Mandy's Pizza and More...or Less

So BFF, You know how people used to go crazy when a Krispy Kreme would open in their neighborhood and they'd get all worked up & stand in line for an hour? Well, this is the same excitement that comes over a vegan when they discover and pizza place with vegan pizza...that delivers! They will bring it right to my house! Can you even believe it???? I recently found out that Mandy's Pizza and More has gluten free and allergen free pizza & hoagies. Their menu even says suitable for vegan lifestyle! Hooray!!!! So hubs and I ordered a pizza and a "hoagie" and here's where it went down hill...

They have a sign outside of their shop that says they offer gluten and allergen free pizza and HOAGIES. But when I tried to order the hoagie, I was told it was more of a flatbread sandwich using the same crust as for the pizza. And I was hoping for a regular crust pizza with the vegan cheese, but apparently the regular crust is not vegan. Okay fine, we'll try it. When he gave the the total over the phone I almost fell over...$35 for 1 pizza and 1 sandwich! And when I took a look at the pizza I almost fell over again...it was only a 4 slice pizza!!!!!!

Flatbread sandwich...looks pretty...tastes not so much.

Other disappointments: the menu describes the mushrooms as "fresh"...which is a total lie as they are either from a can or jar (yuck!!!!). They also boast a "secret" dairy alternative cheese, which is Daiya. Or identical in flavor and consistency. The crust was not good at all. And the sandwich was disgusting...it just tasted like crappy pizza dough and banana peppers. Totally not worth the outrageous prices...You can spend just as much at Pizza Fusion & get a large organic vegan pizza that is gourmet! But for us, we'll just stick to our good old stand-by. Spak Brothers in Garfield. You can get a large (8 cut) pizza with all the same toppings as Mandy's for under $15! And it is delicious! They also offer true vegan hoagies on real bread, like the Seitan Cheese "Steak" or the Seitan Pittsburgh "Steak". Even add a side of Seitan wings with vegan buffalo sauce.  They may not deliver, but it's well work the drive.

People with gluten allergies may be used to eating crusts that taste like cardboard, but vegans are not! If Trader Joe's can make a delicious vegan pizza dough and sell it for 99 cents, I think Mandy's can do better. But their focus is on allergen free, and I definitely think there is a need for this...especially for all those GFCF kids out there. But there has to be a way to make this more affordable? Sorry if I sound a little harsh, but this vegan is disappointed. But on the bright side...Sesame Inn will still bring Chinese food right to my door!

Till next time BFF...I'll be sharing with you what I've been up to since dropping out of the challenge!

And....I'm out.

After much consideration, I have decided (along with hubs) to withdraw from the La Dolce Vegan Challenge sponsored by The Vegan Culinary Institute. I've come to this decision mainly because of the amount of money I am spending on food that I would never normally buy (frozen peaches, cherries, raspberries, etc.) and also because of the amount of sugar I am consuming. Hubs and I rarely eat dessert (special occasions) and making a dessert every three days is really changing the way my clothes fit me. I have been giving away the desserts, but I cannot continue (financially) to feed all my neighbors. There also seems to be a changing of the guard as far as who is running the challenge, so now seems like a good time to bow out.

To Sarah, thank you for your wonderful cookbooks. I just adore them & cook with them all the time!

To The Vegan Culinary Institute, what a wonderful idea & thank you for hosting and inspiring!

To the other contestants, good luck & I'll still be following along!

To you dear BFF, I will continue to blog about my adventures in vegan cooking, I promise! The blog must go on!

Gawd, I'm so dramatic!

Days 10, 13, 16, and 42 & a minor kitchen fire...

Just a reminder that I am involved in The La Dolce Vegan cooking challenge sponsored by The Vegan Culinary Institute, wherein we cook our way through La Dolce Vegan cookbook by Sarah Kramer & blog about our experiences.

I had a bit of a catch up day yesterday...all desserts! I have an event tomorrow where I'm in charge of desserts, so I saved a bunch for then & also skipped ahead so I'd have enough to share. Here we go:

Day 10 ~ Espresso Cake (247) with Chocolate Glaze (260). First of all, I don't have an espresso maker, so I went up to my local coffee shop for the espresso, thanks Coffee Buddha! I also decided to double the recipe since I need to feed lots of people. The cake recipe was very easy and smelled like heaven! I didn't have a double boiler for the glaze, so I had to fashion one. It was a little messy but did the job. I didn't get to try the finished product yet, but can't wait to!

Day 13 ~ Stephanie's Asteroids aka Sugar Bombs aka Crack aka Instant Cavity (page 209). In my baking frenzy yesterday, I forgot to make these. So I whipped them up this morning before breakfast! Quick and easy. I screwed up by putting the sugar (a reduced 2/3 cup) into the dry mixture, so I ended up putting the remaining 1/3 cup on the stove with the peanut butter and soy milk. It turned out fine & actually made them look a little sparkly:). But so much for trying to watch the sugar intake. My advice before rolling this sticky little nuggets of goo in your hands is to wet your hands with cold water...makes life much easier. And holy sugar!!!! Be so careful giving these to your kids...they may not sleep for days! These are like a non-drug drug...I'm still buzzing! Yum!

