This weekend flew by too fast, again. Working 5 hours of overtime yesterday didn’t help. I’m thrilled my job is busy and to have the opportunity to earn extra money, but… Besides working, I’ve been catching up on house chores, breaking in my new Lululemon running pants, and walking these two cuties.
Who have been enjoying lazy days in front of the fireplace this weekend.
Lucky little stinkers.
But I’ve been enjoying good eats when I can, like baked sweet potato fries dipped in the curry hemp sauce from Kristen’s Raw Vegan Hemp recipe book.
The slightly sweet and spicy curry sauce worked perfectly with the sweet potatoes and as a salad dressing.
And steamed spaghetti squash stuffed with raw hemp seed marinara sauce.
Also a weekend staple for me – simple, lazy lunch salads.
But today I had a bit of the blahs after working too much and playing catchup on house work because of it. A quick trip to the mall with hubby to stock up on holiday bubble bath from Bath & Body Works, then to Whole Foods to stock up for the week helped a lot. But tonight I wasn’t craving a big salad for dinner, rather something more hearty and comforting that’s maybe a bit naughty and a fun throwback to my childhood while still being vegan. And I found the perfect recipe for that, the mac and cheese recipe from Peas and Thank You.
I grabbed this book a few months ago because I adore Mama Pea’s blog and it looked like a great source for hearty vegan recipes both hubby and I can enjoy. Sadly the last few months have been such a whirlwind that I forgot about it stashed in the pantry with all my other books. Seeing her at the Foodbuzz fest reminded me I need to break the book out.
The ingredient list for the mac and cheese isn’t exactly cheap, especially when you’re using gourmet, organic whole wheat pasta and high protein pre-pressed tofu from Whole Foods. But totally worth it.
The thicker, more dense tofu made for a thicker cream sauce that coated the pasta nicely mixed with the shredded vegan cheddar.
I left the burner on a low simmer setting while stirring creamy mess together to keep it melting.
The finished product looked and tasted a lot like the non-vegan mac and cheese recipe my mom used to make growing up.
And made a perfect candlelit gourmet dinner full of happy memories to snap myself out of the blahs.
As much as I enjoy mac and cheese, hubby is a bigger fan of it and was very impressed with this recipe which made me happy to find another one we can both enjoy. Next time I might add sauteed onions and a pinch more mustard to add more kick which would probably make it less kid-friendly. But the flavor and texture were fabulous as is, I appreciated the thick and textured sauce compared to the watery processed boxed stuff I had as a kid. I’m already looking forward to the leftovers for lunch tomorrow and trying more recipes from Mama Pea’s book I flagged this week.
Oh my goodness, your pups are SO cute! I want to come over and play with them!
I’d also love to come over and try a bite (or 20) of Mama Pea’s mac n’ cheese. Yum. Sounds like a perfect comforting Sunday dinner to me!
p.s. It was so great meeting you at Foodbuzz! Hopefully we’ll be able to chat more next time. :)
Thanks on the pups, they’ve been such sweethearts. And you’ve gotta try the mac and cheese, it’s delicious!
It was wonderful meeting you too and definitely on next time. :-)
Your doggies have the right idea; I need a gig by the fireplace just laying around chillin’. Tough work :)
The mac n cheeze..I’ve heard other people rave about Sarah’s recipe and seeing you make it makes me want to make it. The last time I ate mac n cheese was probably…when I was pregnant? Like 6 years ago!
You should try her recipe, I bet Skylar and your hubby would love it! It’s been ages since I’ve had it too, so this was a huge treat for me.
I need to make that Mac and Cheese! And great that your hubby liked it!
Awwww…I am loving the pic of the two cuties walking side by side :-) Brother and sister :-)
This looks amazing!! I want to pick up a copy of Mama Pea’s book!
You know there is also a great recipe on Oh She Glows for a baked mac and cheese that is probably cheaper. Mac and cheese is such a comfortf ood to me andwhen I’m craving it hardcore, I usually pick up one of Amy’s Frozen vegan GF ones and it hits the spot! I know, not as wholesome.
Sorry your week has started out with “the blahs.” I hope it picks up. It’s nice to hear your gratitude about your job etc. Keeps perspective :)
I tried the cashew mac and cheese from Oh She Glows using broccoli in place of the pasta and it came out great too. Thanks for the reminder, I need to try it again with pasta. :-)
Your dogs are adorable and what a life they have :) I must admit I am scared of tofu, I just have never cooked it for myself and liked it, but like it when other people do. BUT your mac and cheez looks great. I will probably feel like you at end of the week working everyday but Sunday.
Tofu is great thrown into a blender as a cream sauce base, this recipe came out wonderfully and even non-vegan hubby couldn’t tell it was tofu. :-)
Not having seen the book, I kind of expected a lot of the recipes in PTY to be expensive to make, just because a lot of the ingredients tend to be more expensive than their non-vegan counterparts. The mac & cheese looks delicious though :)
True on vegan versions of some ingredients, I usually stick to Trader Joe’s for them because they’re much cheaper. But this mac and cheese was totally worth it. :-)
Don’t you love Kristen’s ebooks (I’m a big fan)
And the mac n cheese looks great. wonder if I could pass it off on my kids (they are the real mac n cheese experts). ;)
I once tried a recipe with ground mustard and a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Might give that a try. You could use Henderson’s Relish (vegan) instead of Lea & Perrins.
Yes, I’ve gotta grab the rest of her books – the recipes are so simple and fast.
This mac and cheese would probably be great with a dash of vegan Worcestershire, I’ll try that next time. Thanks!