Sonoma Chick'n Salad

I never really cared for chicken salad prior to being vegan as I did not like mayonnaise. As such, I decided to spruce things up a bit with a vegan Sonoma chick'n salad. This is really easy and quick to make. Perfect for a summer picnic.

Sonoma Chick'n Salad

 * Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: 10 minutes
* Ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz.) bag chick'n strips*
• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise*
• 1/2 cup seedless red grapes, sliced in half
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 tsp agave nectar
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Recipe:

1. Fry the chick'n strips over medium heat until cooked, about 10 minutes. Chop them up into bite size pieces.
2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients then add the chick'n. Mix well and serve.

* Note: For vegan chick'n strips, I used MorningStar Farms Meal Starters Chick'n Strips. For vegan mayonnaise, I used Vegenaise with grapeseed oil. 

Product Review: Sophie's Kitchen Vegan Seafood + Sauce Recipes

Hidden within the vegetarian section of the freezer aisle of my local health food store, I found Sophie's Kitchen mock seafood. I was surprised by the fact that they make vegan calamari and fish fillets, but also that it was randomly at this health food store! You can't blame me for being skeptical. But, I thought I would give this stuff a shot, if not just to purely say I've tried vegan calamari. I'm pretty open to crazy veg food, but there are some things that should be left not re-made cruelty-free (like vegan haggis [if you don't know what haggis is, please Google it] or mutton, anyone?). Once upon a time, I made a retro vegan salmon mousse mold. To the horror of everyone, it... turned out a lot like salmon mousse mold. Scary recipe best used for Halloween gags. 

Now, I know Sophie's Kitchen is a legit brand, so I had some hope. The calamari was really impressive mostly because it had the same chewy consistency of real calamari. Weird. I hated the real thing prior to being vegan, so it doesn't surprise me that I did not like it at all. But, if you liked calamari before, this is definitely worth trying. I sort of thought it might be like an onion ring, but nope, very chewy. The fish fillets were quite a bit better. It was flakey and would have been good to make a sandwich out of. I made various sauces for each, so below are the recipes. For the mock seafood, just follow box instructions to cook.

For the calamari, I made an aioli and a remoulade. For the fish fillets, I made a lemon dill tartar sauce. These all came out great. I would recommend on something other than mock seafood, though. The tartar sauce would be good for mock crabcakes (with tofu or otherwise), the aioli would be good with a veggie burger, and the remoulade good with fried green tomatoes.


Aioli

* Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
* Cook Time: n/a
* Ingredient:

• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise*
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp garlic, minced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp olive oil

* Recipe:

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.

* Note: For vegan mayonnaise, I used Earth Balance olive oil based brand.


Remoulade

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: n/a
* Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup spicy mustard
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/8 tsp white pepper
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt, to taste
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup celery, minced
• 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tbsp white onion, diced
• 1/2 tbsp green onion, minced
• 1 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp capers

* Recipe:

1. Combine all ingredients well.

Lemon Dill Tartar Sauce

* Prep Time: 10 minutes
* Cook Time: n/a
* Ingredients:

• 1 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp dill pickle relish
• 1 tbsp white onion, minced
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp capers
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

* Recipe:

1. Combine all ingredients. Mix well. 

Happy sauce making!

Product Review: Earth Balance Original Mayo

Earth Balance released their new vegan mayonnaise lines recently. The company is mostly popular for their array of vegan butters. With other products such as Vegenaise and Nayonaise out there, it didn't surprise me that the company wanted to add more products. Personally, I hate Nayonaise. It has an awful aftertaste. I refuse to use it unless I can mask the taste of it somehow (then what is the point of really using that brand, right?). So, for many years now, I have sworn by Vegenaise.

To keep pledging my allegiance to Vegenaise or to branch out and try a new vegan mayonnaise? Well, I can't resist new vegan products. I'm like a very excited child when I get to the grocery store and I find a company has released something new.

Nutritionally speaking, Vegenaise and Earth Balance match up. For one serving, 14 oz., each is 90 calories. The total fat is also the same. Earth Balance does have a little less sodium, 70 mg versus Vegenaise's 85 mg. The only real difference in the ingredients is that Earth Balance uses "pea protein" while Vegenaise uses "non-GMO soy protein".

Overall, I found out that I enjoyed Earth Balance's original mayonnaise very much. Even better that Vegenaise (shock and horrors!). It has a tangy taste (which I prefer - I have a very sour taste palate). I think this would be great for dressings like making homemade ranch or caesar dressing. If you want a more plain taste of "mayonnaise", I would still go for Vegenaise. I haven't tried the Earth Balance on a sandwich or bread yet, but some people may not care for the tangy taste it holds. I give the Earth Balance mayo a 4.5/5 stars! I leave off half a point just in case someone doesn't care for the tang.