Mission to Paris: Pt. 2

I was in Paris for 6 days, 4 of which were spent looking for Speculoos. My Vegan entourage had their lasers set for this sweet, cookie tasting spread. Honestly I've never heard of the stuff and I didn't understand why it was such a priority. Well after consuming a decent amount of Speculoos I can tell you that, a. It's worth the hype b. The taste is unreal c. You may have Speculoos cravings days later. To me, the taste is a cross between a vanilla cookie and peanut butter. That description still doesn't do it justice. Maybe someday we can get this sweet treat over on this side of the Atlantic.

Before we found the Speculoos, this chocolate spread from Lotus was the go-to sweet spread. Not a whole lot of mystery with this one, it's chocolaty! This was reserved for the Vegan croissants we found.

Speaking of Vegan croissants, here they are in all their glory! Pop them in the oven and cover them in chocolate or Speculoos and boom, you have breakfast.

For the extra lazy Vegan we got some croissants with chocolate already in them! Can't beat that.

These bad boys were purchased at the Loving Hut in Paris. They were comparable to the bars I reviewed earlier this month. I might even give the edge to this version of white chocolate, but not by much. Notice the bar even got caught in the Paris rain!

Look familar? Yeah I just reviewed it but this time it's the Cheddareese flavor. So you ask, what did we do with this stuff? It ended up in some mashed potatoes! Thanks to the kitchen at The Gentle Gourmet B&B we were able to do a little cooking. As for the potatoes, they had a nice cheesy flavor that reminded me of Chreesy. Of course they were way better because they were homemade.

This was my going away plane treat. I've never seen pistachios shell-less in a bag before and I may never again.

Merci Beaucoup!

...and this concludes Vegan MoFo 2010! I had a blast and I will definitely participate next year. The most fun for me was seeing other blogs and all the yummy stuff they fixed up. You MoFo'ers almost made me want to cook, damn you!!! :)

Mission to Paris: Pt. 1

So after a total off three flights and 13 hours I'm back from Paris. It was an exciting time! I met a lot of new friends and now have a better idea of how global Veganism is. Besides frequenting most of Paris's Vegan friendly restaurants I also got a chance to sample some pre-packaged Vegan treats. Seeing how I don't speak or read a lick of French, it was quite interesting. With all the help of my friends I was able to decipher the labels. If you see Végétal on the packaging it means the item is Vegan.

Hand model: Joshua Katcher of The Discerning Brute

So this is what everyone went NUTS over. It's hard cheese from Vegusto. I'm not a hard cheese fan because it made me sick as a child and I've never had any desire for it. According to everyone that came into contact with this cheese, it is AMAZING. Apparently it has a rich aged cheese taste, so if you love hard cheese seek this out at all costs. The Loving Hut in Paris carries it.

You know if there is falafel to be had, I'll be there. I ate it cold and it was great so I imagine they are the bomb if you to heat them up.

Ok, this was some good hummus. On top of some fresh French bread it really hit the spot. Part of our Vegan entourage felt this was the best hummus she ever ate. I respectfully disagree, how is this trumping homemade hummus? Oh well, it's all good.

Some Vegan margarine for that baguette? Sure why not! Creamy and not salty.

With bread at every street corner (yes they really do eat and walk around with baguettes) you best believe we had every Vegan spread we could get our hands on. This was some kind of fermented tofu spread. Tasty stuff, kind of hummusy.

I didn't get a chance to taste this yogurt but I was told it was excellent. Non GMO goodness!

I did eat one of these puppies and it was delish! This Caramel pudding was so creamy and rich I had to double check the label to make sure it was Vegan. Import these please!

I was thinking the Caramel was the pinnacle of French puddings but these Vanilla pudding cups from Sojasun really won me over. Yummy!

Whew, I've only hit the surface of my Paris Vegan spree...part Two tomorrow!

Amy's Organic Cakes & My Trip to Paris

I remember the first time I bought one of Amy's Cakes, I couldn't believe you didn't have to bake them or heat them up. All you do it take the cake out of the freezer and let it set in the fridge for an hour. It's the perfect lazy dessert!

The orange is my favorite. Its flavor is orangy without being overwhelming. It could sub for vanilla cake in almost any situation. I can imagine strawberries and soy whip on top of this puppy! As for the chocolate, it's chocolaty! I like it, don't get me wrong, but I'm just not a chocolate person. With a side of Vanilla Soy Delicious I'd totally pig out on it. So the moral of the story is- if you like like cake and you're lazy, Amy's Organic Cakes were made for you!

