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Creamy Macaroni and Cashew Cheese

May 23, 2010 by epicureanvegan

You’re probably thinking. . .how many non-dairy mac and cheese recipes can there possibly be? Turns out, quite a few, but as most of us know, they’re not all that tasty. This one, however, from The Vegan Table, is the first cashew cheese sauce I’ve tried (but close to the Hurry Up Alfredo) and I really, really, love it. I ate way too much of it, too. 🙂 I’ve made some minor alternations such as less oil and milk. By the way, if you need to omit the miso because of a soy intolerance, you can use a chickpea (garbanzo) miso or a barley miso. Another alternative is to use tahini mixed with a bit of salt.

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/4 C raw cashews
1/2 C nutritional yeast
2 tsp onion powder
1 to 2 tsp salt, to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp white pepper
3-1/2 C nondairy milk (I use 3 cups)
3 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 C canola oil (I use about a 1/4 cup and will often use olive oil instead)
1/4 C light (yellow or white) miso
2 Tbs lemon juice
12-16oz macaroni, cooked (I used about 16 ounces of both small shells and rotini)
I added 1-1/2 tsp of truffle oil, but it’s optional (I recommend it)!

DIRECTIONS:
Place cashews in a large-sized bowl of the food processor and finely grind–just don’t let the cashews turn to a paste. Add nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, garlic powder, and white pepper. Pulse three more times to blend in spices.

In a heavy saucepan, combine milk, cornstarch and oil(s). Bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease heat to low-medium, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, or until cornstarch dissolves.

With the food processor running, gradually add milk/oil mixture to cashew/nutritional yeast mixture. Blend for 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Next blend in miso and lemon juice.

Combine cashew cheese with macaroni noodles and serve. You may also bake it: Preheat oven to 325 and place macaroni mixture in a 8 or 9″ square baking dish (I recommend a 9″x13″ one). Cover and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with 1/2 C herbed bread crumbs. Continue baking, uncovered, for 15-25 minutes until topping is golden brown. (I’m going to do this with the leftovers)! Enjoy!

Recipe source: The Vegan Table

UPDATE: I baked the leftovers and it was good, but I think I like it better unbaked.

Creamy Macaroni and Cashew Cheese

This recipe, from The Vegan Table, is the first cashew cheese sauce I've tried and I really, really, love it. I ate way too much of it, too. 🙂 I've made some minor alternations such as less oil and milk. By the way, if you need to omit the miso because of a soy intolerance, you can use a chickpea (garbanzo) miso or a barley miso. Another alternative is to use tahini mixed with a bit of salt.

Author: Epicurean Vegan

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

1-1/4 C raw cashews
½ C nutritional yeast
2 tsp onion powder
1 to 2 tsp salt, to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
⅛ tsp white pepper
3-1/2 C nondairy milk (I use 3 cups)
3 Tbs cornstarch
½ C canola oil (I use about a ¼ cup and will often use olive oil instead)
¼ C light (yellow or white) miso
2 Tbs lemon juice
12-16oz macaroni, cooked (I used about 16 ounces of both small shells and rotini)
I added 1-1/2 tsp of truffle oil, but it's optional (I recommend it)!

Directions

Place cashews in a large-sized bowl of the food processor and finely grind--just don't let the cashews turn to a paste. Add nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, garlic powder, and white pepper. Pulse three more times to blend in spices.
In a heavy saucepan, combine milk, cornstarch and oil(s). Bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease heat to low-medium, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes, or until cornstarch dissolves.
With the food processor running, gradually add milk/oil mixture to cashew/nutritional yeast mixture. Blend for 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Next blend in miso and lemon juice.
Combine cashew cheese with macaroni noodles and serve.
You may also bake it (I prefer this unbaked) Preheat oven to 325 and place macaroni mixture in a 8 or 9" square baking dish (I recommend a 9"x13" one). Cover and bake 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with ½ C herbed bread crumbs. Continue baking, uncovered, for 15-25 minutes until topping is golden brown. (I'm going to do this with the leftovers)! Enjoy!
Recipe from The Vegan Table

Coconut-Lemon Bundt Cake

May 18, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This cake from Veganomicon, is incredibly easy to make, but most importantly, it’s moist and delicious! It’s a great dessert to throw together when you don’t have a lot of time on your hands, but need a dessert quick.

