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."

Sleepaway Camp Surprise

If you have ever seen the fabulously awful movie, Sleepaway Camp (1983), you already know the "surprise." I shall reveal said surprise after the recipe, so if you haven't seen the film and don't want the surprise ruined, don't scroll down past the recipe.

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Sleepaway Camp is a film that defies explanation or definition. It's just terribly, terribly bad. But it's so much fun to watch (seriously, it is!) it has a cult following almost on par with the Evil Dead trilogy. The original film (along with it's equally terrible predecessors) has it's own website. And the star of the film, Felissa Rose, is a frequent guest of honor at horror conventions all over the world. A Sleepaway Camp Reunion in 2001 pulled hundreds of fans who came to get a glimpse of the cast and have their t-shirts and memorabilia autographed.

In honor of Sleepaway Camp, and just good ol' summer camp food in general, I am posting a very simple, but delicious broccoli and rice casserole that is reminiscent of camp cafeteria food, but way tastier.

The recipe comes from the cookbook, The Compassionate Cook: Or, Please Don't Eat the Animals, which I was fortunate to find on the Half Price clearance rack for two dollars. Woo hoo!

BROCCOLI AND RICE CASSEROLE
from The Compassionate Cook: Or, Please Don't Eat the Animals!

"The nutritional yeast gives this casserole a 'cheesy' quality, the broccoli gives it color, and the spices give it pizzazz."

1 10-ounce package frozen broccoli florets, or 1 bunch fresh, cut into pieces
2 cups white rice (I used long-grain brown rice)
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine (I used Earth Balance buttery spread)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Pinch of turmeric
I cup of nutritional yeast flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pinch of paprika

• Steam the broccoli, about six minutes.
• Prepare the rice according to package directions.
• Spread the cooked rice evenly over the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish.
• Sprinkle the broccoli over the rice and set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Melt the margarine in a medium frying pan over low heat.
• Beat in the flour with a whisk over medium heat until the mixture is smooth and bubbly, then whisk in the boiling water, salt soy sauce, garlic and onion powders, and turmeric. 
• Cook the sauce until it thickens and bubbles, then whip in the yeast. 
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Pour the sauce over the broccoli and rice, sprinkle the top with paprika, and bake for 15 minutes. 
• If desired place pan under broiler for a few minutes until the sauce is browned and crusty.

Okay, are you ready for the surprise?

Are you sure you're ready?!

Don't scroll down if you haven't seen the movie and don't want to ruin the ending!

That's your warning!

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!

Here it comes...

Surprise! It's a weenie!
(A vegan one, of course.)

In the final scene of Sleepaway Camp, a twist is revealed. Angela, our heroine, has killed a boy and is crouched over the body. When she is approached by two camp counselers, she stands up, stark naked, to reveal that she has a dong, is a boy, and has been a boy from the get-go. She is also, naturally, the murderer. It's nonsensical gender-bending horror hi jinx like only the 80s can produce!

And, as a very special treat to my readers, I give you this...

Scanners Scramble

Hey, who remembers Scanners? It was a David Cronenberg film, so if you are at all familiar with Cronenberg's body of work you can immediately imagine how bizarre and disgusting it is without me even having to describe it. It concerned a rare and small group of "special" people, called Scanners, who could do all kinds of crazy telepathic and telekinetic things, like read thoughts, start fires with their minds, control the bodily processes of other people, and - most notably - make people's heads explode.    

Scanners (1981)

I will spare you from photos of the infamous head explosion scene, because I don't want you to lose your appetite, Instead, I will cleverly use my tofu scramble to demonstrate the basic logistics of the scene.

Here we have two fully functioning brain lobes, just pulsing away happily.

Then this guy catches wind of something in those lobes he doesn't like.

And now the brains look like this... Ya get me?

