Thursday, November 26, 2009

Feasting

Since I had a solo Thanksgiving I decided a taste test was in order. The two vegan loaves up for the challenge were the Field Roast Grain Meat Co.'s celebration roast and the Quorn Turk'y roast. Here they are in all of their packaged glory.

I decided to bake the Quorn loaf and to cut a couple of slices of the Field Roast to heat on the stove top. The Quorn loaf reminded me of a roll of chickettes when I placed it in the oven. It browned up a little and cut easily once the protective film was removed. (You are supposed to cook it with the film on. I only got a small fingertip burn taking it off.) Honestly, I was not fond of the taste or texture of the Turk'y loaf at all. I could barely eat one slice when it was drowning in mushroom gravy. You may be surprised to know that the reason I disliked it was because the taste and texture reminded me too much of meat. I'm going to see if my former meat eating friends would like the rest of it. (I'm a vegetarian since birth and really dislike the texture of meat. I want my fake meat to taste fake! It should be it's own dish.)

The Field Roast was stuffed with a sausage-style mixture. This was more flavorful than the Quorn loaf. But again, I found it tasted and had a texture a bit too much like meat. I was able to get through one and a half slices with mushroom gravy; two full slices was a bit much. I will keep the leftovers and see if they work in a sandwich tomorrow.. I'm not sure that I would buy it again for myself, but could deal with it if someone had bought it to serve at a dinner I went to.

The highlight of the meal was my mashed sweet potatoes (just a little salt & butter) and the Martinelli's. I ended up not making the stuffing as I didn't notice until I got it home that it listed cooked chicken and chicken stock in the ingredients.

So the results are in: Quorn Turk'y Roast - I don't think you could pay me to eat it again. Field Roast Celebration Roast - It's ok and I could eat it again, but it's not something I would rush out to buy again. Cream Cheese Patties - I should've just bit the bullet and made a batch; by far the best Thanksgiving entree out there.

No comments: