside of the ramekin so the noodle bun falls out in a perfect circle.

Fry on one side for 5 to 7 minutes or until noodles are crispy and browned. Flip and brown on the other side. Remove cooked bun from the skillet and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Heat the other tsp. oil in the skillet. Repeat the process with the other ramekin and fry the noodle bun on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

Once the bun is cooked and cooling, heat your veggie burger. Prepare burger with whatever fixins you desire.

Sound complicated? This video tutorial from PopSugar should help. Just pretend like the egg in the video is actually tofu!

Vegan Death By Chocolate Cake

I remember a particular Haas family reunion way, way back when my Aunt Judy brought a Death By Chocolate Cake. I was about eight or nine, I guess. And I'd never heard of a Death By Chocolate Cake. But it looked heavenly.


There was a layer of chocolate cake or brownies topped with chunks of candy bars and Cool Whip. And though most people would have been most excited about the chocolate part, it was the Cool Whip that made most happy. I loved Cool Whip. I could have eaten a whole tub with a spoon if my Mama would have let me (Come to think of it, I bet Granny would have let me when Mama wasn't around. Granny let me eat whatever I wanted!).

Anyway, I remember LOVING that cake. I think I had it a time or two after that at various potlucks or parties, but my days of Death By Chocolate Cake have been long gone for years. But I've never stopped thinking about it. It's been on my "to veganize" list for years and years.

So last week, when I needed to think up a dessert to bring to Death Cafe, a local group that gets together once a month to discuss the process death and dying, this seemed like the perfect time to work on finally veganizing this magical cake.

Okay, so it doesn't look too sexy on a plate, but it's a mush-pile of awesomeness!
Note: In case you're wondering more about Death Cafe, you can read a story I wrote for the Memphis Flyer about the local group. It's a national movement to take the taboo out of discussing death. I mean, we're all gonna die someday, right? Might as well be cool with it.

Before you die though, you should probably make this cake at least once. I'm thinking of including this in the 1980s section of my retro vegan cookbook. But here's the recipe!

Vegan Death By Chocolate Cake
----------------------------------------------------------------
Yields one 9x11 pan of cake

Brownie layer:
Non-stick cooking spray
1/2 cup silken tofu, crumbled and pressed into a measuring cup
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup almond milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons coffee liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all-purpose, unbleached flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Everything else:
2 packages vegan chocolate pudding mix (Jell-O brand is vegan)
4 cups almond milk
1/4 cup coffee liqueur 
1 10-ounce bag vegan dark chocolate chunks
1 can Rice Whip or Soy Whip (or 1 box Soy Whip Whippable Topping, whipped)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square brownie pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Place the silken tofu into a food processor and process tofu until smooth, stopping once to scrape down the sides of the processor bowl. Add the oil, almond milk, sugar, 2 teaspoons coffee liqueur, and the vanilla extract. Process until no lumps remain, stopping once to scrape down the sides.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Spread the batter into the brownie pan.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until the center seems set. It should bounce back slightly when touched. Set aside.

While the brownies are baking, make the pudding according to package instructions using the 4 cups of almond milk. Place the pudding in the fridge and allow to set.

Tear the cooled brownies into small pieces and place in a 9x11 glass casserole dish. Pour the 1/4 cup coffee liqueur over the brownies.

Once the pudding is set, spread it over brownie pieces. Pour half of the dark chocolate chunks over pudding layer.

Top with the entire can of vegan whipped cream (if using a box of whippable topping instead, you may not need to use the whole batch). Use a cake spatula to spread the whipped cream to cover the entire dish. Top with the remaining dark chocolate chunks. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

The Vegan Garden, Day 3

For the past two days, I've posted about my meal plan of homemade, frozen, vegan dishes from The Vegan Garden, a food delivery service that ships meals to busy vegans via FedEx. You can choose a meal plan, and they'll ship as many breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts as you need.

They sent me a three-day Pioneer Meal plan that included breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert for each day for review. Here's what I was given for day three.


Breakfast was a Chocolate Muffin, which I enjoyed with a banana and a glass of almond milk.


Wow! This was definitely the best breakfast of the three they sent. I LOVED THIS MUFFIN! It was so soft and moist, and there were melty chocolate chips in the middle (cause I warmed the thawed muffin in the microwave for 15 seconds).

Lunch was Bangkok Salad, which I had with a green cucumber-tomato salad.


These were peanut noodles, which were supposed to be eaten cold. Loved the creamy, peanutty sauce. And while I wouldn't have guessed that noodles would hold their texture after freezing, I'd have been wrong. You couldn't tell this dish had ever been frozen. And yes, I added sriracha.

