October is National American Cheese Month. How about some vegan cheese?

It’s amazing how vegan cheeses have improved from the original soy-based products, thanks to more people demanding non-dairy foods.

Vegan products are not just for vegans, but people who are:

 
We’d previously written about Miyoko’s Creamery, which makes simply brilliant vegan cheeses and butter that taste as satisfying as the animal-milk versions.

But they’re labor-intensive to make and thus pricey. Other companies have been making their own versions, and we recently had the opportunity to try some Violife products, part of the large line of Violife vegan cheeses.
 
 
THE VIOLIFE LINE

We tried the Mozzarella Shreds and Colby Jack Shreds on pizza, casseroles and burgers.

We were very pleased about how great they tasted—and they melt just like dairy cheese!

We haven’t yet tasted the rest of the line, but Violife has the whole category covered with:
 
Violife Blocks

 
Violife Shreds

 
Violife Slices

 
Violife Spreads

 
 
LINE ATTRIBUTES

 
 
HOW VIOLIFE DIFFERS FROM OTHER VEGAN CHEESES

Violife is both nut free (some vegan cheeses are made from cashews) and soy-free, which accommodates people with allergies to those ingredients.

Its main ingredient, after filtered water, is coconut oil (24%), followed by modified food starch, corn starch, sea salt, cellulose as a thickener, non-dairy lactic acid as an acidity regulator, flavorings from vegan sources, olive extract, B-carotene for color and vitamin B12, with powdered cellulose added to prevent caking.
 
 
ABOUT VIOLIFE VEGAN CHEESES

Violife is a brand owned by Upfield Group B.V., a vegan products manufacturer that is owned by KKR & Co., a global investment company.

The brand was founded in the 1990s in Greece, as a plant-based cheese substitute that could be eaten during Greek Orthodox fasting days, when consumption of animal proteins is forbidden.

Upfield was created last year when Unilever sold its spreads business to KKR. Those include Country Crock, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Flora, Stork and numerous other spreads. It is now one of the biggest worldwide players in the plant-based food industry.

Beyond the U.S. Violife sells vegan cheese products across the world, in Africa, Asia, Europe, The Middle East, South America—even Saudi Arabia!
 
 
WHERE TO FIND VIOLIFE VEGAN CHEESES

Violife products are available at select retailers across the country and at Violife.com.

Here’s a store locator.

> For More Information Visit Violife.com.

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*Violife products contain coconut oil. The coconut is classified by the FDA as a tree nut.

[1] Creamy With Garlic & Herbs, one of three Violife vegan cream cheeses (all photos © Violife).

[2] Grated Mozzarella Flavor, a vegan necessity!

[3] A Prosociano wedge: grate it like dairy parmesan.

[4] Violife’s Just Like Cream Cheese on a bagel.

[5] Violife’s Just Like Mature Cheddar on a veggie cheeseburger.

[6] Two-cheese pizza, with mozzarella and colby jack.

[7] Grilled cheese with Smoked Mature Cheddar.

[1] Yes, please: a hearty dish of creamy mushroom fettuccine (photos #1 and #2 © Delallo).

[2] Egg fettuccine has not just a golden color, but a deeper flavor than conventional fettuccine. You can get these online from Delallo.

[3] Cremini mushrooms (also spelled crimini), are a mature version of button mushrooms. Read more about them below (photo © Christine Siracusa | Unsplash).

[4] Shiitake mushrooms are meatier and have a deeper flavor than creminis. Remove the tough stems and use them for stock (photo CCO Public Domain | PX Here).

[4] Most people are used to brown morels, so we thought we’d treat you to a photo of “blonde” morels (photo © Kindred Restaurant | Davidson, North Carolina).

We’re celebrating the last day of National Mushroom Month with this creamy mushroom fettuccine dish (National Pasta Month begins tomorrow).

Warm and creamy comfort food, this dish can be a quick and easy weeknight meal or a course for a more special occasion.

This recipe from Delallo uses egg fettuccine, a richer version of fettuccine noodles that contains 28% egg, for a golden color and richer flavor.

You can substitute standard fettuccine, of course.

Fettuccine means “little ribbons” in Italian. These wide, flat noodle pair beautifully with any thick sauce.

Linguine are flat ribbons that are thinner than fettuccine. Pappardelle are wider ribbons.

> Check Out The Different Types Of Pasta
 
 
RECIPE: FETTUCCINE IN CREAMY MUSHROOM SAUCE

This recipe uses three different types of mushrooms: cremini (photo #3), shiitake (photo #4) and morels (photo #5). Why three?

Combining different varieties builds interesting flavors—like different lettuces in a salad.

Ingredients For 4-6 Servings

 
Preparation

1. HEAT a large skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the mushrooms; season with salt and pepper and cook until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

2. STIR the garlic into the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the white wine and cook until the wine is nearly evaporated.

3. MIX the chicken stock into mushroom mixture; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

4. POUR the heavy cream into the mushroom mixture and stir to combine. Simmer for 5 minutes until the mixture starts to foam. While the mushrooms finish cooking…

5. FILL a large pot with water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the fettuccine and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain—but do not rinse—the pasta. Transfer to a large serving bowl and keep warm.

6. STIR the thyme and chives into the mushroom sauce and turn off the heat. Mix 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese into the sauce, and stir until the cheese has melted.

7. POUR all the mushroom sauce and half the mushrooms over the pasta, reserving the other half of the mushrooms in the skillet. Toss the pasta in the sauce until coated.

8. PLATE and garnish with the remaining mushrooms and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
 

CREMINI VS. SHIITAKE VS. MOREL MUSHROOMS

Here’s a fun food fact: White button mushrooms, creminis and portabellas/portobellos are all the same mushroom: Agaricus bisporus.

The difference is how long they are allowed to grow before harvesting.

Cremini Mushrooms

The cremini mushroom, also spelled crimini, is a more mature version of the white button mushroom.

Creminis have a browner color, and so much more flavor than the buttons.

If left in the earth longer, a cremini becomes a portabella. It’s sometimes sold as a “baby bella” or a “baby portabella” mushroom.

Creminis are delicious whether raw or cooked.

Shiitake Mushrooms

Shiitake mushrooms are more intensely flavored. Although they’re cultivated now, they retain much of the meaty, woodsy qualities of their wild siblings.

Shiitakes, like all mushrooms, pair well with everything from poultry to lamb to pork to pasta.

But eat only the caps. The stems are too tough to eat, but you can reserve them for stock.

Morel Mushrooms

Morel mushrooms have an intense, explosive flavor. They are a favorite of top chefs, and by anyone with a fine palate.

They are earthy, meaty, nutty and woodsy: a standout in flavor.

They are a different genus from cremini, shiitake and portabellas: Morchella esculenta.

You can’t eat morels raw. They contain a mildly toxic substance (hydrazine), which is destroyed in cooking.

With all three mushrooms, you roast them, stuff them, grill them and add them to skewers. You can add them to grains, pasta and stuffing.

For adding to salads or other raw uses, creminis are the best.
 
 
> The History Of Pasta

*Shiitake stems, like portabella stems, must be removed before cooking. They’re too tough to eat. However, save them to make stock.

†Morel mushrooms are typically a spring mushroom. If you can’t find any, you can rehydrate dry morels, or add more shiitakes.

September 29th is National Coffee Day.

To some coffee drinkers, fall means pumpkin spice lattes.

We’re not keen on the sugar syrup, so for us, fall means fall coffee flavors.

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice products are back on grocery store shelves, along with new fall specialties.

Joining Pumpkin Spice are:

 
All three are delicious, hot or iced.

We are fans of Pumpkin Spice, but Maple Pecan adds something new to our repertoire.

It has toasty pecan notes but also a bit of winey flavor that inspired us to make a cold cocktail: brewed Maple Pecan coffee, vodka and cream.

Yes, it’s a fall-flavor version of a White Russian. And it’s delicious hot, too.

 
So even while the weather is still on the mild side, embrace the fall season and National Coffee Day.

https://www.starbucks.com/” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>Head to Starbucks At Home for more seasonal products and recipe ideas.
 
 
> The History Of Coffee
 
> The Different Types Of Coffee

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*In 1913 Josephus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson, prohibited alcohol aboard naval vessels as one of his ways to impose stricter moral standards on naval life. As a result, sailors drank more coffee. The phrase “Cup of Joe” became slang for a cup of coffee—meant as an insult, of course. Over time, Josephus Daniels was forgotten and cup of joe joining the other two slang terms for coffee: java and jamoke [source].

[1] Starbucks fall flavors (not pictured, Fall Blend; photo © Starbucks).

[2] From the coffee brewer to the computer (photo courtesy Stock Xchange | Free Images).