Quick product reviews

Very quick. I really love these items that I have tried recently:

- Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream AND Better Than Cream Cheese. I don't know why I haven't tried these before, but they're both outrageously good. Great texture and flavor - I would never know the difference between these and the dairy versions. I served the "sour cream" with black bean-sweet potato chili burritos, and the "cream cheese" on bagels with sliced summer tomatoes - yum.

- Trader Joe's new creamy hummus - the roasted red pepper flavor. These creamy hummuses are brand new as far as I can tell - I think Trader Joe's is trying to emulate the premium hummus brands like Sabra and Tribe. I took the roasted red pepper flavor to an outdoor concert the other day and I was supposed to share it with everybody in the group but couldn't stop myself from eating almost the whole container. I make good hummus, but this is A LOT better. I can't wait to get more.

- Luna & Larry's Coconut Bliss vegan ice cream - the chocolate hazelnut fudge. Had a sample of this at Whole Foods yesterday and it was unbelievable chocolaty and rich and delicious. I didn't buy it because it was 99 degrees outside and I knew it would be a puddle by the time I got it home. But the demonstrater gave me a 50-cent coupon, so I'll be back.

- Eden Foods mirin. I keep running across mirin as an ingredient in recipes, so finally went out and got some. It's a little pricy - about 8 bucks for this bottle. But I brought it home and tasted a little bit right out of the bottle, and YUM! I have a fridge full of stir-fry ingredients, and can't wait to cook with this new find.