Day 16 ~ Cherry Cobbler (page 230). Okay so I hate cherry pie, cherry cobbler, or anything to do with cooked cherries. I only like them fresh. But I actually didn't mind this recipe so much. I loved the little "biscuits" that made up the cobbler part. This literally makes exactly 4 servings...Sarah Kramer is a genius for coming up with this idea. (Though it did sabotage my plan to feed 30 people with it. What was I thinking??) Love it...2 thumbs up. Next time I might try it with strawberries or blueberries.

Day 42 ~ Cranberry Apple Crisp (page 234). This is my skip ahead recipe, since the cobbler couldn't feed more than 4 people. I doubled this recipe as well for the number of people I want to serve and also didn't get to try it just yet. I didn't have enough cranberries for the doubled recipe, so I used blueberries. It was 2 cups cranberries and 1 cup blueberries. Looks delicious & smells fantastic! Just like fall. The hardest part was chopping the apples. But if you have an apple peeler-corer-slicer, it's a breeze. Whoever invented this thing is a stinking genius! It is perfect for making apple pies. If you don't own the stand, you may want to think about getting it, as this doesn't clamp on my kitchen counter tops. You know another thing I love from Pampered Chef? These measuring spoons. Another genius invention and space saver. And for $8, you are going to save yourself a world of hassle. No I do not sell Pampered chef, I am just in love with these two purchases! Anywho...check out the Crisp:

And now on to my final order of blogging...the kitchen fire. As all my lovely desserts were cooling on trivets on the stovetop, I decided to rest and make myself a cup of tea. I put the teapot on the stove, turned it on, and walked away. Within about 10 minutes the house was filled with smoke. I turned on a burner under one of my cooking desserts & set the wooden trivet on fire...and I mean real flames! This is not the first time I have done this & it's one of the reasons I really miss my gas stove. This is, however, the first time there have been actual flames. But I learned something...my smoke detectors don't work so great! I got the smoke cleared, but my house definitely smells like a campfire. Ah well...what an adventure!

Lying on the floor where I tossed it after smothering the flames. *sigh*

Mmmmmmm Noodle Soup...

Day ~ 15 Soba Noodle Miso Soup page 103

So, BFF, I love Miso soup & I love noodle soup & I love Bok Choy...so I was very excited about this recipe....and it did not disappoint! the flavor was wonderful & I loved the addition of the Nori. I have my own Gamashio recipe (from my yoga mentor) that I love and swear by and use on EVERYTHING! But in the spirit of challenge and because I'm trying to incorporate more sea veggies in my diet, I tried Sarah's recipe. And of course I loved it because she is a genius! It was wonderful on top of my noodle soup, I mean soup, I mean noodle soup, damn! I think I may have added too many noodles to this soup, but I really didn't mind. It reminds me of Joey on Friends:

Asteroids, Migraines, and Day 14...

So, BFF, first of all...Day 13 ~ Stephanie's Asteroids (no-bake cookies) are gonna have to wait until Thursday or Friday. But I did make Day 14 ~ Cool Cucumber Salad (pg 83) and Creamy Soygurt Dressing (pg 94). So easy and so stinking delicious! I had this along side the Cumin Rice (really growin' on me!) topped with some Sriracha! I love the hot and cool flavors! I ate so much of this for dinner...at first I had them neatly separated on the plate, but by the end it was all mushed together and delicious. Very glad there was nobody here to witness the spectacle of me eating. Eesh.

Now on to the Migraine issue. So, I'm a migraine sufferer. Usually it's hormone related & usually it doesn't hurt. I just get some tingling in the right side of my face & that's how I know it's happening. But once or twice a year, I get that really really painful and terrible one. Today was that day. I had pain, tingling, sensitivity to light and sound, and nausea. It was awful. And to top it off...it was my first day of teaching yoga at a new place. So I decided to try some home remedies. 1st I drank a cup of warm water with 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar. Then I soaked a hand towel in water & put it in the freezer for about 10 minutes & then on my head and eyes. I took this little rest for about 1/2 hour. Then I made my go-to-fixer-upper, hot water with 7-8 thin slices of fresh ginger (a recipe from my yoga mentor). My ginger "tea"...I use this for everything...headaches, allergies, sinus issues, fatigue, tummy problems...you name it. Anywho...After all these remedies, I actually felt better. Not 100%, but definitely functional. I thought I should share this with you, BFF, in case you ever need it (& I hope you never do).

Follow up on the Cumin Spiced Rice...

Well BFF, I'm the kind of person who can admit when she's wrong, and I was wrong about this rice. Today I took the rice & fried it up in a pan & served with stir fried baby bok choy & it was very good! I think maybe it needs to be paired with something else? Anywho...sorry Sarah & Cumin Fried Rice...I dig you both very much:)

**I cooked the bok choy in the wok with some dark sesame oil, garlic, fresh ginger, and at the end a tiny splash soy sauce. yum!

Day 12 ~ Cumin Spiced Brown Rice page 190

So I love cumin and I love rice, but did not love this dish so much. It was a little bland...maybe I need to add salt? I used veggie broth, but couldn't really taste it in the end. And it was also a little oily. Not sure I'll make it again...I also hate waiting for rice to cook (40-45 minutes). I thought of maybe doing this in my rice cooker, but I don't have any experience doing full dishes like this in there...Hmmmmmm...I might have to experiment.