Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

 

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese 

 

12 ounces macaroni (I used whole wheat)

1 shallot, peeled and chopped

1 medium potato, peeled and chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2 cup onion (I used red onion)

1/2 cup chick peas

1 cup water

1/4 cup raw cashews

some extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp garlic, minced (I used garlic powder)

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp. cayenne

1/4 tsp. paprika

Cook pasta, drain, rinse with cold water and then set aside. In a pan add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion, beans and water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer until tender (15-20 minutes). When that is done preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 Celsius). In a blender process cashews, salt, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, pepper, cayenne and veggies with their water. Process until smooth. Toss the pasta with the sauce, put in a dish and bake 25-30 minutes.

It may seem unbelievable (because it was to me) but this really, REALLY tastes like mac and cheese! I was so thrilled when I made it because it was so easy and so delicious. I made it last week and it was a hit with my husband. 

 

I actually made it again today (yes, it's that good) and mixed in some sauteed spinach, peas and roasted red peppers. I also doubled the "cheese" so that we had extra to put on top because it's so tasty.

I got this recipe from a website called Feed Me I'm Cranky although a gluten-free version was posted. Please, please try this!

Things I'm Loving (November Edition)

Once again we come to the monthly odds and ends that I'm digging. So, enough of the writing already and let's get right to the pictures! 


(In no particular order whatsoever)

It's been a month, on Saturday, since we started the vegan challenge. It has flown by! Things like this soy cheese have definitely helped though. It tastes just like cheese. I probably won't use it to make mac&cheese this Thanksgiving (it is too expensive!). But it's a nice change when I'm craving something cheesy.

Why are these tortilla chips so good? Last week Chema and I went on a junk food binge. It's quite hard to find vegan junk food. But this hit the spot. The right combination of salt, sweet, and crunchy.

This is the best invention ever! I am a crockpot-recipe-making-machine! My favorite thing to make in it so far are beans. The options are limitless: pinto, black bean, black-eyed, kidney, lentils... I made some black-eyed peas with carrots and onions for lunch today.

Another edition to our vegan junk food collection. These things are delish!

For anyone who hates the taste of traditional licorice (like me!) and hates candy that is too sticky (like me!) these are perfect. Nice and soft and chewy and mango-goodness! Seriously, they are addictive.

Chema actually prefers this to soy milk. We've also tried almond milk but I don't like the taste of it with cereal. For smoothies or baked goods it's perfect though. Rice milk has a milder flavor than soy milk.

Oh yes, they taste just like real ice-cream. They are small enough where you are satisfied but don't feel guilty.

This is the best meat imitation I've eaten so far. It tastes just like taco meat.

Since dark chocolate is good for you I don't actually group this with "goodies." Although, I don't exactly binge on it either. (Chema is a different story though.)

This may seem random (I told you this list was in NO order!) but these are life-savers. I'd been walking around the house in uncomfortable flip-flops. With the colder weather I needed a substitute. I got these from Walmart. Cute aren't they?

I finally bought the bottle so I don't have to skip protein treatments. My goal is to give myself one every month. I'm also going to start sitting under the hooded dryer for 20 minutes each week when I do my deep conditioning.

These are an old love.

Again, hard to find vegan goodies, especially cookies! I'm picky with my sweets but I LOVE cookies. These are pretty decent.

So that's that. Honestly, I'm having a lot of fun with this vegan challenge. I'm also trying to buy more certified organic things. I think it's important. Maybe I'll dedicate a blog post in the future with my thoughts on that.

Next month I want try some new/weird fruits and vegetables. I'm fascinated with purple carrots!

What have you been loving this month?

2011 NC State Fair

Friday of last week I went to the NC State Fair. It's held every year although this was only my second time attending. I actually didn't stay for as long as I would have liked but I ate everything I'd planned to!

We went the day we got back from our lovely anniversary getaway. So we were tired that night. However, since it was the last weekend we had to go. Initially, I had planned to add these pics to the anniversary post, but I got carried away!

So here's a couple of pics to wrap up my busy weekend.

I love taffy! Didn't eat any but it was neat how the machine kept spitting them out.

All your fried wants. Actually the fair also featured fried pickles, kool-aid, candy apples, snickers...the list goes on.

It was a nice night to go. There wasn't a lot of people and the weather was nice and cool.

Fried dough, funnel cake, whatever you call it, it's some good stuff. I was good and shared one.

Also in the mood for cheesy fries.

For dessert we had a cinnamon bun.

Chema wasn't brave enough to try a turkey leg...and I don't eat much meat. So we just stared in awe. I wonder what they do with the leftovers?

Of course the ferris wheel. We didn't get on any rides. That's when you notice how old you are when you are at the fair and don't even want to get on the ferris wheel!

What's not shown here is my half-eaten candy apple. I hadn't had one of those since I was a kid so I had to endulge. I remember why it's a kid's treat: those candy pieces are annoying when they get stuck in your teeth! I could have sucked on it like a lollipop but a red mustache isn't all that flattering for a 27-year-old. I also felt like I was going to have a mouth full of cavities the next morning.

It was business as usual on Saturday. Day 1 of our vegan challenge started and then Sunday was my typical long run day. My marathon training weekly update is coming soon so don't miss that!

All in all a nice, well-rounded, weekend. Next stop: Halloween!

Weekly Recipe: Goat cheese, carmalized onion, and spinach quesadilla

Goat cheese, carmalized onion, and spinach quesadilla

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cups thinly sliced red onion
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
9 oz baby spinach
4 8-inch whole wheat flout tortillas
4 oz goat cheese
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

Cook onion, sugar, salt until dark golden. Remove. Add spinach and 1 Tbsp. water until wilted. Spread cheese on tortilla and top with spinach, onion, tomato. Fold and cook tortillas until golden and lightly crisp.

Again, another highly versatile dish. This is the second time I've made these quesadillas. This time I used regular sharp cheddar cheese and regular onions. I used brown sugar because I couldn't find my white sugar in the house. If you feel like meat, I'm sure it'd be delicious with some chicken or fish or ground beef. I also mixed up some guacamole as a side.