Day 24: Coconut Milk Ice Cream

The other day, my dad called me from the health food store and asked if I wanted any coconut milk ice cream. I selected mint chip (which I never had any fondness for previously but wanted very badly) and cookie dough.

The cookie dough ice cream is also gluten free - a nice touch. It was good, but I think I prefer Temptation's cookie dough ice cream. The problem with Purely Decadent's cookie dough is that the chunks of dough are too big for my taste. I ended up breaking the chunks into smaller pieces before eating, which was an annoying extra step (I mean, I already have to take the ice cream out of the freezer, take the lid off, get a spoon, and scoop it! Now this?!).

The mint chip was wonderful and I've already picked up a second carton. The ice cream is white, as compared to the more typical light green. I guess this means that other companies either dye their ice cream or use actual mint leaves. There are thin swirls of chocolate throughout that weren't too overwhelming (Wait, how can this be called "mint chip" ice cream when there are no actual chips? I will continue to investigate this disturbing matter.). It seems like a lot of ice cream has way more chocolate than necessary but, considering my chocolate intolerance, I may be slightly biased.

I've also had Purely Decadent's chocolate coconut milk ice cream and the coconut one. I have been very impressed by this line so far and it's nice to find tasty vegan ice cream in local stores. That's right, the vegans are taking over grocery stores, one freezer case at a time.

Day 16: Carrot Salad

I picked up this pre-made carrot salad by Totally Vegan from my local health food store. I don't have the recipe, but I think this would be pretty easy to replicate because you can find the list of ingredients HERE. It says that there are only 2 servings, but I was able to make 5 sandwiches with it (and the bread I use is fairly wide).

I'm always nervous about trying carrot-y things because it wasn't long ago that I hate-hate-hated carrots. I certainly did not hate this carrot salad though. It was a very nice change from my usual chickpea salad. I'll be picking this up again for sure and I encourage everyone who doesn't live around Chicago to try a hand at making it yourself!

So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt

Admittedly, I am not a big fan of yogurt. But it is full of cultures that are good for my belly so when I heard about So Delicious' new coconut milk yogurt, I was interested. I really think So Delicious is onto something with using coconut milk (they also have a coconut milk ice cream line that is tasty).

I've only had the Strawberry-Banana so far and it was very yummy. I don't know how the consistency compares with other yogurts (it's been... quite a while since I've last had yogurt) but I wasn't nauseated by it - major plus! I ate it very quickly, as opposed to how I used to eat yogurt, which was very slow and I was reluctant to take each bite. I let my dad have a bite (he thought it was good, if a bit sweet) and then I remembered that I neglected to tell him what flavor it is and he is allergic to bananas. Oh well!

Conclusion: This yogurt may cause you to attempt patricide, but it's worth it.

Adventures in Teese

I know I am several months late to this party, but I just ordered Teese a couple weeks ago. I took my time ordering it because I don't miss cheese and mozzarella was never my favorite anyway. But I am a curious lady and Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe had half-priced shipping so here we are!

Noodles and broccoli with some cheese-y sauce and a bit of nutritional yeast. I just googled "basic cheese sauce" and veganized the recipe I found. It was exciting because the sauce recipe involved making a roux. I love roux-ing! Mostly because it is a really neat looking word. And stirring is fun.

This pasta was great. I liked it even better when I added ketchup (I'm a freak, shut up) but those pictures were a bit... gross-looking, which is why there is only a spoonful of pasta in this photo. I think it would have fooled any omni, but didn't test it out because I am bad at sharing.


The first thing I made with Teese was a quesadilla. Just refried beans, sliced tomatoes, and Teese on a tortilla. DELICIOUS. Very oozy. Quesadillas are really fantastic because (a) BEANS and (b) you can toss on almost any veggie. I made some later with broccoli.

I also made cheesy mashed potatoes and a grilled cheese sandwich. And while I was very pleased with the Teese results, I think I will be even happier when they come out with a cheddar flavor.

Sweet & Sara Marshmallows

I have read a lot about Sweet & Sara marshmallows, but never got around to ordering any because (a) I don't really miss marshmallows and (b) I hate paying shipping & handling. So what a lovely surprise to run across them at Whole Foods! I bought a package of the plain marshmallows, original s'mores, and peanut butter s'mores. And wow. I can't stop eating these! They taste just like I remember marshmallows tasting and are just a little more dense. I prefer the plain marshmallows to the s'mores but that's because the s'mores gave me a sugary-tummyache (maybe I should not have eaten the whole thing at once, hmm).

There are also toasted coconut marshmallows, which I am eager to try. I also want to try toasting the marshmallows. My dad put one in the microwave and it did get all puffy, so I have high hopes for toastiness.

They are kind of pricey (a 7.5oz. package is about $6) but it is definitely worth it. I was going to say that they are not an everyday treat, but then I realized that I actually have had at least one a day since buying them. I can't help it!

Portland Hodgepodge

TLT Sandwich from Vita Café. Can you believe that I've never had tempeh before? I bought tempeh a few months ago to make bacon with, but I cut it too thinly, it fell apart, and I gave up. But after having the tempeh bacon at Vita, I am ready to try again. My only complaint is that it was $6 for only a sandwich. If you are going to charge me $6 for a sandwich, it needs to either be the best sandwich in the world or it needs to come with a dill pickle and some fries. Or I need to be really hungry after a 4.5 hour flight.

I don't have a picture of the Paradox Benedict that I had at the Paradox Organic Cafe because it was rather dim in there and it was a dish that was obviously going to look gross in a photograph. It wasn't gross though! At first I balked at the $8.50 price tag, but I ended up having enough left over for breakfast the next day so it wasn't that bad. The sauce did not taste anything like hollandaise sauce, but it was good in its own right (just not what I was expecting). The dish came with seasoned red potatoes (take a hint, Vita) that were just the right mix of crispy and greasy - exactly what I'm looking for when it comes to diner food.

At the Whole Foods in Portland, I found something that I have been searching for but unable to find in Chicago - a Field Roast smoked tomato loaf. I had high standards for this loaf, due to my previous fruitless searches, and it definitely lived up to them. Sliced up, it made a nice addition to an Amy's vegan pizza and I also made a "dreamwich" consisting of Dave's Killer Bread, smoked tomato loaf, Vegenaise, and Dijon mustard. I loved that sandwich. I'm not saying that it breaks my heart to remember it, but I am saying that I hate the Whole Foods that I go to for only carrying the Field Roast sausages and not the loaves. WHY, WHOLE FOODS, WHY?!

Sprinkled donut from Voodoo Doughnut. I wish that I had a Sweetpea donut to compare this to, but I don't so let's move on. This donut was cakey, which I like but other people might not (although I can't see why anyone wouldn't). I think there were 7 different kinds of vegan donuts when I went to Voodoo, which is a nice variety. I'm not sure if the kinds vary from day-to-day, though that would be a nice touch if they do. My only real issue with Voodoo is that they make lots of crazy donuts, but the vegan donuts are relatively standard fare (other than being vegan). Other than that, very yummy AND they are open 24 hours. Plus you can get Swahili lessons from their Fryer every Monday at 9pm.