Trader Joe's Turkey-Less Stuffed Roast to the Rescue!

So, a week ago I made a desperate Trader Joe's run in search of their vegan vanilla ice cream (which is amazing) and which they had been sold out of for the first two weeks of November (my poor husband was the victim on those runs).

THIS TIME I CALLED AHEAD.

Peter answered and emphatically encouraged me to put all three quarts of the remaining ice cream on hold, for pick up asap.

I can follow directions.

I like the new spelling of my name.

I secured the product in triplicate! 

And, previous, to this trip, while recently perusing Trader Joe's (super handy and fun) Vegan Product List, I noticed they offered a *new* *vegan* *Thanksgiving/Holiday* *roast.* OH YES THEY DO. I thought in all caps: THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NO WAY ON EARTH THEY WILL ALSO HAVE THE VEGAN STUFFED HOLIDAY ROAST IN STOCK THE WEEK BEFORE THANKSGIVING. 

(The ice cream debacle may have made me a little hypervigilant.)

BUT THEY DID.

 LOOK! THERE SHE IS! Note the cute "V" (lower left).

I also procured a jarred Cranberry Sauce so I wouldn't have to make one.

 And I needed a little more of the delicious and reasonably priced 10-year Balsamic Vinegar (of Modena). That's the only kind you should buy.

And I was buggered that my camera was behaving strangely during this shoot. I finally figured out (afterwards and much too late, of course) that it was still set to manual (I had been playing with it days before and left it in the manual setting). That explains the iso of 3200 in this shot. Big duh. Sorry guys!

Anyway, back to our story. So, yes, the ice cream and the holiday roast...

SO, I stayed back from Thanksgiving travel to work on my book, develop some recipes,and do some other things (more writing).

As other cookbook authors will tell you, when you're writing and developing recipes, you don't have the time or inclination to make a whole meal. It's one of those good problems.

On Wednesday, I was in pie development mode, and I made a pie. But that's all I made. So, yup. Nothing left over from that but pie. I didn't even eat the pie, a slice of the pie or even a bite of the pie. I thought I might bring it somewhere or something plus I didn't want pie on Wednesday (through no fault of the pie).

This is what I ate yesterday, on Thanksgiving:

A DINNER ROLL. 

Yes, it's a potential book recipe, but seriously!

OK, so today, I was really feeling like I HAD to eat some Thanksgiving type feast meal.

I remembered the Trader Joe's Turkey-less Stuffed Roasts in my freezer. And the Brussels sprouts and the cranberry sauce. And, the rolls (I know).

I thought you guys might like to know how the frozen, super convenient and VEGAN roasts tasted, right? Right?

Well, let's start by opening up the bag.

Here's the bag.

All the directions say to do is heat the frozen roasts at 450 for 25 to 30 minutes. SO EASY.

OK, so I was a *little* taken aback by how tiny they seemed. 

Those are the gravy packets that are wrapped.

So, I baked the roasts (both of them, since they seemed so tiny and I was really hungry) and I heated up the gravy on the stove top, and I made some Brussels sprouts (a book recipe, they are SO good) and I opened the jar of cranberry sauce and I stuck some of my rolls in the oven.

Here's what I ate tonight:

And, OH MY WORD was that roast ever delicious! It *really* tasted like chicken (in a good way), the texture was spot-on (juicy yet crisp-tender, perfect!) and the stuffing was flavorful. 

And one was plenty.

It did not, in *any* way at all, need the ferociously foul smelling gravy.

The gravy looks fine, but smelled atrocious. There was no way I was going to put that in my mouth.

I'm not sure what they did to the gravy, but I do not recommend you eat it (just chuck it, sorry, TJ's!). Next time, just do a mushroom gravy, OK, guys?

Since today was Black Friday, I also went to the library and bought two cookbooks from the library cart for $1.50:

I love dated cookbooks.

And here's a crazy cat video for you:

It's all upside down and stuff. I KNOW! Sorry. 

I'm not really having luck with the photos and the videos this weekend!

However, my friend Michael had me covered...

Thanksgiving Turkey and Pilgrim by my old collegue and artist friend,
Michael Wintering, LPC, ATR-BC (Board Certified Art Therapist).
Media: Electronic Wacom Intuos Digital Drawing Pad.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Grain Parade!

I know I missed posting for the 4th of July with her crisp gingham picnics and luscious fruit pies, sorry guys!  I get cranky in a hot kitchen in summer.  I need something fast and easy to go with my CSA hauls, something that I don't have to cook for a long time (or, preferably at all)...

During a trip to TJ's today, I came across these grains, all are quick cooking (excepting the steel cut oats):

Ten minute Farro, Bulgur and Barley, come to momma! 

Precooked brown rice, it would be nice if you are also delicious since you say to only microwave you for a minute!  Also included are TJ's organic, rainbow quinoa (I have not tried their brand of quinoa before) and I'm finally trying the steel cut oatmeal that everyone raves about.

I think I'm going to try the farro first...

Yes, yes I am.

Here are some light, delish grain salads I have been making with my organic CSA farm hauls and some quick cooking grains I already had in my pantry:

Blueberries + Basil...what grows together goes together! 

P.S. That's a nice longish orzo I used there for the grain.

Hubby created this one and I added my Golden 'Fu:

He used that boxed tabouli mix from Fantastic Foods and jazzed it up, it was really delish.  

Perfect with my Golden 'Fu!

Let me know if you'd like to see the recipes for either of these grain salads here on Vegan Fazool and I'll see what I can do :-)

In the meantime, I am going to experiment with those quick-cooking TJ's grains and get back to you guys if they are really good (or really bad, or just ordinary).

More low to no heat posts are coming soon to the VF, stay tuned...

What do you guys like to make (or not make) in the heat of summer?

Dessert First: A Vegan Chocolate Chip Tasting and Video!

And, really, what's wrong with starting with dessert, first?

A Vegan Chocolate Chip Tasting (all brands are semi-sweet):

Three Store Brands: Whole Foods 365, Wegmans and Trader Joe's.

Two National Brands: Ghirardelli and Enjoy Life (Mega Chunks!).

So, what did we think?

Here's my very first Vegan Fazool Video, starring my highly discerning son :-) and ever thorough husband...

What will they like??

And here is the feedback from the tasters in my class, who, for the most part, agreed with my family.

#1. Whole Foods 365: (Zero!) favorite votes, and no one liked it.  

(Sorry, WF! Chin up!)

#2. Wegmans: (1) fave vote from class, everyone agreed they really liked it, and it was my personal favorite=(2) fave votes.  A great overall chip.

#3. Ghirardelli: (2) fave votes from class, tied for 1st for my hubs=(2.5) fave votes.  Creamy, a bit bittersweet and with a rich, vanilla taste. YUM.

#4. Enjoy Life Mega Chunks: (1) fave vote from class, but mixed reviews overall.

#5. Trader Joe's: (3) fave votes from class, positive reviews overall.

Remember, this was an uncooked, straight-from-the-bag chocolate chip tasting.  

It would be interesting to see how all the chips might fare when baked into cookies, now wouldn't it?  

What's your favorite vegan chocolate chip?