VeganMoFo Day 8: Glorified Mac 'n Cheeze + Garlic Press

So my new favorite kitchen utensil that I have purchased recently, has been a garlic press. Now, I'm the kind of gal who, when the recipe calls for 1-2 cloves of garlic, I add 4-5. Sometimes I think that I am immune to the taste of it, because even with all the extra cloves, it still tastes mild to me. It was during one of those yuppy domestic field trips with the boyfriend to Bed, Bath, and Beyond, while gazingly longily at all the kitchen gadgets that I never knew that I needed, that it was decided that a garlic press must be purchased. The boyfriend was the one that insisted that I buy it, and I was hesitant and stubborn in my tiny knife chopping ways. Who knew how much I would fully embrace it?! It saves so much time (especially with all that I chop)! You don't even need to peel it! Just stick it in the press and squish, and out comes perfectly minced garlic ready for my consumption. I couldn't ask for anything more.



This is my glorified mac 'n cheeze dinner. I like my mac 'n cheeze simple, just pasta, nooch, salt, pepper, a bit of earth balance, and a splash of unsweetened soy milk. That's it. No breadcrumbs or broth or other spices to mess with it. The only restaurant I have been to where I liked their vegan mac is Foodswings, in Brooklyn. It's nice and noochy and plain. I took my little sister there this summer and she ordered it and LOVED it. Now, this was surprising to me, since most people hate Foodswing's mac 'n cheeze, but she said that it tasted pretty close to my mom's classic version, so it made more sense. You go with what you were raised on. My mom bakes hers, keeping it super-simple like mine (except, I'm usually too lazy to bake it and just make the sauce in the pan after the pasta cooks.) Crispy on the top, cheesy in the middle. Now, tonight I had all these veggies from my CSA that I need to start using up, but I just really, really wanted a bowl of mac 'n cheeze. I compromised with myself and just threw them in at the end after the sauce and pasta were mixed (keeping them raw, because I feel like I'm eating healthier if even half of my meal is raw?) I threw in leeks, garlic chives, garlic, and arugula. The leeks totally got in the way of my nooch-covered pasta, but otherwise it was super-yummy and quick to make. Steamed wax beans on the side.

Does anyone else absolutely love the smell of fresh arugula? Sooo good. It's tied with Basil for the best food smell.

VeganMoFo Day 3: Good intentions; So-so outcome

So, in pregan days, I ate this walnut sauce over mushroom ravioli in florence, Italy. This, ladies and gentlemen, was the kind of sauce that dreams are made of. My mind occasionally wanders off to that fateful meal in a beautiful city, and I wonder if I could create a vegan version. I found lots of variations of walnut sauce recipes online, but most started with a base of a bechamel sauce, so I used that as my jumping off point. I couldn't find vegan mushroom ravioli in the store, and I was too lazy to attempt to make them tonight, so I decided to use farfalle and then just add mushrooms into the sauce (I'm using the old noggin'!) I made a basic bechamel sauce and then blended this with walnuts to produce a creamy sauce. I sauteed a whole heck of a lot of garlic and olive oil and added mushrooms until cooked down. I combined the cream sauce with the garlic/mushroom mixture and spiced it up a bit with some parsley, oregano, and sea salt and pepper to taste (a lot), and let it simmer for a bit to let the flavors meld together. Now, it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't the walnut sauce of my dreams, so I must keep working on this. I think I shall use Bryanna Clark Grogan's Bechamel sauce next time (scroll down), as it sounds a bit more savory and would reduce the sweetness level that was present in mine. Next time, my friends, next time. For the time being, me and my garlic breath are going to go watch the latest episode of True Blood.