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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Uncheese Fun!

If you asked me to name my favorite food, well, I'd say "ramen noodles." But if you asked for my second favorite food, it'd have to be something vegan cheezy. Whether that's dairy-free mac & cheese, noochy sauce, Daiya, or some crazy raw cheeze spread, it doesn't matter. If it's uncheesy, I love it. I actually prefer the taste of most vegan cheeses over dairy cheeses. No joke. Swear to god.

So naturally, Joanne Stepaniak's The Uncheese Cookbook is my bible. And just like with some folks and their Christian bibles, I don't pull the Uncheese book off the shelf nearly often enough. When I do, I always regret neglecting it for so long. All of Jo's natural, whole foods-based homemade cheeses are delicious.

For breakfast this week, I've been eating this Walnut Cheeze on whole grain bagels:

In the book, the recipe is called Pecan Cheeze. But hell has apparently frozen over because I've managed to finally use ALL the bags and bags of pecans I'd been hoarding in my freezer. But I had some walnuts lurking in the pantry, so I subbed those instead. They're blended with firm tofu, miso, and celery for a creamy, wholesome, protein-packed spread. It's tasty on bagels, but I'm having a hard time not eating it all with a spoon.

What uncheeses do you like best? Do you have a favorite brand of vegan cheese or a recipe suggestion for homemade cheese?

13 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you posted this! I remembered that you had made some nut based cheeses before and I really want to try making some. Thanks!

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  2. Oh man, I wanted a bagel so badly the other day: this would have been great. I'm honestly not too versed in the vegan cheeze world but everyonce in a while I'll splurge for Follow Your Heart Cheddar and melt it with pesto and tomatoes. I also used to dig on Tofutti's cream cheese. I have never tried to make my own, though!
    John McDevitt @ Laziest Vegans just posted about a new vegan cheese today!

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  3. I totally get the bagel & cream cheeze cravings! I can only find GF english muffins so those had to make do the other day. And I put processed, Imagine Cream Cheeze or something on it the other day. YUM. Love the Walnut Butter idea.

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  4. I really got into homemade cashew cheeze for a while, but I kept losing sight of its caloric density and would wind up consuming like 5,000 calories in one sitting. Dangerous.

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  5. i love cashewheese, selfmade. also with miso. it's delicious!

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  6. we have that book but havent tried walnut cheese yet. aren't her two different mac n cheese recipes AWESOME?!?! :)

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  7. I love The Uncheese Cookbook. My favorite recipe in there is probably the white bean boursin.
    Other uncheesey loves: Leahey cheese sauce, Yellow Rose Recipe's Parma, almond brie, black pepper cashew cheese, the happy herbivore's quick queso. I don't even like commercially made vegan cheeze. Well, that's a lie. but i'm super picky about it.

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  8. I can't find a fake cheese I really like, but anything homemade and noochy makes me happy!

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  9. I'm with you. I like almost all vegan cheeses! My favorite indulgence is the Journey to Bliss Pistachio Cheddar

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  10. soymilk, cornstarch, earth balance, onion powder, salt, white pepper, nooch, and a little sprinkle of daiya = the best cheeze sauce I've ever made/eaten. Mac/cheeze, broccoli casserole, alfredo-ish, whatever. It's Jesus.

    Gem

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  11. I LOVE vegan cheeze. I really do think it's tastier (and less gross and greasy). I've been making a lot of stuff out of the Uncheese Cookbook this week—the 3 Cheese Lasagna and the Chedda Fondue. It is really an amazing cookbook!

    My favorite commercial vegan cheese is Daiya Pepper Jack!

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  12. Ooh, that sounds delish! (P.S. I love that your favorite food is ramen. Haha!) ;-)

    I love vegan cheezy recipes, too. I have lots of favorites, but my current obsession is the Smokey Mountain Cheeze from "Vegan Diner." INCREDIBLE.

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