Vegan Squash Mac 'n Cheese with Spinach

Oh man, this was delicious and not too difficult, just required a bit of planning. This takes a bit longer than my normal meals but was a nice, relaxing process. Very rich and flavorful - a complete meal. 

For 4 servings, you will need:

• 1 c raw cashew pieces, soaked in a bowl of water at least 3 hours (this is what takes the planning)
• 1 carnival squash
• 1 t garlic powder
• 12 oz bag of pasta - I used veggie radiatore
• 1.5 c plain almond (or soy) milk
• 3 t apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 c nutritional yeast
• salt & pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• 3 c fresh spinach, chopped
• 2 T coconut oil
• paprika
• some vegan parmesan, optional

The steps:

1. Measure out raw cashew pieces into a medium bowl and completely submerg in water. Let soak for at least 3 hours. This will soften the nuts so that you'll get a smoother sauce.
2. About an hour before you plan on eating, preheat the oven to 350
3. Slice squash in half and remove seeds. Sprinkle garlic powder and salt on the squash.
4. Place squash sliced side up in a casserole dish with a bit of water in the bottom (about 1/2''). Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes, until fork tender.
5. Remove squash from oven. While squash are cooling, start pasta cooking according to directions on the bag/box. Aim for al dente.
6. While pasta is cooking, measure out cashews, 1 c of almond milk, vinegar, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, and garlic cloves and place in food processor. When the squash is cool enough to touch, scoop out the insides and place it in the food processor.
7. Now, really process that sauce very well until it is very smooth. I did it in about 4, 3 minute bursts. Scrape down the sides with a spatula as needed. Taste and add salt if needed. Add more almond milk to get it smoother about halfway through the blending process.
8. Once pasta is done cooking, drain.
9. Heat coconut oil in a skillet and quickly saute spinach for about 3 minutes, until just wilted and bright green.
10. Return the drained pasta to its pot, add cheese sauce and spinach, and gently fold in.
11. Serve into bowls and sprinkle with vegan parmesan and paprika.

Enjoy!

Buffalo "Wings" + blue "cheese" sauce

I've come to realize that being vegan means using a lot of quotation marks. Tonight's recipe: buffalo "chicken wings" (actually cauliflower) with "celery" (actually fennel stalks) and "blue cheese" dressing (actually not cheese). The above drawing is a confused chicken who has cauliflower stalks for wings (thanks to my bf for that ♥). Anyway, I was skeptical of this recipe but it was really, delicious and sinful. It's no secret that I love hot wings and, being vegan, I miss them more than occasionally. These really hit the spot. Here goes... 

For about a dozen "wings" (see, quotes again), you'll need:

• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped into small pieces (maybe 1-1.5 inches across)
• 1 c flour
• 1 c almond (or soy) milk
• 2 t garlic powder

The steps:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, milk, and garlic powder until smooth.
3. Place cauliflower pieces in mixture and coat.
4. Place battered cauliflower on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.

For enough buffalo sauce for those "wings", you'll need:

• 1 standard bottle of hot chili sauce (a typical chili and vinegar one like Cholula or Tabasco would be good. I used Trader Joe's hot chili sauce)
• 1.5 T vegan margarine, melted

The steps:

1. Melt margarine in a bowl.
2. Add hot sauce and whisk until smooth
3. Thoroughly coat "wings" with this buffalo sauce once they've been removed from the oven.

For enough "blue cheese" sauce for those "wings", you'll need:

• 1 c vegan mayo
• 1/4 c tahini
• 2-3 t apple cider vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 1/4 block extra firm tofu, crumbled (optional)

The steps:

1. Combine mayo, tahini, vinegar, and garlic until smooth. A whisk here helps.
2. Crumble and add tofu to simulate chunky blue cheese and gently fold in. (I don't really feel this is necessary)

Anyway, this was a really great dinner. I chopped up some fennel stalks (I had already used the bulbs in this recipe) to serve as a [more flavorful] celery substitute. Enjoy!

Cashew Cream Cheeze Sauce

Okay, so this doesn't really taste like cheese. Vegan cheese substitutes never do. It is, however, delicious and satisfies my [more than occasional] cheese cravings, so just think of it as a creamy sauce for your enchiladas or chips or whatever. This is another taken from Oh She Glows. I really like it, but I think Jeff is a little skeptical. Oh well.

For enough for a whole pan of enchiladas or a small bowl of dipping sauce for chips, you'll need:

• 3/4 c raw cashew pieces
• 1/4 c + 1 T nutritional yeast (I order mine from here, but many health food stores carry it in bulk)
• 1/3 c water
• 1/4 c salsa 
• 3 t chili powder
• 1 t cumin
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 t salt
• a couple shakes of red pepper flakes

The steps:

1. Place all in food processor and combine until smooth. You will need to pause a few times to scrape down the sides with a spatula.
2. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed until it's really yummy.