Friday, February 6, 2009

Ricemellow Creme review (and lots more)



After I made this cake, I said I would do a review of Suzanne's Ricemellow vegan marshmallow cream as soon as I got around to trying it. I'd never used vegan marshmallows for anything except this particular cake, and my current need for Ricemellow was zero. Honestly, I didn't know quite what to do with it. Finally, last weekend, I opened the tub and put a blob on my oatmeal!



I had to try it on something, and although I felt silly, I just plopped some on my breakfast. This product is made from brown rice syrup, soy protein, natural flavors, natural gums. It's non-dairy and gluten free and it tastes exactly like marshmallows. It's light and creamy and sweet. If you miss marshmallows, you will LOVE this stuff. I'm sure you can find a better use for it than oatmeal. I have to say, though, that the oatmeal tasted great. So, what would you do with a tub of vegan marshmallow cream?

When we're not eating oatmeal with marshmallow cream, we're eating stuff like this:


Broccoli with peppers and mushrooms over oven-baked polenta
(tempeh on the side)



Felafels (sort of but not quite) with tahini sauce
(Made with 1 can of drained and rinsed chick peas, 1 onion, 2 large cloves of garlic, 2 teaspoons Chinese red pepper flakes*, 1/4 cup potato flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten, 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1/4 teaspoon salt and just enough water to form it into small rounds - maybe 2 tablespoons. Everything minced fine in the food processor but not puréed. Chickpeas added last. Sautéed slowly in an oiled cast iron pan until browned and firm. The sauce is tahini thinned with lemon juice and water. I would have added tons of parsley if I'd had some in the house.} This is all from memory the next day. I hadn't really planned to do a recipe — just needed something quick to eat!


Cuban black beans over brown rice


Pasta with kale,olives and canellini beans

note: *Chinese red pepper flakes are a great seasoning. I buy them in in a bag at an Asian market, transfer them to a glass jar and store them in the refridgerator, as advised by a Chinese friend. They look kind of like paprika but they have a mildly hot flavor. They add a pleasant heat to just about anything.