One use that was perfect for the new Teese was a margarita pizza. The round shape of the tube and the soft creaminess made it a good stand in for a buffalo mozzarella on the classic pizza.

I also used some to make up a batch of mozzarella sticks. I kicked up my previous recipe by using panko bread crumbs and adding vegan bacon bits to the breading. The Teese did not preform as well as I might have liked, and they were more like breaded cheese curds (but still very tasty). I may have not fried them long enough to get the frozen Teese to fully melt.

Opening the box, the roast did look incredibly turkey shaped, a far cry from the gluten football that is the Tofurky roast. The next discovery: the roast comes unstuffed. There is a cavity in the back of the bird and the “stuffing” is provided separately. This was incredibly exciting as it opens up many possibilities for future applications. As this was my first time trying the product, I decided to stick to the basic package directions, which were fairly simple: stuff the roast, wrap in foil and bake. An hour later it was ready to eat.

The roast itself was very good. As soon as I took a bite I instantly figured out what else the company made. Vegetarian Plus (Vege USA) makes the little vegan chicken drumsticks that can be found frozen, and at some restaurants, wrapped in a tofu skin and skewered with a sugar cane “bone.” The “whole turkey” was similarly, if not identically, composed of so fiber and soy protein wrapped with a tofu skin. The soy fiber makes for a grained texture very much like poultry. It was much lighter and cut much better than seitan or Tofurky. Most pleasently, the roast was exceptionally moist, even without any basting or marinating. Flavor wise, it was not particularly turkey like, but more like chicken in flavor. The “meat” does have a bit of an oddly sweet flavor to it, but covered in a nice gravy it balanced out nicely. If I get arround to making another one of these beasts I will probably experiment with spice rubs or basting to inject a little extra flavor. I might also try cooking it uncovered for a few min at the end to crisp up the skin a little better. Ultimately I would like to deep fry one of these, but I don’t think it will fit in my fryer, so I might actually need a turkey fryer. The size of the roast was great as well, as it allowed for easy carving and plenty of left overs.

One of the exciting part of the roast was carving off the "drumsticks." It would have been awesome if they had put the same sugar cane "bones" in that they use in the little chicken drumsticks.

The gravy didn’t fail to disappoint. Initially the pouch of gravy seemed a little ridiculously small, but further investigation revealed that it was more of a base, and it will take a good amount a water to thin down to proper gravy consistency. It was salty, tasty, and had a good consistency. Over all I found it much more enjoyable than the Tofurky “giblet gravy”

The stuffing was a little bit of a let down, but fortunately I had prepared some herbed chestnut stuffing.

Where things fell short was with the stuffing. The “Himalayan Barley Fried Rice Stuffing” was much more fried rice than stuffing. It appears it is a product that the company makes separately and just threw in rather than making a new stufing product. As a fried rice, it was OK. Some very decent mock ham and a curryish spice bled blended decent flavor. The barley is very toothsome, bordering on underdone, and did not stick together at all so it was very granular. The texture was one of the areas in which it most failed to fulfill the stuffing role. Also, the spice blend did not really jive with the turkey and gravy, let alone the rest of the meal. Luckily, the turkey comes un-stuffed, so next times I will use my own stuffing and save the fried rice for a later meal.

Over all we were all very pleased, including a couple of my meat eating friends that tried it. While it caries a bit of a heft price tag, ranging around $40-$50, the size of it makes it comparable to other vegetarian roasts on the market. I’ll be watching and will hopefully be able to grab a couple on sale late in the season.









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Daiya melts beautifully, even at 500 degrees.

The other day I was in Sidecar and noticed a new addition to the vegan cheese section. I asked the manager what it’s deal was and she casually remarked, “Well, it melts and stretches.” Come Again? Stretches? I snatched a package of the mozzarella style

For real: it stretches.

shreds (I believe the company actually calls it “Italian Blend”) and hurried home. I mixed up a batch of pizza dough and anxiously waited for the dough to rise.  I topped my pizza with some marinara and the Daiya and into the oven it went. Fifteen minuets later I pulled it out and the cheese was bubbling, melting, and most amazing of all, stretching!

While Daiya actually is not that impressive cold (it is really not that good at all), the magic is in the melting. It doesn’t “melt” like other vegan cheeses, either becoming slightly soft after a great deal of coaxing or liquefying into a pool of cheesy oil, it really melts like cheese. You don’t have to fiddle with it or worry about it, just throw it in any recipe like real cheese. In the toaster oven, on a sandwich, a quesadilla, mac and cheese, or even just stirred into pasta before serving, it all works. The flavor also improves quite a deal as it melts, and while not particularly strong, is amazingly cheese like and has no funny aftertaste. Did I mention it is soy free too? Currently Daiya is available in “Italian Blend” and “Cheddar” flavors. Both are excellent.

A grilled cheese with some mushrooms, tofurky, and both types of Daiya.

The bad news is that it is currently only available as a food service product and is not available in retail packaging. You can check their site to see if there are any restaurants in your area using it, otherwise you can get it at Sidecar here in Seattle. If you live elsewhere and want to shell out the dough for shipping, you can get it online from Pangea and Cosmo’s Vegan Shopee. As soon as you have the opportunity I advise you get your hands on some. I have quite a few ideas brewing, so expect to see a few recipes featuring Daiya soon.

Did I mention it stretches?