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?

Like Rosemary for Chocolate

Thanks to serendipity, vegan blogs and Facebook, I found a wonderful new friend who happens to be an amazing chocolatier, and who happens to live in the town right next door to my sister.  In a recent visit to New Paltz, NY I was able to stop by Lagusta's brand new chocolate shop, Lagusta's Luscious and make a very important trade:

Rosemary for Chocolate.

As some of you know, I happen to have a lovely, large rosemary bush on the side of my house and I happened to have just given her a haircut.  Lagusta makes, well, luscious, rosemary caramels and toffees and had some trouble sourcing rosemary after hurricane Irene, so I brought her the trimmings.  In turn, I got a box of her hand made chocolates. My son is hoarding them in the above (and below!) picture.

Lovely shots of L's lovely shop:

At home, the goods.

 The Sweet.

The secret link to a beautiful, online chocolate guide to your mixed box is included inside your box when you order or stop by the shop.  Pictured above, clockwise from the left are: the Vandana Shiva, the Pomegranate Truffle (my favorite, I think!), Furious Vulva (delish!), I think a large Autumn truffle?, a Selma's Peppermint Patty, and a Croissant Caramel  and I had already eaten the Rosemary Caramel before I took the picture! They were all amazing. Order a box for yourself or order boxes for your friends and family for a special holiday gift. It's a dangerous gift. You just may be addicted, like I am now...must. distract. self. from. thinking. about. Lagusta's. chocolates...Best to get back in the kitchen for that.

 The Savory.  Home Made Chickpea Tempeh.  

My rendition: Pan Fried Chickpea Tempeh Marinated in Sweet and Savory Tomato Sauce, served with Braised Garlic Escarole over Home Made Italian Bread.

The tempeh was so good that I am going to make an incubator and give it a go at home!  Thanks to Lagusta for the wonderfully detailed blog post on how to make your own tempeh at home!!

I'll keep you guys posted on the tempeh situation! My dad is coming down soon to help me make the incubator.

XOXO

Get Your Chips At Wegmans

Stock Your Pantry, Episode Two:

Get Your Chips At Wegmans!

I just discovered, with the help of a friend of a friend on Facebook, that store brand chocolate chips are often vegan.  I promptly rushed out to Wegmans, hoping that this would be true for their store brand chips (since their store brand products are great).  And, friends, it is!  Also, I checked another brand, an "artisan" chocolate called Scharffen Berger, which some of you may be familiar with.  Also vegan, meaning made with non-gmo soy lecithin instead of unnecessary milk based stabilizers.  The 6 oz semisweet and baking bars at Wegmans are $5 each, though this website lists a 3oz semisweet bar for $5, so rock on Wegmans with your five star self  I have taken the liberty to round up. 

If you haven't been to Wegmans, you must go.  Overall, their prices are excellent (but I never purchased meat/fish/dairy there, so I don't know about the prices on that stuff), it will not break the bank like, for example, Whole Foods. Wegmans has everything I want to eat.  They are a grocery store, a bakery, a restaurant, a great natural foods store, a mini kitchen wares store, a florist, a pharmacy...They stock everything from Tofutti Better Than Creme Cheese (um, they did run out like two weeks before Thanksgiving, though, good thing I already had mine) to black sesame seeds, crystallized ginger, you name it.  They have a HUGE organic section and you could do almost all your shopping there.  They carry Braggs Liquid Aminos near the soy in the organic section, which is also nice.  Their store brand stuff is GREAT, often better than the name brand competitors. 

It is always crowded, though, so expect to take a few extra seconds to park and do expect to be there a while.  You might have to wait behind someone with a "big order" or some rowdy toddlers in the check-out line, so don't have a fit, it's worth it!  If you go at like 2pm, right before school gets out, it's usually ok for like 30 minutes :-)  If you can go late, right before it closes, you will probably do well, or at 6am when it opens, probably also good. Let me know if you find a great time to go.  It is way worth the drive over the bridge from Philly, so common' over Philly people, and stock up.

Ok, enough of this commercial for Weggies.  Get out there and Stock Your Pantry.  Seriously, they have everything.  You need that vital wheat gluten to make Grandma Margies' Meatballs?  Or some aseptic tofu to make that Triple Orange Bread Pudding?  It's called Wegmans, people. 

And this concludes the Stock Your Pantry Series.  Just go to Wegmans.  Grandma Margie says so!

Just don't leave your list in the car.  Trust me.