I had my dessert for an afternoon snack 'cause I always get hungry around 3:30-ish. I enjoyed this Chocolate Chip Cookie with a cup of hot black tea (which, as always, I'm trying to learn to love).


The cookie had that fresh-from-the-cookie-store-in-the-mall taste. That's the best way I can explain it. When I was a kid, I always thought the mall cookies were better than homemade for some reason. And this had that certain taste. It was soft but held its shape well. No crumbly vegan cookies here.

Finally, dinner was Zesty Zucchini Soup, which I served over brown rice and doused with sriracha.


It may look like a mystery green puree, but damn was this good. Zucchini, squash, green chilies, onions, and spices are blended together. The one thing that's been most surprising (and pleasant) about The Vegan Garden's meals has been how well-spiced all of these dishes have been. Nothing needed added salt. Everything was very flavorful.

That's all for my three days of meals. I'm a little sad that it's over, and I'll have to go back to cooking tomorrow. I've enjoyed being lazy (and very busy) for the past few days. If you're a busy vegan and would like home-cooked meals delivered to your door, you should probably check out The Vegan Garden's meal plans. They're a little pricey, but you're paying for convenience and, of course, delicious meals.

The Vegan Garden, Day 2

Yesterday, I posted about one day's worth of homemade, frozen, vegan meals from The Vegan Garden, a food delivery service that ships meals to busy vegans via FedEx. You can choose a meal plan, and they'll ship as many breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts as you need.

They sent me a three-day Pioneer Meal plan that included breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert for each day for review. Here's what I was given for day two.


Breakfast was Tutti Frutti Quinoa, a gluten-free breakfast made from quinoa, fresh berries, and vanilla soymilk.


As far as I could tell, there were blueberries and raspberries (but maybe strawberries). This was yummy and very filling. I'm more of a savory breakfast person, but I occasionally like a sweet porridge-style breakfast like this. I had this with a banana and a glass of almond milk.

Lunch was Giardino Pizza, a generous square slice of vegan cheese pizza with peppers, onions, and olives.


Because it was frozen when I put the pizza in the microwave, the cheese got all melty and gooey like frozen pizzas tend to do in microwaves. But I love that! Nothing beats eating pizza with a fork because it's too cheesy to eat with your hands. That's a good vegan problem to have. The crust had that awesome, soft deep-dish texture. This pizza was the business. I'm not positive, but I think was made with Daiya cheese. I had it with a side salad.

I had a few after-work parties/meetings to attend, so I had my dessert as an afternoon snack that way I'd be satisfied until my late dinner. Dessert today was Apple Crisp.


This was so delightful. It looks like apple pie filling, but there were oats and vegan butter mixed in, so it had the taste of a full-on pie or cobbler without the crust.

You might have noticed in the first picture in this post that there was a vegan gumbo for dinner. And that's what I was expecting when I put that package in the microwave for dinner. But when the meal was heated and poured into a bowl over brown rice, I noticed the gumbo wasn't very soupy. I assumed the veggies had absorbed some of the liquid, so I added a little water and some hot sauce and heated some more.


And then I took a bite. Surprise! This wasn't gumbo at all! This was Huevos Con Chorizo from The Vegan Garden's breakfast menu! It was basically a spicy tofu scramble flecked with slices of soy chorizo. They must have mixed up the two in labeling. But it's an honest mistake. Both dishes contain the chorizo, and the huevos looks a lot like gumbo when frozen.

As much as I love gumbo, I'm a bigger fan of anything with tofu. So this was like a bonus! I only wish I'd realized this was a tofu scramble before adding water. With the added water, it was more like Huevos Con Chorizo soup! But regardless, loved this dish! There was so much chorizo, and the tofu was heavily seasoned.

This is a small vegan-run company, and any mislabeling is purely human error. It can happen, and it didn't bother me a bit.

Well, that's all for now. Check back tomorrow for my last full day of The Vegan Garden meals.

The Vegan Garden, Day 1

One of the biggest concerns I hear from new vegans or people considering going vegan is simply not having the time to cook. For some who live in vegan-friendly cities, dining out is the answer. But not everyone lives in a town with a vegan restaurant and certainly not everyone has expendable income.

I'm lucky to live in a vegan-friendly city, and I'm lucky to have enough free time to cook big meals a few nights a week that can stretch throughout the week. But for those who aren't, there are vegan meal delivery services like The Vegan Garden.

The Vegan Garden delivers homemade, frozen meals through FedEx, and you can pick how many breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and desserts you want through their meal deals. They sent me a three-day supply to review here, so that's what I'll be blogging about for the next couple of nights. They even included a meal plan that told me what to eat for what meal on what day. Here's my Monday offerings.


