Dairy-Free Macaroni and Cheese

Everyone has their own version, don't they?  I've tried my fair share.  When I was vegetarian, I used this Tofu Alfredo recipe a few times.  I really like Susan's Easy Macaroni & "Cheeze".  I've read countless other recipes, almost every vegan cookbook has a version and of course, many vegan blogs have them.

This is my dairy-free version of the oh-so-classic macaroni and cheese.  I'm not gonna call it "cheese" or "cheeze" or anything that implies that this isn't real cheese either, because I don't think that the dairy industry gets to hold the word cheese hostage.  At the very least, if you read VegNews, you'll see gourmet nut cheese either featured or mentioned in the past few issues.  Therefore, I suppose this is a nutritional yeast cheese sauce.  Or a pine nut cheese sauce.  Or whatever you want to call it, but I'm still calling it cheese!   

Anyway, I can't say this is completely my own.  But I've doctored it and combined little things from so many different recipes that I can at least post the recipe for it! 

Dairy-Free Macaroni and Cheese

2 oz whole wheat pasta (I used mini penne)

Cheese Sauce:

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

3/4 cup water

1/2 tsp yellow mustard

2 tbsp pine nuts

1/2 tsp Bragg's (or soy sauce)

1/4 tsp miso

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

3 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp tumeric (you can use less, I just like it)

1 tbsp chickpea flour

a few grinds of fresh pepper

*optional, but included in my nutritional information*

1 cup frozen broccoli

1/8 log of Seitan O' Greatness

2 tbsp whole wheat panko breadcrumbs

1 tsp parsley

1/4 tsp curry powder

pinch cayenne

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp onion powder

Recipe

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

2.  Boil water, add pasta, cook until not quite al dente.  

3.  Sautee onions and garlic in a pan coated with cooking spray.

4.  Add onions, garlic, and everything except the pasta, broccoli, and seitan, in a blender.  

5.  Cook broccoli 

6.  Sautee seitan in a pan coated with cooking spray until browned.    

7.  Mix together in a bowl:  Pasta, Cheese Sauce, Broccoli, Seitan.

8.  In a separate bowl, combine panko and all remaining "optional" spices.  

9.  In ramekins or an appropriately sized baking dish, put pasta mixture, then top with panko mixture.  Bake 15-20 minutes.

Serves 2

Nutrition Information:  331.0 Calories;  9.7g Total Fat;  1.0g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  977.4mf Sodium;  42.3g Carbohydrates;  10.2g Fiber;  24.5g Protein  

I like to finish things in the oven.  I like the crusty texture on top, and I like that it gives me time to do all the dishes so that I can eat with a clean kitchen!  Also, I have to tell you that, this is good...its really good.  But I think the best part is actually the broccoli, since it really soaks up all the sauce.  So I highly suggest using it, or even using more of it!

I had more fun in the kitchen today.  All of my food today was revolving around the plan to spend the next week gluten and sugar free.  Breakfast was pancakes!  I can't remember the last time I make pancakes, I was so excited.  I made Susan's Golden Spice Pancakes, omitting the cloves to add ground ginger, and using clementine zest instead of orange, because it is what I have.  I also pressed in some cranberries, and it was really yummy!  The recipe, as Susan has posted it is for 10 normal sized pancakes.  I didn't want to have batter left over (as I won't be eating it tomorrow), so I cut it by 1/5, to make 2 normal sized, or 4 small pancakes, as pictured.   

Cranberry Spice Pancakes

Nutrition Information for 2 small pancakes (with cranberries):  114.0 Calories;  0.5g Total Fat;  0.1g Saturated Fat;  0.0mg Cholesterol;  277.0mf Sodium;  25.5g Carbohydrates;  3.9g Fiber;  3.9g Protein.

I topped this off with some maple syrup, some tofu scramble with green peppers and onions, and the zesting clementine!

Tomorrow is that start of a new workout cycle for me and I am very excited!  I will post it tomorrow, I'm not quite finished putting it together yet.  

Today's Cooking Song of the Day:  Ghost in Pencil - Sad Zombie