Macaroni and Cheeze (vegan)

When I read on VegNews that this is "the best mac 'n' cheese on the planet," I just had to give it a try.  I liked that it was vegan for a couple of reasons, the obvious one being that I like making cruelty-free and delicious food, and the other being that my mother, who is Asian, passed on not just her dark hair and brown eyes to me, but also her inability to efficiently digest milk sugars.  I don't particularly even like traditional macaroni and cheese.  I didn't eat it much as a child, and when I did, it made me sick.  But it is the ultimate in comfort food, and I just couldn't resist testing out a claim of a dish of mac & cheese that was the best on the planet.

Here is what you will need.  This is not the measured out product, just the overview of what you'll be operating with.









The cheese (or "cheeze" as a vegan friend of mine likes to call it) is made with cashews.  If you are allergic to nuts, I have been told that raw sunflower seeds can be substituted, but I haven't tried it yet, so would love to hear back on that.

I have made some very minor tweaks.  If you want the original recipe, you can check out the link.

The ingredient list:

4 quarts of water
1 T. salt
1/2 of a 16 oz package of dry macaroni

4 slices of bread, torn into large pieces
2 T. vegan margarine (non-hydrogenated)

2 T. shallots, peeled and chopped
1 c. yellow or red potatoes (I used yellow), peeled and chopped
1/4 c. carrots, peeled and chopped
1/3 c. onion, peeled and chopped
1 c. water

1/4 c. raw cashews
1/3 c. vegan margarine
2 t. salt
1/4 t. garlic, minced
1/4 t. Dijon mustard
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 t. black pepper
1/8 t. cayenne
1/4 t. paprika

In a large pot, boil water with salt.  Add macaroni and cook until al dente (approx 6 minutes).  Drain pasta and rinse well with cold water.  Set aside.

In a food processor, make breadcrumbs by pulverizing the bread and 2 T. margarine until med-fine texture.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion, and water, and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover pan, and cook for 15 minutes or until veggies are very soft.







In a blender, blend cashews, garlic, margarine, salt, mustard, lemon juice, pepper, cayenne, and paprika.  Add softened veggies and cooking water to blender and blend until smooth.  (I use a Vitamix, so not sure if a regular blender will get you there, but the recipe does not call for a high-speed blender.)

From left to right, you have your final mixtures:  buttery breadcrumbs, cheeze sauce, and cooked pasta.

In a large bowl, toss pasta and blended cheeze sauce until completely coated.

Spread mixture into a 9x12 casserole dish, then sprinkle with prepared breadcrumbs.







Bake for 30-35 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and top is golden brown.

While you are waiting for your finished product, you will find that you have just enough time to:

Clean your workspace, including all your prep materials.

Rinse the seeds you started soaking last night to make sprout mix for the chickens and parrots.

Rinse off the onion goggles.

Hand-squeeze yourself a nice fresh glass of grapefruit juice (with a twist of lemon from the leftover half of lemon from this recipe).

Use that fresh glass of juice to take a probiotic.

Feed your dogs their breakfast.

Make yourself a nice hot cup of whatever you like nice and hot and in a cup.

I let my mac & cheeze go for 35 minutes, because I wanted more bubbly action from the sauce.

This is hot out of the oven.

And the moment of truth....

It is pretty darned good!  :)

I wasn't sure about the breadcrumbs, initially, but they add a really nice crunchy texture to the blend.  The cheeze sauce is creamy and delicious, and the macaroni is just the right consistency.

It is definitely an "adult" macaroni and cheese; however, in that the tastes are a little more sophisticated that one would find in a cardboard box manufactured by Kraft.  The cayenne gives it a tiny bit of a kick.  It isn't super strong, but if you don't want ANY spiciness, or if you are feeding it to kids who haven't really developed a sophisticated palate, I would knock the cayenne back to about half the stated measurement.  Other than that, the meal delivers on that comfort food level of creamy and warm and just a little bit decadent.   And if no one told you, you would never know that this is cow juice free.

Depending on how well it stores, I would definitely consider making this again.   (A 9x12 pan of mac & cheeze is a LOT of cheezy goodness for one person to eat, even without the milk sugars!  I am hoping it freezes well!)

My super-picky carnivorous housemates also thought it was pretty darned tasty, btw, and they cleaned the plate!

Cold Sesame Noodles

I know my last post was also about noodles, but I promise that you will want to give these a try, as well!

I wish I could give credit where credit is due, but I have this recipe on a typed piece of paper, with no reference to the author, so I can only say that it is not an original creation by me, although I did tweak it a bit to accommodate both my tastes and my ingredient list.

 Here is what you'll need:

1 pkg Chinese egg noodles (10 oz)(aka Lo Mein)
2 T. peanut oil
2 t. minced garlic
2 t. grated ginger
1 cucumber, peeled and julienned
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
2 t. sesame seeds (plain or toasted)
2 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced

3 T. sesame paste (or 3 T. tahini and 1 t. sesame oil)
2 T. peanut butter
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. sesame oil
2 T. rice vinegar
2 t. chili paste
2 T. sugar

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook egg noodles until al dente, or the minimum amount of time according to package instructions.  Drain immediately, rinse well with cold water, drain again.  Toss with 1 T. peanut oil and set aside.

Heat 1 T. peanut oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Gently cook the garlic and ginger until fragrant, approximately 30-40 seconds.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Place carrots in same sauce pan and saute carrots just until softened, 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Place scallions in same sauce pan and saute just until softened, 30-40 seconds.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare the sauce by combining sesame paste, peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, chili paste, and sugar.  Add 3 T. water.  Whisk until smooth.  Stir in cooked garlic and ginger.

Put noodles in large container, then add sauce, cucumbers, and carrots.  Mix well.

Cover and place in fridge until cool, 1-2 hours.

Serve in smaller bowls or dishes, sprinkling sesame seeds and a pinch of scallion on top.

Serves 4-6 and keeps well in fridge for several days.

The original recipe did not call for cooking the carrots or scallions, but I don't like the texture or taste of raw carrots and scallions in salad, so I opted to cook them lightly.

The original recipe called for smooth peanut butter, or what I call a waste of good peanut butter.  It's chunky or go home in this house.  I used super chunk, and it turned out just fine.