Notes for ROUS pie, first, easily supportable version.

These are just some links I want to save, some quick notes on the whole ROUS pie thing; it works kind of in conjunction with having finally made the Sage Onion Fava concoction to my satisfaction and, while looking for the recipes that were going to support it as a Reasonable Substitution For Vegans Seeking Nosh for SCA Events, got reminded of the ROUS Pie Project.

Because I found a receipt that makes me want to laugh: "If you want to make pies that have the flavor of cheese." Circa 1300 France, the very basic steps are thus: grind roe and bread with almond milk, and put it in your pies to give the flavor of cheese.

I've been working the geeze gravy thing for a while, and haven't yet come up with anything that is significantly better than any other nootch fake cheese sauce recipe online, although I'll eventually get around to sharing them here, if only to ensure that I always have access to them. And, of course, every Lent, folks in the Middle Ages would become experts at substituting out all animal products aside from sea creatures. But it makes me laugh to find this recipe--apparently, I'm not the only one ever had this issue.

Oysters in Gravy is popular across centuries and cuisines, and, if you are willing to use the word unguent as a loose synonym for gravy, wipes out 2 of the 4 letters--the other 2 then become easy, using the "For to make fysche tartes owt of Lent" (here) from form of curry: Rice and Spices. It's a simple as pie redaction/recipe bash/compatible cookery bit. I still want to do it as an Oyster/Eeel/Shrimp/"Rarebit" pie, but I want to see what I can do with the limits imposed by these two recipes, as well.

One of the things that's kind of a kick about the medieval cookery database is that it's done by hand, so you never can be sure that you've found everything you mean to find. It pops you up a lot of treasures when you don't expect it, but one of the reasons I had to save the links is so that I can go back and print off a hard copy of the recipe sometime in the next few days. I have found, much to my chagrin, that I sometimes need months to again find a recipe in the data base if I wasn't paying attention to the keywords I used to find it the first time.

Product Review: So Delicious Coconut Yogurt and Milk/Beverage

I miss yogurt so much. There are plenty of soy-based substitute products, and rice based substitute products, but, of course, what I have been looking for is an almond based substitute. And, when I was dragging myself around Outpost the other day, not only did I find the Coconut Bliss, I also found this:


This product is not as new to the market as I thought, but it's certainly new to me. And it was good. I tried several flavors, the sharp, berry-based flavors I tend to prefer. The texture was smooth, thick, and the sweet of it is acceptable, although maybe a little more than I'd like.

However, its cost makes it something that I do not expect to eat regularly. That is a problem. Given that it's price puts it in the "treat" range, and regular yougurt is cheaper, I'm not sure I am going to be buying this often.


Also tried, by this same company: So Delicious Coconut Milk. It's not bad, but it was thin, and had a sharp taste to it; I don't see myself switching to this from almond milk. I didn't care for it on my cereal and it didn't cook as well as almond milk in any form--cold case, UHT packaged--or easily, locally available brands--Blue Diamond, Silk. It also is not as lovely as Living Harvest's Hemp Milk, which is only occasionally locally available. It was, however, much better than any rice milk I have tried. It is also far more reasonably priced than the coconut yogurt, so price was not an issue here.

FWIW, my preference is for Blue Diamond Almond Milk. You may have noticed. The coconut beverage will not be replacing, or even supplementing, it. However, if my only choices are the So Delicious or Rice Dream, it's So Delicious for the win.

I'm going to have to get to work on a recipe for almond based yogurt. Just as other bright people came up with a coconut milk creamy desert, surely someone else out there has already tried.

Product Review: Coconut Bliss

I totally frakkin' love ice cream and frozen custard. I have not tried the soy frozen deserts because, well, they're unfermented soy, and one single go round with rice-based cheese was enough to make me scream yuck and swear off rice-based "dairy" forever and ever amen. There are some frozen deserts that I have once in a while--fruit juice bars, some brands of gelato--but nothing quite takes the place of something creamy.

After a while, it seemed to me that making my own with a pudding recipe and coconut milk would be a quick fix. And then I found this recipe, proving yet again that great ideas never occur in a vacuum, and even better, she figured out the steps, saving me the trouble of doing so myself.

Well, today I took a quick trip to my favorite local grocery, my well beloved Outpost Coop. I just wanted a bundle of vegetables for supper, but I was so hungry! Never a good idea to shop when hungry. But I'm not sorry I wandered around, because, first, I didn't spend st00pid amounts of money, and second, I found this:



Pricey, of course. But less expensive than the Turtle Mountain version. And it has a reference to the moon! And neato graphics! Whee, such decision making! I bought the Chocolate Hazelnut flavor, figuring that if the coconut flavor was noticeable, it would work well. And I totally love chocolate with hazelnuts.

And I have to say, it's nice. It doesn't have the same sort of body that ice cream has, but it is creamy and delicious. And yes, my first impression was that of chocolate coconut with some crunchy nuts. The texture is pretty light, but there is plenty of coconut fat in it, and that's completely what makes it a win as a frozen, creamy dessert. I'd like to try a few other flavors, too. At some point, I'll want to make my own, but this will be quite nice for my replacement frozen dairy craving until that point in time. Might even try it to flavor coffee. That might be a win, too. Yay, win!