Foodie Find of the Week: Nocello

I can't in good faith recommend anything I have tried this week being in the throws of a raw food cleanse...aloe juice, even cranberry-pomegranate (perhaps that's where I went wrong?)is frankly quite nasty and has to be taken just like a shot of whiskey, although I am quite certain whiskey shots taste better. Nor can I recommend the detox tea that I bought solely based on its name, which tastes like all the poisons that will allegedly be whisked away from imbibing the dreadful liquid. Both were and continue to be very medicinal and not at all pleasant. One more day. I can do it.

What I have for you this week, is another "find" I've been sitting on for awhile. I know...I know...I'm selfish and I seem to be keeping the best things for myself...lol

At any rate here it is:

Nocello. I'm sure everyone has heard of Nutella, the deliciously decadent chocolate hazelnut spread sent to us by way of our Canadian neighbors. But have you had the Italian "Real-Deal-Holyfield" version? It is on another level of deliciousness. It has a creamier texture and the hazelnut flavor is more pronounced. It's also imported from Europe and has a nice label which are two irrelevant qualities I tend to like in processed foods. Think of it as Nutella's more sophisticated Italian cousin who has flown in for the holidays to brighten your spirits and spread its chocolately-hazelnut cheer all around.

It's great smeared on just about everything...strawberries, pound cake, shortbread cookies, bananas, melted over ice cream, your finger...whatever floats your gondola. I had the idea of melting it and adding it to milk to make chocolate milk, but it seemed like too much trouble at the time (spoon already perched in hand, ready to dive in and eat it directly from the jar) or possibly substituting it in place of peanut butter in some cookies, but I never followed through with that either...if you have more restraint than I, and manage to get it done, let me know how it turns out. I'm happy just eating mine in front of the fridge at the moment.

Nocello is a little harder to track down than Nutella, but it's worth the hunt and the extra dollar or two.

Enjoy,
~c

Foodie Find of the Week: Snofrisk

I know, I know...it's been forever since I did a Foodie Find of the Week. I have tried, I promise. It's just that all the products I tested fell short of what I would consider to be a "find". Some of them actually made me consider doing a "Run From This As Fast As You Can" weekly post. Last night,though, I found this. I have to confess: it was in an effort to avoid a step in the recipe I was developing for a Winter Salad (to be disclosed sometime in the near future). The crowning glory for my salad was to be a lightly breaded, crispy on the outside, creamy and oozy on the inside goat cheese disc. When planning out the recipe I initially decided that the way to achieve the oozy mild taste and texture of warm cream cheese was to obviously add...cream cheese. Well, half way through my market stop, I began to wonder if there was a such thing as goatmilk cream cheese, after all there's goat milk...goat butter...goatmilk ice cream, and if you're lucky to have a fully stocked market, goatmilk yogurt...shouldn't there be cream cheese, logically speaking I mean? I wonder this type of thing alot, mostly about cheese, and mostly because prior to my fall from grace as a vegan, I had forgone the cheese and my knowledge of the matter has significantly diminished. Anyways..after a little digging at Whole Foods, I can answer with authority. Yes, there should be and there is. Mission accomplished, so I took it home--two packages actually, partly because they were 4oz each and my concieved recipe called for 8oz, and mostly because they were "buy one, get one free". Score.

I was a little skeptical right off, as I usually am of products I wish existed and then magically land in my little fingers moments later. However, upon tasting the Snofrisk, all my skepticism was erased. It's creamy, mild, spreadable, and maintains the tartness of a good chevre. Perfection. It's sort of the Laughing Cow of Goat Cheese I guess...it even comes in a triangular container, larger of course than a wedge of Laughing Cow, but still...there's a resemblance. Come to think of it, it sort of resembles the flavor as well...only tinged with goat cheese and with the texture of really good cream cheese...or Creole Cream Cheese, yes, yes...that's it...creole cream cheese, only slightly thicker, and made from goat's milk. Super Score.

Go get some, you'll need two containers for the forthcoming Winter Salad recipe.
I guarantee you won't regret it.
Happy Thanksgiving!
~c

Maitre d'Hotel Butter

7 tablespoons vegan margarine, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons plain soy creamer
1 tablespoon fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped fine
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, cream together margarine, soy creamer, and parsley. Add lemon juice and zest. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place mixture on a large sheet of wax or parchment paper. Form margarine into a log about 1-inch in diameter. Wrap log with wax or parchment paper, then again with plastic wrap. Refrigerate or freeze until firm or ready to use. The log will keep about a week in the fridge or about a month in the freezer. When ready to use, slice off the desired amount and place directly on top of hot food.

This is great on hot steamed or grilled vegetables, cooked pasta, portabella steaks, or just spread on some toasted baguette.

Fried Chick-un Waldorf Salad

This recipe is a fusion of a two classic recipes: a basic chicken salad with grapes and mild mayonnaise dressing, and a waldorf salad--the infamous apple, celery, walnut salad tossed in a slightly sweetened version of the aforementioned mayonnaise dressing. It was born out of a chain of shows on Food Network that ran back to back one afternoon...one with Paula Deen making chicken salad sliders, one with Ina Garten making her classic chicken salad, and another with Rachel Ray making some sort of waldorf salad wrap mess. I thought it might me tasty to roll them all into one recipe and then veganize it to make it edible. The end result was quite delicious. Try it next time your thinking about what to make for lunch. A little side note: it's made with those frozen vegan chicken nuggets...so Sandra Lee (semi-homemade) watch out! Why are there no vegetarian shows on that damn channel?!

1 box vegan breaded chickn nuggets (prepared according to package directions and cooled), cubed

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup Grapeseed Oil Veganaise

1/2 cup soy sour cream

1/2 cup sliced green grapes

1 teaspoon agave nectar

1/2 cup chopped green apple

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Combine everything in a large bowl. Fold to coat all ingredients with veganaise and sour cream. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Cover and chill until ready to use. Makes about 3 cups.

Serve as a sandwich spread, on toast, with crackers, or stuff into fresh vegetables. This would also be great just served on top of some bibb lettuce, or combined with some cooked, cooled elbow macaroni in a pasta salad.

Enjoy :-)

Rotisserie Tempeh Salad

Rotisserie seasoning blend can be found on the spice aisle of most supermarkets.

1 cup tempeh, cubed
1/2 cup grapeseed Veganaise
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dill relish
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
2 teaspoons soy sauce (I used Bragg's)
3 cloves roasted garlic, smashed
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce or to taste
1 tablespoon Rotisserie seasoning blend
Steam the cubed tempeh for 15 minutes on medium-high heat. Set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine the Vegenaise, celery, relish, shallots, parsley, soy sauce, mustard, garlic and hot sauce until well blended. Cover and refrigerate. Toss cooled tempeh with rotisserie seasoning. Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet and gently fry tempeh cubes until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside to cool. Once tempeh is cooled, toss with refrigerated dressing mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes to blend flavors and to allow the mixture to thicken. Serve on toasted bread, or with crackers.

Serves roughly 4-6 depending on the size of your portions.