I love Daiya vegan cheese and now they have cheese wedges!

Daiya cheese is my preferred vegan cheese for pizza, chili cheese fries, cheeseburgers…ALL the cheesy vegan foods.  Daiya is the best vegan cheese because it tastes and melts like the real thing.

My friend Elizabeth tipped me off about Daiya’s new cheese wedges and I just had to try them.  After finishing up my shift at Earthfare I purchased some gluten-free crackers and a Daiya cheese wedge.  Earthfare has an aisle FULL of crackers (many are vegan, some are gluten-free).  I had no idea Edward & Sons made crackers but since I LOVE their vegan bouillon cubes (especially the ‘chicken’ flavor!) I had to try these crackers.  I wanted a plain cracker since I wanted the cheese to be the main flavor experience.

I chose the jack style wedge because I used to nosh on pepper jack cheese back in my non-vegan days.  I learned that I need to garnish each cracker with a currant, raisin, or a few pieces of roasted red pepper for a finished presentation.   I learned that from watching Queer Eye for the Straight Guy today!  Thanks Ted Allen!  I love that show so much. 

This cheese is sooo good.  It tastes rich and creamy just like real cheese with no strange aftertaste.  I’m totally going to make a vegan and gluten-free grilled cheese with this tomorrow.  CAN’T WAIT.

Daiya wedges are also available in cheddar and jalapeno garlic havarti.  I expect I will be in a cheese coma as soon as I get my hands on the jalapeno garlic cheese. 

 

 

Gluten-free and vegan Mexican style pizza

I must make my own pizza at home since Your Pie’s gluten-free crust contains eggs and gelatin.

Not being able to order a vegan and gluten-free pizza anywhere in Athens can be irritating and inconvenient.  Fortunately, making a pizza ‘from scratch’ is much cheaper than Your Pie or Mellow Mushroom.  One bag of Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free pizza crust mix costs around $3-4 and one bag of Daiya cheese costs $5.  I would estimate the cost of other toppings to be a few dollars at most.  A homemade pizza will give you around 4-6 servings of pizza.

Ingredients:

1 package Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free pizza dough mix (located in the natural foods section in Kroger.  also available at Earthfare)

1 can vegetarian refried beans

½ teaspoon each – cumin, coriander, garlic, chili powder

Taco sauce – I used the hot variety but Kroger also has a mild flavor as well.

Daiya shredded pepper jack vegan cheese (this flavor is only available at Earthfare. Cheddar and mozzarella are available at Earthfare and Kroger.)

Pico de gallo (I purchased it pre-made from the produce department at Kroger)

Sliced olives

Sliced jalapenos

Roasted red peppers – from a jar, sliced

Any other toppings you like

Preparation:

Prepare pizza dough according to package instructions.

Open can of refried beans and scoops them into a medium bowl.  Season with cumin, coriander, garlic, and chili powder and stir.  Spread the refried beans onto the crust in a thin, even layer.  I ended up using the whole can, but feel free to use less than this amount.

The taco sauce is a replacement for traditional marinara pizza sauce.  Spread an ample amount of taco sauce on top of the beans.

Sprinkle some cheese on top of the sauce.

I combined the pico de gallo, sliced olives, and sliced jalapenos in one bowl, and spread this mixture evenly on top of the cheese.

Sprinkle more cheese on top.

Place sliced roasted red peppers and any other toppings you like on top of the pizza.  Sprinkle with a little garlic powder and place into the oven.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes.

Yum!  This makes great leftovers.

If you have a pizza emergency and need one quickly (and are also vegan and gluten-free), you should try Amy’s Spinach Pizza (available at Kroger).  This pizza has a gluten-free rice crust and is topped with soy cheese.  This pizza is tasty on its own, but I prefer adding additional toppings of mushrooms and sliced olives before sticking it in the oven.  The crust can be slightly dry and crumbly so place the pizza on a cookie sheet or on top of foil while baking.  This pizza costs around $7-8 and gives me around 2 servings.

What is your favorite type of pizza?

Labor Day fun! Vegan and gluten-free raspberry scones

Today my friends Elizabeth, Michelle, and Christina came over to bake some vegan foods!

Leela helps me pose with the cookbook

We wanted to bake something out of the Babycakes cookbook by Erin McKenna.  We decided to try the raspberry scones because we wanted something easy to make, and because we were hungry for scones!  We doubled the recipe and made some substitutions.

Raspberry Scones:

4 cups oat flour

2 Tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup coconut oil, plus more for brushing (we used 1/3 cup canola oil and 1/3 cup coconut oil)

2/3 cup agave nectar, plus more for brushing

2 Tablespoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup hot water

2 cups fresh raspberries

Preparation:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat.  Lightly spray the mat with cooking oil.

Here’s Christina, Elizabeth, and Michelle in the kitchen!

2.  In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add the oil, agave nectar, and vanilla and gently stir until a thick, slightly dry batter is formed.  Pour in the hot water and mix.  Gently fold in the raspberries into the batter with a rubber spatula.

3.  Place each chunk of batter (approximately 1/3 cup of batter) onto the mat and leave a 1 inch space in between each scone.  Bake the scones on the center rack for 14 minutes, turning the baking sheet 180 degrees after 7 minutes to ensure even baking.  **We had to bake the scones for 20 minutes extra because they were VERY thick.  Just check the scones after the 14 minute recommended cooking time, and add 5 minutes in the oven until they are golden brown and not doughy.**

4.  Brush the scones with melted Earth Balance butter (or oil).  We drizzled some agave nectar into the melted butter and brushed this mixture on top of each scone.   Transfer scones to a plate after letting them cool for a few minutes.  Enjoy!

Right out of the oven!

These scones were delicious!  The fresh raspberries were on sale at Kroger for 2 packs for $4.00.  We used both containers in this recipe.  So worth it!

Stay tuned for more blog posts about recipes from Babycakes!  I plan on baking EVERYTHING in this cookbook, and documenting my efforts (and my friends’ efforts when they can help!) on the blog.

We also had watermelon, and baked some fries in the oven.  Then we melted Daiya cheddar cheese on top.  What a feast!

Vegan mac and cheese dinner with Elizabeth :)

My fellow vegan alien Elizabeth had me over for dinner and showed me her take on vegan mac and cheese.  She used a recipe from AllRecipes.com, and veganized the recipe with a few modifications.  This mac and cheese tastes just like the frozen Amy’s version of gluten-free mac and cheese, but much tastier.  The secret ingredient is mustard!  Mustard makes the sauce extra creamy and gives it a cheesy tang.

To veganize and customize to your taste buds, use:

non dairy milk (soy or almond)

vegetable broth

vegan cheese (try Daiya brand, or just use lots of nutritional yeast)

onion powder and garlic powder to taste

a splash of soy sauce

To make this recipe gluten-free, use:

gluten-free pasta (try quinoa brand)

gluten-free flour

Elizabeth tells me that this recipe makes a lot of pasta, so just estimate how much you want to eat.  Don’t worry too much about the exact measurements of the ingredients.  Her mac and cheese turned out great without her measuring a single thing!  Just make sure to add more broth or milk to your sauce if it gets too thick on the stove top.

We also had salads, watermelon, and Pirate’s Booty (the veggie flavor tastes like Cheetos!) along with the mac and cheese for dinner.  YUM!

Homemade vegan and gluten-free pizza

Last night I decided to treat myself (and Danny!) with a homemade pizza.

Making gluten-free and vegan pizza at home isn’t as difficult as you would think.  Fortunately, Bob’s Red Mill offers a selection of premixed and gluten-free flours.  Pizza crust, pancakes, cornbread, biscuit mix, and all-purpose are a few of the mixes available at Kroger in the natural food section or Earthfare.  Each bag is printed with an easy-to-follow recipe on the back.  The only modification to the recipe is a substitution of vegan egg replacer instead of eggs.  I purchased all the ingredients for my pizza at Kroger.  Some of the Kroger brand pizza sauces contain meat, but the pizza parlor flavor is vegan.

I followed the directions on the back of the pizza crust mix bag, and topped the pizza with mushrooms, olives, and pineapple, and smothered the pizza in Daiya vegan cheese.  It is the BEST vegan cheese out there!  Trust me, it melts and tastes just like real cheese.  It’s around $5.00 a bag, but definitely worth the cost!

Here’s the finished product:

I also sprinkled a little nutritional yeast and garlic on top once it came out of the oven.

If you like a lot of toppings on your pizza, try baking the pizza for 25 minutes instead of 18 or 20, because the toppings add quite a bit of moisture to the pizza.  The dough was soft and a little chewy, and not dry like other gluten-free pizza doughs I’ve tried.

Delicious!  And it makes great leftovers