Sweet Thymes Bakery

This weekend, Eric and I were in Santa Monica, so we stopped by Viva La Vegan to pick up a few new products to try.  I have heard that they often have Ronald’s Donuts (from Las Vegas) and was thrilled to see a stack of pink donut boxes near the register.  I ended up buying donuts from boxes that said “Sweet Thymes,” a bakery of which I had never heard, so I asked where it was located.  I was told that it was based in Studio City, which is incredibly close to home, so I was really excited.  After a little research, I am disappointed to say that it doesn’t look like they have a store front, but they can be ordered (minimum 12 donuts) for pickup or delivery.

I got two donuts to try and, of course, they were both chocolate.  I don’t think there’s any donut worth having that doesn’t have chocolate.  First I tried the typical puffy donut with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.  The frosting was tasty, but the donut was a tad chewier than I remember typical donuts being.

Next, I bit into the very messy looking chocolate donut filled with chocolate tofu creme.  The center was not as chocolatey as the toppings, but it was very, very creamy.  The filling tasted like rich pudding.  Long after I finished it, I was still thinking about it.  This was the best donut I can remember having.  Ever.  Amazing.  Now, if only they would open a store!

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So Good Miso Mayo Spicy Red Pepper Spread

While at the Viva La Vegan market in Santa Monica, I picked up a bottle of So Good Spicy Red Pepper Miso Mayo “Drizzle/Spread/Dip.”  It ended up being one of my favorite purchases from the trip.

It’s great on burgers, wraps, and salads.  My favorite use so far was as a spread on a wrap with Tofurky slices, tomato, lettuce, and avocado.  I was never a fan of mayonnaise in my pre-vegan days, which is why I don’t buy Vegenaise.  However, this doesn’t taste like a mayo at all.  The spicy red pepper is a great, interesting addition to something that can otherwise get boring lunch after lunch.

I will definitely be buying it again, probably from Whole Foods since their website says that it’s available in their stores nationwide.  I go into Whole Foods about once a month because they are way overpriced, so a spread is the perfect product for me to buy there.  I understand that they carry items that you can’t really get elsewhere, but I don’t like having to stop at three or four different stores on one shopping trip, so when I go to Whole Foods, I am usually tricked into buying things that I could get elsewhere to avoid additional stops.  Their specialty items I am willing to pay more for, but produce and other basics, no way.

The good news is, for those of you who live in a veritable food desert, Miso Mayo can be ordered on their website.  It’s $4.95 per bottle plus shipping at a whopping $8.95, but it’s worth having on hand.

Artisan Tofurky Andouille Cajun-Style Sausage

The new flavors of Artisan Tofurky sausages were at the top of my list when I walked into Viva La Vegan Grocery in Santa Monica.  I love their classic Tofurky Italian sausages, but they have a strong tomatoey Italian flavor.  I often think that I could add them to so many more recipes if they were less specifically Italian.  Enter the Artisan Tofurky Andouille Cajun-Style Sausage!

This sausage has a more versatile flavor and is just slightly spicy.  I browned some and had it with some accidentally vegan apple cinnamon pull apart bread that Eric found in the bakery section at Sprouts as well as some sliced apples.  Yum!  I’ll be buying these again.

Viva La Vegan Grocery, Santa Monica

The all-vegan market, Viva La Vegan Grocery opened a new location not long ago in Santa Monica.  Eric and I found ourselves in the area and stopped by to see what interesting new vegan products we could try.  First, I want to point out that this is not really a health foods store.  While there are cooking basics such as different kinds of flour, grains, and different sauces, there aren’t a lot of those things and you could get most of them elsewhere.  Mostly, they had the largest variety of vegan processed foods that I have ever seen.  I was there to buy foods that I don’t usually see at our local grocery stores, so I was okay with that.

The store is tiny and packed with vegan goods.  I definitely recommend you stop in and try something new.

This was our haul.  It was the most expensive bag of groceries I ever bought.  It was over $60 for the items listed below.  Everything was $5-8 each.

• Artisan Tofurkey Andouille Sausages
• Tofurkey Chorizo-style meatless crumbles
• Starlite Cuisine Santa Fe Style Crispy Rolled Tacos
• So Good Miso Mayo Spicy Red Pepper Spread
• Victoria Vegan Alfredo Sauce
• Uncle Eddie’s Vegan Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Tofurkey Vegan Italian Sausage and Fire Roasted Veggie Pizza
• Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks (I used these for Thanksgiving stuffing)
• Nacheez dairy-free nacho sauce
• Rising Moon Organics Artichoke and Olive Ravioli

I will post about these as I try them, so stay tuned!