S’mores Surprise Cupcakes

/ Kelly / 9 Comments

Today, I’m going to start things off with a photo.

Say hello to my s'mores-y friend!

I call that a S’mores Surprise Cupcake. Perhaps you’re thinking, “But Kelly! Where is the surprise?! I see something vaguely graham-y and something white like a marshmallow and something obviously chocolaty.” To which I must reply, “Shut it.” See that bit o’ white peeking out over the top, just under that drizzle of ganache? That’s the surprise. Or, well, it’s supposed to be the surprise.

Allow me to explain: a month or so ago, I won a bag of Dandies marshmallows from Kris over at Nom! Nom! Nom! Blog. When I tried a Dandie, I was shocked – they’re so puffy and sweet and eerily similar to the nasty gelatin-filled marshmallows of my childhood! I knew immediately that they needed to be made into something s’mores inspired – stat. So I worked up a recipe for some simple cupcakes, flavored mostly with molasses and a few spices, and decided to hide a little marshmallow in each one. As you can see, however, they refused to stay hidden:

Well, hello, there!

I think the problem was that I added the marshmallows before putting the cupcakes into the oven, so they had way too much time to puff up and go all soft and melty. Originally I meant to add Dandies to half the batch at the get-go, and then add them to the rest of the batch halfway through baking. But I got overexcited at go-time, resulting in little marshmallow-y volcanoes of sticky goodness. No worries, though. I think they look pretty fun, all covered with the Quick Melty Ganache from VCTOTW.

A whole legion of cuppers!

I wanted to post a recipe for y’all, but somehow said recipe disappeared. I wrote it out on an envelope or a scrap of paper as I put it together, then somehow lost said paper. Somehow, I think you’ll survive – the recipe needed a little work, and there are quite a few fun recipes for Dandie-filled delights out there. You could try Kris’ Sweetie P Cupcakes, for example, if you wanted a cupper that calls upon that most sacred of Thanksgiving traditions, sweet potato casserole. Or you could go with Amy’s Grahamy Mallow Brownies for a chocolaty, sweet square of delightfulness. Or, y’know, you could just eat these straight-up from the bag, popping them into your mouth like particularly addictive candy. Not that I’d know anything about that. I only make elegant, sophisticated baked goods with my Dandies!

Have you tried Dandies? What about Sweet & Sara marshmallows? I won a sampler of Sweet & Sara marshmallows last year… o m g. So delicious! Not the sort of thing you’d want to put in a cupcake, however. Them’s fer savorin’.

Vegan on the Go: Northstar Café (Friday Flashback)

/ Kelly / 3 Comments

Let’s jump in our Delorean and do a little time-traveling, shall we? Don’t worry, we’re not going very far – only four days back, to late Friday afternoon. I’d just arrived in Columbus, and I’d picked up my rental car and was feelin’ more than a bit peckish. I wanted a tasty dinner before beginning the drive to Zanesville, so I headed over to a location fairly close to the Columbus airport – Northstar Café.

Let’s travel back a little further – earlier that week, when I realized I’d be in Columbus for an evening, I took the logical step: I solicited advice for vegan eats via Twitter. Brian, the [not so] Crabby Vegan, responded and tipped me off about a very timely series over at Eat Pure, where Sarah-Mai was just finishing up a series about vegan food in Columbus. Serendipitous, no? I was quite impressed by the variety of food available, but ultimately I chose the Easton Northstar because it was closest to the Columbus airport. :)

When I arrived on Friday, I took a look at the menu (which isn’t available online for the Easton location!) and got pretty excited about the Buddha bowl. Sadly, though, my inquiries revealed that the sauce used in the bowl contains honey. But a helpful waitress was only too willing to point out the honey-free vegan options, and eventually I settled on the veganized Northstar Burger: Just made with organic brown rice, black beans and beets, topped with white cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle and onion.

 

 

 

 

Lookit those grill marks!

 

 

Beets in a burger?! I’m totally sold! I had to eat this with a fork and knife because it was so darn big and the bread was so darn thick, but I didn’t care – it was delicious! The beets, rice, and beans created a crispy, delightfully-textured, and superbly-flavored creation that I totally enjoyed and that played well with a mustard-y spread on the bread-bun. It also came with a really yummy, crunchy, salad, with fennel and onions and lettuce and all sorts of yumminess covered in some sort of oil-based dressing. Oh, and the pickle was dreamy, too.

