Vumami Foods reached out to me asking if I would like to try Umami Bomb: Shitake Chili Oil, a vegan food product. They are a vegan company based here in British Columbia, on the island. I had heard of Umami Bomb and had been wanting to try it, so I accepted.
I requested the medium spicy but she sent me both the medium and the hot. I am so glad she did! I found the medium good but very mild in terms of spice level. The hot, while not overly hot was even better.
If you watch some of the cooking shows on ‘The Food Network” you may have heard of the term umami. It is used to described as a flavor profile however, the cooking shows lead me to believe that you can only experience that flavor by eating meat. Since the term was so new to me I really had no idea.
Umami Bomb is suppose to give vegans that flavor profile experience. Did it deliver? I really don’t know. It certainly is a unique flavor to me but I still don’t understand the term umami, or should I say tasted enough to know for sure. What I can tell you is that Umami Bomb is damn delicious and totally addictive! I went through both jars very fast and need to get more. They now have an extra hot and I defiantly want to try that.
I bet your wondering how I went through two jars so fast. I put it on just about everything. I especially love it on pizza, stir-fry’s, and pasta. It is even good on salad and as a dip with crackers and veggies. Truth be told, I think I could just eat it by the spoonful and be in heaven.
I highly recommend you try Umami Bomb! Just don’t blame me if you become an addict as well!
Most of my readers know that I am a vegan of over 25 years. I turned vegetarian at the age of 10 against my parents wishes. I love to cook and whenever a new vegan cookbook comes out, of course, I want it! Especially if it is a cookbook by Chloe Coscarelli! Chloe did us vegans proud by being the first vegan chef to win a competition on the Food Network!
Book Description:
Popular vegan chef and winner of the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars Chloe Coscarelli digs into her Italian roots to create more than 150 recipes inspired by the most popular cuisine in the world.
If you think a healthy vegan diet means giving up pasta in creamy sauce, cheesy pizza, and luscious tiramisu, think again! Following her hit cookbooks Chloe’s Kitchen and Chloe’s Vegan Desserts, Chef Chloe goes to her family’s homeland to veganize its time-honored delicacies—and add some distinctively delicious twists.
Sumptuous mains like Butternut Ravioli with Brown Sugar and Crispy Sage and Red Wine Seitan on Ciabatta let you show off your kitchen skills, and her inventive pizza creations include Crumbled “Sausage” and “Mozzarella” Pizza as well as Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion, and Apple Pizza. And vegans can once again enjoy comfort favorites with Chloe’s Potato Gnocchi, Lasagna Bolognese, and Eggplant Parmesan. Known for her surprising twists on favorite desserts, Chloe’s got your classics covered with Chocolate-Dipped Almond Biscotti and Italian Wedding Cake, and she turns up the dial with new delights like Mint Chip Gelato Sandwiches, Banana Coffee Cupcakes, and Pomegranate Mint Italian Soda—sure to win over omnivores, vegetarians, and vegans alike. Chloe also includes directions for making her recipes allergy- and gluten-free so that you can feast on all your favorite foods, no matter your diet.
With fresh vegan takes on classic Italian cuisine illustrated by gorgeous full-color photographs throughout, and her bright and lively personality on every page, Chloe takes you on a delectable trip to Italy—one you’ll want to go on again and again! Buon appetito!
My Thoughts:
I have tried several recipes in the book and have taken photos of how they turned out for me. Please note, I am a good cook but not a professional chef. I am much slower in the kitchen then professionals and my presentation could definitely use some work. The following photos are just to give you an idea of how some of the recipes turned out. The book itself has a lot of beautiful photos of many of the recipes within.
Since Bill and I are both over 50, our metabolisms have slowed down, luckily our appetites have slowed down as well. We will always be vegan foodies but it doesn’t take as much to fill us up. In fact, when we go out to eat, most of the time we share an entrée. By contrast, in our younger years we called ourselves “vegan vacuums”. LOL! So, soup and salad makes a nice winter meal for us.
The following are the soup recipes I made:
Spicy Tomato Soup (With Croutons)
I love tomato soup and this recipe is my new favourite! It was very easy to prepare and along with a basic salad, made a nice lighter meal for Bill and I. It is also a very inexpensive soup to make for those on a budget and it sure beats the leading name brand of canned tomato soup, by a mile!
