Vegan Basil Mac-N-Cheese...Would you order this?

Mark and I have been tossing around the idea of opening a restaurant for the past couple of years, and now it's become much more serious. When Mark came to live with us, vegan cuisine was pretty new to him. Now, he's about 80-90% vegan, lost 30 pounds, and loves the idea of opening a veg-friendly restaurant. It's still a little scary in our small town to open a full-on vegan place, so we're shooting for good organic, locally produced/grown "conventional" food, with a vegan side of the kitchen to serve a good variety of veg-friendly options. There's currently nothing like this in our area.

As some of you may know, Mark has extensive experience in the restaurant biz, having had two of his own, and working as entertainment/restaurant director of the Hard Rock Cafes all over the US for a number of years. Now, having had his life savings burned down to the ground after his main property investment was lost in a forest fire, he's ready to start something fresh.

Thus, the question above... We're starting to test recipes that will eventually go on our vegan menu.

If you'd like to be one of our Testers, please let me know!


The above dish is a variation of vegan mac-n-cheese, and had a wonderful rich sauce, despite not having any processed vegan cheese in it (like Daiya), which I love, but am trying to make dishes without too many processed foods.

Here's the recipe for all of you to try. We'd appreciate any feedback you can give!

Ingredients:

1 lb. macaroni or similar dry pasta
1 C. raw cashews
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. kosher salt, plus extra for cooking pasta
12-14 fresh basil leaves
1 large zucchini (about 2 cups), cubed
1 small onion (about 1 cup), cubed
2 medium potatoes (about 2 cups), cubed
1 C. unsweetened soy milk
3 C. water for cooking (1 cup reserved for sauce)

Topping:
2 C. fresh bread crumbs (I used a stale French bread loaf)
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
4-5 fresh basil leaves
1 T. olive oil

Roasted Tomatoes:
16 oz. grape tomatoes
1 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to sprinkle


Spinz:
Cook pasta as directed until al dente in salted water. In a medium sauce pan, add 3 C. of water, onions, potatoes, and zucchini and boil until potatoes are tender. In a high powered blender, add basil, cashews, garlic, lemon juice, and salt. Then strain the boiled veggies (reserving 1 cup of the liquid), and add the veggies to the blender. Lastly, add the soy milk and veggie water to the blender as well, and blend on high until very smooth.


For the topping, you can use ready made bread crumbs, but I suggest you make your own by cubing some stale or day-old french bread and pulsing in a food processor. Then add the salt, pepper, and basil to the processor. Turn on and stream in the tablespoon of olive oil for a few seconds, until well coated and mixed.


For the roasted tomatoes, put all of the ingredients into a baking pan and toss around until tomatoes are well coated. Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes. They should be slightly browned and burst open when done.


Pour the sauce into a 9" X 13" casserole dish, then add the drained pasta. Mix until well combined. Sprinkle bread crumb topping evenly over pasta, and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Add roasted tomatoes on top, and serve warm.

Stuffed Shells with Spinach Basil Pesto

Roasted baby white eggplant and homemade seitan are stuffed into large pasta shells and topped with a spinach basil pesto.

What is it about pasta dishes? I've always craved them since I was a kid, eating instant ramen and tuna casserole (before vegan). Spaghetti and marinara was my cheap staple in college. And I could never turn down a ravioli or lasagna.

One thing that's different since I became a vegan, is the lack of cheese in these dishes. True, there are some great subs out there, but I find myself without them sometimes, because they tend to be expensive and I've been trying to cut down on processed foods.

To make up for the lack of creaminess, I used pureed roasted eggplant in the filling, and "cheesy" cashews in the pesto. It was so rich and full of flavor, I didn't miss a thing!

These beauties came from my garden. They're little white eggplant- something I've never seen in the supermarkets.

This is what they look like after roasting - too bad they don't stay white!

