Vegan (or not) Macaroni and Cheese

{ blog } Vegan (or not) Macaroni and Cheese
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Just last evening my family and I added a new recipe to our repertoire!
An amazingly deceiving "vegan" version of Homemade Macaroni and Cheese.
It was truly amazing! I consider myself quite the connoisseur of Mac & Cheese, and am pretty particular about the types I choose to make and eat.
This one was so creamy and delicious, and tasted just like my Mom's homemade!
You won't miss the cheese! Promise!
Since our family is not strictly vegan, I made a few adaptations and indicated them below in the recipe.
Follow the link below to be directed to the original recipe.

Source: vegnews.com
Course: Pasta
Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 30 Min
Total Time: 50 Min
Serves: 6

Ingredients

  • 4 quarts water
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 8 ounces macaroni DeBoles Organic
  • 1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons shallots (1 small) peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup red or yellow potatoes (2 medium) peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 cup carrots (1 1/2 medium) peeled and chopped
  • 1/3 cup onion (1/2 medium) peeled and chopped
  • 1 cup water, vegetable broth, or chicken broth (I used chicken broth made from pastured hens from a local farm)
  • 1/4 cup raw cashews
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 tablespoons butter if you are not vegan

Directions

  1. In a large pot, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until al dente. In a colander, drain pasta and rinse with cold water. Put back in pot and set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion, and water (or broth) and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft.
  3. In a blender, process the cashews, salt, garlic, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, and cayenne. Add softened vegetables and cooking water to the blender and process until perfectly smooth. (It will look uncannily like "real" cheese sauce, and should have the same consistency.)
  4. Add the blended cheese sauce to pot of pasta, stir until completely coated. If using butter add now and mix to combine. Spread mixture into a 9 x 12 casserole dish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and dust with paprika. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling and the top has turned golden brown.

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See! It looks just like "cheese!"
{ blog } Vegan (or not) Macaroni and Cheese
Just before popping in the oven.
{ blog } Vegan (or not) Macaroni and Cheese

happy list // 04.23.2012

{ blog } happy list // 04.23.1012
1. lattes again, after 3 months of not being able to tolerate them. I recently ordered some lovely beans from San Francisco. Mmm . . . oh, and lovely pink roses from my front yard. They were abundant, and beautiful, and smelled heavenly! 2. rising early in the morning. Starting my day quietly, reading, meditating and praying for my children as well as others. 3. my domestic duties. There is no drudgery in gratefulness. I am grateful for dirty dishes, most of the time. ;) 4. homemade lemonade made by My Girl. 5. Baby Boy is napping again after a 2 month hiatus! Each afternoon we snuggle and read books in the rocking chair and he falls asleep on me. Bliss6. a lovely weekend movie (Julie & Julia) with a nice cup of tea, Greek yogurt, and My Love. :) 7. baking with My Girl. Such a sweet time together doing something we both like (love would better describe me) to do. We both drooled over a picture we caught a glimpse of in a cookbook recently and declared a cake must be made this weekend. We made Molly Wizenberg's Chocolate Cupcakes with Bittersweet Glaze recipe. From THIS book. Doubled, and baked in a bundt pan. 8. the resulting delicious chocolate cake. Divine!
You can see all my past Happy Lists HERE

Scones

Scones
I have always been a bit afraid to make scones.
While I enjoy baking, and am told I bake well, these treats are something I have put off making for a long time.
It may be because the method of making scones is very similar to that of biscuits, and I cannot make a proper biscuit to save my life.
Something about the delicate, light touch when kneading just never seems to work for me . . .
I leave that to the woman who makes the most amazing biscuits, my Mama! (without a recipe, no less.)
Until now I have relied on packaged mixes, and resolved to buy the dry, barely edible scones in coffee shops when the craving arose.
After some inspiration on Instagram, (Hi woodshedcoffee !) I took the plunge, armed with a recipe from a very reliable source. ( Orangette )
Two days in a row I have made scones successfully!
Scones
I added dried cranberries and orange zest to the first batch and they were delicious!
We enjoyed them with friends whilst sitting in the backyard sipping homemade lemonade.
Scones
Next, I ventured into "murky territory" and made a batch of blueberry lemon.
The dough was definitely stickier. You must have an even lighter touch when using frozen berries.
This batch was even better the second day! Moist and delicious! I think I will add a little turbinado to the top after glazing next time.
And there will most definitely be a "next time."
I see this recipe being committed to memory, just like my pizza dough and chocolate chip cookies!
And I will always be sure to have 4 tablespoons of cubed, chilled butter on hand. . . :)
Scones

