Dragonfly's Bulk, Dry Uncheese Mix
3 cups raw, organic cashew pieces
2 cups nutritional yeast (I like Red Star or Vegetarian Support)
3 tablespoons seasoning salt
3 tablespoons garlic powder (not garlic salt)
3 tablespoons onion powder (not onion salt)
8 tablespoons arrowroot powder (can use cornstarch, but it is not stringy like arrowroot)
1. Using a very dry blender, blend the nuts until they are very fine.
2. Add all ingredients, and blend in batches of about 1 cup.
3. Mix in a dry container.
4. To make sauce, add heaping 1/2 cup mix to 1 cup water, and stir over heat until thickened.
Use less water and add salsa for queso dip. Pour over hot veggies and/or pasta. Spread on vegan bread and toast for grilled uncheeses, or look up my enchilada recipe and use it that way.
You can keep this tightly covered in the fridge for about 6 weeks.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I looked through 10 pages of comments and am sad to discover that I am the only one incapable of grinding nuts into powder. Either it's not fine enough, or it's nut butter. :-(
Just an update - I found that the sauce with sauce flour substituted for the starch can be cooked in the microwave. I stirred it about every 30 seconds, and it took about 2 minutes to thicken for some macaroni and cheese I was making. Couldn't be easier! The leftovers reheated really nicely too.
Oh yeah, I frequently cook one serving at a time in the microwave, even with the arrowroot. I just use a mini-whisk to stir it after heating. Of course, it may be dangerous for it to be that easy to prepare...
This stuff is the greatest thing ever.
Just an update - I found that the sauce with sauce flour substituted for the starch can be cooked in the microwave. I stirred it about every 30 seconds, and it took about 2 minutes to thicken for some macaroni and cheese I was making. Couldn't be easier! The leftovers reheated really nicely too.
Does this recipe really need another review? Maybe not, but I don't care. :) It is really good and so easy! My "seasoned salt" was perhaps not as salty as some others, so I ended up adding a bit of salt to the finished sauce, which improved it greatly. So, unless you need to limit your sodium, don't be too stingy with the salt as it does really add to the cheesy flavor. I might try adding some lemon juice or miso to give it a little more tangy, cheddary flavor.
I tried this with tortilla chips, spread on bread, and with pasta. Of course the pasta was my favorite, but I'm interested to try it on enchiladas and other stuff too.
As a side note, I made 1/3 of the recipe, which made about 2 cups of the dry mix. I didn't have any arrowroot, so I used the same proportion of Wondra sauce flour (a fine flour that isn't supposed to clump in sauces), which I thought would be better for reheating than cornstarch. It worked out nicely, and the cheese did reheat well in the microwave.
I might try replacing some of the cashews with oats, as others have suggested, to make a lower fat and cheaper version.
The only parm I use....it's wonderful!!
Just made some awesome hollandaise sauce using this as a base, I can't believe how well it worked out.
I used a little more than half the water called for, made it up with a stick of earth balance (hey.. it's hollandaise sauce, it's a sometimes food^^) and added lemon juice (maybe a tablespoon in all? I was just throwing stuff in as I went) then some paprika (about a 1/2 tsp I think) a little extra salt and pepper and a teensy dash of black salt. It was great, tasted just like the McCormick packet hollandaise I grew up having on eggs benedict on Christmas morning. :)
The absolute best "cheese" I have made!!!! No question about it. Whenever I make this I always add different spices to compliment whatever I am pairing it with. Although it is pretty awesome with some chayenne pepper and cilantro in whole wheat pasta. YUMMMMMY!! This is always in my fridge. ;)b
I tried making this with milk as one of the comments suggested; it got VERY thick and required a lot more water. But it still doesn't work for me as "cheese." Sorry to be the voice of dissent.
Weird, I think it tastes a lot like cheese, and I've even fed it to non-vegans who agree! All that nutritional yeast definitely adds a cheesy flavor in my opinion. Which reminds me... I need to make more of this soon! :)>>>
"Uncheese" is a good name for this. While it makes a pleasant thick sauce, the flavour is nothing like cheese. If you haven't eaten cheese for a long time, or have only eaten industrial processed cheese, it might pass but it is nothing like real cheese. The sauce is tasty enough, but I was disappointed that it really isn't cheesy at all. Now that I've invested in the ingredients, I will use the resulting gravy to top veggies etc, but as what it is--a sauce, not "cheese."
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