'sploded or not, that scramble looks delicious. And it is! The recipe is not my own. Alas, it belongs to one Isa Chandra Moskowitz of Veganomicon fame. It is my favorite tofu scramble recipe and the only one I ever make anymore, simply because it is the best! Trust me and give it a try. Here's the original recipe post on the Post Punk Kitchen website. You can also find it in Isa's fantastic cookbook, Vegan Brunch. I'll put links to the cookbooks at the bottom of this post. Now, on to the scramble!

2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed with your fingers
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt*
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced (or more, to taste)
1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Fresh black pepper to taste

(*This is way too much salt for me. I only use a half teaspoon when I make this and it always tastes great. I recommend starting with less and adding more later if you want to.)

• First stir the spice blend together in a small cup. Add water and mix. Set aside.
• Preheat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic in olive oil for about a minute. Break the tofu apart into bite sized pieces and saute for about 10 minutes, using a spatula to stir often. Get under the tofu when you are stirring, scrape the bottom and don’t let it stick to the pan, that is where the good, crispy stuff is. Use a thin metal spatula to get the job done, a wooden or plastic one won’t really cut it. The tofu should get browned on at least one side, but you don’t need to be too precise about it. The water should cook out of it and not collect too much at the bottom of the ban. If that is happening, turn the heat up and let the water evaporate.
• Add the spice blend and mix to incorporate. Add the nutritional yeast and fresh black pepper. 
• Cook for about five more minutes. Serve warm.

As you can see in the photos, I topped mine with fresh pico de gallo. I had some leftover from yesterday's C.H.U.D. C.H.I.L.I. so I used it to top my scramble, which was ever-so-gently lain on a stovetop-warmed tortilla from Trader Joe's. Dang, it was good! Best.Breakfast.Ever.

Happy MoFo'ing, everyone!

 

Awesomesauce Food Porn

Ever since the introduction of AwesomeSauce into our home, I have put that stuff on every freakin' bite of food that will stand still in my kitchen. I am so in love with it! To prove it, I've snapped a few photos for ya. Maybe this will give you some ideas for pouring/dribbling/injecting AwesomeSauce into your next meal.

Bell Pepper Enchiladas over rice, topped with AwesomeSauce and Guac (recipe coming soon!)

Three-Bean Chili with Quinoa, over a Roasted Poblano Pepper, topped with AwesomeSauce

Simple Steamed Asparagus, topped with AwesomeSauce and Sesame Seeds

Baked potato with AwesomeSauce and Steamed Broccoli

AwesomeSauce makes the BEST (and cheapest) vegan Mac N' Cheese you will ever eat!

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The Sexy Vegan Cookbook

The Nutritional Yeast Cookbook

The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook

"AwesomeSauce" Even Omnis Will Love

My favorite vegan restaurant, Spiral Diner Fort Worth, makes an amazing nacho dish with what seems to be the latest sensation, a vegan "cheesy" sauce made from cashews. I love these nachos super hard. They are mouthwatering and fantastic. I even eat the jalapeno slices on top, because there's the microscopic possibility that they might be ever-so-slightly impregnated with the sauce. The only problem is that, despite their fantastic food and friendly waitstaff, Spiral Diner has one slight imperfection... It's expensive! And I'm eternally broke! To be fair, they do charge a decent price considering that the bulk of their foodstuff is organic. And, if I could afford it, I would not feel ripped off eating there every single day. Hell, every single MEAL if I could! But, sadly, my trips to Spiral happen only a handful of times per year. And I am forever trying to copy their recipes so that I can make their delicious yums at home for a fraction of the price. They do teach cooking classes on occasion, but I can't afford those either. What's a poor vegan to do??

Today I was really, desperately craving those nachos. Like, I mean, I had to have 'em, man! And I know the  not-so-secret ingredient in Spiral's "cheesy" sauce is cashews. But, since when can a poor person afford raw cashews? Since almost-never, that's when. So, I farted around with a couple of cashew-free "cheesy" sauce recipes I found online and came up with my own delicious chip-dipping substance, sans the expensive cashews. And it is fabulous!

