Herbed Cashew Ricotta

Every once in a while I get a craving for ricotta cheese, but being cruelty-free, I don't indulge in dairy. I can't find any vegan ricotta in a 50-mile radius, so I decided to try and make my own version using cashews. If you haven't already tried it, raw cashews can make an astounding number of sauces and cheeses. I made a mayo-like creation with them as well as an alfredo sauce with them, both of which were spectacular. For this ricotta, I decided to add some herbs and use it for pasta with onion, garlic, and sauteed zucchini. SO GOOD! Dudes, you should totally give cashew ricotta a chance.

This makes a little over a cup of ricotta, depending how much water and fresh lemon juice you add.

What I used:

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for at least 2 hours
• fresh lemon juice - I used juice of 1 whole lemon, adding a little at a time and tasting often
• fresh herbs to your liking (I used basil, dill and flat-leaf parsley
• 1 small fresh clove of garlic (optional) 
• 1tsp olive oil
• salt
• a little water to loosen up the cashew ricotta in the blender

What I did:

1. Drain and rinse off your soaked cashews. Add them to your blender or food processor. 
2. Add a couple TB of fresh herbs and the garlic(if using). Squeeze some lemon juice in and a splash of water. Whir until the cashews are mostly creamed with a little texture remaining. 
3. Taste and adjust salt, lemon and herbs as needed. It should look something like this:

I let mine sit in the fridge, covered, for about an hour and the flavor got even better. Now, you can add it to an awesome dish, like this:

Vegan Queso Dip & Your Footprint

Alright, not the best photo ever. You try photographing queso dip. It just isn't pretty. Anyway, I had an even harder time because I desperately wanted to devour the whole bowl immediately. But, I held my gluttony at bay for your blog-reading pleasure.

All day I had been craving nachos, but it's been ages (read years) since I made queso dip. I used to mix Velveeta and salsa in the olden days, so I basically tried to re-create that here. Sadly, I had no Daiya, otherwise I would've used that to make this dip. But, I did have a stash of nooch in my cupboard, so I took that route. And, to my great surprise, it worked incredibly well. I made a lunch out of this queso with some baked tortilla chips. Okay, so I probably ate a bit more than I needed, but I was hungry and craving nachos something fierce. You can't fault me for having a craving, can you? You can!? Well, forget you. My feelings are so hurt right now that I may never recover. Not really. So, here's the recipe.

Makes about 2 cups, or enough for 2 adults to chow down.
Ingredients:

• 1 cup medium or hot chunky salsa
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/3 cup plus 1-2 TB nooch (nutritional yeast)
• 3/4 tsp cumin
• 2 1/2 TB flour
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder/granulated onion
• 2/3 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt

 Method:

1. Whisk together all the ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat sauce over medium burner. 
2. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring very frequently. Make sure that you scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir so nothing burns to the bottom. Remove from heat when thickened to your preference. I think mine took about 8 minutes or so. It should not be runny at all. I like it thick enough that if I dip a chip, the chip can stand up in the cheese without me touching it.

Earth-Friendly Footprint:
I was wondering today how large or small my ecological footprint is, so I took the interactive quiz on the following link: Footprint Calculator. After you get your result, go to the FAQ's to read more about what the results mean and how to work on changing them.

My result was somewhat surprising to me. I thought I was doing much better than I actually am. Granted, the calculator isn't perfect, but it does highlight ways in which I could try harder, such as in transportation and purchasing locally. Well, in the summer months, nearly every bit of fruit and veg I buy is grown locally, but being in Michigan makes it nearly impossible to have local produce in the winter months. And, this summer, I plan to start biking much more often, but I don't really live in an area that makes it easy to. Nor is there public transport near me. But, there are some other things I will be working harder on, like further reducing the items I purchase that require packaging and making more effort to reuse and upcycle before throwing things in the recycle bin.

If you're unfamiliar with the concept of upcycling, it's bascially taking something old and making it into some new, functional item. For example, you can make some really awesome pillows out of your old concert tees that you haven't worn in ages. Or take your wine corks and hot glue them together into a unique corkboard. I'm going to try making some upcyclables this month, so check back and see what I'm up to.

Have a lovely day. Or not. Whatever.

Quesadillas & Guacamole -- VeganMOFO #12

I made a pot of delicious soup yesterday and, yes, I do have leftovers to eat.  But, I got an idea in my head that I just couldn't get out.  I needed to make a quesadilla...yes NEEDED.  I already had all the supplies here: Daiya, tortillas, vegetarian refried beans, and an avocado that was quickly becoming too ripe.  Avocados are around $2.00 each here, and I just can't let them go to waste.

