Mac & Not-Cheese

FUN FACT OF THE DAY: It’s official–goat milk yogurt is out. I had such high hopes for it, but alas we cannot be friends. Parting is such sweet sorrow [although, to be honest, I’m not going to miss paying $1.75/container].  I think I’m going to have to stick with Amande almond milk yogurt when I want a yogurt fix. It’s seriously some of the best I’ve ever had, and I had been craving it ever since Ashley from Edible Perspective wrote about it. The only bummer is the lack of protein, but it absolutely makes up for it in flavor and consistency. Oh so creamy.

I think I’m officially addicted to yoga. I signed up for 3 months of unlimited yoga at North Portland Yoga [for $75. A STEAL! Should anyone want to join me…]. I’ve only been to three classes [since Friday!], but they’ve all been fantastic. My shoulders, back, and hip flexors hate me right now, but it’s so worth it. Yoga is probably the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. It’s not only hard to hold these poses due to my obscenely tight muscles, it’s a challenge to keep my mind focused on my breathing and on my body. I instinctively want to multitask. I want to think about what’s going on in my life, what my to-do list looks like, and what I’m going to eat for breakfast. One thing is for certain, I’m loving the feeling of release in my shoulders when I walk out of the beautiful brick studio. When I hit up a 7:30 class, they turn the lights off and we have nothing but the sunset to light the room. An hour later, there is only the subtle glow remaining. It’s really beautiful. The ladies who teach the classes are super supportive to this total n00b. I appreciate it. Added bonus? It’s within biking distance of the house. I biked it yesterday. Do you know how much fun biking uphill after a killer yin yoga class is? Ouch.

This lovely pasta dish was my fuel for the yin yoga class last night. I have FINALLY fallen in love with a nutritional yeast recipe that I would actually feel comfortable serving to others. I was skeptical as hell considering there was a significant amount in the sauce. While the pasta was bubbling in the oven, I was seriously scraping every last drop of sauce out of the pan. Now this is supposed to be a cheese-like sauce so you can get a taste of dairy-free mac & cheese. I really didn’t find it cheesy [duh], so that’s why I went with calling it ‘not-cheese.’  I figure that’s far more accurate. I will make this again. I’m having the rest of it for lunch today [with a spinach salad topped with cucumber, carrot, asparagus, and pear]. I had a hard time even saving any for lunch, but I figure doing forward folds with stomach full of macaroni wasn’t wise. Seriously, though, this is totally yum.

Inspiration: C’est La Vegan

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup macaroni or shells
• 3 small carrots, chopped
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance
• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 3/4 cups boiling water [in addition to pasta water]
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• turmeric for color
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• paprika
• cracked pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Bring a pot of water to boil and toss in the pasta and carrots. Cook according to package directions, minus two minutes. Drain.
3. In a saucepan, melt the margarine on low.
4. Whisk in the flour–this gets clumpy more than roux-y–blame the whole wheat.
5. Add in the boiling water, and whisk until the clumps dissolve and the water turns a brown milky color.
6. Add the soy sauce, garlic salt, and turmeric. Whisk away.
7. Once the mixture starts to thicken, add the oil and nutritional yeast.
8. Whisk thoroughly to dissolve all of the yeast.
9. Prepare an 8×8 baking dish.
10. Pour in the noodles and carrots. Top with the sauce. Mix well.
11. Top with paprika and cracked pepper.
12. Bake for 10 minutes before switching the oven to broil. You want that sauce hot and bubbly.
13. Serve.