SNEAK PEAK - Vegan Beer Party

This weekend I had a Vegan Beer Party.
Here is a picture of the beers, I will fill you in on the rest later.

April - NJ Vegan Cookie Review

The Vegan Cookie review will be part of Vegan Freak Radio, Episode #36. Take a listen!

I did a little roving this time! I traveled to New Jersey to meet some Vegan Freaks, have a pot luck and review some cookies.

I love everyone I met and I am so sad I don't live closer. One day I will make it back to another one of their potlucks!

Here are the judges!
















Clockwise, starting in lower right corner: Patrick (veganjedi), Me (nell), Amanda (aj_veggiegirl), Elise (veganwitch), John, Jenna (tofupunk), Chad (cosmo), Sheryl (sherbs), Mike, Stephanie (steffapeppa). Not pictured is Liam, he crashed from his sugar high before we got to take a group picture.

Here is the food!
Before we had the review we ate dinner, just like our momma's taught us. It was a Mediterranean theme, there was Tabbouleh, Felafel's, Tomato & Cucumber salad, Kale Salad, Roasted potatoes, Baba Ghanoush and Hummus. It was glorious.








And...here are the cookies!
Everyone at the party brought a cookie or three for the review. We ended up having 14 different options. Talk about OD'ing on sugar.
















Liam helped me fix up the products. He did very good and didn't sneak a single piece!












The testing begins.
Cookies make vegans happy!












Best Cookie Overall
Alternative Baking Company - Double Chocolate Decadence

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie
Liz Lovely - Cowgirl

Best Peanut Butter Cookie
Alternative Baking Company - Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Boston Cookies
Peanut Butter
Rating: 7.1

Good, but not super peanut buttery
Soft, full bodied
Too sweet for peanut butter
Not too sweet, great flavor
Soft, yummy, peanut-buttery










NO PICTURE
Alternative Baking Company
Double Chocolate Decadence
Rating: 9.1

ROCKS!
Yummy, creamy
Fudgi-licious
Somewhat rich, but not too rich, perhaps my favorite vegan cookie ever
Love it! Love it! Love it!


Alternative Baking Company
Colossal Chocolate Chip
Rating: 8.2

Chips are rockin’
Like toll house for Vegans!

Nana's
Oatmeal Raisin
Rating: 7.0

Tastes healthy, but good
Yum, but not that yum.
Homemade comfort!
Nice big raisins
A little dry but still good










Boston Cookies
Mocha Chocolate Chip
Rating: 7.6

Excellent
Fabulous, full, my favorite
Excellent












Alternative Baking Company
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
Rating: 7.7

Good, but still not enough peanut butter
Its pretty darn good


Liz Lovely
Cowgirl Cookies
Rating: 8.3

I can die happy!
My fantasy, melt in the mouth
OMFG! 10,000,000
Different texture, sort of melts instead of chewy.
Can taste the sugar – weird but excellent










Nana's
Cookie Bars
Fudgy Wadgy
Rating: 6.1

Again with the health, so-so
Light sweet flavor
Bar-like. It really is fudgy though.
More brownie like.
Tastes like it has a weight watchers thing going on.









Nana's
Cookie Bars
Chocolate Chippy
Rating: 6.2

diet-like, but still tasty
rather dry
dry
not bad if you don’t compare it to all the others










Nana's
Cookie Bars
Lively Lemon
Rating: 6.8

Really good
A little crunch and lemony, good!
Refreshing
I heart it
A little crunchy, too lemon-y









Enjoy Life
Snickerdoodle
Rating: N/A - The package was open and most judges didn't try them (including myself).

Cinnomony
Eh, ok



Newman's Own
Fig Newmans
Rating: 6.3

YUM! I love figs!
Figulous
Figgin Gross.
Better than Fig Newtons by a long shot!
Okay, I would rather have chocolate
Good for what it is. FIG

Newman's Own
Newman-O's
Rating: 8.2

YUM! I love figs!
Figulous
Figgin Gross.
Better than Fig Newtons by a long shot!
Okay, I would rather have chocolate
Good for what it is. FIG





Health Valley
Cookie Cremes
Rating: 8.7

Really comforting taste.
Nice and vanilla-yee!
Wow – surprisingly good and buttery and vanilla-yum.
Very light tasting, I could eat a w hole bunch.
Mmmm


And last but not least....Simple Treats sent me a box of snacks but I didn't receive them before my trip to New Jersey. So I tested those products all on my own! Well, I did send some to Bob & Jenna and a few of my other Vegan Freak friends, but I made sure to get one of each for myself. Simple Treats is a great brand. The cookies, brownies and bars are very filling and tasty.

