Easiest, Yummiest Mac and Cheese

It's finally Autumn in North Texas, my favorite time of year! After another brutally hot summer, it's finally cool enough to open the windows and let some crispy fresh air come inside. Even better, it's pouring down sweet, much-needed rain right now. I have the house to myself. And I'm catching up on both my cleaning and my Netflix queue. It's a great day! Of course, a great day like this calls for some comfort food. I made chocolate oatmeal energy balls last night, so sweets are covered. The only thing missing is something cheesy. Enter the Easy Vegan Macaroni and Cheeze recipe from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. I just did a quick Google search for "the best" vegan mac and cheese and this is what popped up. Oh, and guess what? It's absolutely delicious! Creamy and "cheesy," even better than the boxed stuff - vegan or otherwise. Give it a try. It's perfect for this Fall weather, and I'm 99.99% certain that I will be serving it on my Thanksgiving table this year.

EASY VEGAN MACARONI AND CHEEZE
(recipe by Susan Voisin, who writes at blog.FatFreeVegan.com)
"Besides being low-fat, this recipe is also low in sodium, so salt-lovers may need to add salt. The tahini adds a little fat but a lot of flavor; still, leave it out if you need a completely oil-free dish.

Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta (regular or gluten-free), cooked according to package directions
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup plain, fat-free soymilk (may use other non-dairy milk)
• 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch or potato starch
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons tahini (optional, but lends creaminess and flavor)
• 1 teaspoon mellow white miso (or additional salt)
• black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Put the pasta on to boil, according to package directions. While it’s cooking, blend water and all remaining ingredients together in a blender. When the pasta is al dente, drain it, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and return the pasta to pan. Add the sauce mixture and cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. Add a little of the pasta water if more moistness is needed.
2. If the sauce is not as flavorful as you’d like, add a little more mustard and onion powder.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 25 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 8 
Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 303 Calories (kcal); 4g Total Fat; (10% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 54g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 316mg Sodium; 5g Fiber. Also, if you use nutritional yeast fortified with B-12, one serving provides 100% of the daily requirement of that vitamin."

Raspberry Waffle Syrup

I am forty-one years old and pre-menopausal. Is that something I shouldn't talk about online? I don't care! It's a living hell. And no amount of hormonal-type (i.e. of animal origin) food avoidance is helping. I'm as pimply as a teenager, and I have daily hot flashes that my daughter's Girl Scout troop director accurately described as "my own private summer." And, hey sue me buddy, but sometimes a pimply, middle-aged woman having a hot flash needs a got-dang waffle, and sometimes there's no syrup in the house. So, she hits the internet and finds a solution. In this case, it was homemade raspberry syrup. I'd purchased two cases of raspberries the day before because they were on sale for 99 cents a case, which is a steal! So, now we're here. This syrup is delicious. We were spooning it out of the saucepan before it was even cool. Give it a try, and enjoy!

HOMEMADE RASPBERRY SYRUP
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
1 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon water, divided
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

• In a medium saucepan, combine 1 3/4 cups water with sugar. 
• Add raspberries and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low. Allow mixture to simmer for half an hour, stirring occasionally.
• Place the mixture in a fine, mesh sieve and press to release all of the liquid into a bowl or large cup. Return liquid to saucepan.
• Whisk in cornstarch remaining tablespoon water.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook one minute, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat. Allow to cool before serving.
• Can be stored in the refrigerator up to a week in an airtight container.
• Enjoy!