Actually, I hate letting any food go to waste, especially after reading about the huge amount of food wasted in the US - food that could go toward feeding the hungry.  And, truthfully, I worked hard for my grocery money and I don't want to throw it in the trash.  Avoiding food waste also makes me get creative with my meals because I start putting stuff together that I may not have thought of before.  I put a bit of lettuce on my quesadilla tonight and I wouldn't have thought of it if I hadn't been trying to use up some leftover iceberg.

This recipe makes 2 six-inch quesadillas.

Ingredients:

• 4 six-inch flour quesadillas
• 1/2 of a can of vegetarian refried beans (the "traditional" beans have lard in them...ick)
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, seeded and mashed in a bowl
• 4 green onions, sliced into rounds (I used the white and light green parts only)
• 2-3 white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup of Daiya shreds, but you can use any brand and amount that makes your happy (I used the cheddar and mozzarella combined)
• 1/4 cup salsa of your choice
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Method:

1. Mash your avocado in a bowl with a fork.  Add about half of the green onions and the salsa.  It's my guacamole cheat for when I don't plan it out better.  Add the lemon juice and mix well.  Set aside.
2. Lightly spray a nonstick frying pan.  
3. Spread half of the beans on one tortilla and half on another.  Put one of them in the frying pan, bean side up, obviously.  Sprinkle some mushrooms and green onion on the beans, and gently press them down.  Then add half of the Daiya and top with a tortilla.  
4. Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes, then carefully flip the quesadilla over and cook another 2-3 minutes, or until your tortilla is golden and a bit crispy on each side.  Here's where I added the lettuce.  I very gently peeled the tortillas apart and slipped some lettuce inside and put it back together again.  It gives the quesadilla a nice bit of crunch.
5. Repeat the process with the other tortillas.  I've found that the easiest way to cut quesadillas is with a pizza cutter.  Serve with the cheater's guacamole. 

Spicy Mac and Cheez

Creamy, tasty, hint of spice. You just can't lose with this killer pasta. I really never ever thought that nutritional yeast could make such a creamy, tasty pasta sauce! I was kind of scared to try making a lot of the recipes I found online because they had soy milk (which I really am not too fond of taste-wise). So, I combined a few different recipes and took a risk by using water instead a milk-replacement. And, it paid off...big time. I can't get over how delicious this is. I will warn you that it doesn't taste like the classic old blue box mac and cheese that we all grew up on. It has a more complex taste and the sauce is very thick and creamy. How yeast becomes so creamy, I have no idea. I used farfalle pasta (bowties), but I'm sure this would be good with pretty much any pasta. I'm thinking that next time I'll saute some onions for some extra yummy-ness.

This pasta is actually really good for you. The nutritional yeast is packed with, well, nutrition! Check these sites for more info about the yeast:
Buzzle- Nutritional Yeast Benefits
Bragg-- Nutritional Yeast Information  (this is my preferred brand)

Now, on to the Recipe!!

Here's My Recipe: Serves 2 as Main Dish, 3-4 as a Side

Ingredients:

• 1/4 to 1/3 lb pasta of your choice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup unbleached flour
• 1 1/4 TB vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp mustard powder
• 1/8 tsp turmeric (primarily to give it a more yellow color)
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, but it adds a tasty kick that I think makes this dish)
• dash cumin
• 1/8 tsp fresh cracked black pepper (I probably added a bit more)

Method:

1. Before you start the cheez sauce, start boiling some water for your pasta. Add some salt and put the pasta in. Follow the directions on the pasta package. Mine took 11 minutes. Start your sauce when your pasta has 6-7 minutes left to cook.
2. Mix your dry ingredients in a bowl until it well combined.
3. Slowly whisk the water into the dry ingredients trying to eliminate most chunks.
4. Melt the margarine in a small saucepan over medium heat.
5. Pour your cheez mixture into the saucepan and whisk well. Continue whisking the sauce almost constantly until it becomes thick and creamy to your liking. I had to add about a tsp more water to mine to loosen the sauce a smidge. Adjust your spices as necessary. Then remove pan from the heat. To be honest, I did think the sauce smelled a little weird at first, but when combined with the pasta, it tastes AWESOME!!
6. Drain your pasta gently fold into the cheez sauce and serve up immediately. It would probably be extra good with a little homemade garlic bread :)