Give Away?!?

I have a draft of a real entry in the works. It involves a guest, so hang onto your pantaloons. I also have my own give away in the works, but... uhh... I guess I'm nervous about it. WHAT IF NONE OF YOU WANT MY FREE GOODS???! I WILL BE CRUSHED! CRUSHED!

Anyway, there's one rad give away here for agave nectar and an agave cookbook. It's actually called xagave, but "x"-treme foods freak me out so I can't give into its "x"-factor. Regardless of this one's goofy marketing name, though, agave itself is pretty "x"-traordinary as far as sweeteners go. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's low on the glycemic index and a nutrition powerhouse compared to many other sweeteners. As a vegan, one of its best applications is as a honey substitute because the taste and texture is very similar. It's sweeter than sugar, too, so you can sub 3/4 c agave for every 1 c sugar in a recipe. HOWEVER, a cookbook would lay some good groundwork about baking with agave because that added moisture means reducing other liquids, which is the one salty thing about subbing agave: that little bit of guess work that goes in with it. Suffice it to say, this is a give away worth checking out. (Would I plug it if it weren't?)

Also check out this rad give away for Zen Soy pudding and soymilk. (It involves coming up with ice cream flavors. I love that!) I've never had Zen Soy's soymilk, but their pudding is A-MAZ-ING. Pudding is one of those things I didn't care much for as an omni or a vegetarian, but now that I'm vegan, it really turns my crank, and Zen Soy is THE brand for store bought vegan pudding. In fact, I'm tagging this as a review because I effin love that stuff so much. (Even though I hardly ever eat it. 'Cause it's expensive. Boo.)

Speaking of foods that I prefer as a vegan, do you have foods that you like more now that you've gone through "the change?" (We're obviously talking veganism here, not puberty.) For me, chili was gross and egg nog and cheesecake were rich, but now that I'm vegan, I gobble that shit down.

Product Review Time

I feel like apologizing for the lack of recipes, but I just haven't been cooking much lately . To be fair, I was out of town for a while, but mostly, I've just been lazy. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I've been eating a lot of veggie burgers in tortillas, and while I COULD do a run-down of the eight or so brands of burgers I've tried this summer, I think we've all sort of "been there, done that." I've tried lots of other things this summer, though - more interesting and unusual things - so I thought I'd share my thoughts on those products instead.



Field Roast Grain Meat Sausages. I tried my first Field Roast product two years ago when Christmas arrived and I was still too burned out from Thanksgiving to attempt anything fancy. It was one of their celebration roasts which always sat so cute and savory in its little package but was obviously far too expensive for everyday eating. Man, did that roast get me HOOKED, so I was pretty stoked to discover their sausages. The thing I like about Field Roast products is that they're really toothsome without really trying to mimic meat, so I eagerly committed to trying all three flavors: smoked apple, Italian, and Mexican chipotle. My favorite was the smoked apple because I love blending sweet and savory. It burst with a smoke-y sage flavor punctuated by little apple bits that was perfect for an autumn influenced pasta. I was also impressed by the Italian sausage, which I think has a more authentically Italian-sausage flavor than any other vegan Italian sausage I've tried. I don't really remember Italian sausage that well, but these immediately took me to my grandma's kitchen, summer afternoons, and marinara simmering on the stove. (And others, well, don't.) I think Field Roast owes some of this to using fennel. Go Field Roast! The Mexican Chipotle tasted as spicy as it looked, but I was kind of indifferent to it. While I love spice, I'm not big on Mexican-infleunced cuisine, and this screamed: "Use me in Tex-Mex!" I'd still eat it again, though - especially since it actually DID have a little kick to it. Field Roast Grain Meat Sausages get a serious thumbs up from the xvx party.



