First of all: Holy crap, it's June. How did that happen?? Second of all: I finally got my ass to a Whole Foods! There are 2 in the Cleveland area and, whoa, what a drive that was. On a hot day, no less. But it was totally worth it. I was in complete hippie heaven. And... I was in the store for over an hour. Wandering up and down every single aisle. It was so awesome! And most of what I saw (excluding cosmetics, etc.) was moderately priced! I'm such a foodie. I think maybe once every month or two will be how often I can make it up there. Here is my haul:
Some noteworthy items: Mighty Maple Peanut Butter, Soyrizo (love this stuff!), Vegan Black Pepper Beef medallions (I reserved some of the leftover sauce from these and used it over rice & tofu - so yummy!), Good Belly (my 1st probiotic experience), and my first little basil plant. :) In the bag is blueberry cream granola. I'm going to make a dessert out of this stuff, methinks.
When I 1st stepped in the store, I darted straight for the deli. I was hungry, sure, but I had heard wonderful things about the vegan prepared foods they offer. And, sure enough, I found vegan sweet and sour chicken! They also had vegan beef & broccoli, but my decision was made! It was made out of wheat gluten and quite tasty. I also particularly loved that when I sat down to munch, I noticed they have separate containers for recyclables and compost for your trash! I almost squealed when I saw that set-up.
Mmm. Jalepeno Poppers. I've never tried the non-vegan kind, so I couldn't lose with these. I made them for a Mexican themed Fajita Dinner my bestie Liv & her fiance, Justin, hosted. The whole dinner was so lovely! I wish I had taken a picture of the spread, but I was far too ravenous. Nevertheless, here is the recipe:
Jalepeno Poppers
6 jalepeno peppers
3 T vegan cream cheese
3 T soyrizo
1/2 c soy milk
1/2 c flour
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t garlic powder
2/3 c fine cornmeal
- Using plastic gloves, slice peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds. I left a little bit of stem on each half to make dredging easier.
- Mix together cream cheese and soyrizo. Spoon into each pepper half evenly. I refridgerated these while I was at work to firm the mixture up a bit, but that step is your call.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
- Set up 3 bowls w/ the soy milk, flour mixed with spices, and cornmeal in each. Dip pepper in soy milk, dredge in flour mixture, dip back into soy milk, and dredge in cornmeal. Repeat on all remaining peppers.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Serve immediately w/ or w/o vegan sour cream for dipping.
And lastly, to cool your mouth down after all that spicy-ness, here are Living Harvest's new Hemp Milk Tempt Ice Creams! I searched for these at Whole Foods, but I must have began my quest too early. But, to my complete surprise, I found them at Krieger's! (GAHD, I love that place...) I dug in this afternoon and, I must say, they are quite tasty. The Chocolate Fudge flavor is very rich, but nothing that special. The Mint Chip, however, really hits the spot! I'm so excited to have a frozen dessert option that isn't soy or super-fatty coconut milk. Yum!
Labels: product review, recipes