With that said, this is my last MoFo post for a week. I'm going to New York and then to France for Thanksgiving and Paris Vegan Day. It's my first time to Europe so I'm pretty excited! All I can think about is National Lampoon's European Vacation and getting a beret that says Rusty. When I get back I'll finish up MoFo with a couple posts about the Vegan loot I find in the city of lights. I would also like to say thanks to everyone who has been checking out my blog since Vegan Mofo started 20 days ago. It's been fun and I think I've learned how to be a more productive blogger. Have a great Vegan Thanksgiving!

Vegan Essentials Rocks!

As I've said before, I'm kind of a Vega fiend. About once a month I order a couple jugs of Vega from Vegan Essentials. This month I also tacked on some food items for my MoFo posts. Guess what one of the things I ordered was? You guessed it, Liz Lovely cookies. I've never eaten a Liz Lovely cookie in my life so I wanted to order some and do a blog post about it. Well, as it turns out 3 out of the 5 cookies I ordered were recalled for non-Vegan chocolate. Luckily I hadn't received them in the mail yet or I might have already ate 'em. I contacted Vegan Essentials right away and they promptly refunded me for the 3 cookies, no questions asked. Thank you Vegan Essentials! Also thank you to Liz Lovely for doing the voluntary recall. When the cookies I ordered are back in stock, I will definitely review them. Ok, on to the other items I purchased!

This Cinnamon Roll from Heart Bodies is a decent Vegan version of the beloved pastry. It doesn't compare to a fresh roll by any means but it's definitely worth trying. It's moist with a great cinnamon flavor. A minor gripe is that I wish it had a bit more frosting. Still, I'd get one again!

You don't see Vegan Graham Crackers everyday, so I jumped at the chance to eat some Grateful Grahams. They taste delish! Honestly, they are closer to being a cookie than a cracker but don't let that dissuade you. The cracker/cookie is super moist and chewy, topped with organic cinnamon and turbinado sugar. Get some if you so desire!

Thai Kitchen Rice Noodle Soup Bowl

When I was a kid, my favorite soup was Mrs. Grass Chicken Noodle Soup. I loved the little broth ball and the tiny noodles. Sometimes I would even add more squiggly noodles and cook two boxes at once. These days I can't mess with Mrs. Grass but the Thai Kitchen Spring Onion Soup is a wonderful replacement. I have to say the one of the reasons I keep coming back to this soup is because it says Vegan on the back. Hopefully more companies start labeling products Vegan (when they are Vegan of course) because in the long run it will create customer loyalty.

Spring Onion is my backup meal at work when I unexpectedly have to stay late. I can leave it in my lunch box for weeks at a time and it will never go bad. Now isn't that convenient! The flavor of the soup is very herby with hints of onion and spice. I really love the taste! The rice noodles are tiny and delicious. Make sure to cook the soup long enough or you will end up with hard noodles (it sucks, trust me). And remember to let it cool before you eat it or you risk burning your face off. So if you need a little soup on the go or you are a lazy bum at home, give Thai Kitchen soup bowls a shot. Drink up!

Rising Moon Organics Ravioli

Back to my O.G. collection, Rising Moon's Ravioli caught my attention back in the day because of the big ol' V on the packaging. At the time there weren't many products that so proudly displayed their Vegan status. On the basis on that alone I purchased a couple and tried them out. They are super easy to make! Can you boil water? If not, go here.

So basically you boil the ravioli in water and then coat them in olive oil, voila! I find the ravioli to be soft but firm. Out of the three Vegan flavors I like the Mediterranean Garlic & Herb the best. I usually eat them plain but you can throw 'em in with some red sauce or what not. Vegan ravioli, bless you!

Amy's Non-Dairy Vegetable Pot Pie

Amy's Non-Dairy Vegetable Pot Pie makes me look forward to cold weather. I don't buy it much during the warmer months so I don't have to run the oven. But when it gets chilly and windy I love running the oven all the time. A word of warning...the non Vegan Pot Pie looks very similar the the Vegan so be careful! I've purchased it before and had to pass it off to a family member.

I used the "quick cook" instructions by microwaving the pot pie for 3 minutes before placing in the oven. It comes out of the oven with a crisp outside and a creamy inside. I guess some people think a Vegan pot pie wouldn't be hearty, but it really is! You've got potatoes, tofu, carrots and peas all up in there. My side dish with the pot pie is usually French fries or frozen corn. I'm so sophisticated!