Product Review - So Delicious: CocoWhip Whipped Topping...

Full-Fat CocoWhip

Oh my goddess, have you heard about So Delicious's new product? CocoWhip - Coconut Whipped Topping? This stuff is amazing, AH-MAZING! Seriously, Vegan Cool Whip, that's all you really need to know.

No, but seriously, when it comes to making amazing vegan dairy products So Delicious has always been in the lead. Their Creamers, their Holiday Beverages, and their Cultured yogurts are all unmatched, and their ice cream is out of this world, but their new CocoWhip may just be the best thing they've ever made.

Vegans everywhere have been waiting a long time for vegan whip cream, and yes, we do have vegan whip in cans, a Rice Whip - which I particularly like, - and a Soy Whip, but the truth is these two whips are kind of a pain in the ass. You need to leave them at room temp for 15-20 minutes to soften so that they can be applied to desserts, and very often I find that the lever that releases the whip breaks, causing the whip to become stuck inside and therefore useless. Both of these products also contain ingredients which I consider to be questionable, but they work in a pinch. Of course, you can make your own coconut whip at home too, and I've done so many times but I'll be honest, when you're planning a big dinner and you have countless dishes to prepare sometimes making your own whip is the last thing on your mind. In times like these convenience is essential for piece of mind.

Full Fat CocoWhip
An Inside Shot, see, look how fluffy! 

So, what makes So Delicious's CocoWhip so great? First of all it's delicious! Really it is. I mean it's been years since I had Cool Whip but this tastes exactly like I remember Cool Whip to be like. Or maybe 'exactly' is doing a disservice to So Delicious, because their CocoWhip is actually better then Cool Whip. It's fluffy, creamy, and decadent and doesn't melt when you scoop it atop a dessert and let it sit for a few. Other Whips tend to go runny if refrigerated for even short periods. So, flavor wise this stuff is dead on, there is NO comparison. I love that CocoWhip comes in a tub so you can easily scoop it out and plop it on desserts. No more fiddling with frustrating cans.

Lite CocoWhip

The other thing I really like about this product is the ingredient list. As I said the other whips on the market have some questionable ingredients but Coco Whip keeps things simple. Both the Full-Fat and the Lite Versions of CocoWhip contain Coconut Oil, water, Tapioca Syrup, Cane Syrup, Pea Protein, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum and Sunflower Lecithin. Most of these are organic, and the product itself Non-GMO verified. Another cool thing about CocoWhip is that it's pretty allergen friendly. It's soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, grain-free, and nut-free. It's also Kosher.

I really can't say enough good things about this product. The first tub I bought we went through in less then a few days. I am officially addicted to this stuff! Although it must be said that while the full-fat version has a higher calorie count it also has the better texture. The Lite Whip is really rather runny, it doesn't firm up or fluff the way that the full fat version does. Taste wise it's still great, but if you're looking for fluffy whip go with full-fat. If you're looking to make a presentation, go with full-fat. If you don't care about any of that and are only concerned with calories then buy the lite, as I said it also tastes great, it just doesn't look as pretty.

You can learn more about So Delicious products here, but I don't think they have CocoWhip listed on their website yet as it just came out in November.

Bryant's Teff Biscuits with Maple Plantain Spread...

Let’s talk about breakfast! Yesterday I was in a real breakfast kind of mood, but I didn’t want any of the usual things. Lately I’ve been craving plantains, and since I had a few ripening on my counter top I wanted to find some way to incorporate them into a meal. Then I remembered the Bryant Terry’s latest book “Afro-Vegan” I bought it back in April when it first came out and the very first recipe that snagged my attention was the Teff Biscuits with Maple Plantain Spread. Perfect right? Don[‘t you love it when the universe comes together like that?

This was actually my first time cooking from “Afro-Vegan” even though I’ve had it for all these months and so I was quite excited to crack it open. As it happens the Maple Plantain spread was really quite easy to make, just boil the ingredients and then once cooked blend them together into a smooth consistency and then let cool for 30 minutes. I did however add 1 extra plantain to the mix because - well, I love plantains! Is any other explanation necessary?