My only complaints about this meal were that the burger was a little too salty and the salad was a tiny bit too oily. Other than that, however, it was fantastic. If I ever find myself back in Columbus, I’ll be sure to pay Northstar a second visit.

What’s the tastiest vegan burger you’ve ever tried? The most exotic?

Vegan on the Go: O’Happy at O’Hare!

/ Kelly / 11 Comments

DUDES. I discovered the most amazing thing in O’Hare airport this morning! Check it:

O M G!

Initially I was a little confused as to why that banner was there – it was on one of those closed-off, in-construction type areas where they were obviously building a new eating establishment, so originally I thought it was saying that this was a “coming soon” type of thing. But then I realized that it was right across from the actual/current location of Cibo Express, so I realized it was an advertising tactic. Anyway, it worked – I could not resist investigating a vegan option! Not being a Portland native with vegan options hitting me in the face every time I turn a corner, I still get giddy and excited whenever I see the word VEGAN in the rEaL wOrLd.

And OH MY WORD! I was so thrilled to discover that Cibo had tons prepared, ready-to-eat, veg foods! Fruit cups, [various types of] sushi, packages of hummus and veggies, even [an admittedly tiny] KALE SALAD! And sandwiches GALORE, all explicitly marked as vegan! They had a jerk tofu one that looked particularly good, along with more varieties that I can’t remember. I think all the sandwiches are made in a local Chicago restaurant and then sold at the airport, which is cool. And there were tons of yummy organic and healthy drink options, too. There were also some non-veggie items, but we won’t talk about that. ;) Here’s what I ended up getting:

Hey there, vegan yumminess!

I purchased this at 7:30 in the morning on my layover in O’Hare, thinkin’ I’d eat it on my flight from Chicago to Madison. For some reason the idea of a “chicken” salad sandwich, as boring as it might seem, was really appealing; since it was early, I didn’t want anything too spicy. But the Chicago-Madison flight is so short – and I was so busily knitting – that I didn’t end up eating it until I was back home, maybe around 10:45. Still, it was reallllly tasty, totally like the chicken salad of yore. My only complaint was that the bread was a little soggy, but maybe that’s because it was sitting in my giant purse for two hours. Oops. The iced tea was also delicious; I’d never seen that brand before but I enjoyed it; it was subtly flavored and very refreshing.

Needless to say, I’m thrilled to know that decent vegan eats exist at O’Hare; you can find Cibo Express between terminals 1 and 2, by the big plane that’s sort of suspended in an odd corner in some sort of display (clearly I wasn’t awake enough to absorb any more detail than that). I’m also thrilled that my company will reimburse me for this meal. ;)

Anyway, that’s all for the moment – I’m quite exhausted after this trip!* I still have one more on-the-go type post to share, but I’ll save it for later. And now I need to catch up on all the awesome MoFo posts I undoubtedly missed during the past few days – don’t be surprised if y’all receive boatloads of random comments tonight!

Have you ever found a surprise!vegan option at an airport or similar travel-type location?

* Proof: I originally typed “O’Hair” instead of “O’Hare” in this post. The Irish version of Hair, perhaps? Now I’m picturing lots of freckly redheads running around nakie and singing hippie songs. Hee hee hee.

Vegan on the Go: My Personal Chef

/ Kelly / 2 Comments

Hello from Columbus! I’ve survived my work weekend/Monday, and now I’m back in Columbus so I can catch an early flight back to Madison (by way of O’Hare, of course). I got in around 8:15 and in lieu of veg eats near my hotel, I renewed my grocery store plan of last night and picked up something made by my personal chef, Amy:

Thanks, Amy!

Unlike my hotel in Z-ville, this one actually has a microwave AND a refrigerator! Imagine that! Additionally, the coffee maker is not in the bathroom, which is always a plus in my book – I’m not really a fan of toilet coffee. However, this hotel only has wired internet, not wifi. You win some, you lose some.

Anyway, Amy fed me well – this was actually a pretty tasty meal, although the dal could’ve used a little more spice. And, like most of Amy’s food, this one is a little high in sodium. I washed it down with one of my guilty – if rarely indulged – pleasures, a vitamin water. I haven’t had one of these in ages, but I won’t deny that I enjoyed it. The Power-C Dragonfruit variety was always my favorite, and now I appreciate the B12 and the fact that its lovely pink color comes from “vegetable juice” – I’m thinkin’ beets. Deeelightful!

