Kite Hill Soft Ripened

We had our bi-monthly wine night the other day. When it was hosted at my house I had an array of snacks. Now my old roommate and buddy has moved out and we go to his place. I got hooked on baked brie with an apple-date chutney. Running out of time I had resorted to unbaked brie with fig jam (a combo I learned about from a friend, and boy is it delicious!). However, DF means no more brie for me...

I picked up Kite Hill's soft ripened over the weekend, and decided to put it to the ultimate test at wine night! I did a quick taste test the day before and the texture is good (not as creamy, but still very soft and spreadable). It looked pink at first, but the next day that seemed to mellow. Plain it was alright (nothing special), but once you spread it on a cracker, and especially when you paired it with the fig jam, this was absolutely delicious!

About half of the people there gave it a try and we demolished it! I brought an actual brie as well, but the Kite Hill was gone first (granted it is smaller, but still it was a hit and everyone that tried it liked it). I haven't tried it baked yet, but I think that is coming up on the agenda. We do this the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month, so plenty of opportunity to find out how it bakes up!

I'm also looking forward to giving the ricotta a go (going to use this on a pizza in the near future, although I have also gotten recommendations for Daiya's mozz shreds for a good melting cheese as well, and if all goes well may try it in a lasagna perhaps with the Daiya since my recipe calls for ricotta and mozz). I am also looking forward to trying the other Kite Hill cheeses. I've heard good things about the cream cheese, and I think the soft ones will be a good goat cheese sub.

Also look for me to get off my lazy bum and make some of the cheeses in Miyoko's book: Vegan Artisan Cheese. Kite Hill is delicious, but if I can get my roommates on board I think making some of these will be more cost-effective ~_n

So Delicious Cashew Milk Ice Cream & Coco Whip

I meant to start trying out my new purchases last night, but alas we got caught up in game night and I had a burger with regular American cheese. I was looking for a sweet treat before lunch and decided to try out the So Delicious cashew milk ice cream. I grabbed the vanilla, because who doesn't like a good vanilla (although watch out, as they basically have an unflavored version which I almost mistook for vanilla).

Disclaimer: My trip took longer than intended yesterday so things did get a bit melty.

Taste: Pretty good. This was like your standard French vanilla, so a little buttery without a super strong vanilla flavor. Some hints of cashew, but much less than the almond in Ben & Jerry's. I definitely want to check out some of the other flavors.

Texture: Much better than the coconut milk! Maybe even better than almond milk? Or at least comparable. There was that obvious refrozen texture though, so I may update this as I get farther into the pint or when I try a new flavor. That aside, this was a very thick and creamy ice cream.

Overall: I think this is m favorite so far. I am really looking forward to trying some of the other flavors, and to see what new ones So Delicious comes out with.

Update: So I made a bowl tonight and topped it with coco whip. I stand by my previous thoughts. Very thick and creamy (closer to frozen custard actually), and the cashew flavor does come through a bit. It was not jarring though, and I think in other flavors it will be left in the background. As I got farther in the texture was definitely better but still thicker and heavier than expected (this was not due to melting though as I hit the middle of the pint)

As for the coco whip...this is great! I am a little disappointed it's more like cool whip than whipped cream, but from what I've read coconut whipped cream lasts about 2 days in the refrigerator. That being said it's got a great creamy texture, even better than cool whip. It definitely tastes like coconut though (although not as strongly as I anticipated), so if you don't like coconut flavor this is not for you. I love coconut and was very pleased. This was a great topping to my cashew ice cream, and actually melts better than regular whipped cream.



I'm sure I'll review other brands/types over time, but this concludes a pretty good summary of my experiences. I'm not sure if I'll give soy ice cream try...my brother also has dairy problems, is allergic to soy, and there is a small correlation between the 2 so I am not planning to up my intake drastically. I may attempt rice milk, and others as they become available. I am also planning to do some experimenting on making my own and will share those results on the blog.

Ben & Jerry Dairy-Free Ice Cream

Based off the recommendation of many friends, and given that it is the only other dairy-free option at my Jewel, I picked up a pint of Ben & Jerry's The chunky monkey came highly recommended, but I'm not a banana person so I went for Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

Taste: Holy crap, this tastes just like brownie batter. It's thick and succulent. There is a hint of almond flavor (given that this is made with an almond milk base), so that may catch you off guard at first. However, going in knowing that it should not deter from your enjoyment.