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 C granulated sugar (I reduced it to 1 cup)
2/3 C canola oil
1 (14-oz) can coconut milk
1/4 C soy milk (I typically use almond milk)
1/4 C lemon juice
3 Tbs lemon zest
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 C shredded unsweetened coconut
A few tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8 or 10″ Bundt pan. (A 10″ pan works best. Some readers have noted that the cake overflows in an 8″ pan.) In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, oil, coconut milk, soy milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the wet ingredients in batches, mixing well after each addition. Stir to combine, then stir in the coconut. Pour batter into the Bundt pan, Bake 1 hour or until a knife inserted through the cake comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then place a cutting board over the cake pan, gently flip over and release the cake from the pan. Let cool completely. Once cooled, sift a sprinkling of the confectioners’ sugar over the tip. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Recipe source: Veganomicon

Vegan White Sauce and Pasta

May 17, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is probably my favorite vegan white sauce—it doesn’t taste fake and I think even non-vegans would have a tough time complaining about this one. It’s simple to make and versatile. I added diced mushrooms, but feel free to add other veggies, or just serve it plain over pasta. I like to serve it with a little sprinkle of Daiya cheese and I made garlic toasts out of leftover buns—a great meal!

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C Earth Balance
1/2 C minced shallots
3 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 Tbs dry white wine
1 C vegetable broth
2 C unsweetened soy milk
Dash ground nutmeg
1 bay leaf
Salt and ground white pepper

DIRECTIONS:
I recommend having all the ingredients measured out and ready to go–it’ll be a lot easier. In a medium sauce pan, heat the margarine over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Do not brown. Stir in the flour until it is absorbed. Stir in the wine, broth, soy milk, nutmeg, and bay leaf and cook, stirring until thickened, about 5 minutes. (For me, after about 12 minutes it had not thickened, so I resorted to ever-trusty tablespoon of cornstarch and 1/4 C of broth mixture–worked immediately). Remove the bay leaf and discard. Here, the recipe says to transfer to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, which baffled me since the sauce was pretty smooth already. If the shallots weren’t minced finely enough, I could understand, but after thinking about it, I opted to not have to clean the food processor, too. Maybe something spectacular was to happen and I missed out, but I decided to take my chances. It turned out great. I added about 1-1/2 C of diced mushrooms and removed from the heat. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.

During all this, I cooked up some fettuccine and made up some garlic toast with some leftover sandwich buns by spreading them with some Earth Balance, sprinkling on some garlic salt and Daiya mozzarella cheese. Under the broiler for about 2-3 minutes, they came out great. Enjoy!

Recipe source: 1000 Vegan Recipes

Baked Mac and Cheese

May 12, 2010 by epicureanvegan

I made this recipe before and it was all right—I knew it had potential, so I made it again, but this time, I made a few changes and I really love how it turned out. The original recipe was just a little too dry for my taste but I’ll post that recipe with what changes I made. Overall, it’s a great basic recipe for vegan mac and cheese so it was easy to tweak.

INGREDIENTS:
5 C water, divided (I used more water…had to use more pasta)
3/4 C nutritional yeast
1/4 C pine nuts
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs fresh parsley
1 tsp pepper
1 Tbs soy sauce (I used 2 Tbs almond milk instead)
1 C uncooked pasta (This seemed way to little for the 4 servings it says it makes–I used 4 cups and didn’t even need to make more sauce)
3 Tbs olive oil
1/4 C flour
3/4 C breadcrumbs (I used about 1/8 of a cup)
I added 1/2 C Tofutti sour cream, 1/2 C shredded vegan cheddar cheese, and 1/2 tsp of turmeric.
(This is great vegan comfort food–especially considering we got snowed on again–it’s mid-May)!