The biscuits too were quite easy, very low fuss which I liked because some biscuits can be a pain in the ass. I loved that these were made out of teff flour - although there is some all purpose flour in the mix so they’re not gluten-free - I also love that the biscuits use coconut oil rather then Earth Balance or vegetable shortening. I think this really made a difference. You could taste a slight hint of coconut in the finished product but what I found most incredible were how soft the biscuits were. They were so moist and so delicious especially when spread with the amazingly good maple plantain spread. The only thing is - and maybe you can see this in the pictures - they didn't split open quite as nicely as I would have liked. Since they were so soft it was hard to cut it into two pieces that would hold together. No biggie though, after my failed attempt at cutting the first two I left the rest whole and just spooned the spread over top. Just as good!

Honestly, this was one of the most heavenly breakfasts ever. The spread was sweet but not too sweet and the biscuits were perfect. Seriously, they might just be the best damn biscuits I’ve ever had, and I don’t say that lightly. In fact they’re probably going to be my new go-to biscuit from now on. I cannot wait to try more recipes from this book!

Almost Raw Mango Cheesecake with Mango Glaze...

A few days ago I really wanted something sweet. I was dying for dessert, but as I mentioned a couple of days ago I’m staying away from sugar until I’m fully recovered. That means no dessert, or at least no traditionally sweetened desserts. I tried for a while to let the craving pass, and when it wouldn’t I started thinking about fruits. Only just sitting down and chomping away on a piece of fruit wasn’t really doing it for me. Then I got thinking about what I was going to do with the batch of home made cream cheese I’d made last week, and then I got thinking about cheesecake. Then I really wanted cheesecake except cheesecake is loaded with sugar. Hm! What to do?

It was then that a vague idea for a raw cheesecake popped into my head. Most raw cheesecakes are not sweetened with sugar, and a lot of them use fruit as a sweetener instead. I could get behind that right? Except I’ve made raw cheesecakes in the past and while I do enjoy them I find they always have a very strong cashew, date, coconut flavor, which is fine if that’s what you want, but it’s not really ‘cheesecake’ you know? I wanted a cake that was creamy, and cheesy, sweet and tangy, and suddenly I started thinking about mango. I mean it’s summer after all - even if it’s getting near the end of summer - and a Mango Cheesecake sounded just about perfect in that moment. Only, I was tired, and drained from being sick and didn’t want to go through the process of having to bake and look after a cheesecake, especially in the middle of an already hot evening.

So I started wondering if I could make a more traditional cheesecake using my homemade cream cheese and frozen mangos - which were the only kind I had - by employing the basic principals of raw cheesecake making. Once I got thinking like that it all kind of came together in a snap. As it turns out you can make a cheesecake in this way, and it tastes awesome. This cheesecake was so sweet, cool and mangoey the perfect treat on a humid summer evening. Yet it was creamy and tangy like a regular cooked cheesecake with not coconut, or nut aftertaste. The only problem with this particular cheesecake is storage. You see since the filling is quite liquidy you can’t store it in the fridge even after it’s been frozen, because it’ll melt and leak. I didn’t have a problem with it melting completely losing it’s shape and reverting back to pre-frozen state but it melted enough. Of course because cheese doesn’t taste great frozen, and you loose that creamy texture if it’s frozen solid leaving it in the freezer isn’t so great either. My recommendation is that this is a cake best eaten right away. Of course if you need to store it I suggest cutting the entire cake into individual slices first, then storing in the freezer. When you want to eat a slice, take it out and let it thaw for 30 minutes so it gets creamy again.

Though that might seem like some unnecessary trouble this cake is so amazing flavor-wise, that it’s really worth it, even if there’s no perfect way to store it. Of course you could always store most of it in the freezer and store individual slices in the fridge in a snap-lock container that way if it melts a little it won’t get all over your fridge. I think next week I’ll experiment and make this a full-on traditional cooked cheesecake, so I’ll let you know how that goes, but for now enjoy!

