I have been having a bit of a disaster health wise lately so my deepest apologies for lack of foodie posts this week. I am back and hopefully I'm staying..lol.
Today has been a fantastic day of cooking first thing and then ice cream making and family time this afternoon. I have been smothered with kisses, cuddles, huge hugs and...well...goo! lol. We made Banana & Kiwi ice cream..at the request of the little ones Daddy. Well let's just say it was an experience....no matter how long we churned it in the ice cream machine, it just didn't seem to want to freeze. So the 'smoothie' went home with my sister to sit in her deep freeze to see if it firms up finally. Thankfully we had some Strawberry and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream to save the day...lol..pudding was served. Oh well..not every recipe can be great. But apparently it tasted nice...I'll report back on this later.
I have been playing around with paper and pen and creating recipes whilst 'resting up' and I made two of the creations today. And I have to say I was very pleased with the results. I've made a Puy Lentil and Sweet Potato based soup which I need to make final touches to before I blog it.
But for lunch for us all today I made a vegan macaroni cheeze. Now I love this dish and M & N had become obsessed with Auntie R's 'twirly' pasta. But My Love and my sister aren't the greatest Mac & Cheese fans so the challenge was on, to come up with a recipe that had the twirly cheezeness that the little ones wanted and giving the old recipe a twist to liven it up for the big ones..lol. I also wanted to pack as many veggies in as I could. So the challenge was set.....
The results were...delicious, spot on, super tasty and very yummy. Not my words but the ones that came out of the little and big ones mouths as they tucked in but I have to say I completely agreed. The soya cheeze sauce came out perfectly and it stayed moist during the baking. The hidden veggies helped with this, I think, but also added another layer of flavour without changing the comforting texture too much. The hit of chilli from the chilli flakes gave it a 'pop' of flavour and even the little ones enjoyed it. This recipe turned out far better than I ever hoped it could and my sister took the leftovers home for her evening meal. Success!
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| Rocket and Roses Vegan Macaroni Cheeze....this didn't last long so this was a 'quick' snap! lol |
(Original recipe from the Rocket and Roses Vegan Kitchen)
500g (dried weight) Wholemeal macaroni 'twirly' pasta, cooked and drained
For the sauce:
2 oz plain flour
2 oz vegan margarine
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 pint soya milk
1 pkt of 'melting' soya Edam style cheeze;
grated and separated into two piles...120g and 60g
1 tbsp sunflower oil
6 oz carrots, grated
2 med courgettes, grated
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, grated
1/2 tsp dried red chilli flakes
1 14oz tin of borlotti beans, rinsed and drained
In a saucepan, over a low heat, melt the margarine and stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly to form a roux. Then add small amounts of milk to the roux stirring constantly until it has smoothed out again before adding the next batch. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly and reduce the heat to a simmer until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat and add the mustard powder and add 120g of the soya cheeze and stir until the cheeze is melted into the sauce. Leave to one side.
In a large skillet heat the sunflower oil and saute the red onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add chilli flakes and saute for further minute. Add in the grated carrot and courgettes and stir well to combine. Cover and cook down for approx 15 minutes until they are speckled lightly with brown but still moist.
In a large bowl add the drained pasta, drained beans and then add the carrot and courgette mix and stir genty to combine. Pour in the cheeze sauce and stir once again and then pour into a large baking dish. Scatter the remaining 60g of grated soya cheeze over the top and place in a preheated oven at 180'C/350'F/Gas Mark 4 and bake for 25 minutes or until the cheeze has melted and the pasta is heated through.
Serve and expect it to go immediately...lol.
Enjoy!
~R~