happy list // 04.16.2012

{ blog } happy list 12_04_16
1. a sweet, thoughtful gift from My Girl, bought with her own money. 2. fun afternoons outdoors. Sissy made Baby Boy an "armchair" in the sandbox one day. :) 3. lunch prepared mostly by My Girl. She is becoming quite a good little sous chef, preferring to chop veggies with the big knives! 4. My Love put up another trellis (we only had one last year) for our cucumbers to grow up! 5. new pens! I'm a sucker for a good pen. I remember my Dad being the same way when I was growing up. He had certain pens we knew not to lose. A fond memory. ;) These Sharpie pens are fun, but I still LOVE my Staedtler triplus fineliners more! 6. naps! (a two hour one on this particular day) ahhh . . . 7. my hammock chair actually hanging in A TREE! So wonderful! 8. hummingbirds coming to visit each evening! I just happened to have my camera right beside me when this one visited! It was too fast to get any better shots though!

You can see all my past Happy Lists HERE

Abide

{ blog } abide
"Abandon the worries . . . and abide in the word.
Abandon the fears . . . and abide in the Father.
Abandon the hurts . . . and abide in His heart.
Abandon the cares . . . because Christ will never abandon you."

ten on ten - April 2012

{ blog } ten on ten :: april 2012Breakfast with my little guy. We were the only ones up, and Daddy was already at work.
{ blog } ten on ten :: april 2012. . .breakfast clean-up.
{ blog } ten on ten :: april 2012. . .a little blogging
{ blog } ten on ten :: april 2012. . .lunch on the lawn! beautiful weather today!
{ blog } ten on ten :: april 2012. . .treats on the lawn!
{ blog } ten on ten :: april 2012. . .a little card making
{ blog } ten on ten :: april 2012. . .happy hour! :)
{ blog } ten on ten :: april 2012. . .farm fresh eggs and garlic chives bought directly from the local farmer!
{ blog } ten on ten :: april 2012. . .dinner on the lawn. We were outside most of the day today!
{ blog } ten on ten :: april 2012. . .giving our new plants a drink.
What a lovely day indeed!

is a fun monthly photo project to document
"life and beauty among the ordinary things of our day" 
and can be found at 
ten on ten button

happy list // 04.09.2012

{ blog } happy list 12_04_09
1. One of the first "symptoms" of pregnancy for me was an aversion to milk, and COFFEE! *gasp* On a recent mini road trip, I stopped at one of my favorite shops and got a half-caff latte and was able to enjoy every last sip. Ahhh . . . I still don't have coffee everyday like I used to and have put the espresso machine away for now. And you know what? Surprisingly, I am OK with that. :)
2. a beautiful sunset and my boys!
3. a new favorite breakfast. Two farm fresh eggs poached in my poach pods my Mama bought for me recently, Ezekial 4:9 toast, and sauteed greens. Mmm . . . I have to fight Baby Boy for the eggs though as he loves them just as much a I do!
4. HAPPY MAIL! My dear friend Kim sent me a package full of Smash book goodies! I flipped out! The connection this girl and I have is so unreal sometimes! We're always reading the same books, blogs, purchasing the same items, all without knowing the other is as well! We have such similar tastes I swear we were twins separated at birth! She is my kindred! What's funny is I went to Michaels with coupons TWO separate times to purchase some Smash book products and came away with nothing because I had a hard time deciding what to get! Kim sent the exact book I was pondering and so many goodies that mesh with my "style!" I can't wait to dig into it all! :)
5. celebrating this growing girl makes me really happy! We were able to celebrate her recent birthday with family and cheesecake! Mmm . . .
6. Baby Boy's first bike! It is so fun to watch him ride this! He tends to pedal backward a bit better than forward, but with time, we will surely see him whizzing by at a very fast pace!
7. roses everywhere! We have two bushes in our front yard and this little one right outside the window in the den. Love the peeks of pink in the morning!
8. turning the soil, weeding, and adding compost, all in preparation to plant our Summer garden. yay!

You can see all past Happy Lists HERE
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