Mango Cheesecake with Mango Glaze 

Crust -

1 C Pecans
1 C Rolled Oats
½ tsp Ground Cinnamon
4 Medjool Dates Pitted and Soaked
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
Pinch of Sea Salt
5-8 Drops Liquid Stevia

Filling - 

***1 ½ C Cream Cheese preferably homemade
3 C Frozen Mango Chunks Divided
2 Tbsp Lime Juice
Date Soak Water
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
2 tsp Maca
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of sea salt
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
8-12 Drops Liquid Stevia

Glaze - 

1 C Frozen Mango Chunks
4 Medjool Dates pitted and soaked
Water
5-8 Drops Liquid Stevia

Instructions -

Crust -

Add Pecans and oats to a food processor and process into fine crumbs.

Add in the dates - reserve the soaking water - and coconut oil along with all other ingredients. Process until a smooth dough forms.

Turn out into a spring-form pan and press down evenly spreading the mixture across the bottom of the pan.

Freeze until ready to add the filling.

Filling -

Add 2 C mango chunks along with the date soak water leftover from the crust recipe to a high speed blender. The water should roughly yield between a third and a half cup. Add in the lime juice and vanilla extract and blend on high until completely smooth.

Add the cream cheese to the food processor along with the pureed mango mixture, coconut oil, maca, ginger, sea salt and stevia. Blend until smooth and fully incorporated.

Add in the remaining cup of mango chunks and process. You can process this until very smooth or leave it a little chunkier, it’s up to you.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust and return to the freezer. Freeze for 2-3 hours until solid but still creamy.

Glaze -

Add all ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth. Pour over cheesecake when ready to serve and then serve immediately or freeze for an additional 30 minutes to firm up the glaze a little bit. Enjoy!

*** Note - I used homemade cream cheese that was made with cashews, salt, water, and 2 tbsp of coconut milk yogurt to culture it. The recipe I used was from Miyoko Schinner’s “Artisan Vegan Cheese.” though I think you could use any homemade vegan cream cheese just as long as it’s cultured. You could try making this with store-bought vegan cream cheese but honestly I don’t know how that would alter the taste and texture of this recipe. Store-bought cream cheese is full of preservatives and other ingredients and it may not freeze as well. Since my homemade cream cheese was practically raw I think it might work better then a cooked cream cheese, but feel free to experiment and let me know what you discover.*** 

Coconut ‘Shrimp’ Tacos with Fried Plantains and Collard Greens...

Ah - I’ve been trying to post for the past two days and was unable to due to some sort of technical difficulty that appears to now be sorted out. This is the recipe I’d planned to post Tuesday, and since I haven’t been able to post in a couple I’ve got a nice backlog of posts waiting to be published. So stay tuned for all the delicious treats I have in store!

As winter is slowly coming to it’s end for another year I find I too am gradually moving away from the cozy, comforting meals associated with the colder months. It seems to always happen this way, about a month or so before the true end to a season my body is already geared up to enter the next phase. While I’m still enjoying soups, and other wintery treats, for the most part my heart and tastebuds are set on spring and summer.

Now before I was a vegetarian, shrimp was always a food I associated with spring, and especially summer. Coconut shrimp in particular, and over the course of the weekend I found myself longing for that sweet, crisp, coconut flavor. Of course I had no desire to eat actual shrimp, and no intention of doing so, but I wanted to find a way to recreate that flavor and texture, and I wanted to enjoy it wrapped in a summery Caribbean inspired kind of taco.

I have to say that despite some of my reservations while cooking, this dish turned out phenomenally and totally satisfied that tropical flair I was craving. Of course these little tempeh bites taste nothing like what I remember of shrimp but that’s not the point, the point is the fried coconut! Combined with the plantains, the collards, the coconut milk drizzle and the mango salsa this dish was heaven on a plate!

Now to put this whole thing together it does require a bit of work. There are several steps you have to go through to make the different taco components but it is so worth it, and if you prepare ahead of time it actually doesn’t take that long. So give it a go, really in the grand scheme of things it’s not a lot to ask for some good homemade coconut ‘shrimp’ tacos! Enjoy, and stay tuned for the salsa recipe which I plan on posting tomorrow.

