Variations on vegan mac & cheese

All made without animal slavery!

Vegan macaroni and cheese (nutritional yeast, tahini, evoo/flax oil, turmeric, lemon juice, black pepper, sea salt, garlic) with sauteed vegetables (kale, carrots, green beans, onions, celery, brown rice macaroni).


Vegan macaroni and chees with sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach (evoo/flax oil, nutritional yeast, tahini, cayenne pepper, turmeric, white vinegar, evoo/flax oil, whole wheat flour, sea salt, garlic, tarragon, savory, brown rice macaroni).

Vegan macaroni and cheese (vegan margarine, nutritional yeast, evoo/flax oil, arrowroot powder, sea salt, garlic, brown rice macaroni) with kale, lentils, red peppers, mushrooms and raisins (evoo/flax oil, sea salt, lemon juice, vegan worchestershire sauce, liquid smoke).

Empanadas with vegan cheese, butternut squash, spinach and raisins with a pomegranate gravy and salsa

Empanadas with vegan cheese (walnuts, nutritional yeast, sea salt, lemon juice), butternut squash, spinach and raisins (sea salt, coriander, cumin, paprika, chili, cloves, allspice, cardamom) with a pomegranate gravy (pomegranate juice, tomatoes, onions, garlic, sea salt, walnuts) and salsa.

I got the salsa fresh from the jar, but the rest was from scratch. The butternut squash makes a wonderful, creamy texture -- always good when it's freezing cold out!

The empanada dough:

2 cups of spelt flour
1/2 cup of water (more or less depending on how finely your flour is ground)
1/4 cup of white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
Sea salt to taste
Vegetable oil to brown the dough.

Tofu roasted in tomato sauce with spinach, shiitake mushrooms and scallions

Tofu roasted in tomato sauce (tomatoes, vegetable stock, evoo/flax oil, garlic, sea salt, agave, coriander, cumin, chili, white vinegar, liquid smoke) with sautéed spinach, shiitake mushrooms and scallions (tamari, lemon juice, ginger).

Jerk portabellos, peppers, and spinach over brown rice and peas.

Jerk portabellos (evoo/flax oil, sea salt, tamari, cayenne pepper, pomegranate juice, allspice, cloves, coriander, cumin, paprika, black pepper, turmeric, ginger, vegan worcestershire sauce, star anise, cardamom), peppers and spinach (red, yellow and green peppers, vegetable stock, garlic) over brown rice and peas.

Sweet potato and tofu rosti with red peppers and spinach

Sweet potato and tofu latkes with red peppers and spinach (garlic, tamari, white onions, evoo/flax oil, whole wheat flour, chick pea flour, vegetable stock).

Oven-baked sweet potato pancake goodness!

Lentil and spinach croquette with vegan poutine

Lentil and spinach croquette (peanut butter, vegan worcestershire sauce, white vinegar, whole wheat bread crumbs, baking powder, peanut butter, vidalia onions, garlic, tarragon, savory, black pepper) with vegan poutine (roasted potato wedges, sea salt, evoo/flax oil, vegan cheese) with a nutritional yeast gravy (spelt flour, garlic, vegetable stock, rosemary, evoo/flax oil, white vinegar, nutritional yeast).

Vegan macaroni and cheese with spinach, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes

1. Vegan macaroni (brown rice macaroni) and cheese (turmeric, garlic, ginger, tahini, nama shoyu, white vinegar, lemon juice, sea salt, black pepper, paprika, vegetable stock, spelt flour) with spinach, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes.
   

Channa curry with pineapple, red pepper and spinach over brown rice

Channa curry with pineapple, red pepper and spinach over brown rice.

I played sous chef for this dish (I just did some of the knife work, the rice and the plating). Based on a recipe from the Alternative Vegan.

White bean and kale soup; spelt stromboli with roasted pear, portabello, red pepper and spinach

White bean and kale soup (cannelini beans, dinosaur kale, vegetable soup stock, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, black pepper, tomatoes) garnished with nutritional yeast.

Spelt stromboli (spelt flour, sea salt, yeast, herbs de Provence) with roasted pear, portabello, red pepper and spinach (evoo/flax oil, sea salt, rice wine vinegar, nutritional yeast).

This is basic soup and sandwich combination. Stromboli is sort of like a white calzone (no red sauce) and it tends to be long like a baguette rather than a folded-over pizza (which makes it easier to eat with the hands). Typically, it's served with a side dish of, or sometimes sauced with, marinara. In this case, I added more tomato to the soup than I normally would.

Peanut butter, mango and romano bean chili and walnut cheese over brown rice

Peanut butter, mango and romano bean chili (garlic, cumin, paprika, coconut, liquid smoke, cremini mushrooms, vidalia onion, flat leaf parsley, spinach, jalapeno pepper, evoo/flax oil, tomato paste, lime juice, vegetable stock) and walnut cheese over brown rice.

Chili and cheese is a very popular combination in the midwest where I grew up. This dish had a great mouth feel and an excellent flavour. Coconut and mango add a rich undertone to anything spicy, and the walnut cheese added just the right richesse to the dish overall.

For the walnut cheese:

1/2 cup of walnuts ground until they start to get buttery
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons of plain soy yogurt
1 tablespoon of turmeric
Sea salt to taste

Vegan shells and cheese with mushrooms, spinach and a ribbon of chipotle oil sided with grilled asparagus

Vegan shells and cheese (silken tofu, cashews, paprika, turmeric, garlic, vegetable stock, nutritional yeast) with mushrooms, spinach (garlic, evoo/flax oil, olive brine, nama shoyu) and a ribbon of chipotle oil (chipotle, lime juice, evoo/flax oil) sided with grilled asparagus (sea salt, evoo/flax oil and lime juice).

