First In-vitro Baby Mac 'n' Cheeze

Louise Joy Brown was the first human to be born following IVF. One of the two doctors who developed IVF (and won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for it last year) attended Louise's wedding in 2004. (Can I get an "aw.") To my great surprise, Albino Luciani (who would soon after become Pope John Paul I) "expressed concerns about the possibility that artificial insemination could lead to women being used as 'baby factories,' but also refused to condemn the parents of the child" (Wiki). Part of me wants to advocate for adoption over IVF, and another (stronger) part wants to tell that part to shut up and stop universalizing. Giving birth is an awesome (in the formal sense) experience. I recently listened to a new mother describe how birth was singularly painful yet mostly manageable because it's purposive and purposeful. It's transformative and creative in a way no other physiological pain is because it doesn't signal that something is terribly wrong.

Something that is unequivocally right: this meal! Well, not unequivocally; I'd use only 1/2-3/4 of a package of Daiya next time. And maybe heat the kale at a somewhat lower temperature. 425F?

Prep time: approx. 45 min.

Servings: approx. 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. macaroni

1 c. nutritional yeast

2/3 c. vegetable broth

1 1/3 c. water

1 spoonful tahini

1 spoonful Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

ground sea salt

ground black pepper

1 lb. soft silken tofu

1 package Daiya mozzarella

1/4 avocado, sliced

3 sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

1/2 bundle of kale (4-7 stalks), leaves torn

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the macaroni.

2. In a smallish pot over medium-high heat, stir half the nutritional yeast, tahini, and mustard into the water, broth, and lemon juice. Add lots of salt and pepper.

3. After the sauce has been boiling for a few minutes, reduce to medium heat and let reduce. Stir in the rest of the yeast. Reduce heat to a minimum once the sauce is approx. half the original volume.

4. Preheat the oven to 500F. On a baking sheet or shallow pan, toss kale leaves with some olive oil or Earth Balance spread. Bake for approx. 8 min. (I wasn't paying attention, though, so don't take my word for it) or until kale is crispy but not burnt.

5. When the macaroni is cooked, drain and pour into a casserole tray. With your hands, mash the tofu up with the macaroni. Pour the cheeze sauce over it and top with Daiya, then stir everything together. Bake for 5 min.

6. Top with avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, and Cholula hot sauce.

Jello Macaroni and Cheese with Broccoli and Mushrooms

 

Bet I faked you out with that title, huh? There's no Jell-O brand pudding snack in this mac, but Jello Biafra was born on June 17, 1958. He fronted the Dead Kennedys, ran for mayor of San Francisco (on a platform with several great points, including requiring that businessmen wear clown suits within city limits, legalizing squatting in vacant, tax-delinquent buildings, and requiring that police officers run for election), and tied for second in the 2000 Green Party presidential candidate race.

This mac 'n' cheese goes great with some hot sauce.

makes approx. 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. elbow macaroni

Daiya cheese, mozzarella and cheddar varieties

Panko bread crumbs

2 c. water

4 cloves garlic, minced

nutritional yeast

mustard

tahini

turmeric

paprika

dried parsley

salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook the macaroni according to package directions.

2. In a saucepan, saute garlic in oil over medium heat for a couple minutes. Add the water, a bunch of nutritional yeast, a couple small spoonfuls of tahini, several squirts of mustard, and several dashes each of turmeric, paprika, dried parsley, and salt (in descending order of concentration).

3. Simmer for approx. 20 minutes, or however long it takes to reduce to a thick cheesy sauce. Add more nutritional yeast if needed.

4. Drain the pasta, then place back in the pot. Pour the cheesy sauce over it and stir. Fill a casserole tray (this doesn't seem like quite the right term) with the pasta, then cover the top first with bread crumbs, then with Daiya cheese. Broil in the oven for approx. 10 minutes.

Move over Elvis, "there's always room for Jello."

National Freedom Macaroni Greens with Baked Kale

President Lincoln signed the Amendment outlawing slavery on February 1, 1865. So now we're in the clear 146 years later, right? Fuck no. Get wise to your privilege, because white supremacy is a bifocal ideology, working through a positive form, oppression, and a negative form, privilege. Hierarchies abound, and liberation is only possible when it's total.

