One of the first things people ask me when they find out I don't eat dairy is "Don't you miss CHEESE?" And they shout the word cheese like all of a sudden I lost my hearing.
My answer is usually, "No...well, sometimes." But I'm not one to dwell on things like cheese...Or the sad, sad, loss the Vikings suffered to the Saints that would have put them in the Super Bowl...Okay, maybe I dwell a little.
I've tried cheese substitutes that always ended up never being good enough to bring home to mom, so I long ago resigned myself to the fact that I would never again be subject to the cheesy, oozy, stringy goodness that is cheese.
Recently, I heard that Amy's had come out with a gluten free vegan mac and cheeze so I thought I'd give it a try.
For me, preparing frozen foods in the microwave always ends up being rather disappointing, so I prepared the mac and cheeze in the oven and I was glad I did because the rice noodles came out perfect, and the cheeze sauce was creamy and rich with a nice buttery flavor.
I thought about comparing it to the baked mac and cheese that I have been substituting for my mac and cheese fix, but as I thought more about it, it would have been like comparing apples to oranges. Both dishes have their own unique flavors and are equally as delicious in their own way.
I'm one of those people who insists on figuring out what ingredients are in a dish, but I was puzzled. I wondered what she used to make her cheeze sauce so creamy and buttery, so I went straight to the ingredients on the back of the box and that is where I discovered Amy's secret.
Daiya.
I had never heard of Daiya before, and while doing some research I discovered that it was probably because it was primarily used only by restaurants and delis, and not yet available for retail sale. My heart sank a little until I found out that Daiya had created their retail packaging and their product would be in stores no later than April 1st.
I immediately thought about what a horrible April fools joke this could be, but when I went to Whole Foods to check it out, there was Daiya, in the refrigerated section amongst the other (less awesome) cheeze products.
So, I did what any cheese dwelling vegan would do. I gasped, screeched in delight, pushed the poor woman who was standing in front of the tempeh out of my way and cleaned Whole Foods out of Daiya.
Okay, I didn't do any of that. But I did smile and grabbed a bag of "cheddar" and a bag of "mozzarella" and headed home to find a recipe worthy of my first run with Daiya.
Which I did..And it was AWESOME.
Stay tuned for the recipe and more on why Daiya has become my new BFF.
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