So Delicious Coconut Milk. So far, I've been really pleased with So Delicious' coconut line of products. By far, their coconut ice cream is the richest, creamiest commercial vegan ice cream - high praise because I'm a pretty big fan of their Purely Decadent line. I'm also pleased with how luscious and full-bodied their yogurts are. (I still prefer Whole Soy's yogurts, though.) The only thing that turns me off to these So Delicious products is that they're significantly more expensive than their already-price-y soy counterparts. Inevitably, when I found So Delicious' coconut milk on sale, I lept at the chance to try it. I got the unsweetened kind, which I think was a good move because coconut milk is pretty sweet in and of itself, but I didn't like it as an all-purpose milk. Even though it's not as rich and decadent as a can of coconut milk, it's still pretty cream-y, and while I think the ice cream and yogurt have very subtle coconut flavors, the milk's flavor is still pretty distinct. I thought it'd go perfectly with cereal, but its coconut-y creaminess turned out to be a distraction. I didn't even like the way it made hot cocoa, and I certainly couldn't use it in savory dishes. I was torn about how I felt about it nutritionally: it has fewer calories than soymilk (fifty for the unsweetened coconut compared to eighty in the unsweetened soymilk) but almost all its calories come from saturated fat. Plus, it's not QUITE as vitamin packed as my beloved Silk Light. I think it'd be really good for baking, and I'd be interested to see if you could cut back on the oil in recipes while keeping the "milk" content the same. That said, I can't see any other use for it. If someone offered it to me at their house, I'd drink it, but I don't think I'll buy this again.



Rice-Brand Vegan Cheese. Like most vegans, I'm always eager to try new "cheeses." When defending their omni/vegetarian lifestyles, cheese is the one thing everyone agrees they can't give up, and hey, sometimes I miss it, too. I'd already read Vegan Dad's review, but when the pepper jack flavor popped up at my grocery store, I wanted to try it for myself. Admittedly, I was more interested in the American or even the cheddar flavors: one, because I've never been much for pepper jack, and two, because pepper jack got the worst review from Vegan Dad. The other flavors where nowhere, though, so pepper jack it was! Let me just say right now, Vegan Dad was spot on in describing it as "grain-y yet paste-y." I don't know what to compare the flavor to but it definitely didn't remind me of pepper jack. Vegan Dad was lucky, though; he got his to melt, but I couldn't even get mine to do that. I tried to use it as a pizza topping, and instead of melting down against the sauce and crust, the corners of the little cheese squares started to turn upwards and crisp. STARTED TO TURN UPWARDS AND CRISP. Easily the worst vegan cheese experience I've had. Don't waste your money! There are already passable solutions to grilled cheese (Toffutti cheddar), mozzarella pizza (FYH Vegan Gourmet), finger-food cheese (Sheese please!), and the like, so don't even bother trying this.



Trader Joe's Fat Free Caramel Corn. Okay, so this doesn't need much of a product review because, you know, it's caramel corn. Caramel corn is pretty universal in its quality. I really wanted to say something about it, though, because this is the first time I've ever encountered commercial-brand caramel corn that's vegan. Plus, there's tons of recipes out there for making your own, and they almost always involve a lot of fat. This popcorn is fat-free, but it taste like it came from a tin with some cheddar popcorn on one side and butter popcorn on the other. I actually couldn't care less about caramel corn, but the novelty of finding it ready-made and vegan was enough to get me to buy it. If you're into that sort of thing, I urge you to stock up because I think this is a seasonal TJ's item.



Five Star Foodies Artichoke Burgers. Now, I know I said I wasn't going to do a run-down of the burgers I've tried this summer, but this one does warrant special mention. I mean, veggie burgers usually come in two varieties: mashed-vegetable patties we call burgers and varying attempts at passing for meat. These burgers are so beyond that. Largely a blend of cashews, brown rice, and artichokes, they're completely gluten-free and PACKED with flavor. The richness of the cashews shines, making the experience almost decadent, and it really complements the artichoke flavor. I loved the texture because it wasn't crumble-y or uniform, and it makes me happy when I know I'm eating something high in fiber and phytonutrients. (These are also high in iron.) The burgers didn't even last a week. My only complaint about them is the packaging: while it's not unusual to over-package veggie burgers by putting each one in its own cellophane sleeve, these went a step beyond by putting each burger in its own zip-loc baggie. There might have been a bag within the bag of burgers, too, but I might be making that up. Either way, not only did it feel really wasteful, but I'm pretty sure these silly baggies partially accounted for the high price of these burgers, which is such a shame because the price means I'll probably only eat these once a summer. If you're totally loaded with $$$ or looking for a good food splurge, these babies are it.



