Vegan Cheese Club Meeting #2

So, I've been thinking about the direction in which this blog is going, and I think it's time to come to terms with this: I am basically a Vegan Cheese Blogger.

Yes, I eat tons of salads and vegetables and tofu scrambles every day...but so does everybody else, and I don't suppose you particularly need to see pictures of mine. And don't get me wrong! I believe that everyone should absolutely be mostly eating nature's glorious bounty (and I'll definitely post more about it during the summer when the veggie garden is producing)...but for now, consider Stuck In Your Beard to be your one-stop source for all of your Vegan Cheese Fantasy needs.

That said, our Vegan Cheese Club has had two more meetings in the past two weeks, making that a total of 3 meetings thus far. Livin' the dream!

We ordered more Miyoko's, and it was every bit as wonderful as the first time. And this time we cooked with it! (If you missed my first set of reviews of Miyoko's Vegan Cheeses and would like more info, you can find that here!)

First order of business was Smoked Farmhouse Baked Mac&Cheese. Can you hear the angels singing?!

And before you go thinking that I'm a fancy lady, we made the crust on top with these mixed with a little oil and salt:

All I did was melt one wheel of the Smoked Farmhouse down with some unsweetened almond milk. Just enough to make it saucy, and cut the EXTREME richness of the cheese. It was absolutely delicious.

BUT. That wasn't even the main event. The star of the evening was Chris' Chili Cheese Dogs! Chris, my partner, is our resident chili master. (I am a lucky lady)

He makes his own chili powder (this time with 3 kinds of dried chilies [chipotle, guajillo, ancho], cumin, and Mexican oregano---all hand ground, not powdered) and that makes a world of difference between okay and GREAT chili. The rest of the ingredients were pretty standard: kidney and pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, and Beyond Meat Beefy Crumbles.

Bubbling Chili Action Shot:

The hotdogs we used are the only vegan dogs I will ever buy, because they are above and beyond the BEST: Field Roast Frankfurters! And these aren't the floppy, pink, wimpy veggie dogs of the past---they're substantial and juicy and flavorful. I highly recommend them.

And here's the exciting part: Miyoko's Farmhouse Cheese is shreddable! I used a regular box grater, and achieved this:

VERY EXCITING. And now for the results! Here is my personal chili dog. It had diced onion and jalapeno, mustard, chili, cheese, and cilantro:

I had actually never had a chili dog before being vegan. I didn't even think I was interested in them! But when I met Chris about three years ago, he totally converted me. I AM A BELIEVER. This whole time we had been using Daiya, but now that Miyoko's exists....NEVER AGAIN. (Sorry, Daiya, I appreciate all you've done for me, but I'm just not that into you.)

And for a chili dog that's way better than mine, I give you Elizabeth's:

Yes, you are seeing that correctly. That is indeed mac & cheese ON a chili dog. We thank you, Elizabeth, for expanding our horizons.

And (yes, another AND) on top of all of that, while we were cooking everything, we snacked on a variety of Miyoko's we'd never tried before: the Double Cream Sundried Tomato Garlic. 

In my opinion, it is the best of the soft, flavored cheeses she makes. It is super creamy, with both the tartness and rich umami flavors that the sundried tomatoes bring. So good. We also had some Kite Hill's Cream Cheese, which was okay, but still had some of that weird plasticky aftertaste that Tofutti has. I'd still like to try their other cheeses, but this is the only of their products sold in our area so far.

As you can see in the picture, we also had dessert. Cupcakes from Red Velvet Cupcakery in Reston---the Black Velvet and White Velvet options you will see on their menu. They were so good that I am just now realizing that they were gluten free! I had no idea. We also had Eat Pastry's Peanut Butter Cookie Dough (which incidentally has the COOLEST website of all time) but we didn't eat any that night. Too much food! 

This all happened last week, but I think I was still too full to even write about it. And then we went and had Meeting #3 last night. I will report on that very soon! Thanks for reading, and best wishes for all of your vegan cheese endeavors.