Hippies Love Mac and Cheeze!

Macaroni and cheese is pretty much the epitome of comfort food. But what's a gluten-free vegan to do? We need comfort too!

I've found over the past few years that I'll still be drawn by the siren call of the soft pasta... the gooey unnaturally-orange cheese mixture... but I know that if I give in an chow down on it, I'll regret it right away. Bloat - bleh!

There is pre-packaged vegan mac and cheese out there, too, but they definitely leave something to be desired. I had to find a home-made alternative! When I started making the cashew cream, it occurred to me that I could thicken it with nutritional yeast, which gives a nice cheesy flavor to things. Starting from a base of rice pasta, and adding the cashew cheese, and some additional flavors - I found the perfect blend. I hope you, too, will find a little comfort here.


Hippies love Mac & Cheeze

20 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in 2 cups water
1 1/2 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 1/2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 Tbsp. Wheat-Free Tamari
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
sea salt, pepper, cayenne to taste

Roux:
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp. rice flour (I actually used sprouted ground quinoa that I had on hand)
1 Tbsp. ground flax
3 Tbsp. olive oil (or more if needed)

To make a roux, brown onion and garlic with 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat. Add flour and flax, with 2 Tbsp. oil, and sauté until golden, stirring constantly. Take off the heat. If it gets way too thick, feel free to add some boiling water.

In a high-powered blender, blend cashews and sun-dried tomatoes (with soak water) until creamy. Then you can add the rest of the ingredients, including the roux, and blend until it's all smooth and incorporated.

Pour over steaming rice pasta and serve! If you like, you can add some of your favorite veggies: peas, beets, corn, broccoli, etc. Get creative! :)

Coconut-Spice Roasted Walnuts

Today was a walnut day.

Now, just so we're clear: I ALWAYS soak my walnuts. Always. They have a bitter quality that is very off-putting for me unless I soak them. Soaking nuts in water removes enzyme inhibitors - which are aptly named - and also wakes up the nuts, allowing them to germinate. This leads to better digestibility and higher nutrient content. Walnuts, because they break in the shelling process, can't fully germinate. However, all the bitterness does leach out, leaving a soft, mild, almost sweet nut. Next time I soak my nuts, I'll take a picture to show you the dark, ruddy-brown colored water that's left.

I had a great big bowl left over from a prior experiment, and it was about time for them to be eaten. I didn't want to do a raw dish necessarily (read: "yeah, you really should COOK those... starting to look a bit dodgy") and I hadn't roasted nuts in ages! These walnuts were begging for a spice rub.

Coconut-Spice Roasted Walnuts

3 cups freshly soaked walnuts
3 Tb. dry shredded coconut
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tb. sunflower oil

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix all dry ingredients together, then add lemon and oil. This should make a thick liquid. In a larger bowl, pour the wet spices over the walnuts, and toss to coat. Turn out onto a cookie sheet, and place in the oven.

You'll want to stir up the walnuts every 15 minutes or so, making sure to mix in the smaller bits from the corners. It'll take around 1 1/2 to 2 hours or so, until the pan dries out and the walnuts aren't steaming anymore.

When they're thoroughly dry they make a different sound when they're mixed, almost like they're hollow. You'll hear it when they get there. ;)

Chocolate-Rose Parfait

Well, I got back from Los Angeles last week, and boy did I need some down time after that! What a crazy trip - an exciting roller coaster of food, fun, and friends, not to mention great things to write about!

Since getting back, I've been experimenting a TON with cashews. I saw a couple places make raw cheese from cashews, as well as other things, so I'm going to be posting a lot of recipes in the future that use cashews. They're seriously THE most versatile nut (or seed, even) that I've found so far.

The roomies and I were spending another sunny spring day in the back yard, talking about food (like we usually do) and the idea to make chocolate parfait came into conversation. I wouldn't have thought to use rose water, except our rose bushes were blooming unusually early, and the flowers were simply striking in the (mostly) warm sunlight. What a treat, to pay homage to those lovely yellow roses!

This recipe is particularly good because it's almost like a vegan cashew nutella. (More on that thought as it develops. ;)) For our next installment of the "Tour de Cashew", allow me to present:

Chocolate-Rose Parfait

3 cups cashews
1 2/3 light coconut milk (1 can)
2 Tbsp. rose water
6 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 Tbsp agave (or honey)

a pint fresh strawberries, sliced
2 bananas, peeled and sliced

In a high speed blender, puree everything except fruit until smooth. It'll take a lot of scraping down in the blender toward the end because it gets so thick. Alternatively, you can blend the coconut and cashews first, then hand-mix the rest in. You really just want extra creamy cashews.

In a nice glass (we used martini, but you'll probably want something bigger!) layer the chocolate cream, strawberries, and bananas. Garnish with extra fruit, or even rose petals. We used plum blossoms from our huge tree in the back yard!