Don't be Alfredo!!! It's vegan!!!

Man... I miss the 1980's. Being young... no responsibilities(aka kiddos)... Back to The Future Movies.... kick @sS electronic music.... and all you can eat pasta bars!!!!!!
Man noodles were cool, pasta was king, sauces were liquid gluttony!!!
I had the good fortune to work in some pretty outstanding restaurants in the 80's and 90's and got to experience a range from Contemporary American renditions of of European classics to working in a very polished northern Italian place complete with a cleaver wielding maniac chef from Florence, Italy. He taught me how to make Farfalle alla Brava and Capellini Alla Checca(I will divulge those secrets another day)
I have always been a noodle snob and being vegan has made it easier for me to not have to order pasta at a restaurant, because I am not easy to please when it comes to pasta!!!
The sauce must match the pasta!!!!!! This sauce is basically the same as my Mac N No Cheese recipe - minus the carrots(or the sauce would look like cheddar) and I add extra garlic, white wine and black pepper. This sauce has a big flavor, is thick, and goes well with regular spaghetti - linguine, or fettuccine. Green onions are nice garnish, but chopped capers would have been better.
The salad was basically red leaf lettuce and Annie's Goddess Dressing, we bought a big, giant bottle at Costco, and it took 3.5 months to use it all. Honestly though it is one of my all time favorite dressings!!

Mac-n-Cheese, or Mac-N-No-Cheese

This is the turning point dish that made life much more normal again!!! I really missed cheese after becoming vegan, had to avoid the cheese section in the store, it made me have crazy thoughts. We tried almost all of the faux cheeses, and have found a few that are good, but this sauce is awesome, it does not have nutritional yeast which is like kryptonite to the kids!!!!!
MAC-N-CHEESE, a staple of a kids diet!!!!! A guilty pleasure that even adults indulge, relish, crave, ok.... I am going over board!!!!
This recipe originated with a "veganize-it" recipe in Vegnews, by Allison Rivers Samson. I have streamlined it a bit to suit my time realities, so that I can make Mac-N-Cheese as quick as "kraft" only with less fat, better nutrition, and no guilt!!!! I would put this up against Stouffers mac-n-cheese(my childhood favorite) or the kind at a cafeteria made with velveeta.
This cheese base recipe has morphed into other guilt-free faves at the local vegan monthly potluck, Mac-N-No-Cheese, Not-Yo-Cheese, and Don't-Be-Alfredo.

Here's how easy it is:

• Water from a can of new potatoes + 1/2 onion + handful of baby carrots + 1 tooth of garlic, microwaved til soft
• Put the following in Vita Mix - Can of new potatoes (yes lazy but fast), handfull of raw cashews, 1/2 buttery stick, teaspoon, papricka + salt + teaspoon mustard sweat(yeah it is just the water that rises to the top, too much mustard and the kids won't touch it), add the softened veggies from the microwave. Blend till it is cheese sauce, and add to a pound of your KIDS favorite shape of pasta, mine like the big shells.

Make them eat a salad with it!!!!!! Finish the salad and you can have more mac-n-cheese, you know how it works!!!
I sometimes double the recipe and put the extra in the fridge, I will add a can of rotel and some mexican spices for Not-Yo-Cheese sauce, which is good on tacos, nachos, enchiladas, or a spoon. I also nix the carrots and paprika, add white wine and extra garlic for Don't-Be-Alfredo sauce.


Yeah!!!!!!!!! He ate all of his salad!!!!!!
There was a chocolate chip cookie bribe!!!!!
Thanks, Nikki!!!!!

The best Christmas Eve

It is a tradition in Nikki's family to have Mexican food for Christmas Eve. Nikki suggested fajitas which were a good mix for the the number of people we were cooking for and the limits of Patti's kitchen. By the way one of my favorite things is the challenge of cooking in someone else's kitchen.
Here's the line up:
Broiled, peppers(green, poblano, anaheim)+onions
Morningstar Farms chic'n strips(in the new package)
Pinto Beans
Steamed rice
Not Yo Cheese (An evolving recipe that can take velveeta dip to task)
Follow your Heart sour cream
Salsa
Chips

There were nine of us together for dinner, 4 confirmed vegans, 3 working vegans, and two teenage non vegans(my nephews). One of my nephews is in a food service training program and it was really fun talking about the "business" with him. The Not Yo Cheese has become one of the key items I use to share that vegan food can be just as good as its evil counterpart. Everyone ate hearty portions, especially the boys. This makes me very happy!!!!!
Making the Not Yo Cheese without the VitaMix was challenging.... Patti's blender produced enough ozone to sanitize the whole house!!!!! I really think that the VitaMix is one of the best cooking tools I have ever owned... thank you Nikki.