Knowing that there are almost infinite cheese-y vegan substitutes for my fave comfort foods is … well, comforting. Last night I made this recipe from Chef Chloe Coscarelli’s book, Chloe’s Kitchen. This book has been renewed many times by me, as a local library frequenter. I check out a million of their vegan cookbooks and keep them forever until I have to pay fines. Finally, for Valentines Day, my beau (with some direction from me) went ahead and purchased Chloe’s Kitchen for me so I never have to pay fines again!
Now I have the yummy mac ‘n’ cheese recipe at my real-life fingertips whenever I want – and thanks to the internet, you can have (virtual) fingertip access too! This is sounding a lot like an ad for Chloe, or for libraries, or for the internet. I don’t know.
Anyway, I made the mac ‘n’ cheese and it was cheesy, as it should be. It starts with a roux and ends with bread crumbs. Sounds about right to me. I love how versatile the recipe is too, because it can easily be made soy-free and gluten-free (just use almond or rice instead of soy milk, rice pasta, and gluten-free flour as the base for the roux!). Mine was full of wheat and soy milk, but hey, the potential is there for just about any kind of dietary needs.
The secret to a cheesy vegan mac ‘n cheese (IMO) is the nutritional yeast. It’s got the right flavour and melts into the sauce easily, without clumps. It’s also a good source of B12 – a vitamin vegan eaters don’t always get enough of (say, if you eat mostly potato chips and pop 😉 ). I’m not sure how much of the B vitamin the “nooch” contains after cooking, but it’s worth a try!
I enjoyed this before baking, after baking, and then reheated in the microwave and on a bed of spinach (to make it healthier! and more beautiful!).
Sarah's Month of Vegan 
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