Spinach Basil Pesto
Ingredients:

1/2 C. cashews
1 C. fresh basil
2 C. fresh spinach
3 cloves garlic (I used roasted, but you may want to cut back if using raw)
1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
salt to taste

Spinz:

Process the cashews until you get a crumble. Put everything else in and puree until it becomes a smooth sauce.

Stuffed Shells
Ingredients:

1 12-oz. package of jumbo pasta shells
2 C. roasted eggplant
3 cloves roasted garlic
1 C. chopped seitan
1/2 C. roasted onion
1 C. roasted summer squash
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. dried rosmary
salt & pepper to taste

Spinz:

Cook the shells as directed. Puree the eggplant, garlic, and summer squash. Add the seitan and pulse until small, but still a little chunky. Mix in the spices to taste. Drain shells, and let cool enough to handle. Use a spoon to fill with the mixture. I did have some shells left over.

I also ate mine with more cooked veggies and some good marinara sauce.

Pad Thai Remix

Spicy, sweet, tangy, savory rice noodles with non-traditional veggies, i.e. rainbow chard, and marinated pan fried tofu, onions, garlic, ginger, toasted cashews, and a squeeze of lime.

That time of the day never ceases to stump me- "What to make for dinner...?" Others aren't usually much help around here, with replies like, "I dunno. Whatever is fine..." (ugh!) So my usual routine is to stick my head into the fridge and/or pantry and just stare. Sometimes I stare for so long my mind wanders and I forget what I'm staring for!

Luckily, I spotted a package of rice noodles and immediately thought of pad thai. That rich, spicy, flavorful noodle- a one dish wonder. It's nice when inspiration hits you like that! So I looked around for some complimentary ingredients, and found most everything except bean sprouts, which is one of the traditional veggies. I did, however have a lovely bunch of rainbow Swiss chard. If you haven't tried chard before, please do- it's delicious and gives a great vibrant color!

8-10oz. package dry rice stick noodles
1 white onion, sliced into thin strips
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package extra firm tofu, drained and patted with a towel
sprinkling of nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, white pepper, and salt
1/2 C. raw cashews (or roasted)
1 bunch rainbow Swiss chard, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
3 slices of ginger
soy sauce
vegetarian fish sauce
Asian sweet garlic red chili sauce (it looks like a thick clear sauce with red chili flakes and specks of garlic- not the one in oil or the one that looks completely red)
rice vinegar
lime juice
veg oil for stir frying (about 3 T.)

First, soak your rice noodles until they're pliable (about 15 minutes). Drain noodles and set aside. Next, prepare everything for quick stir frying. Drain the tofu and cut into small chunks- pat dry to remove excess water. Sprinkle with some salt, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, and white pepper (set aside). Wash and cut up the chard, onions, garlic, and ginger. The trick here is to quick fry everything separately in a hot wok. I start with a little vegetable oil, and fry the onions until slightly tender, then add the garlic for a couple more minutes- constantly tossing. Remove this into a bowl, and toast the cashews-turning constantly until toasty. Remove and add a little more oil to fry the tofu. Cook on each side until slightly crispy. Remove and add the last batch of oil and add the ginger slices and the chard. Stir fry until wilted, then remove and dispose of the ginger. Remove the chard and start making the sauce by adding about a cup and a half of the sweet garlic chili sauce. Add a splash of vinegar, splash of veg fish sauce, and splash of soy sauce. Taste and adjust. Add soaked and drained noodles, toss and cook for 5 minutes or until just tender. Add all the other ingredients. Squeeze some lime juice over the top, and serve hot.

Garnish with: lime wedges, chopped green onions, and cilantro

Don't Need No Parm on My Eggplant & Cauliflower Garlic Bread

I read Tofu 666's "tweet" on Twitter that eggplant parmesan was on the menu tonight, and when I saw some beautiful eggplant at the market, I couldn't resist! When I got home, Mark (my housemate) proclaimed that he was going to make some cheezy garlic bread and wanted to incorporate cauliflower (a pretty sneaky thing!). And when I mentioned the eggplant parmesan, it all came together. We also had a package of gourmet basil infused dry pasta- a bargain purchase from of all places, the Grocery Outlet, that was screaming to be included... so we ran with it and came up with the following:

We made A LOT of food, so you may want to scale down.

