Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth

I LOVE this stuff. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Vegetarian, organic, weird-chemical-free "chicken" broth that really smells and tastes delicious and chickeny! And no, no one is paying me to say that. This product is just so amazing and versatile that since discovering it, I don't want to live without a stock of it in my cabinet.

 I use it to add flavor to lentils, beans, rice, potatoes, seitan, tofu, mushrooms, and vegetables. I mix it with some organic soy sauce and onion and garlic powders to make a delicious stir fry sauce. I like heating up a small bowl of it to dip a grilled cheese sandwich in. And of course, I've used it to make soups -- noodle soups, egg drop soups, vegetable soups. Basically, I use this stuff in practically every dinner I cook these days.

Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth comes in regular and low-sodium varieties, though it can be difficult to find in stores where they don't carry a lot of vegetarian "alternative" or organic products. Around here, I've seen it in Fred Meyer and Whole Foods.

Gardein Chick'n Scallopini: My new favorite "chick'n"!

As you may already know, when I'm in any grocery store for any reason, I can't help peeking at their vegetarian frozen food section to see if there's anything new and interesting. A couple weeks ago I was doing just that, and stumbled upon a brand that was completely new to me: Gardein (= garden + protein). They only had 3 products on the shelf -- buffalo wings, beefless tips, and chick'n scallopini. I don't really know what "scallopini" is, but the picture on the package appealed to me the most at the time, and I was not about to leave the store without any Gardein to try!




















I followed the preparation recommendation on the package -- just saute in olive oil over med/med high heat until lightly browned (2-3 minutes each side). I don't remember what I ate along with it -- perhaps Annie's Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese (very yummy, by the way)? But I do remember my first impressions of the Chick'n Scallopini -- Mmmmm! :D So tender, so juicy! Two things that most other chick'n products lack. And the flavor? Delicious! It is a tiny bit wheaty, but that's something I've grown to like quite a bit.

There are four cutlets per resealable plastic package, and I just ate the third one for dinner. The second one was with a veggie and noodle stir fry, and it went perfectly with the Chinese-style flavors. The other I ate with cheese ravioli and tomato sauce, and it was great with that too! Definitely a very versatile product, and I can't wait to find other dishes to use it in. I think it would be amazing in Chick'n Alfredo! I also can't wait to try the other varieties I found. :)

Protein source: Soy, wheat gluten
Allergens: Soy, wheat, gluten, amaranth, quinoa, millet, Kamut, pea, yeast, beetroot, carrot
Vegan

Boca Original Meatless Chik'n Nuggets

This was a surprise -- in more ways than one. I was in a Target today to pick up a few things and not even planning on grocery shopping (except to pick up a loaf of bread), but I decided to peek at the little vegetarian section of the frozen foods to see if there was anything new or interesting. I scanned it from the bottom up (meh, I'm short), not seeing anything I needed, knowing I had still had some burgers, sausage, and bacon at home... I was just about to walk away when the bag of Boca Chik'n Nuggets on the top shelf caught my eye. I have never seen this product since discovering my love of Boca Chik'n Patties, so I just had to try it. I figured it's got to be at least as good as the patties, right?

Um... well... insert confused face and head scratching here.

I was eager to have some of these for dinner, so I cooked up one serving (four nuggets) with some nummy MSF broccoli and cheese bites on the side, piled on a plate with a dollop of barbecue sauce. I wanted to get a pure sampling of the new nuggets, so I tried one first without sauce. It was... weird. I chewed on it, trying to figure out what it tasted like, and couldn't put my finger on it. So I took another bite, and it hit me: it tastes like... FISH? Now you see why I was confused!

As an omnivore, I loved eating fish. The smell, the flavor, the texture... It is still the only meat that I miss (except for the whole used-to-be-a-living-creature part). But there isn't any meatless faux fish that I'm aware of... so finding a vegan product that has a sort-of fish-like flavor -- even if it was supposed to be chicken-like -- is an interesting discovery. I'm still scratching my head over it, though.

Protein source: Soy, wheat
Allergens: Soy, wheat
Vegan

Boca Original Chik'n Patties

So, this is the third brand of breaded chicken-style patty I've tried thus far. To be perfectly honest, I didn't expect much from it. I found Boca burgers to be very bland and boring, and figured this would be, too. However, I was quite pleasantly surprised.

Actually, the breading on the patty was on the bland side, but for me, the flavor and texture of the "chicken" made up for it. It had a nice, chickeny bite to it, and was actually juicy. I am glad I purchased these instead of the MSF chik'n patties I almost bought tonight; if the breading had a bit more seasoning to it, I think these could actually give Quorn chik'n a run for its money. And for me, that's saying a lot. In fact, because the breading stays on better than with Quorn patties, these might be a better choice for using in a dish that requires sliced chik'n -- salad, tacos, quesadillas, stir fry... Hmm, I'm gonna have to buy some more...

Protein source: Soy, wheat
Allergens: Soy, wheat
Vegan?

Morningstar Farms Chik Patties Original

I bought these one day while at a grocery store that doesn't carry my beloved Quorn "chicken" products. I knew it wouldn't be the same, but I thought trying something new might be good. Morningstar Farms has rarely ever disappointed me. Besides, the Chik Patties now have received the Chef's Best award... though I'm not quite sure what that means (and I wonder what other fake chicken patties they could have compared this to? Hmm).

Overall, this product was about what I was expecting. They do have a different sort of "chicken" flavor and texture than Quorn or Gardenburger; I'd say it resembles more of a dark meat chicken flavor -- only more, um, blah. The "meat" flavor and the breading reminded a bit of something like Banquet chicken nuggets.

The product does stay together better than a Quorn patty -- the breading doesn't just fall off -- so it does have that going for it. Oh, and it cooks at a lower oven temperature, so the oven preheats faster, thus you can eat it sooner (always a bonus in my book!). And, though it still may not be quite as good IMHO, it is nice to have a little variety once in a while.

Protein source: Soy, wheat
Allergens: Soy, wheat, milk, egg
100% vegetarian

Quorn Chik'n Patties & Nuggets

I'm going to review both products in this post since they are basically the same thing, in different sizes and shapes. :)

Quorn products are made in the UK, and are apparently much more popular there. If you visit their UK website, you'll see that they have a ton more meat-free products available, from the common burger and chicken-style products to turkey, lamb, sausage, pork, and some interesting British dishes. Not only is the range of US-available Quorn products more limited, but they can be much more difficult to find in grocery stores than other vegetarian brands.

Of all the vegetarian meat analogs I've tried, these win the award for Closest Resemblance to Meat. They have the perfect chicken-like texture and feel, and a flavor that could be mistaken for lean chicken. The breading is nice and crispy with a light seasoning that complements the chik'n flavor. My only complaint about these products is that the breading has a tendency to fall off, especially if the patty/nugget gets stuck to the baking sheet while cooking.

The patties make a delicious sandwich with cheese and lettuce, and the nuggets are yummy served with barbecue sauce. But they're good for much more than that! I've cut up patties and nuggets to mix in a green salad, made vegetarian chicken parmesan (YUM), and chicken quesadillas. And I'm sure there's much more that could be made with them as well!

I highly recommend both these versatile products.

Protein source: Mycoprotein (mushroom), wheat
Allergens: Wheat, milk, egg
Vegetarian