Mother's Day Win

On the Friday before Mother's Day weekend was about to begin, I received a phone call from my dad, "Prickly pear ice cream: yes or no?  Tell me quick; we're on line."  Where else?  Vegan Treats.

 

I countered, "Tell mom to try it," but then I heard her respond from the background with an unequivocal, "No."  The difference between she and I is that although neither of us was familiar with prickly pear, I knew what another master purveyor of ice cream has taught me: that such things are just a $4 gamble.  So, I confidently responded, "twist...with sprinkles."  An hour+ later, this showed up at my door and it was divine.  Fresh and summery: a subtle and pleasant berry mixed with Tahitian vanilla bean with rainbow sprinkles; I now not only know what prickly pear is, but I like it.

But that wasn't all they got.  For "breakfast" on the following day, I was invited over for donuts galore.  Banana cream pie, cannoli cream-filled fasnacht, raspberry jelly, Boston Creme, and glazed chocolate with sprinkles.

Also, a linzer-tart!!!  So soft and authentic I almost ate the whole thing myself and it was the size of my head.

And then it was Mother's Day.  Here's 89 checking out VM's gift.

Even thought the balloon lit up (that's the red dot at the top which you can't tell is blinking), she was unimpressed.

Not having anticipated the previous days' sweets, I'd already planned to make samoa fronch toast, inspired by this recipe from Vegan Richa- subbing French toast because VM prefers it to pancakes.  Behold the breakfast samoa: PPK Fronch toast, home-toasted coconut, chocolate chips, and salted caramel sauce from Sweet Ritual (more on that later) via Rabbit Food Grocery.

Oh yeah, and whipped cream.

Up close and personal.

And, of course, the stalker.

After brunch I went to my parents' house for the day and, after dinner, VM pulled out even more Vegan Treats.  For starters, there was this amazing flower pot cake.

Amongst its (non-edible) contemporaries:

Inside was a chocolate layer cake with oreo cream to compliment the cookie crumb "dirt" on top. 

Then, a berry marscapone tart with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

I don't really like fruity desserts, but I was a big fan of marscapone cheesecake before I was vegan, so I had to try it.  Not only was it dreamily creamy and light, but who can be mad at such perfect berries (and is this what produce is like in Pennsylvania?)?

Eventually I rolled myself home to lay like a sloth with this gal...

who, for the record, really liked the prickly pear ice cream as well.

Hoping everyone else enjoyed their Mom's day.

I'm glad mine did!

Food For Life Exotic Black Rice Tortillas

Food for Life recently sent me some of their new, gluten-free, exotic black rice tortillas to sample.  While I'm not gluten-free, I can appreciate that wraps are a terrific meal option that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy.

 

From Food for Life:

"Tortillas are one of the most versatile tools in our gluten-free or vegetarian tool box, and new to the “wrap” party is Food for Life’s 100% gluten-free and vegan Black Rice Tortillas.

Totally free of conditioners, additives, artificial flavors, colors and preservatives, Food for Life’s Black Rice Tortillas are loaded with vitamins, minerals, natural fiber and antioxidants, and contain 4g of protein, 2g of fiber and 0g sugar. So, feel like Mexican cuisine, a deli sandwich wrap, or a pig in a blanket minus the bun? No problem, there’s a new way to wrap it up J. Visit www.foodforlife.com for more info or find the brand on Facebook."

I was really excited to be in receipt of the sizable, appealing tortillas and my mind went immediately to Mexican food.

But then this enticing Vegan Richa recipe appeared in my feed for sweet and sour lentils and the inaugural tortilla filling was confirmed.

I'd received the following information about preparing the tortillas:

"Please note that the tortillas are frozen when shipped, however they will likely thaw in transport; this is okay. We recommend freezing them upon delivery. (Shelf life is 5 days at room temp; 3 weeks when refrigerated; and 1 year frozen.)

Food for Life recommends first thawing the tortillas completely to room temp, then placing a moist paper towel over them and heating them for approximately 30 seconds on high in the microwave. This can help restore pliability and produce better results."

I did, indeed, freeze them until I was ready to use them.  Then, per the directions, I thawed them in the refrigerator overnight, allowed them to warm to room temp, then heated them as suggested immediately prior to dinner.  When I removed the tortilla from the microwave and was ready to fill, it didn't really look pliable.  It seemed to quickly become less so even though I hurried to assemble.

I passed on the mango and subbed roasted broccoli, rice, and carmelized onions to go with the sweet and sour lentils. 

 

 But as soon as I touched the tortilla to begin folding, the first tear occured.

Once I actually succeeded in a loose wrap, irreversible damage was done. 

I repeated the heating process with another tortilla and transferred the contents of the first tortilla into the second- at breakneck speed.

haste makes waste

Unfortunately, it still fell apart within seconds and I wound up eating the messy but delicious plateful with a fork, using the almost crisp tortilla pieces as one might utilize naan as an extra utensil when eating Indian food.

I was disappointed, but undeterred.  A friend suggested I may have over-filled.  While that could be true, it didn't seem like the quantity of food being wrapped was the issue.

So, the next night I decided to make quesadillas.  Skipping the paper towel, I poured about a shot glass worth of water directly on the thawed tortilla and let it soak in evenly- moving it around with my fingers.  Once "rehydrated," I microwaved cheddar Daiya on it until melted, about 1 1/2 minutes.

I added cool tomatoes and folded for a huge and very delicious success.  The black rice tortillas have a great taste and texture under these ideal conditions; I was very impressed!

The night after that I decided to try a grilled cheese using two tortillas (I was hungry).  I repeated the tortilla-heating steps of the previous evening (I poured about a shot glass worth of water directly on the thawed tortilla and let it soak in evenly: moving it around with my fingers).  Once "rehydrated," I microwaved cheddar Daiya on the bottom tortilla only until the cheese melted.  I heated the topper tortilla "watered" in the same manner, but without cheese.  The result was mixed: the tortilla with the cheese was extremely appealing and tasty with a pliable texture, while the top tortilla quickly dried and curled: never becoming a cohesive part of the sandwich in any way.

Enjoying these tortillas definitely takes some finesse, but it's worth it when you hit upon the perfect preparation.  So far it seems like the vegan cheese is the secret, but I'm open to suggestions; perhaps there are additional gluten-free handling tips?