Even your omni friends will love it. They won't have any idea it's vegan - it's way too decadent to be rabbit food! They'll think it's some exotic, richly creamy awesomesauce. Hence the name, "awesomesauce." I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (can sub all-purpose flour)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric (optional)
2 cups water
1 teaspoon mustard

• Whisk all ingredients together in a medium saucepan.
• Bring to a slight bubble, stirring constantly, over medium heat. 
• As soon as mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat to low and continue whisking until sauce thickens. Sauce will continue to thicken as it cools, so be careful not to overcook.
• Turn heat off and remove saucepan from heat source. Stir a few more times and serve. 
• Enjoy!

P.S. AwesomeSauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. To reheat, just add a tablespoon or two of water and stir gently over medium-low heat until warm.

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Chloe's Quick-and-Easy Vegan Party Foods

Party Vegan: Fabulous, Fun Food For Every Occasion

Vegan Dinner Parties

Simple Stick-To-Your-Ribs Lasagna

I pulled this creation from thin air yesterday when I wanted a hot, hearty meal but I didn't want to do a lot of prep (i.e. chopping veggies for half an hour). I wasn't sure how it was going to taste, but it smelled amazing as it bubbled in the oven, and the entire family gobbled it down like it was chocolate lava from the Alps. It was so delicious! And, quite honestly, I couldn't tell the difference between my version and the "real deal," even though I can admit that it's been a long time since I've tasted the real deal. Anyway, this would be the perfect dish for a non-vegan dinner guest or an omni potluck.
Put this one together when you're really hungry, and want some comfort food, but don't want to work too hard for it.

INGREDIENTS
9 lasagna noodles, prepared according to package directions then "shocked" with cold water
1 pound firm tofu, drained
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
16 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon olive oil (optional)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

• PREP
•  First, you need to whip up the noodles. Easy enough. After you've drained them in the colander, just "shock" them by rinsing them off with some cold tap water until they're nice and cool. This will keep them from sticking together while you make your tofu ricotta.
• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
• Now, to make the tofu ricotta, you simply dump your drained tofu into a bowl and add the spices. Use a fork to smush the tofu and push in the spices. Just smush and stir until everything's combined. It only takes a minute or so. It should look like this - 

• Now you'll just layer your ingredients in a casserole dish like so.

1. little bit of sauce on the bottom
2. 3 noodles
3. little more sauce - paint it over the noodles with the back of a spoon
4. a third of the ricotta
5. a smattering of mushrooms
6. 3 more noodles
7. little more sauce
8. another third of the ricotta
9. more mushrooms
10. last 3 noodles
11. remaining sauce
12. remaining ricotta
13. remaining mushrooms

• Put it in the oven, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes, until mushrooms are cooked through and sauce is bubbling.
• Allow it to rest for about 15 minutes before cutting into it. 
• Enjoy!

Vegan Italiano

The Gluten-Free Vegan Italian

Nonna's Italian Kitchen

Have You Had Your Kale Today?

Hey All!

So, here's the new deal with me... I'm re-designing my plant-based diet to exclude as much processed food as humanly possible, most importantly processed sugar, and I am striving to make each meal as nutrient-dense as I can. So, from here on out, the goal is to cram as many vitamins, minerals, grams of fiber, and phytochemicals as I can manage into as yummy a meal as I can possibly dream up. So, the days of white flour and sugar on the Bankrupt Vegan site are done. Jen needs to get healthy, lose weight, and get back on her feet! Yes, I'm referring to myself in the 3rd person - and, yeah, I know that's creepy. But, hey, Jen is glad you're here anyway.

According to the fantastic book, Super Immunity, written by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, "Green vegetables such as kale, cabbage, collards, and broccoli, plus some non-green vegetables such as cauliflower and turnips, are called 'cruciferous' vegetable. They are named for their flowers, which have four equally spaced petals in the shape of a cross - hence the Latin word crucifer, meaning 'cross-bearer.' All vegetables contain protective micronutrients and phytochemicals, but cruciferous vegetables have a unique chemical composition: they have sulfur-containing compounds that are responsible for their pungent or bitter flavors. When their cell walls are broken by blending or chopping, a chemical reaction occurs that converts these sulfur-containing compounds into isothiocyanates (ITCs) - an array of compounds with proven and powerful immune-boosting effects and anticancer activity."  "Because different ITCs work in different locations in the cell, and on different molecules, they can have combined additive effects, working synergistically to remove carcinogens and kill cancer cells. Furthermore, some ITCs have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, or even immunologic effects."