I'm not sure how everything was still frozen when it arrived at my office a couple weeks back. The dry ice in the shipping box had dissipated, but every package was completely frozen, even the baked goods. So you don't need to worry about things thawing during shipment.

For breakfast today, they sent me a Blueberry Muffin.


I know some folks are used to eating small morning meals on the go, but I'm a big breakfast kind of girl. So I added a banana and a glass of almond milk. The muffin tasted fresh, even after being frozen and thawed. And it was only 79 calories! All the calories and ingredients are listed on their website, by the way.

Lunch was this Quinoa Salad with green beans, chickpeas, and a cumin vinaigrette.


The instructions say to thaw and eat this cold. But I warmed mine up because I failed to read the directions, thinking it was supposed to be a hot meal. And it was actually amazing hot! I expected to have to add seasonings to these meals because I like strong flavors. But this was well-seasoned and didn't need any dressing up. I served this with a green side salad.

Dinner was Osaka Teriyaki Tofu.


I know it's only day one of three, but I'm pretty sure this will be my favorite dish out of all the ones they sent. The tofu was fried and very well-seasoned (but yes, I did add sriracha), and it was sauteed with broccoli, green beans, peppers, a sweet and savory teriyaki sauce, and sesame oil. Loved the chewy tofu, which probably only got better with freezing. I served this over some brown rice that I made to beef up my dishes over the week.

I was afraid the portions would be rather small when I saw the frozen packages, but once thawed, these are actually sizable portions that make a full meal when combined with rice or a salad.

Each day's shipment includes a dessert too. Today's dessert was this Banana Bar.


Now I know it doesn't look super-sexy. But this was actually like a soft slice of banana bread. It's made with bananas, oats, raisins, and brown sugar. At only 79 calories, it's practically a guilt-free dessert.

I loved today's meals. The tofu was definitely the highlight, but everything was delicious. And since I've got a busy week ahead of me, it's nice to know I don't have to cook.

Check back tomorrow for day two on The Vegan Garden meal plan.

Return of the Magical Traveling Vegan Potluck

Before I get into tonight's post, I have a fun announcement! I reviewed Texas Chainsaw Massacre from an animal rights perspective on the fabulous Our Hen House podcast this week. And I'm in the same episode as vegan actress Emily Deschanel. You must listen! 

Last year, my friend Leslie launched The Magical Traveling Vegan Potluck, which had a good several months-long run of moving from one friend's house to another before it fizzled out. But she just moved in with our mutual friend Michael, and she's bringing the potluck back. We had the first return potluck at their place last night.

If all goes as planned, the potluck will be hosted by one friend or another each month. We had a great turnout last night with lots and lots of yummy vegan food!

Since I'm working on my retro vegan cookbook, I decided to work on crafting a cheeseball recipe. Cheeseballs are totally 70s, right? After some tweaking and experimenting, I came up with these Mini Walnut and Cheddar Cheeseballs.



I made eight small balls. My plan was to make one big ball, but the soft vegan cream cheese in the recipe was too soft to get the cheese to roll into a ball. So I froze small balls in muffin tins and then de-frosted before serving with crackers. I finally got a chance to use my cheese board and cheese knives! See, vegans can still have cheese.


Speaking of cheese, Cassi made a delicious cheesy Vegan Lasagna from Vegan Planet using Daiya and tofu ricotta. I could have eaten this whole pan. But I was nice and saved some for the other guests.


Greg brought his famous Tofu Nuggets. These are like little chicken nuggets, and they're awesome. He has to bring these for every potluck now because someone always requests them. Last night, he whined about being a one-hit wonder. But hey, if the people want tofu nuggets, give them tofu nuggets, dude.


Michael and Julie brought a fresh Cucumber, Tomato, and Beet Salad made with produce picked from a garden in Jonesboro (my hometown!).


Vaughan, always the creative cook, made an interesting dish using lentils, broccoli, cashews, and almonds. He typically just throws stuff in a pot and never makes the same thing twice. But it's always good!


Leslie made so much stuff!! And since she's really into Indian food, she treated us to all sorts of interesting dishes. There was Pani Puri — fried hollow crisps stuffed with chickpeas, potato, and chutney. I've had these in Indian restaurants, but it was way more fun stuffing my own pani puri in Leslie's kitchen.


And there was my very fave, Bhel Puri! Indian chaat dishes are my favorite things, and I love this crunchy snack of sev, puffed rice, veggies, and tamarind sauce.


For dessert, Leslie made the most amazing Mango Custard. I couldn't stop eating this. It had fresh slices of apple, banana, and mango floating in a lightly sweet soy-based custard. It's a dish I often see on Indian buffets but can never try because it's typically made with dairy.


