Daiya Wedges!!!!

When I first heard that Daiya was introducing solid block cheeses, I was pretty much beside myself with joy. I already have Daiya shreds running through my veins because I eat so much of it, but the shreds are kinda messy when, say, topping a veggie burger or melting a grilled cheese. Unfortunately, it takes aeons for our Memphis Whole Foods to pick up new products, so there was only one way to obtain my very own Daiya wedges — Vegan Essentials!

Luckily, it's about Easter time, and my parents still give me an Easter basket (yes, I'm 31, and I still get an Easter basket ... yes, I have no shame ... no, I don't even really celebrate Easter). It's always stocked with hard-to-find vegan goodies that my dad picks out from Vegan Essentials and accidentally vegan Easter candy that my mom scours around for in regular stores. So I asked my daddy if he'd include some Daiya Wedges. Look, there they are!

Also included were Peanut Butter Pillows from Chocolate Inspirations, Inc (they're just like vegan Butterfingers!), a few more packages of Vegg powder, and lots of traditional Easter candy that just so happens to be vegan (like Skittles, Sour Patch Kids, and cotton candy). And a fairy glow stick wand (because I'm really just a big ol' kid).

But back to the subject of this post — Daiya Wedges! They make three flavors — Cheddar, Jack Style, and Jalapeno Garlic Havarti. I received the Havarti and the Cheddar, and since the Harvarti is a new flavor for Daiya, I opened that one first:

What to do with it though? First, I decided to go the traditional block cheese route and slice it up for cheese and crackers. I served that with a snacky plate dinner of crudites with garlic hummus and some Pea Hummus from the Happy Herbivore 2012 calendar (peas blended with nooch, garlic, and vegan mayo).

You can't have cheese and crackers without wine! To celebrate this joyous cheesy occasion, I opened a 2005 bottle of some fancy-looking French wine (may not actually be French, but it looks French to me) that I got for my birthday:

The verdict? I love the slighty spicy, super garlicky flavor of this cheese (especially paired with the smoky red wine)! And while it was delicious sliced on crackers, it was a little too soft for that.

So I tried melting some over a bagel for breakfast. Then I topped that bagel with sauteed oyster mushrooms (that I grew myself!) and vegan sausage:

Holy crap, y'all. This harvarti was MADE to be melted. I should have known since meltability is Daiya's strong point. It improved the texture and flavor about tenfold. And this may have been the most satisfying breakfast I've had in a while.

I've not yet tried the Cheddar, but I'm pretty sure I know what I'll make with it first. Can you guess? I'll give you a hint. It starts with a "g" and rhymes "spilled peas."