Food for Life Cluckphrey Nuggets. When I first went vegetarian, I was way into those Morning Star nuggets and buffalo wings, but that probably lasted about a year while I adjusted before I moved on. Fast forward eight or nine years and I'm still not really about that stuff. But hey, I usually sample one price-y vegan novelty product every few grocery trips, so why not? Maybe it's because chicken nuggets have never been my bag (even as an omni), but these babies were a resounding, "Eh." I really liked the convenience of having something I could pop in the microwave or oven and enjoy shortly thereafter, and they're definitely a notch up from whatever the popular brand of vegan chik'n nuggets is that makes a borderline identical box for its real chicken nuggets (which usually aren't located much further away). But seriously, these were just "eh." (And so were their burgers!) If you miss those Morning Star nuggets, you should definitely get them, but I will likely not be a repeat customer on Food for Life's faux meats.



What new products have you tried? Discovered any great and secretly vegan foods lately?

On the Road... Part Two

Zunzi's was food I found on the fly. Only a few hours before, I had woken up from an experience that posed as sleep in a truck stop just outside of downtown Savannah. I arrived in the city with deadlines to meet and no time for eating, so as the day crawled into mid-afternoon, I found myself famished. I asked some folks where I could find a decent vegan meal (then changed my question to "vegetarian" because the word "vegan" confused them), and they said, "I'm not sure who feeds vegetarians, but I know Zunzi's across the street has a few options..." So I went across the street.

Zunzi's is a popular dining spot, and rightly so. When I arrived, there was a line out the door and around the block. Of course, this is partially because the restaurant is just a cramped little counter with very little wait space; but from what I understand, it's also a Savannah favorite. Several people in line were clearly regulars and others were discussing how they got referred there. Along the walls of Zunzi's were a number of "voted Savannah's best ____ by readers of ______" signs that dated back several years. I'm sure there are places that rival it, perhaps are even better, but I do think those plaques say SOMETHING.

To say Zunzi's has a FEW options for the omni-incompatible is pretty accurate, if you couldn't tell by the above picture. However, the few options they DO have seem to make a genuine effort at being options. (We all know what it's like to choose between a dry, flavorless veggie burger, some salads, and an assortment of bland noodle dishes...) Most of the veg dishes rely on dairy to complete them (like lasagna), so I was stuck with either the curry (which could have had cream or yogurt in it) or the mushroom sub sans cheese. Traditionally, I would have opted for the curry because any time is a good time for curry (provided I could confirm it was dairy-free), but it was warm, I was tired, and mushrooms just sounded sooo good. Going with the mushroom sub was definitely the right choice.


The sub is portobello mushrooms, zucchini, and roasted red pepper hummus served inside a deliciously long piece of toasted french bread. The zucchini are cut in wispy little discs while the mushrooms are portioned in large, savory slices. Both are heavily marinated in an amazing mystery sauce* before being lightly sauteed and plated with the hummus inside the bread. The heat from the vegetables softens the hummus, almost melting it through the sandwich, which makes every bite a fascinating medley of flavors and textures. With the zucchini slyly tucked between the main sandwich components, there's a nice break between the smooth, creaminess of the condiments and the toothsome bite of the mushrooms. Serving the sandwich on french bread was wise because the bread nicely absorbs all the sauces without getting soggy, and its flavor and texture are so mild, they don't distract from the fixings. This is the kind of sandwich you need two hands and lots of napkins for, but it was definitely worth the subsequent dining gore because I demolished it - and quickly!