This recipe's based on Isa's Creamy Red Chard Linguine. This is the first time I've cooked with cabbage. Don't know if I did it right, but I was surprised at its sweetness. Forgetting to add lemon juice turned out to be a significant omission. I tried to make kale chips, but I don't know what other people are doing cuz mine turned out nothing like chips. Maybe I shouldn't have layered the pieces? Maybe my pieces were too large? Maybe the kale was too wet?

makes approx. 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb. macaroni

1 bunch kale, de-leafed, stalks diced

1 medium red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1/2 cabbage, torn

1 fistful pea greens

1 tsp. thyme

1/2 tsp. sage

1/2 tsp. tarragon

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp. cooking sherry

1/2 c. cashews

1 1/2 c. water

1 Tbsp. tahini

1/4 c. yeast flakes

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. Soak the cashews in water for an hour.

2. Preheat oven to 350F.

3. Cook the onion in oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once translucent, add the minced garlic. After a couple minutes, add the pressed garlic, thyme, sage, tarragon, salt, and kale stems.

4. Place kale leaves in pan or on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and salt, bake for 12 min. Turn up heat to 350F and bake another 6 min.

5. Add cabbage leaves and pea greens to pan along with 1/2 c. water. Cover and cook for several minutes.

6. Puree cashews in 1 c. water. Once smooth, blend in tahini, yeast flakes, red pepper (and lemon juice).

7. Cook macaroni (or whatever pasta you have handy).

8. Pour the contents of the blender in the pan, bring to a boil, then simmer for several minutes, until the desired consistency.

9. After pasta is cooked, add to pan and coat. Serve with baked kale.

That's all.

Macaroni and Cheeze and Pea Greens with Baked Sweet Potatoes and Acorn Squash

I know, my spelling of "cheeze" is horrible and offensive, but I feel that it needs an idiosyncratic spelling to make it obvious that no dairy is involved, even though this is a vegan space. I'll use "mylk" if I'm not qualifying "milk," too, but if I'm saying "almond milk" or "cashew milk" then I'll go ahead and use the standard spelling. But "nondairy cheese" is a mouthful, so "cheeze" it is.

I got a big box of pea greens from the farmers market last weekend. The box makes all kinds of promising claims about the wonderful micronutrients in pea greens. Whatever. The mac and cheeze turned out pretty much as I'd hoped, but the sweet potatoes and squash was a bit lacking. If it weren't for the sweetness of the potatoes I might even call it a failure. It's nice to have something simple to go with the tangy cheeze dish, but maybe I could have sprinkled something other than salt and pepper into the oil. ANYWAY... makes approx. 3 servings

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 lb. macaroni
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
1/2 acorn squash, cubed
box of pea greens (2 c.? 3 c.?)
1 c. yeast flakes
1/2 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. water
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1 spoonful mustard
2 spoonfuls tahini
4 tsp. capers
1/4 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Cube the sweet potatoes and acorn squash half. If you haven't dealt with hard squash before, you'll probably need more time and patience than you anticipate to cut off the rind. The skin? I bet you could find a magical time-efficient method on the internet, though.
3. Coat the bottom of an oven-safe pan with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then toss the potato and squash cubes until coated. Stick in the oven for 45-40 minutes. If you remember, it's a good idea to check up on it once or twice and toss.
4. Heat oil in a small pan on low-medium heat. Mince the garlic cloves and cook for a minute or so. Add the broth and 2/3 of the pea greens. Let the greens cook down a little bit, then add the yeast flakes and water. Crank the heat to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
5. After the cheeze starts to thicken, go ahead and stir in the seasonings, followed by the mustard and tahini, the capers, and finally the remaining pea greens. I spaced those additions a few minutes apart. You can turn the heat real low and add some more water if the cheeze gets too thick.
6. Bring water to a boil. I heeded the instructions on my package of macaroni, which was a mistake. Never listen to the pasta company! It called for 2.5 quarts of water for 1/2 lb. pasta, which took forever to boil and was totally unnecessary and a waste of water. I'd use like 1 q. (= 4 c.) water next time. I don't make pasta a whole lot.
7. Once the macaroni is al dente and drained, pour the cheeze sauce into the pot and incorporate.

Instant comfort! Okay, not instant, but also not too much work.