Vegan Chipotle cheese sauce

Smokey Chipotle Cheese Sauce

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons chickpea flour (or other gluten-free flour)
• 2 cups non-dairy milk of choice (make sure it is unsweetened!)
• 4 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
• 2 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped (use only 1 if you don't like really spicy!)
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp African Smoke spice mix (from Trader Joes)
• 2 tsp 21 seasoning mix (from Trader Joes)
• 2 tsp regular red label Spike spice mix (found at most grocery stores, Clark's should have it)
• 1 Tbsp 'low sodium' yellow label Spike spice mix (Clark's had it)
• 2 cups Daiya cheddar (one 8-ounce package), OR 5 oz 'Hickory Smoked' cheese spread (found at Clark's Nutrition. I think it was cheaper than Daiya, and I thought it tasted WAY better too!)

Directions:

Melt coconut oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add chickpea flour, whisking until smooth. Cook into a rue by stirring constantly until the mixture begins to just barely brown.* Add non-dairy milk and Nutritional Yeast and whisk continually for 5 minutes (to avoid lumps) until thickened. Remove from heat and add chopped chipotles as well as a couple tablespoons of adobo sauce from the can (to taste), and all the spices; stir to combine. Gradually add Daiya cheddar or cheese spread, whisking as you do so, until smooth consistency is reached (may take a few minutes).

 *Some people say it smells like buttered popcorn when it reaches this point, and that is how you know it is ready! You can find lots of videos online that show you how to make it, so head on over to Youtube and practice a bit before you plan to make the sauce. Rue is the secret to the BEST vegan sauces, and it is SO easy to make once you get it down!

Regular Cheese Sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp Vegan Margarine, such as Earth Balance (found at most stores)
2 1/2 Tbsp flour
2 cups nondairy milk, divided (I use soy. Make sure it is unsweetened!)
4 ounces pimentos
2 1/2 tsp regular red label 'Spike' spice mix
3 Tbsp dehydrated onions
3-4 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
black pepper, to taste
5 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1/4 cup raw cashews
1 tablespoon lemon juice, more to taste
arrowroot, as needed to thicken (around 2 tsp. Mix well with a small amount of COLD water before adding in!)

Blend together cashews, pimentos, and a few tablespoons of soymilk (don't be afraid to use too much, you just need some moisture so the cashews will blend into a puree) and set aside. Make a rue with margarine and flour. Add the remaining soymilk to the rue and cook down on medium low heat for a few minutes. Add the cashew puree and all the spices and cook down for around 5 minutes, or until thick. Add cornstarch only if you need it to thicken the sauce more. The lemon juice makes the sauce taste more 'sharp', like sharper cheddar. Try the sauce with the 1 tbsp, and add a bit more, teaspoon at a time, to adjust the flavor to be a bit more bold. Or, leave it out all together to make it more mellow.

You can also use a bit of plain old yellow mustard to give it a nice bold flavor instead of the lemon juice, or use it together with the lemon juice. Experiment! Feel free to add more spices to it for specific uses, like some canned chilies and olives for nachos. You can make a great Alfredo sauce for pasta or a white vegan lasagna (crumble some tofu and fresh spinach between the layers and pour this sauce on top of the layers). To make Alfredo, use only the rue, soy milk, cashews, garlic powder, a bit of salt, bit of pepper, and an Italian seasoning blend!

Summer Squash and Harvest Grains Succotash-ish

I just got back from a roadtrip with my best friend. She sent me home with a bag full of fresh veggies from her mom's garden! I didn't really know what to do with the remaining eggplant and crookneck yellow squash, as Mulch isn't much of a fan. Yesterday, while making some vegan Panang Curry for dinner, it occurred to me; Succotash! I have never made Succotash before, and looked up recipes. They all sounded so... plain. And I was looking to make something that was a whole meal. Then, I came across two recipes that provided the answer. One used pasta, the other had veggie broth. We have a freezer full of amazing, flavorful, homemade veggie stock, and I have plenty of harvest grains in the pantry that need to be used! PERFECT!