Coconut ‘Shrimp’ Tacos with Fried Plantains and Collard Greens

Coconut ‘Shrimp’

1 lb Tempeh cut in cubes
1 15 oz can coconut milk
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp dried dill
1 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp kelp granules
½ C Panko Breadcrumbs (or gluten-free breadcrumbs if you're GF)
3/4 C Coconut Flakes (I used unsweetened)
1 tsp Cajun Seasoning Blend (or to taste)

Taco Fixin’s

1 Bunch Collard Greens chopped in bite sized pieces.
Whole Wheat or Corn Tortillas
1 Recipe Sweet Shredded Fried Plantains (Recipe Follows)
Roasted Vegetable Mango Salsa (Recipe to come)
Diced Avocado
Diced Green Onion
Coconut Milk Drizzle (Optional)

Sweet Shredded Fried Plantains

3 Plantains
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
½ tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Cajun spice blend
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
Water if needed

- First prepare your tempeh. If you’re working with two 8oz blocks of tempeh as I was cut each block horizontally into 6-8 slices. Then slice vertically in half or in thirds depending on how big you want your cubes. Place tempeh into an airtight container when cubed.

- Mix together the coconut milk, garlic powder, dill, kelp, and hot sauce. Pour over the tempeh. Close the container give it a good shake until all the tempeh is covered and then place in the fridge and let marinate for 1-2 hours.

- After the tempeh has marinated mix breadcrumbs, coconut flakes and Cajun seasoning in a shallow bowl. Grab a tempeh cube from the marinating dish give it a shake to remove any excess coconut milk then roll it in the breadcrumb mixture until it’s breaded on all sides. Set aside and repeat until all cubes have been breaded. Reserve the marinade mixture if you want to make a coconut drizzle.

- Once all of your tempeh has been breaded you can cook it 1 of 2 ways. The first way being to fry them. If you have a deep fryer just pop them in there for a few minutes until they’re golden brown. Then remove them and drain on a plate lined with paper towels. If you don’t have a deep fryer you can fry them in about a ½ cup of coconut oil or nuteral vegetable oil in a large frying pan, until golden brown. If however you’re like me and like to try and keep on the healthier side of things you can bake your coconut tempeh in the oven.

- Preheat your oven to 400'F (200'C) lightly grease a baking sheet then place your tempeh cubes on it. Spray the top of each cube with a tiny bit of non-stick spray then place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven turn each cube over and return to the oven to cook for another 10-15 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on them so they don’t burn. Smaller cubes will cook faster and larger cubes will take longer so times may vary.

- While your tempeh is cooking you can work on your plantains. Grab 3 large, green plantains. Cut off the ends and peel. I find the easiest way to be running the tip of a knife down two sides then just dig in with my nail and roll the peel off.

- Once the peel has been removed take a vegetable peeler and run it along the plantains like you would to peel a carrot. You’ll get nice long thin strips of plantain, continue until all plantains have been turned into strips. You’ll probably be left with a core of plantain that your peeler can’t turn into strips, and that’s okay just cut it into thin rounds and toss it in with the strips. Waste not want not right?

- Heat the coconut oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Once melted add the plantains and stir until all strips are coated. Add in the cinnamon, sugar and Cajun Seasoning. Stir again until thoroughly coated and then cook on medium heat until plantains are golden brown and soft. About 8-10 minutes. Make sure to stir frequently so no plantains stick to the bottom, and you may need to add more oil, or water. I added in about a 1/4 of water because I didn’t want to use more oil, and it worked brilliantly. When plantains are finished remove them from the heat and if you like you can drain them on a paper towel. I personally didn’t bother draining them.

- To make your collards just add an inch of water into a pot fitted with a steamer basket. Add your chopped up collards and steam for 3-5 minutes until they’re bright green and wilted. They shouldn’t be mushy but soft, with still a bit of texture. Remove them immediately from the steamer basket and place onto a plate or in a bowl.

- To make the coconut drizzle all you have to do is stir 1-2 packets of stevia into the reserved coconut marinade along with 1-2 tbsp flaked coconut. Set aside, until ready to use.

