"Cheeseburger" Macaroni

My friend Ms. Veganorama is an amazing cook. She's not really one of those cooks that follows recipes or pays meticulous attention to how much of what goes where, she just throws stuff together and makes creating amazing concoctions seem effortless. Occasionally she'll write down the ingredients and rough ideas of measurements for a recipe, and every "recipe" of hers I've tried has been positively amazing. This Cheeseburger Macaroni is no exception.

Cheeseburger Macaroni
Serves 6 - 8

1 lb dry macaroni
1 cup nutritional yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt (start with less if you are sensitive to salt)
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp paprika
pinch turmeric
1/2 cup margarine (you can cut down to 1/4 cup if you want)
big spoonful of Veganaise
1/2 cup flour (cut to 1/4 cup if you are cutting the margarine)
3 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup oil (optional)
2 TBSP soy sauce (if needed)
1 pkg prepared crumbles (e.g., Boca, Yves, etc.) OR 2 cups already rehydrated TVP* (see prep area)

PREP:
If using dried TVP crumbles you can prep it as a basic mix or more advanced mix.

Basic (kinda boring): Rehydrate 1 cup dry crumbles with about 7/8 cups boiling water.

Advanced (tastes better): Saute some garlic in olive oil, put 1 cup dry TVP crumbles with 1 cup water, dash of soy sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, basil, oregano, black pepper, mix it up, cover and put on low for a few mins until it is rehydrated.


1. Cook the macaroni until done, drain and set aside.

2. In a bowl, mix the yeast, salt, garlic powder, basil, paprika and turmeric and set aside. If you have unsalted bouillon powder, throw a dash in there too. If you have salted bouillon powder, you can add that and just cut the salt and season with salt later.

3. In a large pot, melt the margarine with the Vegenaise on medium-low heat. When melted add in the flour, stir well and let cook for a few minutes.

4. Gradually whisk in the boiling water a little at a time until smooth on medium heat.

5. Gradually whisk in the yeast mixture a little at a time until smooth and add in the oil and soy sauce if it is not salty enough for your tastes. Let cook until nice and bubbly. Taste and add more seasonings accordingly.

6. Stir in prepared TVP until well mixed and then mix in the noodles.

7. Now you can eat as it OR you can pour into a "buttered" casserole dish, top with bread crumbs and bake for 15 minutes at 350 F.

Chickpea Noodle Soup - the cure for the vegan cold

In my household, most of the time we are healthy. I mean, being superheroes and ninjas must provide us with a heartier constitution. However, today we are dying of the plague or something equally drastic.

Being the mom, I braved the wind and cold to gather supplies, and selflessly came home and made Chickpea Noodle Soup, pausing to lean against the counter every few minutes. Okay, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but I do feel pretty awful.

Before making the soup I looked at a few recipes online, but nothing stuck out for me, so I decided to just go for it and wing it. Boy oh boy am I glad I did.

Chickpea Noodle Soup
Serves 6

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8oz mushrooms, chopped
3 carrots, thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 cups chickpeas {15oz can drained and rinsed}
8 cups water
3 tbsp Better Than Bullion No Chicken broth paste
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 lb linguine or other pasta
1 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
fresh black pepper

1. In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, and cook until caramelized. Add garlic and sautee until golden brown.
2. Add mushrooms and cook until all of the liquid has evaporated and they are cooked through. Add carrots, celery and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes, until softened.
3. Add chickpeas, water, broth paste, and peas. Bring to a boil. Add the pasta and nutritional yeast, and cook until pasta is tender, about 12 minutes.
4. Ladle into bowls, garnish with fresh black pepper, and serve with crusty bread.

Creamy Broccoli and Potato Soup

Creamy Broccoli & Potato Soup was the perfect October dinner, especially when served with a crusty loaf of artisan bread from the local bakery.

It makes me want to figure out how to make a Broccoli & Potato Cheese Soup {vegan of course}. I see some experimentation in my future!

Maple Baked Beans

Dying of the plague today, or something similar. When I rolled into the house from work, I was glad that I’d had the forethought to put some Maple Baked Beans in the crock pot before I left this morning.

Oven roasted potato rounds and baked beans over whole wheat biscuits for dinner. Not pretty, not exciting, but functional.

Going to go overdose on Vitamin C and head to bed soon.

Mac n' Cheese

Mac n’ Cheese! This is one of the best vegan mac n’ cheese recipes I’ve tried — and believe me, I’ve tried a lot. The sauce is a little reminiscent of potato cheese soup, but it’s still really really good. It actually tasted really cheesy. The recipe is from Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food. I’m excited to try other recipes from this book!

Polenta with Sundried Tomatoes and Basil

We got back from vacation today a little worse for the wear. The last thing I felt like doing was cooking, but with a little family to feed and this little blog to update, I knew I had to press forward.

To me, comfort tastes like polenta. If I have a tummy ache or just need comforting in some way, I make myself a big cozy bowl of polenta and top it with whatever I have on hand.

Tonight I used coarse polenta, and topped it with sundried tomatoes and basil chiffonade, with a couple of pats of Earth Balance melting down over the top.

Batgirl’s Tip: I buy the massive jars of sundried tomatoes from Costco. They are only about $8 a jar, they keep a long time in the fridge, and they spruce up any wrap, hummus, or bowl of polenta you can throw at them.