I’m excited to get back home and start COOKING again! My eats and my posts have been pretty pathetic of late. Now I’m gonna go back to watching Golden Girls on one of the two (!) TVs in my hotel room. Heh heh. Ciao, y’all!

What’s your guilty pleasure? Do you like any trendy drinks?

Servin’ up a Survey, MoFo Style

/ Kelly / 7 Comments

Day two = finished! Today’s eats were so pathetic that I can barely talk about them. I didn’t take/get/have/whatever a lunch break, so I basically snacked every once in a while to stave off hunger. For dinner, I thought I’d be a genius and go to the grocery store and pick up some [more] snacks and a frozen meal or something, but just as I discovered Kroger’s fairly impressive selection of various vegan eats, I remembered that my room at the Hampton Inn is microwaveless. Har har haaaaar. I picked up some Back to Nature granola and Kashi cereal bars, and plan on making it a fully snackified day. Yeehaw.

Anyway, Keri over at I Eat Trees posted a fun MoFo-inspired survey, so Imma fill it out, and you should do the same!

What is one food you thought you’d miss when you went vegan, but don’t?
This is super unoriginal, but I really have to say cheese! It probably helped that I mostly gave up cheese before officially going vegan, so then the few times I did eat it during that time period, I realized that it really wasn’t tH3 gR3@t3$t th!nG 3v3R!1!!111!! Now, I only miss it very occasionally.

What is a food or dish you wouldn’t touch as a child, but enjoy now?
Gosh… anything with sweet potatoes or squash. I KNOW. Now I LOVE sweet potatoes, and am much fonder of squash.

What vegan dish or food you feel like you “should” like, but don’t?
Bananas. Also, Daiya.

What beverage do you consume the most of on any given day?
Water!

What dish are you “famous” for making or bringing to gatherings?
Geeze… any sort of dessert, really.

Do you have any self-imposed food rules (like no food touching on the plate or no nuts in sweets)?
I hate raisins in baked goods. Hate, hate, hate!

What’s one food or dish you tend to eat too much of when you have it in your home?
Umm… anything sweet, really!

What ingredient or food do you prefer to make yourself despite it being widely available prepackaged?
Hmm. Baked goods? Most people these days buy packaged desserts or mixes…

What ingredient or food is worth spending the extra money to get “the good stuff”?
I don’t mind paying a little extra for organics. I don’t really buy “cheap” food… it’s my one weakness, ‘cuz otherwise I’m not much of a spender!

Are you much of a snacker?  What are your favorite snacks?
Yes. Everything.

What are your favorite vegan pizza toppings?
Black olives, artichoke hearts, banana peppers, my dad’s awesome spice blend/spread dealio.

What is your favorite vegetable?  Fruit?
So difficult! Brussels sprouts, maybe?! And grapefruit. Or mango.

What is the best salad dressing?
I rarely use salad dressing, actually. But I do like sesame-ginger.

What is your favorite thing to put on toasted bread?
A delicious all-fruit jam.

What kind of soup do you most often turn to on a chilly day or when you aren’t feeling your best?
I like pureed squash soups, although recently I’ve been making my own miso soup.

What is your favorite cupcake flavor? Frosting flavor?
Umm… anything with chocolate!

What is your favorite kind of cookie?
See above.

What is your most-loved “weeknight meal”?
What a question! My weeknight meals tend to be fairly simple. I miss the big ol’ mess of sauteed veggies I made all summer long with my CSA yumminess… :(

What is one dish or food you enjoy, but can’t get anyone else in your household to eat?
Umm… I live with a roommate, and we cook separately. Plus I think she’d eat anything I made, unless it had tons of mushrooms!

How long, in total,  do you spend in the kitchen on an average day? Well, on weekdays I only make dinner at home, but then again I do tend to bake fairly often. So maybe an hour or two on week days, and three or four (or more) on weekend days?

How many fingers am I holding up? Eleven, apparently!

Your turn! :)

Vegan on the Go: Fast(ish) Food

/ Kelly / 3 Comments

And…exhale. Today I helped out on a unit full of babies and very friendly nurses and techs, but things got a little awkward around lunchtime. I wasn’t in the main hospital, and the one I was in didn’t have a cafeteria. I planned on having a snackfest for lunch, but the nurses had organized a potluck and they had TONS of food in the break room – casseroles, potato salad, sloppy joes, spaghetti, chili, [bacon-topped] baked beans, and a bajillion [admittedly delicious-looking] desserts. I’m sure you can see where this is going. After their enthusiastic encouragement that I eat up, I put some crudités and some salad on a plate and tried to hide it on my knees so they wouldn’t see my food and think I was 1.) snobby/too good for them and their food, or 2.) on a diet. Then I supplemented my veggies with an apple, pretzels, and a Larabar.

