Whatever dairy we didn’t consume last week during vegan week, we are definitely making up for it now. Whoa. One and a half cups whole milk, 8 ounces cheese, and 5 tablespoons of butter. Yikes, this was creamy.
This was really really good, but it honestly didn’t remind me of mac and cheese. It reminded me more of a rice casserole dish. You could throw anything in this and it’d taste great. Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, chicken, whatever.
Also, if you’ve been wanting to try or introduce quinoa to your family but are worried they won’t like it, or will reject it. This would be a great intro. Just about anything is good covered in melted cheese.
I served this with a salad and turkey bacon sandwiches. Aya gave it a thumbs up. Ellie strangely wasn’t into it though. She picked out and ate the spinach, which she normally rejects.
This was definitely out of my comfort zone. I’ve never made stuffed cabbage before, let alone vegan stuffed cabbage. The photo from the recipe page from Vegan Yack Attack was so enticing though, I really wanted to try it.
I grew up having my mom’s Polish stuffed cabbage and enjoyed it and all of it’s juicy beefy goodness. I knew this recipe was not meat, but the photo still made my mouth water. But it was hard to tell if it looked good because I was reminiscing the beef stuffed cabbage, or if the idea of a meatless stuffed cabbage sounded just as good.
This dish required the most effort this week by far. But I think regular stuffed cabbage is pretty labor intensive too.
This also involved an introduction to a new ingredient called, TVP: Textured Vegetable Protein. I’m still not sure exactly what it is, but it looked like a grain of some sort.
So after a lot of prep, soaking, mixing, boiling, wrapping, and baking, it was time for the moment of truth. The first bite.
I was amazed at the texture. It was not mushy like a bean and lentil burger is, like how I expected. It really did have a texture of a really fine ground beef. But the flavor, I really don’t know how to describe it. To be honest, I’m still thinking about it. It’s a unique flavor that my brain can’t relate to anything else. It reminds me of how I felt the first time I tried some of Aya’s Japanese food for the first time. I never tasted anything like that before and had no previous experience to compare it to. But over time, those foods have become some of my favorites.
Our overall impression was that this was really good. Good enough that we are excited to have it again. We were even thinking this “meat” mixture could be used to make burritos or tacos too.
I do think that if I completely gave up meat, this would definitely satisfy any craving I’d have for eating Polish stuffed cabbage. However, I’m not sure I’d want to eat these meat substitutes and TVP on a regular basis. But just as the vegan mac and cheese, we are definitely glad we tried this!
Well, I can’t say if this is the “best ever vegan mac & cheese” or not, because this is the only vegan mac and cheese I’ve ever had.
I really wanted to stay away from these types of recipes this week. I just figured if I were a vegan, I wouldn’t eat things like mac & cheese. But after reading that the “cheese” is made with cashews and almond milk, it sounded nutty enough that I wanted to try it.
This dish also involved a new ingredient I’d never heard of or had before: nutritional yeast, or nooch, as it is sometimes called. It’s a deactivated yeast that’s supposed to be packed with megatons of nutrients. I think it provides a lot of the “cheese” flavor in this sauce too.
So, how was this vegan mac and cheese? Well, if you’re comparing this to regular mac and cheese, I’d give it a zero. It’s that whole mac & cheese expectation in my head. It’s hard to ignore. However, if this was called cashew cream noodle dish, my rating goes up to a 5 out of 10. I didn’t love, I didn’t hate it. It wasn’t gross. It was good. It was just different, and I think better suited as a side dish.
Based on this dish, if I were vegan I think I would avoid mac & cheese altogether. There are so many other great vegan recipes out there I think I’d better off eating those instead. But after not having cheese for awhile, maybe this satisfies the cheese craving?
Ellie devoured this, and Aya really like it too. She agreed though that if you didn’t compare it to mac & cheese it would be better.
The sauce was very smooth and creamy. It was not chunky, crunchy, or nutty. I was definitely glad we tried it.
I totally ran out of red curry paste while making this, so ours was a little weak. But everything still had great flavor. Ellie gobbled this up. Tofu, asparagus, and the rice. “More sauce please!”
I’m sure you could use whatever vegetables you wanted to if you’re not a fan of asparagus.
Out of everything I’ve made for vegan week so far, this probably took the longest, and it didn’t really take all that long.
As far as chilis go, this was not my favorite. However, not comparing it to chili and judging it on its own, this was really good. We all really liked it. Between the sweet potatoes, beans, and quinoa it was very filling and rich with flavor. The quinoa texture balanced the mushiness of the sweet potatoes and the avocado on top really made it sing. I paired it with a salad with pecans and strawberries. Not bad eating. Now for dessert. Vegan cupcakes!
Whatever dairy we didn’t consume last week during vegan week, we are definitely making up for it now. Whoa. One and a half cups whole milk, 8 ounces cheese, and 5 tablespoons of butter. Yikes, this was creamy.