Holy mackerel! Cruciferous vegetables are real nutrition champions! We should be bathing in them! Shooting them up! Snorting them!
Okay - I kid, I kid... but only about the weird stuff I said we should do with vegetables (unless you're into that sort of thing). The 'nutrition champions' part is 100% true.

So, what's your favorite cruci-veg? Mine's definitely kale. It's cheap to buy organic and it's easy to prepare.
I'm always looking for ways to get it down my family's gullets without any fussin'. The very best way I've found to do that is via the wondrous and magnificent kale chip.

I love you, kale chip.

It's so easy, my daughter can help me with the preparation 

(she's always more likely to eat anything she helps to make).

De-stalkin' those li'l buggers.

Tearing them into chip-sized pieces.

A lot of folks recommend using a dehydrator but, alas, I am too poor for one of those fancy contraptions. However, after a few years of kale chip experimentation, I think I have found a savvy and resourceful way to dry out the chips without too large a risk of burning them.
Try these bad boys on for size and tell me what you think:

1 bunch kale, stems removed and torn into bite-sized bits
A drizzle of olive oil, to taste (Don't over-do it! Just a couple of teaspoons or so will do)
Pinch of garlic powder
Pinch of black pepper
Pinch of paprika, if you dare
1/4 to 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast, to taste (we like a LOT)

• Preheat oven to the "warm" setting, or to the lowest setting you can put it at. Around 200 degrees is fine. 
• Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and use either clean hands or a pair of salad tongs to stir everything together. Make sure all leaves are well-coated.
• Place on a large baking sheet with a light coating of oil or baking spray. You can also use a Sil-Pat, if you have one. That's what I use and it works great. If you don't have one, get one! It helps you to avoid adding extra oil to your baking sheet.
• Place in the oven and set your timer on one hour. After an hour, check your chips about every 15 minutes, giving the sheet a little shake or a stir with a spatula occasionally to make sure they are cooking evenly.When they start to crisp up, have a taste to make sure they are to your liking. It's hard to tell when their done just with visual cues. And once they're dried out, they will overcook and burn very easily. Keep a close eye on them!
• When the chips are done, all them to cool for just a few minutes, then enjoy! We love them plain, but they're also fantastic on salads.
• They will keep for weeks at room temperature in an airtight container.

Homemade Vegan "Parmesan"

I've had this cookbook, Vegan Food Gifts, on my Amazon Wish List ever since I got wind of it, and I tried unsuccessfully to win it from two or three different blogs during MoFo. When I finally figured out I wasn't going to win it, I just sucked it up and bought the damn thing. Because (spoiler alert to my friends, family, and neighbors) this year I'm planning to give "food gifts" as presents. My first course of action is to start making and sampling the recipes so I can figure out what's good to give.

So far, I've made the Fudgy Brownie Mix (photo at the bottom of this post) and the Italian-Spiced Parm-y Sprinkles. There are about 50 remaining recipes I'm dying to try. They all look soooooo good! And since nobody else I know is vegan, besides my husband, and my health guru, Katherine, I have to choose wisely when considering what to give as gifts. So far, I've only tried the two recipes, but they were both fantastic. And I wanted to share the "parmesan" recipe with you because, not only does it taste amazing, but it's easy to make, not too pricey, looks and smells gorgeous, makes a fabulous topper for garlic bread, spaghetti, popcorn, and salads. And I think even non-vegans can appreciate the yummy flavors it presents. Plus, it's got walnuts in it! Hello, protein! My daughter hates the taste and texture of nuts, but she loves this stuff. So, now I can sprinkle the health benefits of nuts onto her salads and she's none the wiser.

