Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Sunday food, and a new product review!

Before the food, a random photo. Yesterday afternoon the sun was coming in the window and I really liked the lighting, so I took a picture of Andy rummaging around in the cupboard.

For lunch, pizza. A thin layer of nutritional yeasty sauce, a thick layer of BBQ sauce, chicken-style seitan, red capsicum and tomato. Andy's creation, modelled on BBQ Chicken pizza from his pregan days.

Potato salad. I made this last week, and Andy was so impressed with it he wanted me to make a huge batch to last us all week. It's simple, so I was happy to oblige. Chop and boil potatoes. Drain. Combine juice from 1 lime, about 2 T. vinegar, and 1/2 c. or so of oil. Pour over warm potatoes. Mix in 1-2 c. chopped cucumber, a handful of chopped coriander (cilantro for all the North Americans), and salt and pepper. Let it chill for at least an hour, but the longer the better. Voila! (And a pair of sunglasses and a pineapple in the background, because I'm a Queenslander. That's how we roll.)

We had the potato salad along with a North African inspired Lentil and Zucchini dish, based loosely on a recipe from the North African Vegetarian cookbook I got out of the library. We have, like, 1000 zucchinis because Andy and I both grabbed a bunch at the farmer's market, without realising until after we'd paid.

And finally, a new vegan product. I don't often buy things like this, because I am a tight ass, but it was on special for $2.40 (50% off!!) at Woolie's so I grabbed one. Sweet William Chocolate Spread. Dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, lactose-free. Apologies for the fuzzy picture.

The texture is like Betty Crocker Icing, and the flavour is super chocolatey. Delicious on a bit of fresh, soft baguette, and pretty good on toast as well. This spread is the perfect way to satisfy a sweet-tooth or a chocolate craving, and I don't feel too bad about doing it because of the bright red and yellow "60% less sugar" label. My only criticism is that the flavour is a little shallow. I guess I prefer my chocolate paired with something else--any sort of nuts, fruit, cinnamon, chilli--so a plain chocolate spread feels... unsophisticated. Still, totally worth $2.40! Maybe even worth the full price....

13 comments:

Amy said...

Good eats!

I can't remember if you've ever made vegan crepes. That choco spread and a banana would be a good crepe filling!

Just responded to your meme tag on my blog, by the way.

Anna said...

Well done Andy, that pizza looks fantastic. So does everything, actually! Glad the chicken-style seitan worked out and it's good to know about that chocolate spread. I'd seen it in the shop and wondered...As a vego I loved nutella, and now want to find a vegan replacement. :)

Kumudha said...

Sweet William Chocolate Spread looks so yummy .I wonder what they used to make it ,as it is, Dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and lactose-free!

Theresa said...

Amy, I was thinking the same thing. One time in Montreal I got the most delicious crepes with choc-banana filling and heaps of melty chocolate all over the top.....

Veganista, it won't stack up against Nutella, IMO, because it's nut-free. But it's definitely worth picking up.

Kumudha, I know, it's hard to imagine food that's free of so many things, but it's really just cocoa, sugar, and not much else!

Anonymous said...

Well first of all, I definitely approve of the half naked man pics in this post. Other than that, WOW that's a good looking pizza. It sounds so delicous. Maybe I'm just having pizza cravings but it sounds pretty much perfect.

Monika K said...

I'm with Emmie - nice pictures! (-: The food looks great and I was wondering if the lentil dish called for peanuts - I have a couple of tasty African dishes (although none with lentils) and mine all seem to require peanuts or peanut butter. The first thing I thought of when I saw that chocolate spread was Nutella - it wouldn't be the same, but maybe a good substitute...?

Also, I have read part of Barbara Kingsolver's book, "Poisonwood Bible." I had to return it before I finished reading it but should probably check it out from the library again soon - thanks for the recommendation! (-;

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

i love the light in that pic with Andy, nice eye!
i love a good ol' potato salad. i have been wanting to make a vegenaise free potato salad. i may have to try out yrs.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

mmm, that pizza looks amazing! love the BBQ-twist on the pizza toppings :0)

It's great that companies are coming out with vegan alternatives to popular spreads like Nutella, so that we vegans can still have a delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread!

bazu said...

Oooh, I don't remember the last time I had a chocolatey spread-like thingie. Ok, my vocabulary is going, but all your food looks wonderful, as usual!

Theresa said...

Monika, there are no peanuts called for in the North African cookbook I've looked at. A few recipes had pistachios, and lots of capers and olives, but I think peanuts are slightly further south than this cookbook covers. I do love an African peanut stew, but it's nice to skip the nutty flavours and have a mix of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern sometimes :)

Anonymous said...

yum!! the food looks so good.

Anonymous said...

I have a bag of fake chicken in my freezer and I had been pondering what to do with it. I think I'm going to make up some pizza dough to freeze and have on hand for the upcoming weeks. Then I'll be able to throw together a BBQ pizza. I always liked to add a little red onion to mine as well. Yum!!!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Ooh chocolate spread?! Reminds me of when I used to eat nutella sandwiches...