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400. In a large pot, bring 5 cups of water to a boil (you’ll need more if using more pasta). While water is boiling, in a blender (or food processor) combine nutritional yeast, pine nuts, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, parsley, pepper, and turmeric until blended. Add remaining 1 cup of water and soy sauce (or almond milk) and blend. Add pasta to boiling water. In a large pan over medium heat, heat oil. Add flour and stir constantly to remove lumps. Pour in blended mixture and stir until a desired consistency is reached. (This actually happens pretty quick, so you could easily do this step after the pasta is already cooked). Remove from heat. (This is where I stirred in the sour cream and cheddar cheese). Strain pasta and pour into pan of cheesy sauce and stir to combine. Transfer to a oven-safe dish, top with breadcrumbs and bake 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Recipe source: VegNews

Red Velvet Cake

May 6, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Okay, this cake could have been one of the most amazing vegan desserts ever. . . if I hadn’t of screwed it up. Really, it was all my fault. Apparently, I didn’t know the difference between 2-1/2 cups and say. . . 4 cups. Of the dry ingredients. What was I thinking? I wasn’t. Got heavy-handed with the dry baking mix and the cake ended up a bit dense (much like the baker). I thought the flavor was really good and the “buttercream” frosting was delicious! Plus, it’s gluten-free!

So I’ve only posted the winners before, but c’mon—the pictures! I had to post it after all the work and it is my birthday for at least another 45 minutes, after all, so I can do what I want! 🙂 Really, if it hadn’t been for my mistake, I truly think this recipe is a winner. Try it and let me know what you think! If not, enjoy the pictures! (A special thank you to the kind folks who I “tested” this on. . . you’re all good sports)!

CLICK HERE for the redemption version!

INGREDIENTS:
Cake:
1 C gluten-free vanilla rice milk
1 tsp cider vinegar
2-1/2 C Betsy’s Baking Mix (below. . . and this is where I screwed up because the mix makes more than 2-1/2 cups)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
1-1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C organic palm oik shortening
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ounce red food coloring
1/4 C +3 Tbs unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs distilled white vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
Betsy’s Gluten-Free Baking Mix:
3-3/4 C garbanzo flour
2-1/4 C potato starch
1-1/2 C tapioca starch/flour
(Combine all ingredients with a wire whisk. Seal in an airtight container and shake vigorously for 1 minute)
Frosting:
1-1/2 C Earth Balance margarine
4-1/2 C confectioners’ sugar
Vanilla soy/rice/almond milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease two 9″ round cake pans. In a small bowl, make “buttermilk” by combining rice milk and cider vinegar. In a large mixing bowl, combine the baking mix (just the 2-1/2 cups) with the salt and xanthan gum. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar and shortening. Meanwhile, in a separate small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and food coloring to form a paste; set side.

Add the applesauce and vanilla to creamed shortening and sugar blend until the mixture is light and creamy. Add the cocoa powder paste and mix well. Alternately add the dry ingredients and the “buttermilk” mixture to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Pour the white vinegar into a small cup and sprinkle the baking soda over it. Immediately pour the fizzing combo into the cake batter and thoroughly combine the two mixtures.

(That’s some thick batter)!

Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes. Let cakes cool completely in their pans on a cooling rack. Turn cakes out of their pans.

To make frosting: With a mixer, cream the butter until fluffy. Alternately, add the confectioners’ sugar and enough soy milk to reach desired consistency. Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Frost the top of each cake layer. Transfer 1 layer to a serving plate and set the other layer on top. Frost the sides of the cake. Store the frosted cake, covered and refrigerate, for up to 3 days.

I think a scoop of soy ice cream on top would have been perfect — and possibly would have even saved me, but of course, I didn’t have any!

