Today marks the first day of Vegan MoFo (Month of Food). I will be blogging each day of October (with the exception of a few days I'll be on the road, so I'll have extras before and after.) Each post will be about food. It might be recipes, something I found at the market, a great kitchen tool I like, etc.
I posted about my Mac n Cheese a long time ago. Since then, I've made it quite a few more times and have improved on the recipe, both making it harder and easier at the same time. Cheaper, though!
The old recipe used a veganized version of the Joy of Cooking's basic Macaroni and Cheese (cook onions, add milk, cook down, then add cheese) with the addition of a 1/3-1/2 cup of Road End Organic's Mac n Chreeze powder, that I bought in bulk. The new version continues with the Joy of Cooking version but now uses a combo of the dry ingredients from Veganomicon's Mac Daddy and the dry ingredients from the Road's End powder. And one block of Vegan Gourmet cheese.
First, choose a nice, preferably organic penne or similarly shaped pasta, 1 lb. (I got my pasta at Costco, for a fraction of the price of organic pasta at my grocery store.)
Boil, and when pasta is done, drain and put into large rectangular or circular casserole dish, ceramic or glass.
While it's boiling, chop one onion into small pieces.
Sautee it in olive oil or vegan margarine until soft.
Once the onions are soft, add 1 1/2 cups of unsweetened nondairy milk (not rice - it's too watery). I usually use unsweetened almond milk but tonight I'm using Vitasoy since I have it already open. Turn down the heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes until the level of the milk has gone down.
While the milk is simmering (or before if you've had time), shred one block of Follow Your Heart's Vegan Gourmet cheese. I usually use Mozarella or Monterey Jack.
Then prepare the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and just put the mustard on top. (l-r: grated cheese, almond/soy milk used earlier)
When the milk has finished simmering, add the cheese and whisk or stir very well until the cheese is mostly melted.
You might need to turn up the heat a tiny bit. Once it is well melted, add the dry ingredients and whisk well.
Then pour over the pasta and mix it thoroughly.
If you like, you can add any extras, like thawed frozen peas, or freshly sliced tomatoes, or bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Serve with something green! It's shown here with broccoli sauteed with garlic, red chili flakes, and "chicken" broth.
Ingredients:
1 lb penne pasta
1 block Vegan Gourmet cheese
1 1/2 C of soy, almond, or hemp milk
1 large onion
3 Tb flour
1/2 C nutritional yeast (large or small flakes)
1 tsp yellow mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme (rub it btween fingers to break up)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp tapioca powder (optional - if included, omit 1/4 block of cheese)
black pepper to taste
