This week I'm doing a review of some of the amazing products from Miyoko's Kitchen. My life as a vegan has been a sort of struggle as it relates to my life with Cheese or rather without it. I love cheese. I would think nothing of sitting down and eating and entire block of cheese with crackers. I would tell myself it was healthy because I would use "good" cheese. But frankly my body was telling another story. After hubby and I decided to go vegan, we took all dairy from our diet. My heart would yearn for the stringy bubbly goodness of a hot slice or a creamy grilled cheese. I had resigned the fact that I would never have that back in my life again.
Until now!
A while back I did a search and found a video of Miyoko and her amazing cheese recipes. I started writing down everything so I could make her a cheese for a pizza.
Then while searching I found her website where she sells her cheese already done!! We ordered the cheddar cheese sauce, the double cream and chive spread and the fresh mozz.
From http://miyokoskitchen.com/products-miyoko/
This spreadable cheese replacement is amazing. We have it with crackers and it was simply amazing. I loved it.
http://miyokoskitchen.com/products-miyoko/
The Fresh VeganMozz was simply amazing. I have not had a pizza with cheese in years. Now I have had ones with Daiya and it was like eating cardboard. I grabbed some pizza dough from the deli section of my grocery store and added some vegan butter with garlic a few herbs and this cheese grated. YES GRATED. You can slice or grate it and it melts and browns so amazingly. I am in love. I will have this in my house forever!!!
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
From: http://miyokoskitchen.com/products-miyoko/
Finally we tried the Cheddar Style Cheese Sauce. Sadly the cheese sauce was really strong with nutritional yeast and mustard. I took one bite and spit it out. It was just horrid. So my quest for mac and cheese continues, however I will be purchasing the VeganMozz and the Creamy Spreads again!
A really good multipurpose ingredient is Balsamic
Vinegar. It can be used as a condiment
as well as during cooking. A simple use
of the product could be slice of home grown tomato with a bit of balsamic
vinegar for a simply amazing as a summer time snack.
Cauliflower can be a challenging veggie. I've had steamed cauliflower and cauliflower
mash but desperately wanted something different. I did a quick Google search for Cauliflower
dishes and found many that listed balsamic vinegar as a great ingredient to
work with it. After reading over a few
of them this is what I've come up with.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Ingredients
1 Head
Cauliflower
1 cup
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1
Tablespoons Marjoram
2-3
Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
2-3 Tablespoons
Olive Oil
¼ teaspoon Sea
Salt
Black Pepper
to taste
Process
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Start out by cutting the Cauliflower flowerets into 1 – 1 ½ inch pieces
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Add the Olive Oil to a large bowl
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Add the Marjoram to the bowl
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Add ¼ Teaspoon of Salt to the bowl and mix
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Add the cauliflower to the bowl and toss
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Place the cauliflower in a large baking dish and back at 350
for 25 – 30 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Remove from the oven and added the balsamic vinegar and toss
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Cover the cauliflower with the shredded cheese and place
back in the oven until the cheese melts
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Remove from the oven and serve.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
You’ll notice that the majority of my dishes are baked in
glass baking dishes. I do this due to a
metal allergy.
Have you tried my recipes?
Have a suggestion, a remake or maybe something new you’d like to share,
feel free to send me an email at Sosanna@sosannascloset.com.
A staple in my household is the black bean. We use black beans for tacos, chili,
burritos, nachos and even chimichangas. A Chimichanga is a deep fried burrito filled
with assorted ingredients, sometimes served wet with a ranchero sauce or with
sour cream and shredded cheese. The
story behind the name is that the founder of El Charro in Tucson Arizona
dropped a pastry into a deep fat fryer by accident and started to say a curse
word in Spanish, but quickly changed it to Chimichanga.
Here’s my variation of a Black Bean Chimichanga. **remember to get organic if you can**
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Ingredients
Flour
Tortillas
1 cup white
rice
½ cup frozen
corn
¼ of an 8 oz
pack of Cream Cheese
½ cup
shredded white cheese
2-3
Tablespoons of Cilantro
1 can black
beans
*Optional*
Red Pepper
Flake
Ranchero
Sauce
Onions
Sour Cream
Process
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Add about ¼ of a block of cream cheese to a pot with the
black beans and stir gently until melted.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Add the chopped cilantro and frozen corn to the pot and mix. At this point I add about ¼ teaspoon of red
pepper flake to make it a little hot.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
At this point I start my pot of oil heating on another
burner. You’ll want to be really
hot. You’ll see the oil moving but not
smoking.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
After the mixture is mixed completely, grate some of the
white cheese for the center of the burrito.
A bit extra can be grated if you plan to use a ranchero sauce and added
to the top.
Add the mixture to the center of the burrito and fold the sides in first, then cover with the bottom and roll up. This video shows a slightly different but good way to stuff and roll a burrito. I recommend starting with less filling until you get the hang of it. If it pops open in the hot oil it will be a mess!
Using tongs, carefully place the burrito in the hot
oil. You’ll want to hold it securely but
not too tightly until the burrito is golden brown.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Place on a paper towel to drain.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
After both are cooked plate them up and serve. Cover the top of the burrito with the
ranchero sauce, cheese and sour cream or just serve dry.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
This is a great dish to use left over rice with. I like to make rice and eggs for breakfast
and keep the left over rice to add to my burrito for lunch.
Have you made one of my recipes? I’d love to hear your feedback. Want me to try one of yours? Send me an email at Sosanna@sosannascloset.com.