Recipe source (cake only): Living Without

Chai Spice Cookies with Lemon “Buttercream” Frosting

May 1, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Yum. Yep, these are delicious! Both the cookie and the frosting recipe is from 1000 Vegan Recipes, and I decided to combine the two. This is a crispy cookie, so my suggestion is to make them really thin if making a sandwich–otherwise, it’s a lot of cookie (which is what I learned). Or you can just ice the top of the cookie–it’s a wonderful combination of flavors. You can also use vanilla extract in place of the lemon, if you prefer. Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

INGREDIENTS:
Cookies:
2 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp ground cardamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground fennel seed
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 C vegan margarine (Earth Balance)
3/4 C sugar
2 Tbs plain or vanilla soy milk
2 Tbs agave nectar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Frosting:
1/2 C vegan margarine
2 C confectioners’ sugar
1 Tbs plain or vanilla soy milk
3/4 tsp pure lemon extract, or vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Cookies: Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, cloves, fennel seed, and salt. Mix to combine well. In a large bowl, beat together the margarine, sugar, soy milk, agave nectar, and vanilla until well combined. Add the flour mixture, stirring well to form a smooth, stiff dough. Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll them between your hands into balls. Place dough balls onto an ungreased baking sheet and use a metal spatula to flatten the cookies to about 1/4″ thick.

Bake until lightly browned at the edges, about 15 minutes. Cool on a baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting: In a large bowl, cream the margarine with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, soy milk, and vanilla and mix until thoroughly combined. Continue mixing for about 2 minutes, until the frosting is smooth and stiff. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Enjoy!

Creamy-Apple Horseradish Dip

April 30, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This is the other great recipe from my fabulous neighbor, also from the VeganChef. The apples and horseradish make a great combination and you can add more horseradish if you want more of a kick. This is great on crackers and veggies. Thanks, neighbor!

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 cup walnuts
4 apples, peeled and cored
2 T. lemon juice
2/3 cup plain soy yogurt
2-3 T. prepared horseradish, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
In a non-stick skillet, place the walnuts, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Remove from pan and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, grate the apples into a bowl, drizzle them with the lemon juice, and toss well to prevent the apples from turning brown. When the walnuts are cool, place them in a blender or food processor, and finely grind them. Add the walnuts and remaining ingredients to the grated apple and stir well to combine. Taste, season with a little salt and pepper, and add more horseradish if desired. Transfer the dip to a glass bowl. Serve with crackers, chips, sliced bread, or an assortment of raw vegetables.

Yield: 2 Cups

Vegetable Lasagna

April 18, 2010 by epicureanvegan

This lasagna is delicious, simple and healthy! I used the same tofu mixture recipe as the Stuffed Shells and it was perfect for this meal. I used the no-boil lasagna noodles since they’re such a time saver–just make sure that every inch gets covered with sauce, otherwise, any bare spots won’t cook and will be crunchy.

INGREDIENTS:
2 Tbs olive oil
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
2-1/2 C zucchini, sliced thin
2-1/2 C portobello mushrooms, sliced
2/3 C onion, chopped
1 14-oz pgk. extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 jar marinara sauce, divided into thirds (I like Newman’s Own)
1/4-1/3 C nutritional yeast
1 C fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbs lemon juice
8-oz vegan mozzarella, shredded

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375.
To make tofu mixture: Add tofu, basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice to a food processor and process well until the mixture resembles ricotta cheese. Stir in 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the onions, zucchini and mushrooms in the olive oil for about 5-8 minutes, just enough to soften them.
In a 15″ baking pan, line the bottom with 4 of the lasagna noodles. Top with half of the tofu mixture, half of vegetables, sprinkle with a layer of cheese and then 1/3 of the sauce.

Top with another 4 noodles, the other half of the tofu mixture and other half of veggies. Add another thin layer of cheese and 1/3 of the sauce. Top with remaining 4 noodles, rest of sauce and rest of cheese.

Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

Vegan Enchiladas

April 16, 2010 by epicureanvegan

These were yummy and satisfying! I used stir-fry seitan, but you can use sliced portobello mushrooms or Boca Meatless Crumbles. To clear out the sinuses, puree some chilies in adobo sauce (comes in a 7-oz can) and mix in with the meat-of-choice. I used about 6 tablespoons and the Husband and Fifth Grader found it a little too fork-curling hot, so next time, I’ll use only 1-2 tablespoons–just depends on what you like.

INGREDIENTS:
16-oz seitan, sliced portobellos, or Boca Meatless Ground Crumbles
1/2 large onion, chopped
12 small flour or corn tortillas
2-1/2 C mix of vegan Monterey Jack cheese and vegan Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded
Tofutti sour cream
1-2 avocados, diced
Fresh cilantro leaves
1 recipe enchiladas sauce:
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs flour
1/4 C chili powder
2 C vegetable broth
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 pkg. enchiladas spices or recipe (below):
1 Tbs chili powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1 paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:
Start with the enchiladas sauce: Heat oil in a saucepan, stir in flour, then chili powder (if you need to make your own chili powder, combine 3 Tbs paprika, 1 Tbs cumin, 2 T oregano, 1 tsp cayenne, and 1/2 tsp garlic salt). Add vegetable broth, tomato paste, cumin and oregano. Simmer 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375. Sautee meat-of-choice with some olive oil until browned. Whether you use seitan, portobellos or ground crumbles, they only take about 10 minutes. Stir in spices. Add onion last couple of minutes of sauteeing.

Spread about a 1/2 cup of the sauce on the bottom of a 15″ baking pan. Fill each tortilla with about 3 tablespoons of meat mixture and 1-2 Tbs of cheese. Be sure to save about 3/4 cup to 1 cup of cheese to spread on the top. Fold each tortilla and place into the pan. Top with the rest of the enchilada sauce and cheese. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5 minutes.

Serve hot and top with a dollop of Tofutti sour cream, avocados and cilantro.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Shells

April 10, 2010 by epicureanvegan

Ricotta what?! Who needs ricotta? These stuffed shells are outstanding and the tofu mixture can easily be used for lasagna. If you don’t have fresh basil, use 1-1/2 tablespoons of the dried variety. In the past, I’ve also added about 6 large spinach leaves after processing everything else. Great way to get some added calcium and veggies. Also, if you don’t have any French or Italian bread, make garlic toast easily with leftover hamburger or hot dog buns. I had some whole wheat hamburger buns in the freezer, so I thawed them briefly in the microwave, spread them with some Earth Balance and sprinkled them with garlic salt. Pop them in the oven under a high broiler while the shells cool after baking.

INGREDIENTS:
1 12-oz pgk. jumbo pasta shells
1 14-oz pgk. extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
1 jar marinara sauce (I like Newman’s Own)
1/4-1/3 C nutritional yeast
1 C fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbs lemon juice
1-1/2 C vegan mozzarella, shredded and divided

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375. Add tofu, basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper and lemon juice to a food processor and process well until the mixture resembles ricotta cheese. Stir in 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.

Cook shells according to package instructions, but subtract a couple of minutes–you want the shells very al dente so that they do not split. Pour a layer of sauce on the bottom of a 15″ baking dish. Stuff each shell (about 43 of them) with 2-3 tsp of tofu mixture and place in pan. Top with remaining sauce and mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes and enjoy!

Garlic-toasted hamburger buns

Creamy Macaroni and Cashew Cheese

Recipe source: The Vegan Table

Coconut-Lemon Bundt Cake

Vegan White Sauce and Pasta

Baked Mac and Cheese

Red Velvet Cake

Chai Spice Cookies with Lemon “Buttercream” Frosting

Creamy-Apple Horseradish Dip

Vegetable Lasagna

Vegan Enchiladas

Stuffed Shells

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