With my sandwich, I also ordered a cup of Zunzi's sweet tea. Now, I'm a natural southerner in the fact that I like my iced tea sweet, but I usually get water with my meals because dining out is expensive enough and I'm never fully hydrated. In this case, though, I did order a drink because the people in front of me were raving MADLY about the tea. To their friend: "You have to get the tea, you HAVE to. I've heard this is some of the best iced tea in the city. I've heard it's sooo good!" Even though the commentary was never intended for me, such an earnest sales pitch won me over, and I must say, I'm glad I went for it. It wasn't generic black tea but instead a vibrant pink-red oolang tea with just a hint of added sweetness (perfect for those who shy away from sweet teas). The flavor was fruity, light, and summer-y, which was exactly what I needed on that balmy spring day, and when my meal was over, I couldn't decide if I wished I had more of the sub or more of the tea even though I was so full, I wanted to die.

Zunzi's doesn't get a trillion vegan thumbs up from me, but I know I'll go again. Like I said, it's not exactly veg-friendly, but the prices aren't too terrible (I think $6.50 for that giant sub) and I need to figure out what's in that marinade. It'd also be a great spot to hit if/when dining with grouchy omnis or if/when I'm on the fly again in that area of town.

If you're in Savannah and want to try Zunzi's for yourself, you can find them at 108 E. York Street. To double check the vegan-ness of any menu items or to inquire about food allergies, call them at 912.443.9555. You can also get a feel for the place by stopping by their website: http://www.zunzis.com.


* The sauce definitely had some minced garlic in it and a lot of herbs and spices. I think there was some soy sauce, too, and maybe sesame oil? It's been a few days since I had it; I wish I'd taken notes.

On the Road...

I'm not off to a glowing start as a blogger, but seriously, I have an excuse. Since I last posted, I've relocated the xveganx party to below the Mason-Dixon line. Yes, as of just a few days ago, I am an official resident of Savannah, Georgia. The last few weeks have been spent furiously scrambling everything together for this move, but now that it's behind me and I'm settled in, I can return to prattling on about veganism and straight edge and other niche topics.

Probably my favorite part of visiting new places is trying new restaurants, and along my journey, I stopped at two pretty delicious spots. One of them was the Rosetta Kitchen, a vegan restaurant in Asheville, NC, that's so well known it's probably not even worth mentioning. But hey, everyone has their own take on places. The other restaurant I sampled was Zunzi's, right here in beautiful downtown Savannah. While not the most veg-friendly dining spot, I did find something tasty on Zunzi's menu that accommodated my lifestyle, and so I am giving Zunzi a nod. If the Rosetta Kitchen and Zunzi's are any indication, I think I am going to really enjoy southern living.

The Rosetta Kitchen is a lot of standard veg fare... with an upgrade. While not exclusively vegan, it clearly labels the few vegetarian options on its menu, and no meat resides under its roof (well, unless someone is sneaking around with a salami sandwich lumped in their pocket. Which happens, trust me.) Their condiment bar distinguishes itself with some veggie favorites, like nutritional yeast and sriracha, tucked amongst its ketchups and salt shakers. There's also a self-serve cooler of filtered water - which, as one of the many who's creeped out by tap water, I really appreciated. To order, you walk past glowing cases of meticulously crafted vegan treats, and while all your options are on a chalk board overhead, the desserts are so distracting that the menus sprawled across the counter become very handy reminders to eat something healthy(ish) first.

While driving there, a friend adamantly suggested the peanut butter tofu, but I was so overwhelmed by my options, his suggestion was quickly forfeited. (Sorry, Don.) The two friends I was dining with adamantly suggested anything requiring gravy, and being a sucker for gravy, that kind of won. We committed to a theme of vegan comforts and split a serving of cornbread and collards (with extra gravy!), macaroni and "cheese", and tempalo wings.


Every dish was amazing, but certainly, some things were better than others. The collards were tender and flavorful, and the gravy was worth every ounce of praise. (Supposedly, it's just a simple olive oil roux with some nutritional yeast, tamari, and OREGANO, but I don't buy it.) The cornbread, however, was a little underwhelming. It was like the corn equivalent of those meal-y faux scones discussed in our first post. It also came in a heaping wedge, and while I am a true American in my fondness for large portions, there's something alienating about a cake-shaped piece of cornbread. I much prefer fluffier, moister cornbreads like the Post Punk Kitchen cornbread, preferably in little squares that I can smear drippy globs of Earth Balance all over. (Yeah, in true American fashion.) That said, I can't say it was unappetizing. Certainly, the gravy brought more life to the cornbread, and frankly, I would have eaten it plain, too because the flavor was definitely a good balance between sweet and savory.


