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Tonight is Grey’s Anatomy night and in lieu of wine and greasy french fries, I decided to make my other favourite comfort food: macaroni and cheese with chocolate milk.

Now if you’re anything like me, you’re highly skeptical of faux products generally and faux cheese in particular. Faux meat freaks me out – I don’t want to know what needs to go in it to make it work. And faux cheese…well it almost always tastes like canned ass. And I’m a cheese girl, at least I was before the whole vegan lifestyle took over. I love good cheese, not crappy Cracker Barrel cheese. But I was really quite desparate for mac and cheese tonight so I went to trusty old Herb and Spice and found this. I chose mozzarella figuring that this type of cheese is meant to have a mild taste anyways so if it sucked, it wouldn’t suck too bad. I went home and found a workable vegan mac and cheese recipe in La Dolce Vegan and went to work making the appropriate adjustments.

The verdict: It was good. Surprisingly so. I would even opt for the cheddar next time because this wasn’t cheesy enough. The real test will be when Fialonia comes home – she is what I would call a mac and cheese connoisseur. So I’ll keep you posted. But I liked it and would definitely make it again:

Ezmy’s Mac and Mozza

dry mac noodles, enough for two people
3 tbsp vegan margarine
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed chili
1 zucchini
1/4 tsp ground coriander
4 white mushrooms (or a couple of smallish portobellos)
1 1/2 cup soy milk
1 cup vegan mozza, grated
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 small onion

In a large pot, boil the pasta. While pasta is cooking, saute mushrooms, onions, and zucchini with the coriander and set aside. In a small saucepan on medium heat, melt margarine. Once it is melted, remove from heat and whisk in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Put back on the heat and slowly add the cheese and milk while whisking away. Add the mustard and the chilis. Keep on whisking until everything is melted and thickened. Add to pasta along with the sauted zucchini etc. Makes 2 very large servings or 4 small ones.

Now. There is A LOT of cheese sauce here. A healthy girl, who wasn’t craving fatty food, would make three or four people’s worth of pasta and have some for lunch tomorrow. A healthy girl would also add a nice salad to this meal (perhaps some romaine with a little mustard vinagrette). Or would perhaps have a side of steamed kale, spinach or similar. I chose chocolate soy milk and the all important ketchup. Don’t judge me. It’s Grey’s night!!

Update: Fialonia loved it. Success!!