This is the Clearwater Memorial Causeway between downtown Clearwater and Clearwater Beach - how cool that I'm going to get to live near that!
Anyway, when you think of good comfort food your mom or grandma makes or made you as a kid, what's some of the stuff that comes up? For me, things like fried chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and macaroni and cheese come to mind. Well, we all know fried chicken is out the window. Mashed potatoes are an easier option because you can just swap out butter and milk for margarine (most are non-dairy nowadays, but you can buy specifically vegan) and soymilk. Biscuits are easy, too, because the same applies there. But macaroni and cheese isn't quite so easy.
No more fried chicken for me!
When my Mamaw makes mac and cheese, she boils the macaroni noodles, and then mixes in butter, evaporated milk, and a TON of Velveeta cheese. I don't know if Velveeta really counts as legit cheese, considering it doesn't actually have to be refrigerated until the packaging has been opened. But anyway, after Mamaw does that, she pours it all into a casserole dish, tops it with more slices of Velveeta, and bakes it for a little while. Talk about some delicious, fattening, cheesy, comfort food.
I legitimately believed I'd never get to eat macaroni and cheese again since I've become a vegan. But lo and behold, the Skinny Bitch recipe book my very dear friend Liz gave me has a recipe for vegan mac and cheese and here's the kicker: IT'S FREAKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!
So since I had such great luck with the vegan mac and cheese, I thought I would share this recipe with you and maybe you'll find the guts to try it out, too. And you'll love it, I promise!
Ingredients
1 tablespoon refined coconut oil, melted, or safflower oil, plus more for casserole dish
2 tablespoons fine sea salt
1 pound whole wheat macaroni
2 10-oz packages frozen pureed butternut squash (if your grocery store doesn't have it, just buy some fresh, boil it, and puree it yourself in a blender)
2 cups soy or rice milk
4 oz vegan cheddar cheese, shredded
2 oz vegan Jack cheese, shredded
4 oz vegan cream cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons powdered mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (again, if your grocery store doesn't have these, just buy some whole wheat bread, toast it, and toss it in the food processor. Store it in an airtight container for future use)
2 tablespoons vegan Parmesan cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F. Oil a 2-qt casserole dish; set aside. In a 4- to 6-qt stockpot over high heat, combine 3 qts water with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of sea salt. Bring the water to a boil, add the macaroni, and cook according to the package directions.
Meanwhile, in a 3- to 4-qt saucepan over medium heat, combine the squash and milk, stirring and breaking up the squash with a spoon until the squash is defrosted (if you're using the frozen kind). Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cheddar, Jack, cream cheese, mustard, cayenne, and the remained 1/2 tablespoon of salt.
When the pasta is done, drain it, then return the pasta to the pot. Stir the cheese sauce into the macaroni. Transfer the entire mixture to the prepared baking pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and the 1 tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Place the casserole dish on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the top is nicely browned.
The little side note for this recipe in the book says: "If you don't experience multiple orgasms within the first three bites, you need to see your gyno."
Amen!
I'm pretty glad I have this recipe because I'm going to need some comfort food when I'm living 208042740270282 miles from home.
Then again, with scenery like this to look at, maybe I won't need comfort food after all. Maybe all I'll need is a jumbo margarita, on the rocks.