Simple Treats
Jam Dots

The fruit center is delicious.












Simple Treats
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie

The cookie was slightly crumbly from being tossed around but I scarfed down every little piece.












Simple Treats
Chocolate Chip Blondies

This has always been my favorite Simple Treat product. I've tried to make them myself but it never comes out as good at theres.












Simple Treats
Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie

The brownie was so soft!

Sneak Peak - Vegan Cookie Review

This weekend I am traveling to New Jersey to meet up with the NJ Vegan Freaks. We are going to be doing a pot luck cookie review! I can't wait to meet more Vegan Freaks and of coarse try out some of these Vegan cookies, especially the kind I can't find in CT.

Since it is a pot luck review I do not have the products to take pictures of. But here are the websites for a few of the cookies we hope to check out.

Liz Lovely
Boston Cookies
Enjoy Life Cookies
Newmans Own
Nana's
Alternative Baking Company
Simple Treats
Health Valley

February - Vegan Wine Review

This Vegan Wine review is on Vegan Freak Radio, episode #30, take a listen!

CORRECTION: I am embarrassed to say the Vegan wines I tested are not all Vegan. The information I found was incorrect. The Fetzer white are Vegan but the Fetzer Red are not.

The Wine party brought out 10 of my closest family and friends! I had 5 bottles of "official" wine to test and an extra bottle or two kicking around to add as needed. I didn't get many comments from the judges, I think it was because they were distracted by the yummy food and the alcohol. These reviews were rated based on first, second, third and etc.. I will return to the obsessive average system for the next party.

Here is the link page I used to find out which wines are and are not vegan. http://veganfreak.com/index.php?s=internetresources#booze

Before I put up pictures of my beautiful judges I need to show you all the amazing food from the party. I don't want to overlook the yummy food, it deserves some attention because it was glorious, all vegan of coarse.

Here is the food!
Bruschetta by Dee, Cilantro Salsa, Guacamole, Demonic Mushrooms, Hummus and Chocolate Cake by Kerri.
































Here are the judges!
Wendy, Kim, Dee & Dan, Dad (Marty) & Sandy, Evelin, Kellie, Kelly, Kerri and not pictured is Cory.






















































































































A few of my friends showed up early and wanted to start drinking. I didn't want to open the wine from the review so I went with a different wine I had in the house. So here are the comments and picture of the "secret" wine.



Peter Lehmann
2003 Barossa Shiraz
Cost: $18.99
Rating: Secretly conducted prior to guests arriving!

We each had 2 glasses before the party started, it was smooth.
I will definitely be buying this wine again.












Here are the "official" Wines!




















Yellow Tail
2004 Merlot
Cost: $10.00
Rating: First Place


Mild and smooth.
Nice light oaky taste with good body.











CORRECTION: The information I found was incorrect. The Fetzer white are Vegan but the Fetzer Red are not.

Fetzer Vineyards
Cabernet Sauvignon (organic)
Cost: $9.99
Rating: Second Place

Nice fruity light taste, no aftertaste.
Very smooth, delicious flavor











CORRECTION: The information I found was incorrect. The Fetzer white are Vegan but the Fetzer Red are not.

Fetzer Vineyards
Merlot (organic)
Cost: $9.99
Rating: Third Place

Leaves an after taste bordering on bitter.












Frey Organic Wine
Pinot Noir
Cost: $11.99
Rating: Fourth Place

Very mild
Bitter taste...bitter aftertaste












Frey Organic Wine
Cabernet Sauvignon
Rating: Fifth Place


A little tart on my tongue, but mysteriously reminds me of grape soda.

January - Vegan Veggie Burgers

This Vegan Veggie Burger review is on Vegan Freak Radio, podcast #26.

The Vegan Veggie Burgers brought out 10 people, thats 6 more people than the Chocolate party! I would have thought Chocolate would have been the biggie. Next month is wine, I wonder if I’ll have enough room in my apartment for everyone.


Here are the judges!
Niki, Kim, Michelle, Evelin, me, Sheryl, Kristine, Jen and not pictured are Wendy and Dan.







































Here are the Vegan Veggie Burgers!










I picked up 9 different Vegan Veggie Burgers. I started at my local Health Food Store, I was surprised that they only had 1 type of Vegan Veggie Burger. I bought that one and then stopped at every grocery store within half an hour. Most stores only had the Veggie Burgers, they didn't have Vegan versions. But not Stop & Shop, they had so many choices for me.