And I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for those meddling… kids… nurses? I dunno. Anyway, a couple of hours later, the following conversation ensued:

Tech: You must be so hungry; you only ate lettuce for lunch! You should eat more – we have tons of food left!
Me: Ah, it’s okay, I’m actually vegan.
Tech: …vegan? I don’t know what that means.
Me: Well, I don’t eat eggs or dairy. Or meat, haha.
Tech: Ohhh! No WONDER you’re so skinny!
Me: Ehh heh heh. I think I was skinny before I was vegan…
Tech: So is it a religious thing?
Me: No, a personal thing… moral and ethical, really.
Tech: Oh, that’s cool! I should probably eat less of those things… but I love my meat! Give me chicken and turkey and I’m happy. But different types make the world go ’round!

So, really, a pretty painless “coming-out” moment. :) The tech then went out of her way to call the woman who’d made the chili to find out if it had meat (it did). She also asked if that meant I didn’t eat eggs in food. Hehe. I know I should’ve just said I was vegan when they first offered me lunch, but there were at least 6 or 7 people in the break room, and I chickened out! I just didn’t feel like dealing with the questions, y’know?

Aaanyway, after my shift ended and I finally got back to my hotel I obviously needed to make up for the lettuce lunch. I opted for… Chipotle. Heh. Whatever; it’s easy and filling. I think it’s pretty stupid to post a photo, but in the name of MoFo I’ll do it anyway.

Fooooood.

Gee willikers, but that’s a horrid photograph! I don’t really care though. It was a deeeee-licious burrito bowl full of rice and black beans and salsa and tomato and lettuce and corn and guacamole, and now my tummy is full and happy.

Anybody have a favorite “fast food” meal? I don’t know when I last ate at a “real” fast food joint, but Chipotle is pretty fast!

How was your Saturday? I’m super tired after my shift, so I’m chillin’ with TV and the internetz. Then I’ll rest up and get ready for another day of floor support. Oy.

Vegan on the Go

/ Kelly / 2 Comments

After a day of traveling, I made it safe and [mostly] sound to Zanesville, Ohio. The work part of my work trip begins in earnest tomorrow, so tonight I’m taking it easy and trying to get rid of the headache and sore throat that’ve plagued me all day. For that reason, enter Super Cop-Out Post Numero Uno!

Question: What’s a vegan to do when she’s traveling to a small town, working 12-hour shifts at a hospital for three days straight, and said small town features mostly restaurants like Steak ‘n Shake and Bob Evans?

Answer: Snack it up! This was my suitcase this morning:

Case o' snacks.

That big ol’ bag features mostly Larabars, pretzels, sesame sticks, assorted teas, and… oatmeal. Or oats, rather, ready to be made into oatmeal at a moment’s notice. Except I don’t have a microwave in my hotel room, come to find out. Oh well – I’m sure I can be resourceful and figure something out. I’m counting on the hotel’s morning breakfast spread to include fruit that I can squirrel away for later, and my snacks along with whatever vegan fare I can rustle up at the hospital cafeteria should hold me over throughout the day. However, I’m not quite sure how I’ll survive at dinner time when I’m hungry after a long shift… I’ve a feeling that snacks won’t cut it then! I’ll report back and let you know how I fare. ;)

What are your on-the-go eating strategies when you know you won’t be in a vegan-friendly location?

Food Fail: Kale-Chickpea Curry…ish

/ Kelly / 5 Comments

Today’s theme: Food Fail

Well, piddle on a fiddle. After last night’s dinner, I’m officially adding a new category to my MoFo list o’ themes: Food Fail. Totally shoulda built that one in from the beginning, right? At least it’s pleasantly alliterative! Anyway, this post will be both short and vaguely unpleasant, and also probably ugly. You’ve been warned; proceed at your own risk!

So – last night I wanted to make something quick yet flavorful and filling. As soon as I got home from work, I put a pot of rice on the stove and set to work. I wanted to make something chana masala/curryesque, so I opened up my trusty ol’ copy of VWAV and used the Chickpea and Spinach Curry as the [very loose] basis for my meal. I grabbed some kale and cherry tomatoes from the freezer (frozen at the end of summer; yay homegrown veggies!) and some leftover chickpeas from the blondies I made a few nights ago, and set to work. This was the result:

Yawn.