The Star: Crispy Baked Eggplant and Red Sauce

2 eggplants, sliced 1/2" thick
Vegenaise + a little water
bread crumbs

Spinz: Thin out the Vegennaise with a little water so it resembles a thin salad dressing. Dip the slices into this, then into the bread crumbs. Bake on a prepared sheet at 400 degrees for about 30-35 minutes or until tender and crisp.

Sauce:
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 jars of chunky veggie marinara sauce
splash of red wine
splash of balsamic vinegar
few tablespoons sugar
dried herbs: basil, oregano, thyme
black pepper

Spinz: Saute the onion until tender, add the garlic and saute for a few minutes. Stir in the herbs, then add the sauce and remaining ingredients- taste and adjust as desired.

The Supporting Actor: Basil Pasta with Capers, Tomatoes, Garlic, and Toasted Almonds

1 8 oz. package pasta
1 C. fresh basil, ribboned
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C. capers
1 C. tomatoes, chopped
sliced almonds, toasted
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Spinz: Prepare pasta to al dente mode. Add a little olive oil to the pan and add garlic, tomatoes, and capers. Stir for a few minutes and turn off heat. Toss in the basil and a drizzling of extra virgin olive oil as needed, salt and pepper to taste, and top with toasted almonds.

The Surprise Guest: Cauliflower Garlic Bread

1/2 C. raw cauliflower (tops only- no stem)
4 cloves roasted garlic
1/4 C. margarine
1/4 C. Vegennaise
1/4 block of Follow Your Heart mozararella
salt
green onions, thinly chopped

Spinz: puree the cauliflower, garlic, and vegan cheese. Mix together with margarine and vegenaise and salt. Spread thick layers onto sliced french bread. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and sprinkle with green onions.

I really wanted to make ravioli for the "It's A Vegan World (Italian)" event, hosted by my girl, Vaishali over at Holy Cow!... but I may just send this one over!

Vegan Mac 'n' Cheese

...Or the politically correct name: Mac 'n' CHEEZE (tm). This is the best recipe so far, and pretty versatile. You can use other veggies to make different creamy pasta sauces, like zuchinni & spinach- just make sure you have the potato for the consistency and try to match colors so you don't end up with some weird brown sauce. This combination is surprisingly cheesy, even without nutritional yeast (which you'll find in most vegan cheese recipes).

Serves 4-6 (I usually double it and have leftovers, hopefully!)

Ingredients:
8 oz. macaroni
1/2 C. carrots, chopped
1/2 C. onions, chopped
1/2 C. potatoes, chopped
1/2 C. red bell peppers, chopped
1 T. fresh garlic
1/2 C. raw cashews
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
3 T. vegan margarine
1 tsp. salt

Spinz:

Start cooking pasta as directed. Throw chopped veggies (except garlic) in a sauce pan and add water to just cover. Cover with lid and boil until tender. In a food processor, add remaining ingredients and 1/2 C. of broth from the veggies. Process until very smooth, adding a bit more water if it's too stiff and starts to ball up (should resemble the consistency of creamy peanut butter). Add veggies by scooping them out with a hand-held strainer, and process until smooth, adding more salt if needed, or more broth if it needs to be thinned (should look like a thick gravy). Pour mixture into a medium sized casserole dish, and dump in cooked pasta. Mix evenly to coat.

Tipz

If your mac 'n' cheez is too thick and starchy, just add a little hot water and stir.
Top with French-fried onions if you wanna have extreme "itis"- by slicing an onion, separating the pieces, and rolling in some flour before deep frying... yum!

Nutrition Info: 191 calories/ 11g total fat/ 2.8g sat. fat/ 470mg sodium/ 305mg potassium/ 20g total carbs/ 2.2g fiber/ 2g sugar/ 4g protein