Best Overall
Gardenburger, Black Bean

Best, Vegans only
Gardenburger, Black Bean

Best, Meat eaters only
Dr. Praeger’s California Burger

Best Price
Morningstar Farms, Vegan Burger



Sunshine Burgers, Original
$3.85, box of 3
Overall – 6.8
Vegans – 8.3
Meat Eaters – 5.8

• Tastes like a big dip burger, awesome!
• It’s green...
• Very veggie, very good!
• It’s a little too green for me. It was very good, but not what I’d be looking for in a “burger.” However, if you knew in advance what to expect it would be great!
• Really good, not like any other.

Sunshine Burger, South West
$3.85, box of 3
Overall – 5.1
Vegans – 6.9
Meat Eaters – 3.9

• Delish!
• Not a fan of spicy burgers.
• A little crumbly. I’m a little unsure, it tastes good, but the texture is unidentifiable. I love the spice. Quite spicy even for someone who loves spice!
• Too salty and too spicy.

Gardenburger, Black Bean
$3.99, box of 4
Overall – 7.2
Vegans – 8.8
Meat Eaters – 6.2

• The taste is great. It reminds me of a bean burrito with a kick.
• Spicy aftertaste. Beans! Yum. Tastes like a burrito.
• Great black bean taste
• Too spicy.
• Too salty.

Mornignstar Farms, Vegan Burger
$3.69, box of 4
Overall – 5.3
Vegans – 4.5
Meat Eaters – 5.8

• Tastes like Boca burgers.
• Needs more flavor.
• Meat-like texture. I think it tastes great.
• Kind of meaty.
• Slap some gravy on that sucker and it would taste just like the Salisbury steak meat pucks they used to serve in middle school.
• Tastes like a hamburger.
• Not bad, but not the best either.

Amy’s California Burger
$4.25, box of 4
Overall – 6.3
Vegans – 7.3
Meat Eaters – 5.6

• Very veggie and grainy, yummy.
• Dry, but ok.
• Almost feels and tastes like a Chinese dish with the combination of rice and vegetable.
• Crunchy and gooey!
• Good but not as good as Amy’s Amercian Veggie Burger

Amy’s American Veggie Burger
$4.25, box of 4
Overall – 6.4
Vegans – 6.6
Meat Eaters – 6.2

• I can taste the vegetables.
• Edible, but not for me.
• This was delicious. A veggie taste with a smoky hint. The texture was a little mushy, but I think it would please both vegan and nonvegans.
• Mildly spicy with a nice texture.
• I like that it isn’t trying to be meat. Veggies aren’t meat man, don’t even play.

Dr. Praeger’s California Burger
$4.29, box of 4
Overall – 6.6
Vegans – 7.0
Meat Eaters – 6.3

• The taste was okay. But the veggies were way too big. I would rather buy fresh veggies and make a sandwich.
• Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner! It tastes like veggies and that’s okay!
• Brocoli is good, tries not to imitate meat. YAY.
• I didn’t like it.

Dr. Praeger’s Bombay Burger
$4.29, box of 4
Overall – 5.4
Vegans – 6.0
Meat Eaters – 5.0

• Spicy Indian taste with lots of veggies.
• Soft, breaks apart, some spice.
• Tasty but super mushy. Nice spice, curry-esque.
• There are peas in there. PEAS.
• Nice Indian taste. Spicy after taste, but its balanced.
• Weird – there’s whole veggies in it.

Veggie-licious Burger
$3.50, box of 2
Overall – 4.5
Vegans – 4.3
Meat Eaters – 4.7

• Smoky, different.
• Upon first bite it reminded me of my dogs “jerky treats”
• Meaty and super salty.
• Fake smoky taste. This is what Burger King serves during Mad Cow outbreaks.

Sneak Peak - Vegan Burger Review

Today was the Vegan Burger Review Party.
Here is a shot of all the products we tried.
The results will be posted once the interview is aired on Vegan Freak Radio.

Veggie Burger Recipe Reviews

The next review party will be this weekend and should be on Vegan Freak Radio within the next couple weeks. Since it has been so long since the Chocolate Review I thought I would share a few Veggie Burger recipe reviews. I have never made a Veggie Burger from scratch so a few of my friends from the Vegan Freak forums have come to my rescue and have put together a review of their favorite recipes.

Check back soon, I will be posting a sneak peak for the veggie burgers I will have at the party.

Lindsay's Burger Review
If I make "veggie" burgers from scratch, these are usually the ones I make. They aren't fancy, and they aren't really that healthy, but they're good and they're vegan. I definitely like them better than Boca or Gardenburger because they just taste processed. You know what I mean. Plus, the pre-cooked mix tastes good.

