Sorry, not better than ricotta

Though I don't necessarily miss dairy that much since choosing to eliminate it from my diet (health reasons), finding substitutes, for when I want to make something that calls for some kind of cheese product, has proven to be rather...annoyingly challenging. Generally, I don't try to bother with "faux cheeses" because many are laden with stabilizers & fillers that I would rather go without when possible, but even more so, most nondairy products I've tried are just not that tasty.

All that being said, I was recently thinking about how I used to like mixing ricotta with fruit preserves or cinnamon, or a little honey & lemon juice, and spreading it on toast or graham crackers. So, on my last trip to the grocery store, I found Tofutti's "Better than Ricotta," and decided to try it out. Unfortunately, I found it quite dry and crumbly (similar to regular dairy ricotta firmly packed and with all the whey drained). I should mention that it's really not that terrible tasting (rather plain, neutral), but the texture is in desperate need for improvement. I was disappointed because I was expecting something spreadable, not crumbly like a block of feta cheese.

Anyways, for breakfast today I ended up blending the stuff with some strawberry preserves and sliced almonds, and it did help make this spreadable, so I ate it with some homemade gluten free bread. Not bad, but not great. Not better than real ricotta!

However, stuck with a whole pint of this stuff, I wondered how others use this and make it more palatable. I'll need to do more searching for recipes, but I did come across a potentially helpful site that reviews vegan products, and thought I would share it here: http://www.veganoo.net/?m=1 

If anyone reading this has recipe ideas, please share! :)