Cheesy Thermos Pasta - Vegan

This is the most sought after lunch choice in our home lately.   Who doesn't love a little homemade mac n cheese? Except this recipe doesn't have any cheese...  So you can please the vegans, the lactose intolerant, and the kids all at once!   One step closer to world peace.

So you all want to know how cheesy no-cheese pasta can be right?  Well, not exactly like mac n cheese.  A taste hybrid between cheese and alfredo sauce.  Really creamy alfredo sauce.  It's all about the sauce.  My friend makes it but replaces the pasta with rice which has her kids clamoring for "cheesy rice".

The original recipe I found over at VegNews.  I've made just a few alterations to make it more straightforward and I've doubled it.   The recipe is versatle.  I've added less cashews, more potatoes, or forgotten the oil and it still works great.

 

Cheesy Thermos Pasta
Adapted from VegNews
Serves 10

Ingredients

2 shallots
2 large or 3 medium red or yellow potatoes (not russet)
2 carrots
1 yellow onion
2 cups water

1/2 cup raw cashews, preferably pre-soaked and drained*
1 garlic clove, minced
2 TB extra virgin olive oil**
2 TB lemon juice
1 TB salt
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 16 oz package small shell pasta

* The cashews do not have to be soaked but it does aid in digestion and nutrient absorption.  Simply soak the cashews in room temperature water for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.

** Non-vegans can replace the oil with butter for a richer taste if desired.  I like it both ways.

Directions

Peel and chop shallots, potatoes, carrots, and onion.  Place in a covered saucepan with the 2 cups water and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until tender.  Set aside to cool slightly.

While vegetables cool cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

Meanwhile, place the rest of the ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth adding some of the liquid from the cooked vegetables as needed.  Finally, add in the vegetables with the remaining water and blend until smooth.  Pay close attention not to burn yourself if the vegetables are still hot.  Depending on the size of you blender you may need to process the sauce in batches.

Pour sauce over cooked pasta.  Stir and serve.

Serving suggestions:  This recipe fills a 9X13 pan.  If you are having company over put it in a pan and bake it at 350 until bubbly.    If it's just you and a couple kids, put half in an 8X8 pan to bake that night for dinner and save the other half for tomorrow's lunch thermoses.  The pasta does not have to be baked.  It's just more casserole like that way.   I don't bake it for the thermoses.  I just heat and pack.  Furthermore, if you are ultra picky about leftovers you could make the sauce ahead of time and cook the pasta fresh in the morning.  I think it tastes great leftover though.

Hot or Cold Mujaddara with Sumac

Mujaddara!  I can hardly pronounce it.  Also known as mejadra, moujadara, mudardara, or megadarra.  "Hey Fly Guy you want me to make some (insert silly babble)?"  He always knows what I mean and mocks me accordingly.  For the record it's pronounced moo-jah-d'rah.

Mujaddara is known to appear in cookbooks as far back as 1226.  Though legend places it back much further.  Possibly the dish Jacob used to buy Esau's birthright.  It's that good.  Oh come on Esau, it's like 3 ingredients.  Your birthright?    Really?

We serve this hot, room temp, or cold making it a perfect pack along meal.  I've caught Fly Guy hiding behind the fridge door piling it cold on tortilla chips more than once.  "Tortilla chips, your are desecrating my food!"  I recommend Naan.


 
 

Mujaddara with Sumac

Ingredients

3 TB coconut or olive oil and 1 TB butter*
2-3 large yellow onions thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
1 cup brown or white jasmine rice (I've also used plain long grain brown or white)
1 cup brown or green lentils
salt and pepper to taste
serve with condiment bowls of sumac**, plain yogurt,  and possibly mint.  If you don't have sumac try lemon wedges and paprika.  Fresh chopped parsley also works if your fresh out of everything else.

*Vegan's can leave the butter out.  It just adds a slight richness to the dish.

**I found a bag of sumac in the middle eastern section of my grocery store for less than $3.  It's leaves a nice lemony vinegar taste on your tongue and is a nice alternative to a salt shaker on the table.  I think I will fill an old tic tac container with it next time I send this dish in Fly Guy's lunch.

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions.

While rice is cooking warm oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.

Toss in the sliced onions and a tsp salt.  While it looks like a lot of onion it cooks way down and gets quite sweet.

Cook onions for 20-30 minutes until they start to turn golden and sweet.  If they begin to burn turn down the heat.  My stove doesn't get very hot...

Meanwhile cook lentils in a separate pan according to package directions.

When onions are finished add the drained cooked lentils and cooked rice to the pan.  Salt, pepper, and incorporate.

Keep your birthright, you earned it.

Leftover Vegan Meatloaf Sandwiches

Fly Guy came home last night so we celebrated with a real meal. Vegan meatloaf and hasselback potatoes! Something that did't have to be brown bagged the next day. It didn't stop me from playing with my food though.

If you read this post for nothing else you need to read it for the bread.  The crazy rise in a bucket of cold water even you kids could make it bread.

The Bread:  I'm reading the most fantastic cookbook right now entitled Ancient Grains for Modern Meals .    I took her Floating Sesame Loaf recipe and swapped out the seeds for Italian seasonings.  You knead the dough for just 2 minutes then set it in a pan of cold water until it floats to the top about 10 minutes later.  Set it on the counter for a few minutes more then bake it.   So so so so easy.  Get the recipe in her book or online here.

The Meat:  Vegan meatloaf sound so gross.  I know!  This one doesn't contain tofu if that helps.  It's actually really tasty and meaty.  I left out the nutritional yeast, swapped brown sugar for molasses and didn't have a bay leaf.  It didn't matter.  The first time I made it I even put PB in place of Tahini Paste. Bulgar can be found at Winco in the bulk bins if you have one nearby.  In St. Louis I found a bag of it at an International Market for just over a dollar a pound.   I doubled the recipe.  One for a loaf and the other made 3 1/2 dozen meatballs for the kids lunches.  You can find the recipe in the book Let Them Eat Vegan or online here.



The Vegan Mayo:  Another 'wha? eww!" the first time I heard of it.  Which quickly turned to "quit eating out of the vegan sauce jar or I'll make sure you will never fly again!"  I knew it was karma when I dropped  it on the floor during photographs.   To make up I told him I wouldn't judge if he wanted to lick it off the carpet.

There are so many variations of this sauce but I settled with the following:

Cashew Vegan Mayo

1 cup raw cashews soaked in water several hours or overnight
1 TB fresh lemon juice
1/3-2/3 cup water
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
optional: minced garlic clove or additional spices

Directions:

Discard the soaking liquid then add cashews along with the other ingredients with the exception of 1/3 cup of the fresh water.  Blend on high in a blender until creamy.  Slowly add the other 1/3 cup water until desired consistency.  Store in refrigerator.
  
The result is meaty and filling!  This would make a great picnic with a side of slaw.