To drink, Leslie made homemade chai, but I forgot to photograph it. And she made Rooh Afza. This is a sweet Pakistani syrup that tastes lightly of rosewater, and you mix it with water. It's so refreshing and summery. I love that the label says "summer drink of the east."


Autumn stopped by Muddy's Bake Shop and picked up some Vegan Almond Brothers Cupcakes. Muddy's is a very popular local cupcake shop that always has a few vegan flavors. These were the business.


Here's a full table shot!


I ate so much! And Leslie sent me home with some leftovers, which I had for lunch today. Can't wait til the next month's potluck. I'm so lucky to have amazing vegan and vegetarian friends who can cook!

It's Chai Time

Sorry to give you two review posts in a row. I like to break them up with posts about vegan events, other stuff I'm eating, or the occasional recipe. But I haven't cooked much this week and my other planned posts still need some work. So here's another review.

Lucky for you, it's a review of something awesome. As some of you long-time readers may know, I'm not a huge fan of drinking hot tea. I love the idea of hot tea. But I'm a Southern gal, and down here, we drink our tea sweet and iced (or in my case, kombucha-ed). And it's just hard for me to get used to enjoying tea any other way.

But there is one big exception: Chai!! I love hot chai because it's creamy and sweet. And it seems closer in taste to coffee than tea. Blue Lotus Chai is my favorite brand because they make instant chai powder. I'm lazy when it comes to some things, and making chai from scratch is one of those things. I'd rather use the little wooden spoon that comes with every package or canister of Blue Lotus Chai to scoop out the exact amount needed for a cup, stir it into hot water, add plant milk and agave, and enjoy.

Blue Lotus Chai, a small company out of Oregon, sent me samples of their newest flavors to try — Mandarin Masala Chai and Star Anise Masala Chai.


Each of these packages contains enough for 17 cups, and you can order this size to sample. Or you can order each flavor of Blue Lotus Chai in three-ounce reusable tins (makes 100 cups).

On Tuesday, I called a couple of co-workers over to help me sample these in the breakroom. Susan, my managing editor, and I tried the Mandarin Masala, and Hannah had the Star Anise. I am NOT at all a fan of anything anise or licorice-flavored, so I needed Hannah's help with that one. After heating our water and adding chai, we stirred in almond milk and agave.


The Mandarin Masala Chai is made with black tea, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, and citrus blend from extract. The orange notes wafted from the package when opened, but they were much more subtle in the tea. It wasn't overly citrusy, but a hint was there. It reminded me of Christmas. Not sure why I associate oranges with Christmas, but I do. I'll be warming up on the cold nights to come with this comforting mandarin chai.

As for the Star Anise, I could definitely smell a strong licorice scent when we opened the package. Once mixed with hot water, the scent in the air wasn't as strong. Hannah said the tea — seasoned with ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, star anise — was definitely licorice-y, but it wasn't overpowering. She said the anise was a nice complement to the other masala spices of cinnamon and clove. I might just have to be brave and give anise another try soon.

These Cakes Won't Make You Crabby

Disclaimer: I've never eaten crab. And I don't really know what it's supposed to taste like.

But I have eaten my share of vegan crab cakes. Memphis' Imagine Vegan Cafe has some on their menu. Our Whole Foods here sells some in their deli case. And a friend who used to run a vegan lunch pick-up service in Memphis would feature crab cakes from time to time. All of those crab cakes were awesome.

But none could even come close to rivaling the Match Vegan Crab Cakes. 


These look and taste like what I'm pretty certain crab actually looks and tastes like. To be sure, I had my co-worker Hannah try a bite. She's had plenty of real crab in her day, and when she sampled these Match meat cakes, she made that face that people make when they try a vegan meat that tastes eerily similar to the real thing. You know the face.

Just look at the inside. Doesn't that look like flaky crab meat?!


These were among a giant box of samples that Match sent me to review. They come frozen, and they're pre-breaded. All you have to do is fry 'em up in a little olive oil. I served mine with vegan horseradish sauce, fried okra, and mashed butternut squash.

I've never been a fan of seafood. Growing up, my parents hated seafood, so we never had shrimp, crab, lobster, or anything like that in our house. And when I sampled shrimp once in my pregan days, I almost threw up it was so nasty. I'm just not a fan of fishy tasting foods. So I'm really surprised that these Match crab cakes didn't totally freak me out. They're not super fishy tasting, but when you cook them, a seafood restaurant smell does waft through the house. But I guess just knowing they're made from soy and wheat protein made me more comfortable. These are really yummy, and they'd probably fool any omni.

Last time I blogged about a Match product, someone asked in the comments if they were available in Memphis. Sadly, the answer is no. But you can order Match online. And they also have a request letter form on their website that you can fill out and hand to your grocer to encourage them to carry Match meats.