The VegNews Scandal & Their Mac and Cheese Recipe!

In honor of the latest scandal to hit the vegan tabloids, I made the VegNews Macaroni and Cheese recipe for dinner last night! For those of you not in the know yet you can check out this post on Quarry Girl and be sure to read the VegNews non-apology apology here!

My take: eh, I had known about the stock photography thing for awhile, coupled with some other issues I have with the company, and just not being all that interested in the content meant that I hadn’t bought the magazine in a really long time. I do occasionally check it out in the bookstore so that I can read Laura Beck’s (of Vegansaurus!) column, because that woman is straight hilarious and never fails to get me laughing out loud.

Now, let’s not allow all of this  silly controversy ruin one of the best macaroni and cheese recipes available on the planet! You make it buy boiling some carrots, potatoes, and onions, and then blending it up with some cashews and other tasty ingredients. Then something magical happens that turns these ordinary and unlikely components into a thick, creamy sauce that is slightly tangy, and suprisingly “cheesy” in flavor. Bonus points, because it’s nutritional yeast free! Okay, I might slip a tablespoon or two of nooch in, but it really doesn’t need it! I make this recipe quite often, and it is truly one of my favorites.

Have a look:

Okay, I kid, I kid. Here’s the real photo:

Even if you have sworn off buying an issue of VegNews ever again you just have to make this recipe.

Has anyone else made it? What do you think?

Recipe Review: Mac n’ Shews

I’m not a big fan of most vegan cheese on the market. While a lot of companies seem to consider texture and stretchiness as the top priority, I find most still lack delicious and interesting flavor; they all seem to taste like the cheapest, low-grade dairy cheeses available.

Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy a few pre-made vegan cheeses, my absolute favorite being Dr. Cow Aged Cashew. While it’s not ideal for making say…mac n’ cheeze, the flavor and creamy texture make it perfect for eating on a baguette or with crackers. I also enjoyed Cheezly quite a bit when it was still available in the U.S. It was always my go-to cheese for pizza night when I was feeling too lazy to make my own cashew cheese. Both of these products just have something the others lack – a tasty and complex flavor.

That’s why I was immediately intrigued when I saw the recipe for Mac n’ Shews on the Post Punk Kitchen blog. Not only was it a cashew based recipe, but it had a completely unique ingredient I had never seen used in any other mac n’ cheeze recipe – sauerkraut.

Sauerkraut?

Brilliant!

I knew right away this is what I had been looking for over the past few years. As the recipe’s author Isa Chandra Moskowitz puts it:

“I wanted something different, tangier, more interesting. Cheese is aged, giving it flavor and nuance. There’s always mustard (an ingredient even in the New Farm recipe), miso, lemon…but I hit upon an ingredient that really gave me the depth I was looking for…sauerkraut!”

It was certainly love at first bite. Not only was the flavor amazing, but it was also perfectly thick and creamy,  and it even had a bit of a texture that was reminiscent of my favorite pre-vegan Stouffer’s Macaroni & Cheese.

The only thing I want to do differently in the future is experiment with different types of sauerkraut and vegetable broth. I had wound up buying some kind of cheap brand of ‘kraut, and used veggie buillion cubes, and I found that sometimes the flavor just wasn’t pronounced enough. While I do prefer my mac n’ cheeze mild, I think buying higher quality ingredients could be a big improvement.

I would also highly recommend this recipe to nutritional yeast haters and avoiders. The recipe only calls for 2 tablespoons, and it’s optional! While I did add nutritional yeast to my mac n’ shews, I am interested in hearing how it is without.