Black Bean Burgers
1 can Organic Black Beans
2 cups of cooked rice
Breadcrumbs (you know, enough)
1 medium Onion, cut small and sautéed in some oil or Earth Balance
Herbs (to taste)
Extra-virgin Olive Oil (for taste and stability)
Vegetable Oil (for frying)

Directions:
Sautee the onion.
Add all of the other ingredients together in a bowl until it looks and tastes tasty and can be formed into patties. If you like, put some breadcrumbs on the outside of the patties for crispiness.
Fry patties in vegetable oil.
Directions:
Sautee the onion.
Add all of the other ingredients together in a bowl until it looks and tastes tasty and can be formed into patties. If you like, put some breadcrumbs on the outside of the patties for crispiness.
Fry patties in vegetable oil.

Marysuesylw's Burger Review
I like this recipe a lot. Everyone at my house loves them, even my I-hate-veggieburgers-they're-gross daughter. It is a little fussy to make, but the results are very good. The end result is fragrant and grainy rather than "meat like." The texture of the interior does tend to be a little soft--not chewy--but if you have a good crust there's a nice contrast. I have frozen patties and cooked them later with no noticeable loss of flavor or texture. A burger maker will help, especially if you make a large double or triple batch. When cooking, be careful to use a low or medium-low heat for a longer period to get a nice crust, rather than blasting them--they can scorch. I can envision kicking up the original recipe with mexican or curry seasonings in the mix, but I haven't tried it yet.

Ultimate Veggie Burgers
3/4 cup Dried Brown Lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Bulgur
2 tbs Vegetable Oil
2 cups Onions, chopped fine
1/2 cup Celery, chopped fine
1 small Leek, white and light green parts only, chopped fine
2 medium cloves Garlic, minced or pressed
1 lb. Cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced about 1/4 inch thick (about 6 1/2 cups)
1 cup raw unsalted Cashew
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
2 cups Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
Ground Black Pepper
12 burger buns for serving

1. Bring 3 cups water, lentils, and 1 teaspoon salt to boil in medium saucepan over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until lentils are just beginning to fall apart, about 25 minutes. Drain in fine-mesh strainer. Line baking sheet with triple layer paper towels and spread drained lentils over. Gently pat lentils dry with additional paper towels; cool lentils to room temperature.

2. While lentils simmer, bring 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil in small saucepan. Stir bulgur wheat into boiling water and cover immediately; let stand off heat until water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain in fine-mesh strainer; use rubber spatula to press out excess moisture. Transfer bulgur to medium bowl and set aside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions, celery, leek, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Spread vegetable mixture on second baking sheet to cool; set aside. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to now-empty skillet; heat over high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Spread mushrooms on baking sheet with vegetable mixture; cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

4. Process cashews in food processor until finely chopped, about fifteen 1-second pulses (do not wash food processor blade or bowl); stir into bowl with bulgur along with cooled lentils, vegetable-mushroom mixture, and mayonnaise. Transfer half of mixture to now-empty food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped, fifteen to twenty 1-second pulses; mixture should be cohesive but roughly textured. Transfer processed mixture to large bowl; repeat with remaining unprocessed mixture and combine with first batch. Stir in panko, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Line baking sheet with paper towels. Divide mixture into 12 portions, about 1/2 cup each, shaping each into tightly packed patty, 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick; set patties on baking sheet; paper towels will absorb excess moisture. (Patties can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 3 days.)

To cook on the grill: Build medium-hot charcoal fire or preheat gas grill on high. Using tongs, wipe grate with wad of paper towels dipped lightly in vegetable oil. Grill burgers, without moving them, until well browned, about 5 minutes; flip burgers and continue cooking until well browned on second side, about 5 minutes. Serve.

To cook on the stovetop: Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering; cook burgers, 4 at a time, until well browned, about 4 minutes per side, lowering heat to medium if browning too quickly. Repeat with additional oil and burgers. Serve. (Cooked burgers can be kept warm in 250-degree oven for up to 30 minutes.)

To Freeze: With freezing and defrosting, the patties increase in moisture content; it is therefore necessary to add more breadcrumbs before freezing. For each burger to be frozen, add 1 teaspoon panko or 1/2 teaspoon plain bread crumbs to the mixture before shaping. Thaw frozen patties overnight in the refrigerator on a triple layer of paper towels covered loosely with plastic wrap. Before cooking, pat the patties dry with paper towels and reshape to make sure they are tightly packed and cohesive.

December - Vegan Chocolate

This chocolate review is on Vegan Freak radio podcast #20. Go listen, click here. The podcast has a great interview with Isa from Post Punk Kitchen.

