Vegan Cheese and Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache Love!

Ste Martaen - Chicago, IL

The husband and I appreciate food. What I mean by that little, yet weighty (ha, weighty is a real word) statement is that he and I will try anything  as long as it's considered vegetarian. I know, I know. We have been consuming fish lately, but! that little butty-but is of our own accord and on our own terms. When we have the rare opportunity to sneak out to dinner...you know, fellow parents, when the babies are babysat and the teenagers are otherwise indisposed (i.e., being all cool at dance par-tays) - so! when we venture out it's most typically a quality vegetarian/vegan restaurant so that we may experience new and unusual tastes in an innovative, meat-free way!

Skip ahead the two-months (or so) since my husband and I have had the chance to buzz out for an evening alone, I decided to purchase a gourmet cheese substitute that I had read on various lovely blogs that raved about the taste, texture, and ingredients that lacked all forms of negativity! In other words, this cheese is friendly on the belly. Chicago based Ste Martaen creates artisan vegan cheese with simple, pure ingredients that are likely to appeal to everyone from the uber-vegan through the gluten free/soy free (my crazy skin allergies included!).

I ordered the Olive Cheese: purified water, agar, organic cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, tahini, sea salt, spices, pimientos, green olives, Dijon mustard, citric acid (copied from the website)

I purchased tiny bruschetta applicable toasts and thinly sliced the cheese to fit on top. The taste of the cheese is complex with varying levels of "heat" one would associate with spiced cheese, but also the warm, sweet nature of the olive was present. The only issue was with my husband, and no reflection of my opinion, he felt the consistency of the "cheese" was more like a spread-type cheese than an actual block of firm cheese. He's correct, but I feel like it does not hinder the taste or depth of how impressive this vegan cheese is. I super recommend ordering from this husband and wife company!

Posh Pop Bake Shop - Haddonfield, NJ

Today, of all beautiful Fridays, I was able to get out of work early. Software testing went well, people agreed with each other, life was just moving along perfectly, and voila! I found myself with a free afternoon of twin sister time...a little Whole Foods, a little con-ver-satin...ya know?

Buzz...beep...blip...doop...derp...ahead 45 minutes and I found myself at the Posh Pop Bake Shop to taste-test some gourmet gluten free goodies for my daughter's 1st birthday (i.e., macaroonssssss). So! After speaking with an extremely helpful, fast-talking (like, super fast...and I speak quickly) baker, I left with three gluten free macaroons (vanilla with chocolate ganache, chocolate with nutella, and chocolate with chocolate ganache) along with 2 slices of gluten free fudgey, gooey chocolate cake for my husband and step-daugher (weekend treats!).

As I walked out one door, I stepped into another next-door into a small, local coffee house (I regret that I forget the name) for a double espresso. There I tasted the macaroons, leaving portions for my husband, step-daughter, and mother, and was extremely surprised by the light *crunch* and balanced, separate  flavors between filling and shell. In other words, I was sold. I would be purchasing macaroons as one of the numerous desserts for my daughter's 1st birthday.

But onto the point! The insanely good chocolate cake! Some believe that gluten free equals no taste, but I learned from working with a lady with celiac's disease that gluten free doesn't necessarily mean taste free. This was the case in regards with the cake. Both my husband and step-daugher were pleasantly surprised by how rich, moist, and downright fudge-filled the cake proved to be!

All in all, I'm proud to have supported two small, health-friendly companies that have decided to pursue lifestyles outside of the norm in the name of tummy-happy customers and renewed methods of existence!