What can I say, I. Love. Cheese. I've always been a huge fan of cheese, and all it's cheesy goodness. However, switching to this kind of diet has made the search for good vegan cheese a bit of a challenge. Yes, there are different brands and varieties of cheeses to choose from, but it's been a journey trying to find really good cheese.
That being said, I have found a few that meet my snobby, cheese-loving standards. Follow Your Heart and Chao have shown me some surprisingly good options; and I've been known to dabble in the occasional Daiya. On the flipside, my wallet does not agree. Store bought vegan cheeses can be expensive and sometimes 1-2 times more expensive than non-vegan options. So, I figured why not give home cheese making a try!
So, I decided to start with something easy that I already had lying around the house. Now, when it comes to cooking new dishes, my general motto is to glance at a recipe and then make up the rest. However, making cheese is like baking: it's a science! You can't really wing it too much and so for my first go, I stuck as closely to the recipe as I could! I used the deliciously tasty recipe from the very talented Blueberry Vegan.
Now, I will say that I did have to fudge a few ingredients I didn't have and it still turned out great!
Here's what I used:
1 pressed block of silken tofu (don't press it too much or it will fall apart and crumble!)
1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1/4 red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. dried dill
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. sea salt
1/8 tsp. black peppercorn (fresh ground)
1 tbsp. italian seasoning
1 large fresh garlic clove (finely minced)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 whole freshly squeezed lemon
For herb vinegar:
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. italian seasoning
Directions
In a small bowl, mix together the herb vinegar.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and add the vinegar mixture. Lightly toss until all tofu is coated with the mixture. Place in a container with a tight lid amd marinate overnight. I did follow the instruction to occasionally toss the container a bit to mix up the ingredients.
I served ontop of a fresh Greek salad. Easy and delicious for that much needed feta cheese fix!
I hope you all did something fun this Sunday!