- To assemble your taco place one tortilla on a plate. Layer on some collard greens and then a generous spoonful of shredded plantains. Top with 4-5 cubes of coconut tempeh, and a bit of coconut milk drizzle. Top with diced green onion, avocado, and a generous spoonful or two of roasted vegetable mango salsa. Wrap up tight and enjoy!

*** Note - This dish can be made Gluten-Free if using Corn Tortilla's and GF Breadcrumbs***

Broiled Vegetable Pizza Sauce...

Everyone it seems love pizza, and I am certainly no exception. There’s just something so overwhelmingly satisfying and comforting about it. It’s become something of an ingrained cultural ritual for most people. We eat it at parties, and family gatherings. We pick it up when we get off work late, or grab a slice to eat on the go at lunch. It was a favorite childhood food for most of us enjoyed at all the best occasions and celebrations. We eat it when we have late night cravings and enjoy it cold the next day for breakfast - or at least I do - Then there are some days where you just want some of that greasy oozy-gooey goodness.

These days I don’t eat as much pizza as I used to. Partly because I don’t consider it to be a particularly healthful food, - not the way most restaurants make it anyway - but also because I’m just the type of person that enjoys constantly engaging in new culinary experiences. As much as I love it I couldn’t eat pizza all the time, and I’ve never been the kind of person who only ate one kind of pizza and that was it. I find that very boring. Not to mention limiting. I prefer to constantly change things up. I despise limitations. I relish freedom and choice, and am always looking for ways to fully take advantage of both, especially in the kitchen. So these days when I do eat pizza I take great pleasure in making my own. I love coming up with new combinations of ingredients and seeing how they work together.

My favorite kinds of pizza are the kind absolutely loaded up with veggies, I also appreciate creative sauces. Classic marinara is fine, and certainly has it’s place, but I like my pizza sauce to have a little more pizzaz. I love pesto on pizza, I also love a good garlic cream sauce on pizza, roasted tomato sauces are good too, as is a good sweet and smokey barbeque sauce. So the last time I decided to whip up a few of my own pizza creations I thought why not try my hand at making a nice delicious pizza sauce?

The following recipe is what I came up with after a little bit of thought. I love broiled veggies so much, and thought they'd be wonderful blended into a sauce, lending it a sweet yet robust flavor. I was very happy with the finished product, and the great thing about it is that while there are several steps involved it is very easy. This sauce recipe makes enough for at least 3 14 inch pizzas with still a bit leftover. A great idea for the remaining sauce If you don’t want to freeze it is to heat a bit in the microwave and then drizzle it over the finished pizza. Or heat some to use as a dipping sauce. Super tasty! Another nice thing about this sauce is that it’s very versatile. You can literally pile any kind of veggies you like on top of it and it’ll go remarkably well. I used sweet potatoes and beets sliced thin on one pizza. Tomatoes, zucchini and asparagus on one, and spinach, onions, and peppers on another. Experiment and see what you like best.

Broiled Vegetable Pizza Sauce

3 Medium Sized Tomatoes on the Vine (it’s okay if they’re a bit overripe)
½ a large Vedalia Onion (or other sweet onion)
1 Large Red Pepper
6-8 cloves garlic
1 tsp Agave nectar (or to taste)
1 tsp lime juice
Fresh parsley, oregano, and basil to taste
Sea salt and Black Pepper to taste

- Set Broiler to high.

- Slice tomatoes, and red pepper in half and lay on a lightly greased broiler pan. Slice your onion half in half again and place it on the broiler pan along with the other vegetables.

- Broil vegetables until skins are blackened. You don’t want them to be entirely black and burnt, just charred a bit. Remove from oven, place onto plate or into bowl and stick in the freezer for a quick cold shock, about five minutes.

- While vegetables are in the broiler, brown garlic cloves in a dry skillet over medium heat. about five or so minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

- Remove vegetables from freezer, skins should easily peel away from the tomatoes and pepper. Discard, along with the outermost layer of onion. Place vegetables into a highspeed blender. If there is juice remaining on the plate or in the bowl you used to hold the vegetables when putting them in the freezer pour that into the blender as well..

