Vegan Florentine Mac and Cheese

Soooooo happy!

I am not vegan. I am dairy intolerant. Which for mac and cheese purposes, means I'm pretty much vegan.

So I have been having mac and cheese withdrawals for many years now. Since I discovered Daiya brand cheeses, life has been better. But mac and cheese has still been elusive. All the recipes I had wanted me to use the Daiya shreds and that came out gummy. But then came the Daiya wedges. And balance has been restored to my cheese-iverse!

Since I can't leave the recipe alone, I have made this with veggies. Broccoli may have to go into the next batch. Mmmm, broccoli and cheese.....

I may never eat anything else ever again. Unless it's Chinese food.

Vegan Florentine Mac and Cheese

8 oz small elbows or other pasta

2 cups very chunky tomato sauce

2 cups spinach

2 tbsp Garlic Olive Oil

1 cup chopped vegan cheese, 

          I like Daiya brand wedges, 1/2 cup cheddar, 1/2 cup jack style

1 cup soy or almond milk

2 tbsp vegan butter, like Earth Balance

2 tbsp nutritional yeast 

         or ground almonds

2 tbsp french fried onions

Salt and Pepper

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Rinse in cool water and put in an oven safe casserole dish.

Heat the oven to 350degrees. 

In a small saute pan, heat the olive oil to medium high heat. Add in the spinach and a little salt. Stir in the tomato sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the spinach is completely wilted. Combine in the dish with the pasta.

In a small sauce pan, heat the butter until it is melted. Put in the cheese shreds and slowly stir in the milk and a pinch or two of black pepper. Heat, stirring often, until all the cheese has melted and the sauce starts to thicken. About 5 minutes.

Pour the sauce into the pasta mix and stir until the sauce is evenly distributed. Sprinkle with the nutritional yeast or ground almonds and fried onions.

Bake for 10 minutes. The top should be toasted.

A disappointment and a good find

I'm milk-free. I choose not to eat milk products because if I do, I feel terrible. It's as simple as that.

And it sucks the big one.

So I tried this vegan cheese I found at the grocery store. I was so excited. I always am. And I am always disappointed. I keep trying, but I don't know why. The taste was mediocre, but it said it would melt. Er. My grilled cheese was a disaster. It melted to the bread, but not to itself. I put two slices on and once it was hot, the sides just fell apart. Yuck.

Had a spot of luck thrifting to make up for it. Those shoes are real suede in fabulous condition. Looks like they've never been worn. I love my big red beads and Terry Pratchett is just one of my favorite authors. So awesome!

Kinda makes up for the funky cheese...but well, I love to read and all, but I miss the hell out of cheese.

Pot Roast

I decided to make a pot roast for my anniversary. I used the recipe below.

I precooked it yesterday morning, so that we could go out and have a good time and I could pretend to not have anything ready and pretend we had to get fast food, and then pull out this awesome roast!

So I waited 2 hours. Drooled smelling it. Took it out of the oven and almost burned my hands. I was so excited! 

I opened the lid, waited for the steam to clear and took a whiff. 

MMMMmmmm-wait. What the HELL is that?

Then I remembered that we sprayed for ants in June. Including the cabinet where I put my dutch oven. The cabinet was empty when I sprayed, but I guess it carried over. I tried to think that maybe it wasn't so bad. Maybe it was just a fluke. Maybe....I licked my finger and touched the lid. Then I did a dumb thing and tasted my finger. Then my tongue started to feel tingly. 

So I had to throw the whole thing out. I almost cried. If it hadn't been for that, it would have been awesome!

Pot Roast cooked in Tomato Sauce with Mushrooms and Onions

1 large roast

1 pkg large mushrooms, diced

1 medium onion, sliced

1 can fire roasted tomatoes (I love the Hunts brand)

1 cup red wine

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400degrees.

Using your dutch oven, saute onion with about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Give it about 5-7 minutes and then add the mushrooms. Give it another 5 minutes or so and then toss in 1/2 cup wine to de-glaze the pan. Give it a few stirs.

Generously salt and pepper both sides of the roast. Lay it in the pan and pour the can of tomatoes on top. Add the rest of the wine and cover.

Place in the oven and let cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Cool slightly before serving.

Leftover Duck

I went out with some friends last night and was told I had to try this duck dish. So I did.

Eh. Which is a crazy shame, because duck is always supposed to be awesome. Never eh. That's just a waste of good duck.

Today's leftovers are better. I shredded it, and sauteed it with honey and curry powder. Then stuck it on a sandwich with some mustard.

Fantastic!

Chile-Lime and Insulators

Oh yeah. Chili-Lime! And amazing insulators. 

These were not with the glass wares at the store. They were with the knick-knacks. I was looking at little figurines and went, Huh, these paperweights look like insulators.

Followed swiftly by, Hoply Crop! Those are insulators!

I've never seen them before. Not made of white glass. I have blue and teal and clear. And now white.

So I get to eat tasty food and look at my good and insulated fortune. Yay!

Yogurt for breakfast

I am lactose-intolerant. It really sucks. I used to love milk, cheese and yogurt, but no more. I still miss them, and sometimes eat a bit of cheese, but my New Years resolution was to stop eating things that make me sick. So no more cheese, no more yogurt. No more anything. If you have ever tried to be dairy free, you will realize what a challenge this is. If you haven't, start checking labels of things you can't even imagine would contain milk. Like granola. And cereal. Baileys, and cream stout beers....

It sucks. So I was very excited to see this coconut milk yogurt the other day. Coconut milk and coconut milk ice cream are soooo good, I couldn't wait to try this. I stopped at Wawa to get a coffee, I came in to work a little early so I could sit down and savor my breakfast. I opened my yogurt and gave it a stir. Sipped my coffee and took a little mouthful of the worst yogurt I have ever tasted in my life.

I had such hopes. It tasted like it was sour, but it was well within it's sell by dates. Maybe it wasn't so bad...I stirred it a few more times, tasted it again. I sighed. It really was that terrible. I threw it away and had my peanut butter and jelly for breakfast instead.

Breakfast

This is my breakfast this morning. I discovered both recipes online and I do love them. The pudding is made of avocados, and it's pretty cool if you don't mind that it tastes like chocolate avocados. I think it's great with graham crackers, or in this case, Overnight Oats. In my top ten.

That reminds me. I'm out of soy yogurt. I need to stop by the store on the way home.

Cast Iron Dutch Oven

I bought a dutch oven. It is a beautiful burgundy color with great brass handles.

And yes, I washed it right away and that's a beautiful pot roast. My husband was very grateful for this purchase. My last pot roast pan was so over large that I can cook an 18 pound turkey in it. This is much more manageable. It can stay downstairs, where I can use it more often, instead of in the attic.