The mac'n'cheese is another thing I want to praise and disparage simultaneously. It's one of those vegan takes on mac'n'cheese that's more inspired by mac'n'cheese than it is attempting to duplicate it - which isn't something that bothers me in the slightest but is certainly worth mentioning. The flavor was really awesome, actually: that tangy-smooth bite of nutritional yeast complemented with tomatoes, chives, and seasoning secrets. It was also topped with a nice crust of panko bread crumbs, and, if I've never mentioned this before, I'm a total sucker for casseroles with crumb tops. That was the dish's real pitfall, though: the fact that it was technically a casserole. Baking it really dried the mac'n'cheese out. Now, baked vegan mac'n'cheese is a definite possibility, but it requires a sauce with more body, a sauce that's more than just a roux, soymilk, and seasonings (or at least a sauce that's twice as saucy). So Rosetta's mac'n'cheese sits in this limbo, like it's not fully committed to being a baked dish but it refuses to be just noodles and sauce. It tastes really, really great - I can't emphasize that enough - but baking the dish makes you want to chug a glass of water afterward, and that doesn't make for A+ dining.


The real highlight of the meal was the tempalo wings. When I was an omnivore, I was really indifferent to hot wings, and I definitely never ate them with ranch. To me, ranch dressing is and always will be gloopy and heavy and all around unpleasant, and food-combining be damned, I am not into it! Now that I'm vegan, what I find appetizing has changed, and I can now say I find wings with ranch to be AWESOME.

When the plate arrived, I was a little disappointed because it didn't seem like a lot of food and the meal is kind of expensive (like, $8.50 or so). Then I took my first bite of a "wing," and boy did I regret eating so much mac'n'cheese and cornbread because that wing was SERIOUS. Rosetta's takes large strips of tempeh and coats them in a thick layer of beer batter before deep-frying them. I'm not sure at what point they add their hot sauce, but the sauce is spicy without being overwhelming and has more complexity than a lot of wing sauces: very tangy, ever-so-slightly sweet, and really full-bodied. I was impressed. The tempeh can be eaten with your fingers, but something about their preparation (the deep-frying maybe?) makes it kind of limp and really soft to the tooth. The tempeh also loses that acidic, fermented flavor tempeh is known for as well as that sort of lumpy feeling in your mouth. Don't get me wrong: I am definitely a tempeh fan (reubens, anyone?), but Rosetta's makes tempalo wings in such a way that they'd appeal to even the most violent tempeh resistors. Plus, I think the texture and flavor is more suitable for what they're going for, so props on figuring out a way to move away from traditional conceptions of tempeh without completely betraying the food.

And the ranch - let's not forget about the ranch! It tasted so fresh and amazing! It was really dill-intensive and much lighter than omni-ranch while being just as creamy. I know there's something chemical that happens that makes dairy counteract capseicin (what makes spicy things spicy) and that's why ranch is served with hot wings, but I swear, this vegan ranch had the same effect. The tempalo wings were good on their own, but my mouth came to life when I coupled them with the ranch; the spice became less spicy while the dill became almost... almost sweet. Seriously, if the meal had been a dud up until this point, these tempalo wings would have made it all worth it. Lucky for me (or them?), all their food was great, and I think they deserve all that lip service they get.


Being the gluttonous vegan that I am, I needed dessert, too, so I ordered a piece of mocha crunch cake the size of my head. I've eaten so much cake in my day (and I make really fucking good cake) that I don't feel the need to write this one up because it tastes like really generic cake. It's not bad at all, it just wasn't anything new. A part of me wished I'd ordered the ginger-pear cheesecake instead (especially since my friend had also recommended that and I'd ignored his other recommendation), but hey, there's always next time, right?