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Here’s another soup that clearly beat out canned soup. Actually, I won’t eat canned soup. Soup is one of the easiest things to cook and is so much better home made! Okay, so I know the picture doesn’t do it justice but beleive me when I say it was divine!
Pumpkin Soup with Crispy Brussels Sprout Leaves
This time of year is perfect for squash soups! When Bill and I first started dating, he told me he loved pumpkin but hated Brussels sprouts. Well, it turned out that he had only had the frozen over cooked variety. LOL! When they are fresh and roasted, he agrees, they are delicious. This soup recipe is another keeper.
I also made the Cauliflower Soup With Pesto and Shells, except I didn’t make the pesto. It’s hard to get nice looking fresh basil this time of year and it was not in good shape at the store. We both loved this soup as well.
So, Bill and I give all 4 of the soups that I mae from this cookbook a 5 out of 5!
Now for the Pastas’ of which I made two.
Mama’s Spaghetti and Meatballs
First I made the ‘Mama’s Spaghetti and Meatballs. I have to say that the meatballs were a bit difficult to get right. I followed the directions exactly but they turned out mushy on the inside. I had leftovers that I hadn’t cooked, so the next time I made them, the “batter” had been refrigerated. After I fried them, I put them in an oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes and they turned out much better.
The pasta sauce is from a jar which she has you doctor up a bit. Overall, this was a good dish and I would make it again.
Pasta Alla Norma with Ricotta
This pasta was delicious! I am glad I could find some fresh enough basil to make the Ricotta because it really made our taste buds pop! Bill is the salad maker in our house and I just served it with his salad.
Creamy Polenta with Roasted Vegetable Ragu’
Another nice winter dish we enjoy is polenta. Like soup, polenta feels like a warm hug to me. Chef Chloe’s recipe is by far the creamiest I have ever made and along with the roasted veggies made it such a treat!
White Wine Risotto with Shitake Mushrooms and Peas
There are some things that I like to keep a lot of in my pantry and that includes a variety of pastas and risotto. If I don’t know what to cook one day, I can always come with with a pasta or risotto dish. We really enjoyed this one. Bill said that it was my best ever. Though the recipe called for fresh shitake mushrooms, I used dried that I reconstituted and it turned out fine. Neither one of us felt like making a special trip to the grocery store we knew carried fresh. We usually only go to that store when we have other things planned in that neighbourhood as well. We try to be as environmentally friendly with our car as possible.
Desserts:
Chocolate “Cherry” Coffee Cake
Our friends invited us over for dinner and as usual, I offered to make dessert. I had been wanting to try out this recipe and decided it would be a good time to try. So, the recipes called for fresh or frozen cherries, which I didn’t have. However, during berry season I buy fresh berries and freeze them to have all year long. I decided to use blueberries. The recipe also called for chocolate chips and in hindsight, I would have preferred to use raspberries or omit the chocolate chips. You couldn’t taste the blueberries in it because the chocolate was too dominant.
Marmalade Pancakes
Okay, so we actually had these pancakes twice. Once for a Sunday brunch with hash browns and vegan sausage and once as a dessert. Both times they were delicious!
Overall, this cookbook is a winner. I just have a couple small complaints. It assumes that you have a pasta maker and an ice cream maker. I have a lot of appliances and gadgets in my kitchen. However, I don’t have an industrial sized kitchen and there are a few things I don’t have. I have contemplated getting both an ice cream maker and pasta maker but have weighed how often I think I would actually use them versus, how much room they would take up. I would have loved to make the raviolli but it requires a pasta maker. I would also caution that while most of the recipes are easy to prepare, there are a few that are not for beginners.
I think that this cookbook has great recipes that are sure too please anyone’s palette, even meat eaters. Most of the recipes are easy to prepare and use readily available ingredients. Above all, they are wonderful! With the holiday season upon us, I have to say that Chloe’s vegan Italian Kitchen would make an excellent gift for anyone who love to cook and eat great meals!
I am giving it a 4.5/5 just because the meatballs have a bit of room for improvement. Otherwise it would have been a perfect score!