1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 panko-style bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed (*I subbed cumin)
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste

• Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and pulse until the walnut pieces have been ground into a powder. 
• Yield: About 1 1/2 cups.

And, since I want to make you really, really crave chocolate right now, here's a picture of the brownie mix prepared...

The mix would be so cute in a jar, and all your recipient has to add is milk, oil, and applesauce. I will definitely be handing this one out for Christmas!

Stringy Zucchini and Squash Pasta

1 pound of your favorite stringy pasta (I used fettuccine in this batch), cooked
2 Tbsp vegan butter (Earth Balance preferred)
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium zucchini, shredded
1 medium yellow squash, shredded
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 to 1 C nutritional yeast, to taste
(Any combination of your favorite Italian seasonings will work. Here's what I used...)
1 Tbsp all-purpose Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp basil
salt and pepper to taste
dash cayenne pepper

• While your pasta is boiling away merrily, heat your olive oil in a large skillet. When it's nice and hot, but not so hot that it's smoking (big no-no!), toss in your garlic and saute for a minute or two, until it starts to just barely change color. 
• Add your squashes, lemon juice and seasonings (except the "nooch") to the skillet and saute until squashes are soft and most of the water has evaporated, about 7 to 10 minutes. 
• When your pasta is cooked, drain it and return it to the pot you cooked it in. Add the butter and toss to coat the pasta with it.
• You can either toss the "nooch" in with your pasta and then ladle the zucchini mixture on the top when you serve, if you like the main ingredient to be visible (hey, some people dig that - nothin' wrong with it). Or you can just chuck everything into the large pot and stir it up. Salad forks work great for this.
• Enjoy!

Vegan Italiano: Dishes from Sun-Drenched Italy 

Nonna's Italian Kitchen: Delicious Homestyle Vegan Cuisine

The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook

Whole Wheat Vegetable Lasagna with Tofu "Ricotta"

I am a slave to my cravings. I really am. And when I desperately crave something that I cannot generally find vegan-style at a restaurant or the grocery store, and I don't know how to make it, I have no choice but to experiment. Sometimes it works out and sometimes I'm left disappointed, with only my unsatisfied craving to keep me company.
Today I was craving Italian food. Chewy, ooey, gooey, cheesy, piping hot, carb-rich Italian food. As usual, I'm broke, so restaurants are out. Plus, not many Italian food joints cater to the veg crowd. We have a great vegan restaurant here in town, but they don't really have what I'm looking for with this particular craving anyway. And none of the vegan Italian offerings at the grocery store are up to snuff compared to their price. So, I went into the kitchen and started playing around. And, I'm happy to report that the result was delicious!
My methods may be weird, but try it for yourself. Here's the recipe...

TOFU "RICOTTA"
1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained, squeezed and crumbled
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp all-purpose Italian seasoning, or any blend of your favorite Italian herbs
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 C nutritional yeast, plus more for garnish
1/4 C olive oil
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced

•  Place all ingredients into a bowl and stir until everything is mixed and tofu is well-coated. Set aside.

LASAGNA 
9 whole wheat lasagna noodles
5 or 6 large mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini squash, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow squash, thinly sliced
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
1 can of regular tomato sauce (I used plain ol' Target store brand)

• Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Layer ingredients in the following order (or mix it up if you want), from bottom to top, in a medium casserole dish
• a quarter of the marinara sauce
• 3 noodles
• half of the tofu "ricotta"
• a quarter of the marinara sauce
• squash
• 3 noodles
• the rest of the tofu "ricotta"
• the rest of the marinara sauce
• zucchini
• mushrooms
• 3 noodles
• all of the tomato sauce
• Sprinkle extra nutritional yeast all over the top, or splurge and use veggie mozzarella!
• Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 1 hour, or until veggies are cooked and the whole thing is hot and bubbly. 
• Allow to cool for 10 - 15 minutes before serving. 
• While lasagna is cooling, heat the plain tomato sauce in a small sauce pan.
• Enjoy!

Vegan Italiano

The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen 

The Tropical Vegan Kitchen