So I've been doing Meatless Monday for a while and a few months ago I did a recipe for my Pesto Mac & Cheese. A friend of mine saw the recipe and sent me a message asking me if I’d ever tried Kugel? I had no idea what it was so I had her send me her recipe over so I could give it a try. I made it a couple of time and then customized it. Thanks so much to Zanalista for sharing the information and the idea for this great recipe.
So what is Kugel anyway? Kugel is a baked dish that can be served either sweet or savory. It’s extremely flexible and can be made with either potatoes or egg noodles. I opted for a savory version. I started out making a full recipe but this doesn't reheat as well as I’d hoped, it is very similar to mac & cheese and is usually best on the first day. My recipe feeds two people and if you’d like to make for a family just double.
So let’s get started
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Ingredients
¼ of a 16oz bag of wide egg noodles
½ of a small container of sour cream
½ of a small container of cottage cheese
1 cup of shredded white cheddar cheese
1 cup of shredded Muenster or other white cheese
1 cup of frozen spinach
½ cup of milk (about)
½ cup panko bread crumbs
Salt
Pepper
Process
Boil your noodles per package instructions, keep in mind you can vary the noodles based on number of servings, I was going for a small dish. Cook until al dente and drain.
TIP – Salt your water to flavor the noodles
In a bowl combine the sour cream, the cottage cheese and the spinach, salt and pepper to taste.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
In a baking pan (butter it, else it will stick) layer the noodles and cheese mixture, alternating like you would when making a lasagna. Sprinkle your shredded cheeses between each layer, leaving a bit to put on the top.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Take the ½ cup of milk and pour into the pan. You should see it come up just to the top of the noodles. Zanalista recommended pouring at the four corners to insure coverage. I did it that way and it worked out perfect.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Sprinkle the breadcrumbs across the top of the dish and place in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes. The breadcrumbs are optional, but I tried it both ways and they really add a great texture to the dish.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
I checked on mine several times as I thought the bake time was too long but it did indeed need the full 45 minutes to allow the milk to combine with the cheese and noodles to make a really awesome sauce.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Cut into squares and serve.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
My understanding is that you can make this dish with raisins and brown sugar for a sweet option but I didn't try that. I loved this and it turned out amazing. I've added it to my meatless diet.
Have a recipe you’d like me to try? Want to tell me about one of mine you've tried? Just send me a message as Sosanna@sosannascloset.com or leave me a comment here.
One of my favorite dishes is Black Bean Tacos. Hubby and I actually ate these every night
for dinner for an entire year. We don’t have
them that often now but boy, these are really really REALLY good.
If you can always try to get organic ingredients for these
recipes. In my photos below you’ll see
that sometimes I have organic and sometimes I don’t. It really depends on what’s on sale and what
is available at the market.
So let’s get on to the recipe.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Ingredients
Fresh Baby
spinach
Fresh Avocado
Fresh Cilantro
Fresh whole
tomato
Cheese (I
use white because there are no dyes & Cabot because there is no rBST)
Raw Yellow Corn
tortillas
1 can black
beans
Red pepper
flakes
Sour Cream
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
I start out by getting my beans on the stove
Add the chopped cilantro and the chili flakes to taste
(careful with chili flake, I only use about ¼ of a teaspoon) Just warm the
beans through, if you boil them they’ll get mushy.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Next I start my oil heating on the stove in a shallow fry
pan.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
While the oil is heating I grate the cheese
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Chop the spinach and tomato
And prep the avocado
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
The avocado is removed from the peel and mashed up with a
bit of salt. Avocado can be tricky to work with so here’s a video on how to remove the pit, fan and dice.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Using a pair of tongs, I take the raw corn tortilla shell
and lay it gently in the oil. I use the
tongs to shape the tortilla in to the basic taco shell. Traditionally these shells are simply warmed
on a flat top and served but I like the extra crunch. I also use this same technique to make my own
tortilla chips. Just cut the circles in
half twice and you have little triangles that you can fry until golden brown
and salt.
Assemble all the ingredients and serve!
A couple of tips use a butter knife to coat the inside of
the taco shell with sour cream and the avocado, and then add the beans. If you do it this way you’ll get a nice bit
of the mixture in every bite. I add my
cheese next so it melts over the beans. I've noticed too, that using the avocado I use much less cheese.
Sometimes you end up with extra potatoes that just need to
be cooked. Hubby and I sometimes by a
bag only to find out when we get home that there is a bag in the pantry. Previously I shared my Baked
Potato Fries recipe; this is another recipe for using leftover baked
potatoes.
Ingredients
4-6 Baked Potatoes (usually 1 – 2 per person)
1 ½ cups of frozen organic broccoli
1 cup of cheese (of your choice)
Salt, Pepper and Sour Cream to taste
Process
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Place the broccoli in a veggie steamer and cook until tender
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the inside into a bowl
Set skins aside to be stuffed later
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Add insides to a large bowl and mash
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Add cheese and stir
Remove the broccoli from the steamer and do a rough chop
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Add broccoli to the potato mixture
Salt & Pepper to taste
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
Stuff the potato mixture into the skins and top with cheese
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or long
enough to heat through.
Remove from the oven, top with Sour Cream and serve.
Photo Credit - Renee Olson
These were really tasty.
It would be easy to substitute with other veggies. Adding cauliflower or steamed spinach would
be another great way to spice up those potatoes!
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