Product: Moo Moo’s Vegetarian Cuisine Poblano Chick(pea) Patties – $4.99+
Sometimes…I have to step away from my grocery list and just…splurge on something. Just take the plunge…grab a product that interests me…and try it out. That’s what happened when I was in my local natural foods store a couple weeks ago. I had gone in specifically to pick up some Udi’s Gluten-Free Dinner Rolls while they were still on sale. The problem is…whenever I go into this store for something specific, I find something else that interests me. A lot.
This time…it was a product I had never seen before. Moo Moo’s Vegetarian Cuisine Vegan & Gluten-Free Poblano Chick(pea) Patties.
Intriguing. Definitely intriguing. Especially since I love chickpeas and I love poblano peppers. Screw the budget…screw the grocery list. I was going to get this. I had to try it. I just had to. So, it came home with me and I tossed it in my freezer for a day where I would need it.
Well…on Friday I was greeted with my first CSA bin in two weeks (I’d been out of town the past two weekends and had to cancel them)…and inside were beautiful cucumbers. My roommate suggested that I make my tzatziki using the cucumber. I thought that was a fantastic idea…as soon as I figured out what we would eat with it. Then, on Saturday morning, we finally made it back to Annie May’s Sweet Café, the local allergen-free bakery here in Louisville, and made a splurge purchase of a bag of their dinner rolls. We hadn’t tried the gluten-free dinner rolls yet…so we figured…why not?
And that’s when inspiration struck. As the request for my tzatziki was made…and now we had dinner rolls…what if I used these Poblano Chick(pea) Patties and make sort of a “falafel” slider of sorts. The roomie was totally all about it…so that was the plan. This afternoon, while she took in Timothy Dalton as James Bond (GAG!), I was in the kitchen making my infamous tzatziki. I got it mixed and made and into the fridge. And a couple of hours later…dinner time was approaching.
I went to the freezer and pulled out the box of Moo Moo’s Vegetarian Cuisine Vegan & Gluten-Free Pobalno Chick(pea) Patties. Not real falafel…but something I could work with, yes? I preheated the oven to 350°F and pulled the tray out of the box. Per the directions, I lifted one corner of the plastic film to vent and put the tray on a baking sheet. Into the oven it went to cook for about 30 minutes. While that was happening, I sliced up a leaf of fresh romaine lettuce (also from my CSA bin) and prepped the gluten-free dinner rolls to join the Poblano Chick(pea) Patties in the oven to get a light toasting.
They finished up at the same time. I removed the tray from the oven and let it stand for one minute. Then, I carefully removed the film.
The tray contained two large patties made from chickpeas, kettle cooked chili onions, brown rice, roasted poblano and red bell peppers. Included was a roasted corn salsa as well, which I ended up just mashing into the patties. With the dinner rolls sliced, I placed a small dollop of tzatziki on the bottom half, then placed a little bit of romaine lettuce. Next came the mix of Moo Moo’s Vegetarian Cuisine Poblano Chick(pea) Patties. I separated each patty into thirds and began to spoon up the chickpea-poblano mixture with some of the included corn salsa. I placed this over each leaf of lettuce, then topped it off with a small bit more tzatziki. The top of the dinner roll was placed over everything and…voilà…mock falafel sliders. YES!
I handed my roommate her plate and went to fix mine. And before I even started compiling my round of sliders, she was already digging in. And she was already voicing her thoughts on it through happy grunts between bites. I asked how the chickpea patties were and she said they were really tasty. She, as she is a bread person, raved more about the rolls.
So, with my sliders now put together exactly as hers were, I settled in to my own dinner. I couldn’t wait to try these out. They smelled amazing. They looked stunning, if I do say so myself. So…I lifted one carefully to my mouth and took a bite.
First of all, she was right…the dinner rolls were out-of-this-world good. But…that will be dedicated to another blog.
Moo Moo’s Vegetarian Cuisine got it right with these Vegan & Gluten-Free Poblano Chick(pea) Patties. Honestly. Packed with flavor. The peppers aren’t spicy at all, and the combination of the chickpeas, peppers, onions, and the corn salsa with my homemade tzatziki…it just all played together so well. The toasted roll and the crisp lettuce just were the perfect combo to elevate these from microwave dinner to…fine dining. Seriously…I am in love with this product and can’t wait to purchase more. Maybe I’ll eat it straight next time. Or maybe I’ll make more sliders from these delicious patties.
A little bit about Moo Moo’s Vegetarian Cuisine. It was created in 2005 by founder and culinary artist, Michele Rostelli. The company is committed to providing healthy, sustainable, flavorful vegetarian cuisine that is made with only natural and organic ingredients. LOVE IT. You can really taste the quality of the products in each bite. Trust me…I couldn’t stop eating these sliders I made out of the patties.
As for nutrition…you’ll love this. A serving is the entire box (both patties). My roommate and I split the contents, but if you were to sit this down and eat it straight, you would only be consuming 230 calories. You would also only be set back 3 grams of fat. A serving of the Poblano Chick(pea) Patties contains only 510 mg of sodium. But, in addition, you get 9 grams of filling fiber and a kick of 9 grams of protein. These are completely cholesterol free. How awesome is that? Healthy and delicious. Moo Moo’s Vegetarian Cuisine totally got this one right.
Moo Moo’s Vegetarian Cuisine makes quite a variety of products, some gluten-free, some lactose free, some vegan…some a combination of all of them. But if this is any indication of the quality of their products, then I can’t wait to try more of their gluten-free options. Blown away. Simple, yet powerful ingredients yield delicious products. This certainly proves that.
The Celiathlete 