Lying to Your Tongue

A year has just ended, and with it comes the lists. Have you noticed that people make lists for everything? Things which should have lists, and things which should never be put in lists. Things which everyone cares about, and things which no one cares about. I'm going to add to the lists of lists which you get to read.

But, you're in luck! This list is not a count down (or up). No "top 100 vegan deliciousnesses of 2008" no "best 10 vegan cheeses" (hmm... I'm thinking these might be a good idea anyway...). No! Today's list is more of a collection. A collection of vegan (mostly) cooking substitutes that I enjoy. As a disclaimer, I haven't done a taste test of every vegan product out there, these are just some that I've found, have been found for me, or have just simply found me.

• Earth Balance Organic Natural Buttery Spread—I can't say too much good about this stuff. To be honest, I probably have an unnatural obsession with it. Too many years of "off tasting" vegan butter substitutes and nasty margarine, this hits the impossibly high mark of actually managing to taste like butter. I haven't tried every variety, but, yeah. This just works.
• Pacific Almond Milk—My preferred milk replacer, I've found that almond milk just has a better flavor than soy or rice milk. But, maybe that's just me.
• Soy, Rice, or Almond Milk, pre-packaged in 8 oz containers—Ok, you caught me, I can't remember the brand, but, the point is: pre-packaged 8 oz containers are ideal for cooking. When cooking at a friend's place I usually grab one or two of these, thus minimizing the potential disaster that transporting an opened container of 'milk' half-way across the city holds.
• Ener-G Egg Replacer—With a super subtle name and packaging that must have been cutting edge in the 70s, this product seems to get overlooked a lot. Best in baking, Ener-G shares no actually nutritional values with actual eggs, but don't go trying to make scrambled Egg Replacer. Also, not good in quiche. Egg Replacer does the job, but occasionally requires a bit of experimenting to get it just right.
• Wildwood Extra Firm Tofu—Scrambled tofu anyone? Wildwood has a great line of tofu products, and their extra firm is very much just. I'm quite picky with my tofu, so any brand that gets my stamp of approval, let's just say, gold star.
• Field Roast Sausages—These have a nice texture, and cook up great. My personal favorite: Smoked Apple Sage. The Mexican Chipotle have won over the extreme approval of my friends who like to sear off their taste buds. Best possible plug, carnivore approval came in the form of: "Awesome! You brought the good stuff!" As a side note, I was actually introduced to these sausages by a meat eater. Yup, thumbs up across the board.
• Follow Your Heart Vegenaise—The savior of all vegan potato salads everywhere, Vegenasie passes my father's strict taste test—if he can detect that something isn't quite right with the dish, it's not going in his mouth. Reports from my mother indicate that they're off of normal mayonnaise for good (and, for their health).
• Vegan Gourmet Melty Cheeses—These melt ok at high temperatures, and manage to taste like cheese when melted or in small quantities. Too much of these cheeses un-melted, and they do kind of get off putting. Cooks up quite nicely in homemade pizza.
• Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese—They're pretty serious about this. After years of missing cream cheese in my life, Tofutti has managed to bring it back! This is seldom out of stock in my fridge.
• Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream—Appearing for the second time on my list, Tofutti is clearly doing something right. Look for Sour Supreme to use in your Sunday Sports Game dips.
• Galaxy Vegan Grated Topping—Rice or Soy, this stuff makes your Italian food Italian! Very Yummy.
• Turtle Mountain So Delicious—No food list is complete without at least one guilty pleasure. Turtle Mountain happens to make mine. And they call it "Cherry Nirvana." And, so do I, my friends, so do I.

As promised a collection, nay, hodgepodge, of vegan replacements that I enjoy. I'm always looking to add to my repertoire, so tell me what makes up your off-the-cuff must-haves?

--Amanda Luthy

Comments

[Smitch on January 18, 2009 at 12:43 PM]

Gimme Lean - add extra carraway seeds for making sausage for pizzas, or just make patties for breakfast.

[Amy on January 19, 2009 at 10:13 AM]

GREAT list, Amanda! We're not completely vegan in our home, but dealing with food allergies to cow's milk, eggs, and many more. Lists like this help us to keep meals and recipes as "normal" as possible with the added bonus of good health. Gracias!!!

[Lorelei on January 19, 2009 at 04:49 PM]

i'm not vegan, i just tend to end up looking at a lot of vegan blogs when looking for healthy foods to make for myself and my family. full disclosure: most vegan replacements really do not do it for me, and i avoid using them at all costs, even if it means adding more fat or whatever. but i DO really like tofutti's 'sour cream.' i'm a sour cream ADDICT, i just pile it on my quesadillas, burritos, etc, but tofutti's is really nice! it DOESN'T taste like sour cream, though, in my opinion. it has its own very nice taste. :)

[KitchenMaus on January 20, 2009 at 10:57 AM]

We eat nearly every one of these items! My additions would be Coconut Bliss ice cream, especially the dark chocolate flavor--so good! Also, I love Tofutti Cuties and the So Delicious Mocha Mania ice cream sandwiches.