Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Inept Couriers and Easy Cheezy

It's that time of year again when almost every package I order gets lost. My local post office is filled with idiots who constantly deliver mail to the wrong house. I have lost numerous comic books this way. The latest thing is: a cd I ordered has gone missing. Then a netflix dvd disappeared. And all I got was this cellophane bag with my torn netflix sleeve in it. Now UPS let me down. Good thing my neighbor from a street over delivered it to me. It was filled with Vitasoy Chocolate Peppermint Soymilk, Papa Tofu and Vegan De Guadalupe. HOLLA!


The first thing I created was a veganized version of the Onion, Pepper, and Spinach Quiche Bites from Vegetarian Times (Nov/Dec 08,pg 38). I don't have a finalized recipe and probably won't until Thanksgiving. Changes I made: FYH monterrey jack for the gruyere, 1/2 cup blended silken tofu plus 1 teaspoon arrowroot for the eggs, and soy creamer for the milk. I also baked it for an hour because it took that long to brown. The result was good, but kinda sweet. Because the peppers and onions have natural sweetness, I plan to use unsweetened almond milk next time. Also, I will most likely be using Cheezly because people rave about it. I suggest letting these cool in a fridge completely before slicing. Serve at room temperature or hot.
Next up, I made some stuff from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak. Pictured below is the White Bean Boursin. I've never had boursin so I don't know how close it is. This was good though. Herby goodness, creamy, and salty. The umeboshi paste adds a tangy and salty punch. It couples with the creaminess of the white beans and really has a cheesy taste. I advise pairing this with unsalted things. It works great with baguettes and cucumbers.
I also made the Gruyere from the book. Never had gruyere before so I don't know if it compares. What I can say is that it was noochy, bitter from the tahini, and zingy from the lemon. It was good if you like nutritional yeast. It was pretty great in the French onion soup I made. And look how gooey:
Finally, I adapted Crystal's queso recipe and made chili con queso. I omitted the Rotel, added a bit more liquid and added crumbled chipotle sausage. I like this version more with a spicy Italian sausage because it reminds me of the stuff my mom used to make.
I'm getting back into food blog mode. There will be much commenting tomorrow. Also, I will be making pepper jack. Expect to see an original pesto jack recipe in the near future.

9 comments:

Jenn said...

Wow, all that looks amazing. I really need more fake cheezyness!

Jen said...

mo, that stuff looks really good! i don't know much about different cheeses because i was raised on gubment cheese and velveeta, but i bet your recipes are great. i have to get those books from my library.
xo jewbacca

Joanna said...

those quiche bites look soo good. i just stole my first copy of vegetarian times from the gym. haha i love it. i wish it was all vegan, but it is fun to veganize your own recipes.

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

The Quiche Bites look magazine cover ready!
Boo for inept couriers!

tofufreak said...

ooh i love how gooey the gruyere looks! yummmm ^_^

Bethany said...

bummer about them losing your package. sucks to expect something and not get it.

the fake cheeze looks awesome! I totally underuse that book, but then again, I"m bad at using my cookbooks.

French onion soup = YUM*20

Bex said...

are you able to get things delivered to you at work maybe? Deliveries often find their way to businesses/well marked offices better (unless you work in a place with loads of different stuff which just confuses them even more hehe).

Jen Treehugger said...

It all looks sooo good!
I used to love Boursin and you've made me want this book even more, look at the melt on that Gruyere!!

I used to get things delivered to my office where I worked, for the sole reason that I was there more than I was at home and the delivery time was always during working hours - but yeah - what bex says makes sense.

Jessie said...

I just found your blog, so I am a bit late on this, but the cheezes you made look awesome! I have the Uncheese cookbook, and I have been hesitant about making the white bean boursin and the gruyere. After seeing how delicious they look on your blog, I am going to have to make these right away! I also saw that you are trying to go raw this year, so I am sure you will come up with all kinds of good raw cheezes. Staying tuned...