I am a new vegan and thought a great way to get my family and friends educated about my new choices would be to throw a party. So I will throw them a party, I will serve them vegan munchies, I will make them vegan cocktails and I will make them test a bunch of the product of the month. All they have to do is fill out a review form telling me what they like and dislike. This month they were forced to eat chocolate.

About 12 people were interested in attending but there was snow, there were colds and there were kids activities, only 3 of my friends were able to make it. Hopefully next month more people will be able to attend.


Here are the judges!
Kim & Niki











Wendy & Nell












Here are the chocolates!
I picked up most of the chocolate from Vegan Essentials. When they heard why I was purchasing 10 candy bars they were so great and sent a few extras for us. Thank you so much!

The remaining pieces I picked up from my local Health Food Store.



Best Overall Brand - TIE
Denman Island (Rating 7.4)
Endangered Species (Rating 7.4)

Best Bar
Newman's Own Sweet Dark Orange Chocolate (Rating 8.2)

Best Price (excluding baby bar)
Newman's Own Sweet Dark Orange Chocolate ($2.29)


Conscious Creations
Hempenberry
Cost: $2.49
Rating: 5.7

W - This is what I imagined Vegan Chocolate tasted like.
N1 - Interesting after taste.
K - Poor packaging, didn't identify various nuts used.



Dagoba
Organic Chocolate Mint
Cost: $2.89
Rating: 5.2

N1 - Too bitter for mint.
N2 - Too faint mint flavoring.




Dagoba
Organic chocolate Mona Cherri
Cost: $2.89
Rating: 5.3

N1 - Being a cherry lover I was a bit disappointed with the bitterness of the chocolate and tart cherries.




Denman Island
Espresso Chunk Chocolate
(Picture is not of proper variety - I goofed I forgot to take Espresso photo)
Cost: $2.95
Rating: 7.8

N1 - More beans than chocolate, very good.
K - Loved it! Great mix.




Denman Island
Razzle Dazzle Chocolate
Cost: $2.95
Rating: 7.3

N1 - Tart & Sweet.
K - Great hint of raspberries that leaves a tartness that makes your mouth water.



Denman Island
Zesty Orange Chocolate
Cost: $2.95
Rating: 7.2

N1 - It is not zesty, but it has a nice balance.
K - Not as good as Newmans Orange, you have to search for the orange flavor.



Endangered Species
Dark Chocolate with Blueberries
Cost: $2.89
Rating: 7.8

W - Yee haw.
K - Very creamy. I wouldn't have thought to mix blueberries with chocolate, but its great.



Endangered Species
Dark Chocolate with Raspberries
Cost: $2.49
Rating: 7.7

N1 - Raspberries are too tart.
K - Another winner. Smooth Chocolate with a nice blend of raspberries.



Endangered Species
Dark Chocolate with Tangerine Essence
Cost: $1.99 (baby bar)
Rating: 6.8

N1 - Very creamy.
K - The smooth chocolate makes this one a palate pleaser.




Newmans Own
Sweet Dark Orange Dark Chocolate
Cost: $2.29
Rating: 8.2

K - Absolutely delicious.
N2 - My favorite! Very strong orange flavor.
N1 - Too strong of an orange flavor.



Plamil Organics
Organic Cayenne Chocolate
Cost: $3.59
Rating: 7.9

W - It burns!
K - The cayenne opens your taste buds
N2 - Glad I tried it once.



Tropical Source
Raspberry Dark Chocolate
Cost: $2.79
Rating: 7.6

N1 - Just a hint of raspberry.
K - The dehydration of the raspberries keeps the seeds from getting caught in your teeth.



Tropical Source
Hazelnut Dark Chocolate
Cost: $2.59
Rating: 6.1

K - Tastes more like milk chocolate.
N1 - Not overpowering, good.




Tropical Source
Mint Crunch Dark Chocolate
Cost: $2.79
Rating: 7.5

W - Lovely.
N2 - Heaven!
K - Absolutely fabulous!



Tropical Source
Toasted Almond Dark Chocolate
Cost: $2.59
Rating: 6.3

K - Right blend of chocolate and almonds!





Vivani
Dark Chocolate with Orange Flavour
Cost: $2.99
Rating: 7.1

N1 - Slightly bitter
N2 - Good hint of orange after taste.








The judges have requested the next review product to be Vegan Veggie Burgers, please give me a few suggestions on your favorite brand.

SNEAK PEAK - Vegan Chocolate Review

This weekend I will have my first Vegan Review Extravaganza.
The first product to review will be CHOCOLATE!


Here is a sneak peek...