FTV?!

F*ck, That's Vegan?! #9

9. "Better Together"

Particular combinations in life can't be beat, especially when it comes to food. Whether it's certain surroundings, flavors, or feelings that complete a culinary experience, there are plenty of such match-ups presented by Bronson in F*ck, That’s Delicious's "Incredible Pairings" section of the book. This week we're showing you five of these phenomenal duos, but vegan, so that you can enjoy them for yourself!

And so it begins...

II. Arepas and a Jugo de Mura

To Bronson, the sweet-salty-tart flavor combination of Colombian arepas topped with cheese (just one of many, many types) and paired with an icy jugo de mura is in an word, "orgasmic". If you like slushies and anything cheese-topped separately, this is combo you're going to need to experience.

Ice, ice, baby 🧊

Jugo de Mora Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs blackberries
1/3 cup cane sugar
3 cups water
4-5 cups ice

Instructions:

Bring all ingredients except ice to a boil on the stovetop. Turn heat down to medium and simmer 10 minutes. Pour juice through a fine mesh strainer into your storage container of choice. Press berries with a back of a spoon to drain of remaining juice. Refrigerate until cool. Blend juice and ice together until a slushie-like consistency. Pour into cups.

When life gives you berries, make berry juice!

Arepa* Ingredients:

1 cup pre-cooked white corn meal
1 cup warm water
1/2 tsp salt
sunflower oil, for frying
vegan mozzarella cheese, shredded or homemade

Instructions:

Mix pre-cooked white corn meal and salt together in a bowl. Add the warm water and mix dough by hand within the bowl. Knead for 3-5 mins (dough should be smooth and not tacky). Portion into 6 equal pieces. Roll into balls, wetting hands lightly before each. Flatten each doughball to about 1/4 inch thickness between two pieces of parchment with the bottom of a heavy pot or pan. Heat a heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat. Add small amount of sunflower oil (or other flavorless oil) to pan and swirl to coat once hot. Add arepas to pan 1 or 2 at a time and cook for about 3 minutes per side, or until dark brown spots form on each side. Top arepas with cheese while still hot. Let cheese melt or place under the broiler for a few seconds if you like that sort of thing.
*Adapted slightly from this recipe

III. Takeout Eaten Off the Hood of the Car

Sitting in a restaurant just doesn't cut it sometimes. Now and again, the only proper way to enjoy a meal is standing around the hood of the car and scarfing it down right outside of the restaurant you bought it from. If you're Bronson, that's the best way to enjoy every meal, but this isn't for everybody. Sitting to eat honestly wins for us, but vegan takeout from Tattoed Mom would be an 11 out of 10 eaten in any setting.

VIII. Baskin-Robbins and Mini Baseball Helmets

Maybe you know about eating some form of ice cream out of mini MLB helmets, or maybe you don't. Ice cream eaten out of these is a nostalgic experience for most who do know, icluding Bronson who loved getting new ones to add to his collection filled with ice cream from Baskin-Robbins. While they don't have the helmets in the stores these days, what they do have are several vegan oatmilk ice creams! Unfortunately, mint chocolate chip (Bronson's favorite flavor and ours, as well) isn't one of the flavors they've made vegan. Lucky for us and other mint chip lovers, NadaMoo makes an amazing vegan mint chip ice cream! It might not be canon since it's from the store and not Baskin-Robbins, but it was pretty damn good eaten out of a mini Phillies helmet (which you can perhaps pull from your cabinet, likely get from a game, and definitely buy online) either way.

You've had ice cream in a baseball helmet, but have you had VEGAN ice cream in a baseball helmet?

XVI. Chocolate and Lemon Italian Ice in the Same Cup

Chocolate and lemon ice together may seem like an unlikely coupling at first, but the flavors start working their magic on you after only a couple spoonfuls. And did you know that nearly all flavor's of Rita's waterice are vegan-friendly?! Neither did we, until we read this allergen chart. If the chocolate-lemon combo doesn't work for you, you can utilize that chart and do a little of your own waterice matchmaking.

Chocolate and lemon probably couldn't be together in a better form than this.

XVII. Milton A. Abel Jr.'s Chocolate Chip Cookies with Salted Honey Butter

The chocolate chip cookie recipe we've adapted was passed down to chef Milton A. Abel Jr. (who's worked in some of the world's best restaurants) from another chef in the fine dining world. Chef Milton usually serves his honey butter (which we've adapted into a maple butter) with cornbread, but Bronson took the liberty of changing the game by adding it to the cookies once and the rest is history. This may be the richest combination of foods we've tried yet. We don't even know if we recommend that you eat them together. Their forces of deliciousness may be powerful enough on their own, quite honestly.

These babies are FILLED to the BRIM with chocolate 🍫

2 cups all-purpose flour, packed
1/2 cup almond flour, packed
1 tbsp tapioca flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 sticks butter, unsalted
1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
1 lb chocolate chips*
*Chef Milton uses half milk chocolate and half dark chocolate chips, but use whatever your favorite, high quality vegan chocolate is!

The heaviest bowl of cookie dough you may make all year.

Instructions:

Whisk all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Cream butter and sugar together in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until fluffy. Mix vanilla bean paste and oil into butter-sugar mixture. Mix the flour in at a low speed or by hand until just incorporated. Mix chocolate chips into the dough, being sure not to over-mix. Line a baking sheet or container you want to refrigerate dough in with parchment paper. Roll 2 ounce balls of dough and line sheet or container with doughballs as you go. You should have about 24 by the end. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before baking.

When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. On a parchment lined baking sheet, space 6 doughballs 2 inches apart and from sides of pan and press down slightly. Cook on the middle rack of the over for 12 minutes total, rotating after the first 8 minutes. Allow the cookies to "carry-over cook" on the hot pan after removing them from the oven. This will result in perfect crispiness around the edges.