Tag Archives: non dairy

Teacher Cooks Edition! Homeroom Vegan Mac and Cheese

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Do you know what seems like a really bad idea? Bringing your very dairy allergic BFF to a mac and cheese restaurant.

I sorta likened it to bringing your alcoholic friend to a new bar or your gluten intolerant friend to a French bakery or your seafood hating friend to a crab free.

OR IS IT???

Homeroom, in Oakland, California somehow makes everyone feel welcome. Even the dairy allergic and gluten intolerant.

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to eat a bowl of their vegan mac (trailer style: with cut up hot dogs and crumbled potato chips, natch) and I did not miss the cheese for one second.

Seriously.

I know.

Fast forward a few months and Shutterbean posts about eating at Homeroom and I butt in with loud sighing about how much I love their vegan mac and that I live too far away and blah, blah, blah and BOOM!

She drops the cookbook bomb.

homeroom cookbook

Page 62 Vegan Mac.

People. I can’t even eat Mac and Cheese and I think ya’ll should get this cookbook because if their real mac and cheese is even half as delicious as their vegan mac, you will have to thank me later.

And probably buy new pants.

Vegan Mac

adapted ever so slightly from the Mac + Cheese Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 lb of brown rice pasta (My pasta to sauce ratio is VERY different to every cookbook on the planet. They recommend 1/2 lb of dried elbow macaroni.)

1/2 cup water

8 oz firm tofu

1/2 cup canola oil (I used like a quarter cup and put more soy milk in).

1 cup unsweetened soy milk

1/4 cup soy sauce (I used low sodium)

1 cup nutritional yeast (hippie fairy dust indeed)

1 1/2 tsp paprika (I used smoked. I’m fancy like that).

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp kosher salt

vegan mac and cheese

What to do:

Cook the pasta according to directions on the package – less time to make it a bit less than al dente.

To make sauce put everything else in the blender and blend until smooth.

Add sauce to drained pasta and cook a bit together.

Spoon into bowls and try not to eat more than your fair share.

Don’t even miss the cheese.

Ready to give it a go? I’d love to hear what you think.

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Teacher Cooks Edition! Vegetable White Bean Soup with Israeli Couscous

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It’s fall on the calendar and damn it, I will eat soup even when it is 90+ degrees! Maybe it is cool at your house.

Funny thing is that I am not much of a soup person so it’s no wonder I keep adding couscous to all my soups and basically turning them into something that tastes like soup, but you chew it. In any case I’m a fan of all the adding couscous to soup action happening around here.

Maybe I just like the extra calories. Hmmmm.

Without further ado, I bring you Vegetable White Bean Soup with Israeli Couscous.

 

Recipe is based on the one from Regina’s Vegetarian Table.

Vegetable White Bean Soup with Israeli Couscous

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

1 TBS olive oil

1 1/4 cups of white beans, rinsed { I used 2 cans of white beans, rinsed}

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups vegetable stock

2 to 3 quarts of water

2 tomatoes chopped (I used one 14 oz can with the juice}

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 carrots, sliced

2 small squash, sliced (I used zucchini}

3/4 tsp group cumin

3/4 tsp chihi power

1/4 tsp seasoned salt

pinch of fines herbes or Italian seasoning

salt and pepper

1 box Israeli couscous – about 1 1/4 cups

What to do:

Prepare the beans if using dry by soaking them in water over night or at least 2 hours. I used canned so I drained and rinsed them well.

1.  Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until tender.

2.  Add vegetable stock, water, beans, and all the vegetables.

3.  Add spices and the couscous then simmer over low heat for 3 to 4 hours or over night in the slow cooker.

All of us enjoyed this with multigrain crackers because we love carbs.

+++++

What’s for dinner at your house these shorter, cooler days?

Not really feeling this recipe? You can always visit the recipe archive for more dinner ideas.

Photo Credit: Me