Now, I didn't really measure this recipe. I just diced the squash I had and threw stuff in as it looked good. So, this recipe turned out HUGE. Plenty of leftovers! This is a rough recipe from memory, adjust proportions as needed for taste.

I HIGHLY suggest making your own veggie stock. We save all the ends of veggies, wilted or limp stuff that that didn't get used in time, stems and ends from herbs, etc. in a gallon bag kept in the freezer. Once we have two of those, they are thrown in a stock pot with a nice fresh bunch of parsley, some carrots, celery, and onion if there isn't much in the bag, some garlic, dried Italian herb variety (sage, basil, oregano, whatever you have on hand!), 8-10 whole peppercorns, and filled to the top with water. Bring to boil, simmer for about an hour, allow to cool, and strain. It is super easy and hassle free if you eat a good variety of veggies and have a nice rounded mix in the bags-- when you do this, all you add is some herbs and spices to the water and you are all set!

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
~2 lbs summer squash (I used two baby eggplants and a couple crookneck yellow squashes. Use your favorites!)
~ 20ozs frozen shelled Edamame (soybeans)
~ 2-3 ears fire roasted corn, cut from cob (Peel the corn and stick on the grill for a few minutes each side. You want is a little black and blistery. I cheated and used frozen fire roasted!)
~ 3-4 bell peppers, variety of colors, sliced in 1cm strips (I used frozen bell peppers we had on hand)
8oz Israeli Cous Cous (Israeli is a larger grain cous cous, and I recommend it over the smaller grain kind)
8oz Quinoa
~3 tbsp sesame seeds (this was a happy mistake as I mistook them for Quinoa at first. It ended up a fantastic addition!)
4 cups veggie stock, unsalted if possible
a good handful of fresh or dried leaf Oregano, minced or crushed. I had some dried homegrown Oregano on hand!
salt and pepper to taste. I also added a bit of Trader Joe's 21 spice salute-- my secret ingredient in everything!

Get a nice big stir fry pan for this recipe. You can also use a large casserole dish that is safe for use on the burners. Add the olive oil and brown the onion on medium high heat for a couple minutes, until it starts to smell all tasty! Add the squash, cook another minute. Now, dump all the remaining ingredients in, stirring well to mix everything. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the grains are soft and cooked and all the liquid is gone. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.



As this was cooking, my mind was filled with thoughts and fears of how bland and boring this would be, and how I could spruce it up with some flavor. It didn't need ANYTHING! I am one of those people who loves to over spice things. I love lots and lots of flavor. The strength of this dish is how wonderfully the subtle flavors of every veggie comes through, and the veggie stock provided the perfect amount of flavor that complemented everything in this dish. Spectacular! What a wonderful light, yet very filling lunch this was! The soybeans are much sweeter than the bitter lima beans in traditional Succotash, and provide tons of protein to make this a complete meal! All the bitterness of the squash is gone, and they became simply creamy and delicious! The harvest grains with a touch of sesame is slightly nutty and very filling.

Try this recipe! Super simple, almost everything can be found at a farmer's market or in your friend's garden :) The rest is all at Trader Joe's!

100% whole grain multigrain pancakes

1/2 cup multigrain oats (NOT steelcut)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups 10 grain cereal mix from Winco (or any multigrain hot cereal mix with 100% whole grains)
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
8 tbsp powdered buttermilk*

2 cups water (or liquid buttermilk, exclude powdered if using liquid)*
1/2 cup soy milk or your favorite cow's milk
2 whole eggs*
2 egg whites*
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

2-4 ripe bananas
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
or
2 11oz boxes of blueberries
(I made half the batch with blueberries, half with banana and nuts)

Mix dry ingredients, set aside. Whip together wet ingredients until eggs are beaten. Mix the wet and dry together. Fold in fruit. Cook on a 385 degree electric griddle for blueberry, or 340 degrees for banana.



*If you want to make this recipe vegan, substitute the water and powdered buttermilk with two cups of SOY milk (need soy!) and 2 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar. Add this with the wet ingredients. Substitute the eggs with an egg replacer (easily found at all health food stores or online), following instructions on the box for proper proportions. Also add this with the wet ingredients. :)