Since this is kind of an eyeful of a review, I am going to save my opinion of Zunzi's for tomorrow. If you're rolling through Asheville and want to check out the Kitchen, meet them at 116 N Lexington Avenue. You can also give them a ring at 828/232/0738 and pester them about whether or not that really is their gravy recipe. Because seriously, it does not taste like that is the recipe. I think there are more seasonings in it. Namely sage.

Five Star Foodies Harvest Roast: a Review

Whenever I make a big trip to the grocery store, I always allow myself at least one splurge item; it keeps meals interesting and eating, a pleasure. At my last trip, I made my splurge item Five Star Foodies' Vegetarian Harvest Roast. Five Star Foodies is a local company that specializes in pre-packaged vegan cuisine, but until now I had never sampled any of their products. Certainly, the food nerd in me is drawn to any vegan novelties; I like to know my options, and trying new foods always inspires my cooking somehow. But there's also something to be said about hometown vegan pride. Cincinnati is a far cry from veggie hot spots like Portland or Philadelphia, so who would have expected us to produce a line of frozen vegan foods? While the price tag had always scared me, my life lately has been demanding some quick-fix meals, so this shopping trip, I finally went for it.

The Harvest Roast is basically crumbly stuffing rolled inside a hearty piece of seitan, wrapped in yuba. The seitan has a really nice texture to it: a little grainy but not too chewy or too dense. I read on Five Star's website that many of their products are Joy of Cooking recipes gone vegan, and the seitan certainly bursts with a familiar, comfort-food flavor. Wrapping the roast in yuba held the moisture in nicely and added a smooth, delicate contrast to the wholesome graininess of the seitan. It also conjured the experience of skin on meat without giving me omni flashbacks. Personally, I think there's something to be said about veg products that straddle the line between doing their own thing and trying to be something else, and while the Harvest Roast does have a distinctly "meat"-y quality to it, it doesn't remind me of any one meat in particular.

I only have two complaints about the Harvest Roast. My first complaint is the stuffing: it's like the savory equivalent of Oreo residue after drinking all your dunking "milk." I think it was appropriate to add another texture to complement the seitan, and I think a well executed stuffing would give the roast some complexity. However, this particular stuffing just wasn't doing it for me. The flavor was kind of lacking, and it felt really meal-y in my mouth. It was almost too soft to properly complement the seitan, and I'd be curious to try the roast without it. The other issue I had with the Harvest Roast is the same issue most (all?) meat analogues run into: sodium. One roast will give you 30% of your recommended daily allowance of sodium, and trust me, you taste it. I'm a sweets person, so I find salty things really jarring. This would have been so much better with less salt and a really full-bodied gravy, but neither problems were so problematic that I didn't enjoy the roast.

For the most part, vegan convenience items aren't something I make a habit of buying. Part of it is that they can only be remotely healthy for you in moderation, but the other part is that they're just so damn expensive. For $6.99, you get two Harvest Roasts - which isn't such a bad deal, except that I'm pretty sure I can make something similar but (let's face it) better for the same amount. However, this does beat Field Roast's Celebration Roast, which costs about the same for only one roast. Truth be told, though, I prefer the Celebration Roast. The Celebration Roast has a much richer flavor and a more variety of uses (squack like a bird if you love Celebration Roast sandwiches!), and I never eat a Celebration Roast all in one sitting. That all being said, I don't see why I can't be an avid appreciator of the Celebration Roast without holding the Harvest Roast as a good second. I really do like eating Celebration Roast just on celebratory occasions, whereas I feel like the Harvest Roast has more everyday potential. It really was convenient when I wanted something really filling without a lot of work, and the Harvest Roast lends itself so nicely to other comfort foods like mashed potatoes and a heaping pile of "butter"-y vegetables. I can see eating this on a cold winter night after being too ravaged by the weather to properly cook. This isn't something I'll be buying at the store often - maybe a small handful of times a year - but Five Star Foodies has certainly made a repeat customer out of me.

Oh, and P.S. Five Star Foodies has a line of juices, and they fucking rock. I think they're raw, but I'm not sure. Either way, they taste really fresh and come in awesome flavors, like ginger cider. I feel healthier just thinking about them. Fucking try one, you won't regret it.