More than Gluten-free Mac n Yease

When we started this elimination diet, one of the first things I thought of making was Mac n Yease. Veggie Grille and Plum Bistro here in Seattle both make a pretty delicious gluten-free Mac n Yease, so I figured making the soy-free version would be a cinch, as long as I could find some gluten-free pasta that wasn't mush. Plus it's fun to say Mac n Yeezy instead of Yease.

After a little research and some grocery aisle scouring, I found maybe my most favorite gluten-free pasta to date, Tinkayda's Brown Rice Shells. Like the package very proudly boasts, this pasta is "not mushy" has a "good texture" and cooks "al dente"! I haven't checked at Whole Foods, PCC, or some of the other health markets, but I just found it at my local Safeway and you can also definitely get it online.

As for the recipe, I adapted a copy of Plum Bistro spicy Mac n Yease recipe I found from Vegan Richa. Her recipe comes pretty close to tasting like Plum Bistro's, and it was a great starting off point for figuring out how to make a gluten and soy-free version.

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Spinach, and Basil

I spent a good portion of my weekend making cakes and cleaning up the sticky mess of the frosting. Even still I'm finding powdered sugar in various nooks in my kitchen. So by the time Sunday came around I wanted something quick, easy, and delicious because I was in no mood to make and clean a complicated meal. This pasta dish satisfied all those requirements wonderfully. I kind of just eyeballed things and made it to my liking, so feel free to make adjustments however you see fit.

Fettuccine in a Creamy White Sauce

I have a confession. I actually made this for dinner quite some time ago. I'm talking weeks. I've had the picture uploaded and all ready to go just as soon as I wrote the recipe out, but I've been lazy. There's no other excuse. Well, the time has come for me to not be lazy anymore! Finally you can all go and make some amazing vegan white sauce for your pasta.

Other things to look forward to now that I'm not going to be lazy: my sister's coconut with raspberry preserves and a lemon butter cream frosting birthday cake*, granola bars, and lemon poppyseed muffins. Get excited.

*Yes, I'm aware it has basically been a month now since I first mentioned posting about her birthday cake, I'm just trying to build suspense.**

**I'm actually just waiting to get the pictures from my mom's camera, but I haven't been home since my sister's birthday festivities.

Comfort Food

When I was sad as a kid, my parents, or rather, mostly my dad, would use food to help cheer me up. If it wasn't a 7-Eleven slurpee, then it was a candy bar, or some sort of fruit...yeah, I was a weird kid and liked fruit, but no matter what, it always seemed to help. For better or for worse I continue to use food to help cheer myself up, and as I've gotten older I've started to realize that I don't limit this practice to just making myself feel better. For example, when my boyfriend was down from a really awful beginning of the week this week, my initial reaction was to make him food, and not just any food, all his favorite comfort food! So the meal for tonight was vegan barbecue ribs, vegan macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and green beans.

The green beans were just from a can, so not really much to tell there.

The macaroni and cheese I made with original soy milk (not vanilla), Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cheddar Cheese, Earth Balance soy butter, and pasta (shells of course). After 1/2 lb pasta was cooked to al dente and drained, I added about 1/4 cup soy milk, about 1 TBSP soy butter, and 2 TBSP soy cheese. You can add more or less of any of the previous ingredients depending on your tastes. It's not an exact science by any means. Then just add salt and pepper to taste.

For the mashed potatoes I boiled 3 peeled russet potates until I could stick a fork all the way through each one.  Once done, I drained the water and then added a bit of original soy milk to the potatoes, as well as about 1-2 tablespoons of Earth Balance soy butter, and some salt and pepper to taste. Then I just mashed away until I got the right consistency of the potatoes.

The ribz, I made some modifications to a combination of The Vegan Chef's recipe and FatFree Vegan's recipe, see below.

Anyway, I think the meal was a success, just like my childhood slurpee trips!

Pumpkin Pasta with Crispy Sage and Toasted Walnuts

I used Chef Chloe's recipe for Creamy Pumpkin Penne with Crispy Sage and Toasted Pecans. I didn't have any pecans, so I used walnuts, and I didn't have penne, so I used shells and elbow macaroni. I also added about 2 cups of non-dairy milk rather than 1 1/2 to make it a bit creamier. But other than that I followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect. Just the right amount of pumpkin so that it wasn't overwhelming, the sage balanced out the pumpkin nicely, and the nuts gave each bite a bit of crunchiness. Overall it was quite easy to make and really really delicious.