Okay, so it’s not exactly hideous, but it’s also not the most appetizing thing you’ve ever seen, right? In my memory it was much uglier. I suppose I’m conflating the result with the process, because the process of creating this meal was rather ugly. Whoever said that “a picture is worth 1,000 words” failed to consider the fact that pictures cannot include odors and textures and the entire story behind the photo. I mean, this meal was okay, but the process was… unpleasant. Consider the following:

  1. I burnt the garlic and had to scrape blackened chunks of mustard seeds and garlic from the bottom of the pan.
  2. I didn’t press my tofu or really cook it for very long, so it was… squishy.
  3. I undercooked the kale, and it was a bit tough. Plus there was really no base or sauce to the travesty of a curry, so it was really like rice + tough kale + squishy tofu + chickpeas… with some sad tomato skins for variety. Mmm… appetizing.

Needless to say, the stovetop fan got a good workout tonight. Oh well – it really didn’t taste terrible, and it could’ve been a much worse experience, and now that I’m writing about it I just sound like a whiny little brat. Well… the pan was a legitimate pain in the patootie to clean! So there. Cough.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for ya, folks. I’m just keepin’ it real, you know? MoFo can’t be all cupcakes and rainbows and prancing ponies all the time! Hopefully I won’t resort to this category too often, but… I can’t make any promises. ;)

Have you had any food fails lately? Do you post “ugly photos” on your blog? Are you less inclined to read about failures than successes?

Just FYI, I’ll be leaving for my work trip tomorrow morning. I’ll still be posting throughout the weekend, but probably not ’til late at night. I’m really anxious about the trip for about 4829 reasons, so feel free to send all your positive thoughts my way – I’d really appreciate them!

Cookbook Challenge: 500 Vegan Recipes

/ Kelly / 9 Comments

Today’s theme: Cookbook Challenge

Hey y’all, guess what? I made 3 recipes from 500 Vegan Recipes! I feel a Bon Jovi comin’ on: whoa, whoa, I’m halfway… a quarter… okay fine, .6% of the way there. Yeah, that was pointless.

Anyway, I purchased this cookbook a few months ago when I received a $50 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble for renewing the lease on my apartment. Score, right? I used the book a couple of times during the summer, but it’s been lazing about on my cookbook shelf ever since then. So I decided it was high time to give it another go. I actually made these recipes over the course of two nights, but I’m going to post them all in one shot.

First up – Spicy Frites. Okay, I know, this is sort of a cop-out recipe to make – I make oven fries in my sleep (Literally; I’m a pro at sleep-cooking. Okay I lied.), and they reallllly don’t require a recipe. But sometimes it’s nice to mix things up and use somebody else’s idea for a spice blend or a technique, y’know? These are flavored with garam masala and cayenne and definitely require a Kleenex or two when you eat ’em. Celine & Joni suggest serving them with a sprinkle of lime juice, but I 1.) didn’t have a lime, and 2.) get a little icked out by putting liquid atop something that has the potential to get mushy. Back in RI, people do the whole malt-vinegar-on-fries thing, which makes me want to vomit – I hate vinegar and I hate mushy fries. Nas-tay. These fries, however, were not nas-tay.

Taters, precious!

Pretty! Just ignore the little pile of peeing ketchup in the corner. Muir Glen ketchup is tasty but incontinent, apparently. On the subject of liquids, I should note that this recipe calls for peanut oil. I, however, do not keep peanut oil in the house, so I used the oil from the top of my peanut butter jar. I’m either a genius or a cheapskate. Your call.

Moving on! Up next: Chickpea Blondies. Now… I wanted to love these. I’ve been intrigued by bean-based baked goods for a while now, and the ingredient list was simple enough that I had [nearly] everything on hand. I made a half batch and baked ’em up in a loaf tin, and other than the issue where my roommate’s Magic Bullet didn’t want to blend everything very well (I don’t have a food processor, wahhh!), the recipe came together quite quickly.

Blonde chicks!?

They look sort of fudgy and chewy and intriguing, right? Well, they taste… meh. That’s really the best (and perhaps the worst) I can say. They’re not bad, and I don’t mind eating them, but I wouldn’t necessarily serve them to a skeptical omni and I can’t imagine waking up at night with a mad craving for them. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt, though, because I didn’t have strawberry jam and ended up using a lackluster apricot variety, and then I didn’t even have enough apricot, so I added a tiny bit of canned pumpkin. Maybe if I made them with a bolder-flavored fruit, they’d have had a little more flavor.

