Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Grilled Cheese for Grown Folks

A week or so ago, I received a package with two sample bags of Galaxy brand's new Vegan Shreds. I wasn't sure what to expect, as I've been unimpressed with some of Galaxy's earlier vegan cheese products. I remember when I first tried their block cheese (and this was way back in the day), thinking that Vegan Rella was the better choice. Vegan Rella! My, my. How far we have come!


Well, I tried the Mexican Style Shreds first. I tasted them cold, tried a little melted onto chili, and then I melted them onto this Grilled Cheese for Grown-Ups from Vegan Cooking for Carnivores:


I'm gonna put it to ya straight: This cheese is amazing! It's right up there with Daiya in terms of meltiness. And taste-wise, well, let's just say Galaxy has upped their game a hundred-fold since my first Galaxy experience. It actually tastes similar to Daiya, but the texture of the cold stuff is a tad drier. I recommend melting if you're a picky vegan cheese eater. I'm not.

Of course, I had a clue it would be better than the old cheese stuff. In recent months, I've discovered that Galaxy makes a better vegan cream cheese than Tofutti, and the Rice Vegan slices aren't half bad if melting isn't a priority. But these shreds are Melty McMelterson. For reals.

They also sent me a package of mozzarella shreds, but I'm going to save those for a pizza, which I'll blog about soon.

Now about that grilled cheese. This is by far the most sophisticated grilled cheese I've ever had. Two Earth Balanced slices of sprouted grain toast are spread with Dijon, a homemade rosemary red onion jam from Vegan Cooking for Carnivores, tomato, vegan cheese, and arugala. Absolutely delicious.

I really thought I hated arugala, and I almost left it off this sandwich. But the arugala man at the Memphis Farmers Market was just giving the stuff away last week because he felt like his crop wasn't very pretty. So I got some and gave it another try. I used to like the stuff until I had an arugala salad with tahini dressing. Don't ever try those two things together. Barf city. It ruined me on arugala for years.

But the wilted peppery greens really worked in this sandwich. They complemented the tangy Dijon and balsamic-laced onion jam. I may just like arugala again after all.

13 comments:

sarah@thesweetlife said...

Thanks for the review! I just started eating vegan cheese again (i was turned off it for awhile) and will definitely check out the new Galaxy shreds as well as try out that sandwich.

Matt Harken said...

Who the heck serves rocket (arugula) with tahini? Toooooo bitter. I love it in sandwiches with sweet dressings, or burgers with bbq sauce.

The Preppy Vegan said...

The jury is still out on how I feel about vegan cheese. I tried Daiya on some nachos awhile back and a) wasn't totally sold, b) felt like I was cheating or something! That grilled cheese does sound like heaven though...

The Preppy Vegan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Barb@ThatWasVegan said...

I totally agree with you on the Galaxy cream cheese- it's the only kind I'll buy!

Anonymous said...

And is the product like their other products which do contain casein and other dairy ingredients?

I looked at their other products the other day and notice they are NOT VEGAN.

Anonymous said...

that grilled cheese is making my mouth water!! I'll definitely have to check out Galaxy! thanks for sharing!

Erin said...

Yay for coming back around to arugula! I love it's pepperiness, as long as there's a sweet or strong flavor to balance it out. Good news on the cheese being good too, I'll keep a look out at my local stores to give it a try.

Wendy said...

Arugula pesto on butternut squash is the best ever. You should try it! :)

Mom to Matt and Mike said...

looks yummy. I will have to try this. I like the daiya cheese a lot.

FoodandLoathing said...

I don't care about getting vegan cheese, I prefer to just make my own, BUT, that tip about Galaxy cream cheese is golden!! I'm definitely going to look for it at Whole Foods!

xvavaveganx said...

Great review! That sandwich definitely sounds sophisticated! I've never had anything by that brand but it's definitely good to keep in mind! I like that they have a Mexican blend too, that will be great on quesadillas or mexican pizza. Yum!

I also didn't know that Galaxy cream cheese is better than Tofutti! I'll have to watch out for that! Thanks for the tip.

Anonymous said...

I've been a lurker for awhile now, absolutely LOVE your creativity, energy, attitude....and most of all the food! Despite the fact that this post is about THE CHEESE, I have to speak up in defense of rocket (aka arugula). It's amazing as a pizza topping, and you can make rocket pesto too. It's one of the easiest greens to grow from seed, you can have fresh greens for so much of the year. I've put it in salads, soups, stir fries, a late addition to curries....and that peppery taste! Yum! As a signoff...thanks B, for your fantastic blog!