Vegan macaroni and cheese with mushrooms, spinach and sundried tomatoes sided with some steamed broccoli

Vegan macaroni (brown rice pasta) and cheese (apple cider vinegar, canola oil, sea salt, chipotle, potato starch, palm oil, garlic) with mushrooms, spinach and sundried tomatoes (nama shoyu, lemon juice canola oil), sided with some steamed broccoli (sea salt, apple cider vinegar, canola oil).

Venn pongal (top) and spinach kotthu roti (bottom)

Venn pongal from Alternative Vegan.

Spinach kotthu roti (spinach, turmeric, ginger, cumin, allspice, tomatoes, onions, hing, chili, shredded whole-wheat pita, evoo/flax oil, sea salt) garnished with clementine slices.

Kotthu roti is traditionally made with eggs and roti rather than pita, but I made do with what I had.

Vegan cream of asparagus and dulse soup; gari foto with manioc cous cous simmered in coconut and chipotle

Vegan cream of asparagus and dulse soup (chili, vegetable stock, soy milk, coconut milk).

Gari foto (spinach, tomatoes, chili, carrots, mushrooms, vidalia onions, vegetable stock, palm oil, macadamia/cashew butter, cider vinegar, sea salt, liquid smoke) with manioc cous cous simmered in coconut milk and chipotle.

Traditionally, gari foto is made w/a peanut sauce and with manioc flour instead of cous cous.

Zucchini noodles with raw marinara and basil; Sweet potato and spelt gnocchi with sundried tomatoes, spinach and cremini mushrooms.

Zucchini noodles with raw marinara (sea salt, nutritional yeast, tomatoes, garlic, evoo/flax oil) and basil.

Sweet potato and spelt gnocchi with sundried tomatoes, spinach and cremini mushrooms (evoo/flax oil, garlic, sea salt, black pepper, nutritional yeast, herbs de Provence).

Sweet potato and rhubarb soup; red bean and black rice salad with spinach and orange peppers

Sweet potato and rhubarb soup.

1 medium sweet potato peeled and diced.
2 stalks of rhubarb diced.
2 cups vegetable broth.
1 tablespoon of garlic.
1 teaspoon of ginger.
1 half teaspoon of chipotle (or to taste).
Sea salt to taste.
Minced cilantro for garnish.

Rhubarb and sweet potato complement one another very well. The rhubarb works a lot like tamarind in this recipe. With some heat from the chipotle, this soup has a lot of flavour.

Red bean and black rice salad with spinach and orange peppers.

2 cups cooked red beans
2 cups cooked forbidden black rice
2 orange peppers diced.
3 cups packed spinach minced.

Dressing:
1 heaping tablespoon of white miso.
1 heaping teaspoon of hazelnut butter.
Juice from three small limes.
1 small teaspoon of ginger.
1 tablespoon of garlic.
Sea salt and black pepper to taste.
2 tablepoons of evoo/flax oil.

Cannelini bean and short grain brown rice salad with spinach, red pepper, and grilled portabello mushrooms

Cannelini bean and short grain brown rice salad with spinach, red pepper, yellow raisins and grilled portabello mushrooms.

2 cups cannelini beans
4 red peppers diced
2 cups of packed spinach minced
3 grilled or roasted portbello mushrooms
1 vidalia onion diced
3 (or more!) tablespoons of garlic
1 tablespoon of ginger
1 tablespoon of tamari
1/2-1 cup of yellow raisins
2 drops of liquid smoke
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of chipotle (or black pepper to taste)
2 tablespoons thyme
2 cups cooks short grain brown rice
2 tablespoons of evoo/flax oil (or canola).

The wine was Clos de Los Siete.
This clos is an unfined/unfiltered wine from Michel Rolland. Most of the vegetables in the salad were raw, which made this a good pair for me. For a roasted vegetable salad, I might have preferred a more full-bodied wine.

Pulled vegan pork on sauteed greens; mango, lime and caper coleslaw; wood ear mushroom risotto

Pulled vegan pork (tofu, tomatoes, mango, agave syrup, cider vinegar, liquid smoke, stevia, sea salt, vegetable stock, garlic, black pepper, white wine, lemon juice, chipotle, cumin, coriander, palm oil, evoo/flax oil) on sauteed spinach greens (lime juice, sea salt, palm oil).

Mango, lime and caper cole slaw (mango, green cabbage, purple cabbage, carrot, capers, cider vinegar, stevia, garlic, lemon juice, evoo/flax oil, sea salt, black pepper).

Wood ear mushroom risotto (evoo/flax oil, short-grain brown rice, wood ear mushrooms, garlic, vegetable stock, black pepper).

Vegan feijoada over tomato/mango pilaf; sauteed spinach w/orange slices.

Vegan feijoada (black beans, Yves veggie pepperoni and bacon, tofu, cremini mushrooms, green peppers, yellow onion, thyme, bay leaf, cumin, chili flakes, lime juice, lime zest, vegetable stock) over tomato/mango pilaf (brown rice, tomatoes, cider vinegar, sea salt, black pepper, chipotle, mangoes, stevia, agave syrup, garlic), with sauteed spinach (evoo/flax oil, garlic, chili flakes and sea salt) and orange slices.

The wine was Clos de los Siete.

Lentil and spinach soup with hearts of palm, thin-crust combination pizza

Lentil and spinach soup with hearts of palm (vegetable stock, tomatoes, black pepper, herbs de provence, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice), thin-crust combination pizza (whole wheat flour, sea salt, herbs de provence, canola oil; tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, green pepper, red pepper, black pepper vegan pepperoni (Yves brand), portabello mushrooms, garlic, nutritional yeast).

The wine was Botter's Nero d'Avola.