- Add garlic and herbs, agave, and lime juice. Blend on high until everything is combined and smooth. Add a little sea salt and black pepper.
- Next spread a generous amount of sauce onto your prepared pizza dough. Everyone likes a different amount of sauce so that is up to you. I personally like very saucy pizza, since I don’t eat cheese on my pizza the extra sauce gives it that extra oomph. Make sure to spread the sauce evenly then assemble your pizza toppings as you like and bake according to recipe directions.

So there you have it, a quick and easy pizza sauce that’s delicious and gives you the added satisfaction of knowing you made it yourself from scratch. Nothing better then that.

And incase you are curious about the pizza I have pictured here, it’s a very simple concoction that was absolutely heavenly. I used Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s pizza crust recipe from "The Vegan Table" topped it with my Broiled Vegetable sauce, then arranged thinly sliced tomato, and zucchini on top. Added sauteed red peppers, and red onions then finished it off with some shaved asparagus, some chopped green onion and some freshly cracked black pepper. Delicious!

Also my apologies for not actually taking a picture of the sauce on it’s own, that was very neglectful on my part.

*** Note - While my sauce is gluten-free, soy-free and oil-free. My pizza was not gluten-free or oil-free. I always brush my crust with a bit of olive oil before baking to get it a bit crispy, you don't have to. Also it is very easy to make gluten-free pizza and you can even buy pre-made gluten-free crusts or pre-made gluten-free pizza dough mix at many grocery and health food store chains. ***

Baked Coconut Curry Sweet Potato Fries...

I made a really delicious tomato and farro soup for dinner last night, the recipe for which I was planning to post today. I am however in a bit of a time crunch, but since I don’t want to leave you empty handed so to speak I thought I’d share with you the absolutely to die for sweet potato fries I made last week.

If you’ve never had a sweet potato fry before - I don’t know how you couldn’t have, they’re amazing! - or you’re simply a sweet potato fry skeptic, - Do they really exist? - I urge you to try these out. They’re simply delicious, and a heck of a lot better for you then the typical French Fry. Not only are sweet potatoes so much healthier for you then the nutritionally dead white potato, but baking your fries instead of frying them is way more heart healthy, after all, all that oil isn’t doing any of us any favors right? Now I know, baking your fries doesn’t get them quite as crispy as frying them, but they do get crispy. Not quite as crispy is a small price to pay for your health I think. By the way you could always add a bit of cornstarch into the mix to coat the fires with, that usually helps the fries crisp up, I don’t think it’s necessary here but you could always try it.

As for this recipe I love coconut and I love curry, and those to flavors just so happen to go really well with sweet potatoes. Now there is a lot of controversy out there about coconuts, and coconut oil, is it really good for us? Or is it really bad for us? Honestly I don’t have the answer to that. My opinion on it is that it’s a plant food, a plant food who’s health benefits may out weight the few negatives. I look to the cultures that use coconut extensively in their cooking and see that study after study shows that they tend to have lower rates of heart disease then we do here in the west, but I can’t say with confidence that coconut oil is a health food or an evil food. So I treat it like most other things, moderation is important. I don’t eat it or use it everyday, and when I do use it I don’t overuse it, but I don’t stress about it either. However each of us has to make up our own mind about the foods we eat with the research we have available. If you don’t want to use coconut oil you could use organic peanut oil or another mild flavored vegetable oil, but it won’t be quite the same, and you can’t call them ‘coconut sweet potato fries’

Baked Coconut Curry Sweet Potato Fries

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil liquified
1 tsp Sweet Curry Powder
Sea salt to taste
2 Large Sweet Potatoes sliced into fry shapes

- To liquify the coconut oil just pop it into a glass bowl and microwave for a few seconds or put it in a pot on the stove over medium heat.

- Once liquified stir in your sweet curry powder. Add your sliced up sweet potatoes and toss until oil and curry have coated all of the fries. Sprinkle with a little sea salt then spread on a lined or lightly greased baking sheet.

- Bake at 400'F (204'C) for fifteen minutes. Remove from oven and flip over, return to oven and bake another fifteen to twenty minutes until fries are golden and firm on the outside but soft on the inside. Depending on your oven it make take up to forty-five minutes total so just make sure to check on them now and again.