I will tell you, though, that my final recipe was not at all lacking in flavor. No, this was the winner of the bunch, without a doubt. Take a look:

Gooey goodness.

Folks, that is the unlikely but ingenious Butterscotch Pumpkin Pudding, and it is heavenly. Like, I-can’t-stop-eating-this heavenly. Like, how-can-I-work-this-into-my-family’s-holiday-meal-plans heavenly.

I was a tiny bit skeptical before trying this, because I’ve traditionally been fairly ambivalent towards puddings in general, and I’ve always found butterscotch puddings to be wayyy too sweet for me. But this is a true, homemade butterscotch, and it’s sweet in a way that doesn’t give you a tummyache or make you want to go straight to the dentist without passing Go immediately after having a spoonful. What I’m saying is, it has a distinct flavor beyond just SWEET!!!1!!!111! It has just enough pumpkin-y flavor to add a fun twist without being overpowering and it’s wonderfully spiced, with notes of cloves, cinnamon, and a bit of molasses. Plus there’s a spoonful of rum for all you boozers out there. A winner is you, Butterscotch Pumpkin Pudding!

So there you have it, my 3/500. It strikes me that all three photos have a fairly similar color palette, despite their subjects having wildly different ingredients. And that’s only enhanced by the the horrible no-time-to-take-photos-in-natural-light side effect of MoFo being in November. Ah well. Anyway, I can’t wait to tackle some of the more substantial recipes from this cookbook, because Celine and Joni have really put together an outstanding collection. I’m lookin’ at you, Pumpkin Fauxsage!

Do you have a cookbook you know is full of fantastic recipes but that you just don’t use often enough?Alternatively, how do you feel about pudding?

Spreadin’ the Bloggy Luuurve: Two Happy Herbivore Pasta Dishes

/ Kelly / 11 Comments

Today’s theme: Spreadin’ the Bloggy Luuurve

During my initial MoFo scheming period, I thought I’d do something like LJ is doing and come up with a theme for each day of the week. I even had some fun alliterative titles, just like LJ. Thankfully I realized that this approach wouldn’t be practical for me and that it’d probably result in frustration and burnout, or possibly awful cop-out posts in which I’d say, “Wanderlust Wednesday, eh? Screw that; I’m tired!” and heat up a can of refried beans and call it Mexican.

So instead of forging ahead with my regimented posts, I’m taking the flexibility approach. And, goodness gracious me, I’m already glad I made that decision! Last night I was EXHAUSTED. A weekend of madness at House on the Rock slayed me, and neither caffeine nor sugar (from fruit!) provided much energy while I was at work. When I got home, I couldn’t even fathom making a big, elaborate dinner. I was in the mood for something carbolicious and warm, though, so I hit up ye olde Google and settled on Happy Herbivore’s Instant Vegan Alfredo.

Although the ingredient list is minimal, I ended up leaving out one key item. All the pumpkin-y baking I’ve been doing lately has depleted my stock of nutmeg, which is, according to Lindsay, “a necessity to get the right flavor.” I made it anyway, and served it over Ezekiel sprouted grain linguine and peas.

This is ugly; I'm sorry.

Although it was tasty, warm, and filling, I found it a little too nutritional yeast-y, and a bit bland (or perhaps just lacking in nutmeg!). I don’t hate NY, but I’m not a huge fan, either. I’d make this sauce again, but I’d also cut down on the NY, make sure I have nutmeg, and maybe serve it with regular whole wheat pasta (I <3 Ezekiel, but it tends to be a little sticky and dense when I make it).

That said, I made Lindsay’s Soy Free Vegan Mac n’ Cheese last week, and it knocked my crazily-patterned socks off! I’m constantly on a semi-Quixotic quest for a cheesy sauce that 1.) isn’t super high in fat, 2.) doesn’t rely too heavily on nutritional yeast, and 3.) is delicious! Happily, this recipe satisfies all those criteria.

Served over veggietastic Wacky Mac... 'cuz I'm five years old!

Hooray for noodle dishes! Do you enjoy noodles? What’s your favorite topping or sauce? I’m a big fan of all noodles, from sprouted grain spirals to gluten-free spaghetti!