We cant Say Its Cheese…

 

So I recently came across a new vegan cheese called We Cant Say its Cheese and the people over at Wayfare were kind enough to send me some samples to try out there product.

Now I’ll be honest, I'm usually not a fan of vegan cheese. I was vegan for about 6 years I believe, and that whole time I just didn't eat any vegan cheese type products. But I was a bit curious about this one.

What really caught my attention was that the first ingredient was oatmeal. Now, since oatmeal is definitely one of my top foods I was super curious. Flipping the container over I checked out the ingredient list.

Nice! All ingredients I recognize which is a bonus. I don't like eating foods with indecipherable ingredients. Real food please! So thumbs up on this.

Next up..I gotta check the nutritional stats..cause well…I always do!

Not bad either. So far looking very promising. Now the real test…the taste…

It comes in three flavors:

Hickory Smoked Cheddar Style spread

Mexi Cheddar Style Dip

Cheddar Style Spread

Cheddar Style Dip

The difference with the dip and the spread is consistency. The Spread is way more thicker than the Dip. I think of the dip more like a sour cream consistency and the spread like a cream cheese.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at the taste. It doesn’t taste exactly like cheese but to me its a wonderful substitute. The mexi had a great kick and the cheddar has a real nice overall flavor to it. My favorite though was the hickory smoked. Its wonderful. It just has such a lovely smoky flavor that would great for all kinds of dishes.

Another plus to me was that it was meltable. Oh yes. That is something that is hard to get with a lot of vegan cheeses. I used some of the cheddar dip and popped it in the micro for about 30 seconds and I had the most wonderful melty spread. Pour it over some noodles and voila! Delicious mac and cheese. I love the fact that this product is so versatile. I decided to test it out in different ways:

Vegan Cheesy Sweet Potato Soup with Ancho Chilies and a Fire Roasted Corn Salsa

Soup:

1 large sweet potato (small dice)

1 large carrot (small dice)

3 dried chili peppers

4 c. water

1 ancho chili

1 tsp. of adobo sauce

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp fresh pepper

3 large Tbsp. We Can’t Say its Cheese Cheddar Cheese Spread

1/2 lime

Salsa:

1 ear corn

1/4 onion (small dice)

1/2 large red pepper

1/2 lime

cilantro

salt

Toppings:

crushed blue corn tortilla chips

Directions:

For the soup Boil about 2 cups of the water with the diced sweet potato and carrots. Add in the 3 dried chili peppers and simmer until the potatoes and carrots are fork tender. Remove and toss dried chilies. Drain and toss into the food processor and blend. Add puree back into pan and add remaining 2 cups of water. Add in seasonings, bouillon cube. Finely chop your ancho chili and add that to the soup. If you like it spicy add in about 1 tsp of the adobo sauce. Simmer for about 20 minutes or so uncovered. Soup will seem a bit thin but this is ok as it thickens once you add in the cheese. Right before serving, add in the cheese and squeeze of lime, whisk and heat for about 5-6 more minutes. Soup is finished!

Salsa:

For the salsa fire up your grill and sear the corn and red pepper. While that is cooking, dice up your onion and add to a small bowl. Once pepper and corn are charred remove from heat. Take the charred skin off the pepper and small dice. Add to onions. Take the corn off the cob and add this to the bowl as well. Season with salt, juice from 1/2 of lime and cilantro.

Assembly:

Spoon soup into bowls. Place about 2 heaping tablespoons of salsa an the middle. Top with crushed corn chips and enjoy!

 

Next up some potato skins! No real recipe here. I mainly just filled some wonderful purple potatoes that I found at the market and stuffed them with caramelized onions. Then I made a quick salsa and had a side of the cheddar style dip to dip the potatoes in. Easy and great!

Next up I whipped up some ultimate comfort. A very easy and mighty cheesy cauliflower gratin.

 

Vegan Cauliflower Gratin

 

1 head of cauliflower

4 Tbsp. Earth balance butter

4 Tbsp. Whole wheat flour

2 c. soymilk (or other nut milk)

6 big Tbsp. Hickory Smoked Cheddar Cheese

3 green onions, fine dice

1 tsp garlic

1/4 c. panko bread crumbs

sea salt and pepper

 

Preheat oven to 350. Chop cauliflower into small florets. Put into boiling water and boil cauliflower until al dente. (soft but not mush, still has some crunch) Strain cauliflower into colander and place into greased baking pan. Using a medium skillet heat butter until melted. Whisk in flour making a roux. Stream in milk and keep whisking until it boils. It should now be a thick consistency. Add in cheese and whisk until all combined. Remove from heat and add in green onions and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the cauliflower. Top with panko crumbs and garlic. Sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste. Pop into oven and bake 20 minutes. (or until nice and bubbly)

Note: if you like your gratin super cheesy just double the recipe.

 

Overall I would definitely buy this product again. I think its healthy alternative to cheese and it offers a lot of possibilities. It offers a good taste on its own but also pairs up well with other products and heats nicely.