Ideal for EatingEating ethically while eating great!

I just can't get over how much I love this sauce. Love, love, LOVE.

(OK, the word love doesn't look like a real word anymore. I hate it when that happens.)

Before I gave up dairy, I made a homemade macaroni and cheese where I made the cheese sauce from scratch—as in, starting with a roux and going from there. Boxed mac 'n cheese is alright in a pinch, but nothing beats homemade mac 'n cheese.

There are a few things I thought I wouldn't be able to eat at all as a vegan—or at least wouldn't be able to eat well. Indian food is one. You don't have to use cow's milk in Indian food, but they just do. Pittsburgh actually has fantastic vegetarian Indian restaurants, but they still use cow's milk. Thus, my foray into homemade vegan Indian food last week.

The other thing I thought I wouldn't be able to eat well is macaroni and cheese. In the grand scheme of things, I didn't care too much. But sometimes you just want a good cheesy sauce, whether it's for pasta or broccoli or rice. Sometimes you need cheese!

Well, if you're vegan or avoiding dairy or just want to eat a fantastic cheese sauce, then this is the sauce.

I use this sauce on broccoli bake, on pasta, on rice, on lasagna and anywhere else you'd want to use cheese.

Vegan Cashew Cheese Sauce—prep time: 15 minutes; makes enough for 1 pound of pasta, 1 casserole or 1 lasagna

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk of your choice 

1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch 

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1 cup thick cashew cream

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

white pepper to taste

juice from 1/2 lemon (or 1/2 lime, if you're out of lemons, as I often am)

2 tablespoons miso paste 

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine non-dairy milk, cornstarch and oil. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, until cornstarch is dissolved.

Put 1 cup of thick cashew cream in a food processor. Add 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and white pepper to food processor. Pulse a few times to blend well. With processor running, slowly add milk/cornstarch mixture. Blend a minute or two, until creamy. Add lemon juice and miso paste and blend again.

Serve with whatever needs cheese.

Enjoy!