I’m the type of person who tends to become overwhelmed by “choice.” Too long of a beer list, Spotify, cable television, my local Strack & Van Til, what to do at any given moment in this great city of Chicago…you get the picture. So of course this extends to internet recipe searches. Hence why it’s taken me almost a year to attempt vegan mac & “cheese.” It seemed like too much of a commitment to make just ONE.

So many versions of “cheese” - what will work and what won’t? Do I really need to drop that much green on raw cashews? Do I really need to prep this cashew cheese two days in advance? Eff that. I’m on a budget and I’m goddamn hungry. Two days prep is two days too many. So I took the plunge tonight, using this recipe, bookmarked many moons ago. And it turned out fabulous.

Here’s how it went down…

Ingredients

• one box medium shells (whole wheat)
• 1-1/2 cups nutritional yeast
• 1/2 pkg of extra firm tofu, “lightly” pressed
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1-1/2 cups unsweetened soymilk
• 1/2 Tbsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• yellow mustard to taste
• 2 Tbsp Earth Balance
• 1 cup plain panko bread crumbs

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350.
2. While a large pot of salted water is reaching a boil, prepare the “cheese” in your food processor. I pressed the tofu by hand (over the sink) and tossed chunks of the tofu into the bowl. Add the oil, water, tamari, soy milk. Blend. Add the nutritional yeast and blend some more. Next comes the salt, paprika and garlic powder. I finally added the yellow mustard while the food processor was, uh, processing (?) on Low.
3. Go back to that pot of boiling, salted water & cook your pasta al dente (about 7 minutes).
4. Melt the Earth Balance in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat.
5. Drain the pasta as best you can and transfer to a 8x11 casserole dish (or the equivalent). Pour on the “cheese” and distribute the bread cumbs evenly across the top.
6. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. I then turned on the broiler for a couple minutes to brown the bread crumbs.
7. EAT! This paired nicely with 1) a bottle of cab and 2) Sriracha.

Reheated some today for lunch and it was still tasty. Looks like we have a winner!

Part of my ongoing quest to enjoy a plant-based diet means, duh, steering clear of meat and dairy. I have also stopped buying convenience foods: frozen meals (no more Lean Pockets for this gal), most processed foods (was never a big Velveeta fan anyways) and packaged soup (this tomato soup has become a mainstay). No big deal, it’s been easier than I could ever imagine (except when eating out, of course. Or when hungover). But that’s not to say it’s requires no effort. I have my pantry staples, I buy fresh veggies as needed but all this amounts to is eating a whole lot of the same thing (how much of my goddess bean salad can I really eat? A lot actually). This is when the glorious meal planning comes in. 

This week I figured I’d be eating four lunches and four dinners at home and two lunches at the brewery. I’m a fan of leftovers, lunch for dinner, breakfast anytime, etc., so this should be easy right? 

The usual suspects
tomato soup (awesome hot or cold)
buffalo “chicken” wraps
tofu-soyrizo scramble

Brewery favorites
chickpea cutlets
tofu-dill salad sandwiches

Something new
curried tempeh mango salad sandwiches
asparagus & sundried tomato frittata
chickpea salad wrap

I’m hungry just thinking about it.

Spring. Sitting outside listening to Justice after the 6.5mi ride home, enjoying a beer & my new vegan cookbooks

My favorite kind of cake!

Jess Fusion = “Whats in the fridge? Let’s make a meal out of it”

- 2 medium-sized carrots, diced
- 1/4 large orange bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cooked sweet potato, cubed 
- 1/2 pkg TJ’s tempeh
- 2-1/2 cups udon noodles
- TJ’s Soyaki sauce (eyeballed, 3/4cup?)
- cilantro to taste 

Softened the carrots and bell pepper in a small amount of EVOO with some salt (to absorb water) and pepper. Added the tempeh, tossed that around to get it hot. Poured in just enough Soyaki to cover the the veggies/tempeh, added a small amount of fresh cilantro and simmered until all sauce was absorbed. Meanwhile, the sweet potato was cooked in the microwave and the udon noodles were boiled in a seperate saucepan (not sure if this was necessary). Dumped in the noodles, added a smidge more sauce, tossed, added cooked (peeled) sweet potato, tossed gently. And that’s it! Made 2-3 servings.

I’ve never cooked with tempeh and was pleasantly surprised: biting into each “cube” was an additional flavor profile that proved very tasty. The sweet & salty Soyaki was great. And the different textures (tempeh, slightly crunchy carrot, soft sweet potato, etc) kept it interesting, with the cilantro adding a nice freshness.

I made enough for tomorrow, under the assumption I’ll be dealing with a hangover and craving something salty but fresh. Now that’s preparedness.

The Temperature of Ingredients…How Important Is It? (via efccooking)

Today’s experiment in “pantry cooking” brought to you by instant polenta and tofu. Along with spinach, tomatoes and, yes, soy sauce. Spain meets the Far East in Chicago. Or something.

Look at these pieces of “ethnic Chicago” @jjmtim found in Grand Rapids.

This looks so delicious. If not for Thanksgiving, then for  next month’s “Cookie & Beer Party!”

P.S. The blog “Iowa Girl Eats” is awesome, has lots of veg stuff, along with healthy (meat) recipes and has really inspired me, Ms. Lazy Bones, to actually cook.