Texture: This is creamier and softer than the So Delicious coconut milk ice cream. When it melted, the texture was as expected. This was definitely closer to ice cream.

Overall: Highly recommended. The almond flavor definitely comes through, so if this is something you dislike stay away. Otherwise the flavors they are offering are good and the texture is wonderful. I will definitely be buying more and trying more flavors as they become available (minus the Chunky Monkey lol).

Dole Whip

I've come across this recipe in the past, but it popped up again on my feed today and in light of my new adventure I decided I wanted to give it a try.

First of all, if you attempt this I highly recommend a food processor. I've tried this in both a large blender (although maybe not high power enough? also I only did 1/4 of the recipe for a single serving), and a small personal sized blender (16 oz). I was not able to get the pineapple fully processed, so those chunks were rather jarring in terms of both texture and flavor.

That being said, I love this! Oh so smooth and creamy. The pineapple is such a subtle flavor, which surprised me given the 4:1. This is so light and refreshing, and reminded me of a sherbet. I'm seriously considering attempting this with other fruits (especially lime...man, do I miss lime sherbet). Also, for those of you who don't like or can't have pineapple, I think it would be worth attempting with other fruits. I'm sure you could use any non-dairy milk of your choice, as Gemma even says she's used the light coconut milk so you know fat content isn't make or break.

I'm getting a suspicion that most of what you will be reading about here will be ice cream related...Over time hopefully that will change! Then again, nothing wrong with a dairy-free dessert blog, right?

Update 9/16/16: If you have a stick/hand/immersion blender, I have found that works rather well when making a single serving. If it came with a vessel, pour everything into there, otherwise use a tall/narrow container large enough for your blender to fit into.

Cookie Dough Protein Bites

My mom sent me this recipe and it tastes just like chocolate chip cookie dough! These little bites are quite filling too. 1-2 is a great snack and will fill you up for a while. I made a few tweaks though, so I am sharing the updated version. If you want to beef up the protein you cold add some vanilla or chocolate protein powder (no more than 1/2 scoop).

1 c oats
2 Tbsp flax seed
1 c almonds
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp dark chocolate chips

Blend oats, flax, and almonds together until powdery. Alternately, you could use ground flax meal and almond flour (that's what I did, and I left the oats whole). Stir in the remaining ingredients. Form into balls or bites and refrigerate. I normally pack this into a small square container, let it set up over night (or freeze for a couple hours) and cut into 16 bites.

If you don't have coconut oil, you can sub in coconut butter but you will need an additional 1/2 Tbsp coconut butter and honey to get it to mix up and stay together.

Dairy-Free Protein Shakes/Smoothies

Before I thought of doing a dairy-free blog, I posted this smoothie recipe on my other blog. Those dairy-free protein powders are too expensive for me, so I whipped up my own substitute. Not quite as packed with protein, but still contains a large amount. I've got a buddy who is really into the protein powders, working out, etc and he's told me that the amount of protein you get in one of those shakes is more than your body can process anyway. The difference is only 7-5 g anyway, which I feel is negligible.

1/2 - 1 cup non-dairy milk*
2 Tbsp flax seed
1 Tbsp almond butter
1/2 banana

Nutrition Facts (base only):
228-278 calories
12-14 g fat
360-485 mg potassium
23-27 g carbohydrates
      6-7 g fiber
      10-12 g sugar
9-13 g protein  

I'm a big smoothie person; they are my go to breakfast. So, I normally just pack up 1-2 cups of fruit/veggies/greens along with the banana in a small container or bag and freeze them up ahead of time. Then just dump into a blender, add the non-dairy milk, almond butter, and flax seed, and blend away. No ice needed. They make very thick smoothies, almost like an ice cream shake. Also, for those of you who aren't a fan of bananas (that would be me), only using half adds protein and substance without an overpowering flavor.

*for these purposes, the amounts are based off soy milk (Soy Dream original enriched), although I often use vanilla almond milk (or whatever is on sale).