Terrapin Ridge Farms was kind enough to send me a generous sampling of their vegan products; it took me some time to figure out the best way to compare them equitably.
Terrapin Ridge Farms is not a vegan company, but they carry many vegan products: all of which are clearly marked "vegan."
I decided that since they were all intended for marinade and/or cooking, I'd use them each in an identical preparation and have a one-plate showdown. I let equal pieces of tofu marinate for the same amount of time.
Then, I placed them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
For the record, I took great care to keep the tofu and bottles in the same order as their corresponding tofu slices so that I'd remember which was which. I didn't want to resort to signage, because that would have been crazy.
I baked the tofu for 50 minutes at 350 degrees, flipping once.
While the tofu was baking, I prepared sauteed kale with each of the marinades: separately. Once the tofu was finished, I served it atop its coordinating kale with brown rice.
Everything smelled so delicious; even 89 couldn't resist.
I started with the toasted sesame and ginger vinaigrette because I don't love ginger and I didn't expect to like it. To my surprise, it was extremely pleasant and subtle as a tofu marinade, but a bit too strong overall on the sauteed kale.
The garlic & herb vinaigrette was also light, albeit boasting a little more punctuated flavor than the sesame ginger; it too was surprisingly strong on the kale.
I'd been looking forward to the dijon mustard vinaigrette the most, becausesometimes often I'm lazy and don't feel like making my own. It was rather plain on the tofu, but extremely pleasant on the sauteed kale.
Finally, the roasted pineapple habanero sauce was YUM. Seriously, that's what my notes said (yes; I take notes). It was sweet with a hint of spiciness (do be aware that I have a high tolerance for heat) and just great on everything: definitely my favorite of the four.
The taste test was an overall success, but I had a lot of sauce left I wasn't done yet.
I couldn't resist making a raw kale salad with the dijon mustard vinaigrette. Surprisingly, I didn't love it. And I generally love dijon kale.
However, as a dip for raw veggies it was terrific.
So then I was planning on trying all of the other flavors as dips (after all, they were all marked "dipping sauce"), but when I found myself with an overload of quinoa I decided to toss some, warmed, with each of the three remaining flavors. Really great!
I knew I was onto something, so my final masterpiece was a bowl of warm roasted veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, and fennel), baked tofu, and quinoa over fresh arugula, tossed with Terrapin Ridge Farms dressing. I started with my favorite flavor, the roasted pineapple habanero sauce, but took a turn with all of them to equally fantastic result. I even served some to family who not only loved it, but praised my "cooking." When you don't have time to marinate or make your own sauces, Terrapin Ridge Farms will not only satisfy, but impress.
I highly recommend these sauces, but I do have one curiosity about the Terrapin Ridge Farms products: although they're clearly marked "vegan" (thank you!), the suggestions for use that are listed on both the website and the bottles are mostly non-vegan. I realize that this issue isn't singular to Terrapin Ridge Farms, but it's piqued my curiosity.
In contrast, I'm finding that some other companies' vegan products are actively being marketed as "allergen-friendly," "plant-based," or some other confusing euphemism- particularly given that these companies usually have a solely vegan line of products.
Since there is definitely purposeful distancing going on, I really appreciate that Terrapin Ridge Farms is clear with their labeling. Vegans may be a built-in consumer, but I've walked by many products because I wasn't familiar with them as being vegan and didn't expect them to be; one little V goes a very long way.
Terrapin Ridge Farms is not a vegan company, but they carry many vegan products: all of which are clearly marked "vegan."
I decided that since they were all intended for marinade and/or cooking, I'd use them each in an identical preparation and have a one-plate showdown. I let equal pieces of tofu marinate for the same amount of time.
Then, I placed them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
For the record, I took great care to keep the tofu and bottles in the same order as their corresponding tofu slices so that I'd remember which was which. I didn't want to resort to signage, because that would have been crazy.
I baked the tofu for 50 minutes at 350 degrees, flipping once.
While the tofu was baking, I prepared sauteed kale with each of the marinades: separately. Once the tofu was finished, I served it atop its coordinating kale with brown rice.
Everything smelled so delicious; even 89 couldn't resist.
I started with the toasted sesame and ginger vinaigrette because I don't love ginger and I didn't expect to like it. To my surprise, it was extremely pleasant and subtle as a tofu marinade, but a bit too strong overall on the sauteed kale.
The garlic & herb vinaigrette was also light, albeit boasting a little more punctuated flavor than the sesame ginger; it too was surprisingly strong on the kale.
I'd been looking forward to the dijon mustard vinaigrette the most, because
Finally, the roasted pineapple habanero sauce was YUM. Seriously, that's what my notes said (yes; I take notes). It was sweet with a hint of spiciness (do be aware that I have a high tolerance for heat) and just great on everything: definitely my favorite of the four.
I couldn't resist making a raw kale salad with the dijon mustard vinaigrette. Surprisingly, I didn't love it. And I generally love dijon kale.
 |
| pre-massage |
However, as a dip for raw veggies it was terrific.
So then I was planning on trying all of the other flavors as dips (after all, they were all marked "dipping sauce"), but when I found myself with an overload of quinoa I decided to toss some, warmed, with each of the three remaining flavors. Really great!
In contrast, I'm finding that some other companies' vegan products are actively being marketed as "allergen-friendly," "plant-based," or some other confusing euphemism- particularly given that these companies usually have a solely vegan line of products.
Since there is definitely purposeful distancing going on, I really appreciate that Terrapin Ridge Farms is clear with their labeling. Vegans may be a built-in consumer, but I've walked by many products because I wasn't familiar with them as being vegan and didn't expect them to be; one little V goes a very long way.
