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Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Vegan MoFo 2014 Day 17: New Product Review (Luke's Crackers) a FANTASTIC recipe and…. apparently I'm angry again

Scroll down for video, and recipe.

Ut oh… it happened again. I got angry. My lovely black wig must be jinxed. Last time I wore this hair on MoFo was the day Annie's Homegrown announced it was acquired by General Mills. Today? White Wave gobbled up So Delicious Dairy Free. All I could do when I heard the news was cry "nooooooooooooo!"

Sadly, it's all true. Here we did purchase some products of the So Delicious line, a few were for use at the inn, and a few were for my personal consumption (how will my life move forward without So Delicious french vanilla coffee creamer?!!! HOW???????)

Does this mean that the Purely Decadent line is next in the cross hairs? Does this mean I'll never again allow myself the luxury of Purely Decadent's pomegranate chip non-dairy ice cream? That stuff is my Kryptonite…. absolutely my most favorite ice cream EVER. EVER EVER EVER! So…. will that be on the chopping block too? Time will tell.

I am hopping mad (hopping?) over this, really saddened that my choices dwindled again, really getting scared about how many BIG companies are gobbling up these small(ish) companies. I'm not against progress! I'm all for companies doing well, for employees furthering their careers and blah blah. However…. White Wave threw massive amounts of money against Prop 37 in California. Obviously White Wave has a hardcore stance that labeling GMOs should not happen. So…. if I buy So Delicious, technically my very hard earned money is going directly to fund a campaign I'm so desperate to fight against. Which equals the obvious conclusion that here, we must also dump the So Delicious line.

Parent's cover the kiddies eyes…. my shirt drops the "f" bomb (thanks Compassion Company, 2 thumbs up on this shirt, perfect for my angry hair!)

Buh-Bye So Delicious.

On the up side of things, while we were at Food for Thought, Ellin suggested I try a new line of crackers she's now carrying, by a company called "Luke's" This company is made in the USA, non-GMO, organic, vegan, soy free, dairy free, nut free, gluten free. Hm…. ok, I'm in.

While I was surfing the net, somehow I came across an onion dip recipe from Hannah Kaminsky (oh Hannah, you don't even know how much I adore you…) who has a blog (bittersweetblog.com) and also has authored several vegan sweets books (I have none of her books…. the horror, the shame, how is this possible?!!)  Her recipe for caramelized vegan onion dip is absolute perfection. DO NOT CHANGE A THING! The dip has a mellow flavor, and rich depth, that I really love. The crackers? Delicious! I'm actually surprised how much I really like them. I'm not one to grab many processed foods, however these seem to be a pretty good choice is a sea of very bad choices. The sodium content is actually manageable, and even the carbs (I'm not anti-carb! I merely mention this for those who look at carbs with concerns for their sugars…) aren't bad for a boxed food. As I said, these are gluten free, organic & vegan. They are small crisps… actually flips would be a better description. As for the flavor (I tried the garden vegetable variety) they remind me of a cracker my mother was mad for when I was growing up call "Sociables." Anyone else remember them? No idea if they even exist anymore, and if they did I wouldn't buy them as I'm sure they're made by some evil GMO food company. These Luke's crackers are really good, and definitely something I will pick up and have on hand when company is expected. And you can bet your a** I'll be serving them with some of Hannah's caramelized onion dip. Her recipe is an absolute keeper… going into my personal "go to" collection. I also think this recipe would be fantastic as a spread on sandwiches with some shredded veggies and lettuce, or stuffed in a pita pocket with your choice of veggies as well (plus kalamata olives anyone?!!!)

Here's the video. Enjoy. Recipe below.


Caramelized Onion Dip
Courtesy of Hannah Kaminsky
www.bittersweetblog.com

3 medium onions, diced
3T vegan butter of choice
1T canola (I used olive, this was the ONLY modification I made)
1/4 tsp cayenne
1tsp sea salt
black pepper to taste (I used just a pinch)
1 box ORGANIC Mori-Nu silken tofu
1tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup nutritional yeast

Preheat a large skillet on low heat, melt the vegan butter, add the olive oil, and then add the onions, toss to coat. Keep heat low, continue to cook, gently 40-45 minute (mine were ready in exactly 44 minutes!), stirring occasionally. Incorporate the spices and salt when caramelized, cook gently another 10 minutes or so until amber brown/nicely caramelized (take your time, this is the key step to this recipe!)

Allow onions to cool.

Drag out your big ol' food processor…. puree the tofu completely, NO LUMPS, scrape down as needed. Blend in the mustard, garlic powder and nutritional yeast.

Finally, add the caramelized onions, pulse to combine, don't over do things, you want to have some texture with nice chunks of onion.

Transfer to container. Best to allow to set in the fridge overnight for the flavor to fully develop, but it's delicious straight from the food processor.

Serve at room temperature.

This is a GREAT recipe!

See ya next time!

xo

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