Everyone Likes Macaroni and Butternut Cheese

Hey! It’s not Monday morning! And that’s not raw!!

You’re right. It’s October, which means it’s VeganMoFo – Vegan Month of Food! I’ll post the Raw on $10 menus and recipes on Monday mornings, as always. But I’ll also be (to the best of my ability) blogging most weekdays for the month of October. It’s not going to be always all raw, but it will be always all vegan and always all delicious. I hope you enjoy a little deviation from what I usually do here, and if you have any suggestions or recipes you’d like to see, just let me know.

“Everyone likes macaroni and cheese,” a friend said to me recently. He was right. Just about everyone does like macaroni and cheese. Not only that, but no lesser an authority than The Farmer’s Almanac 2012 edition, has stated that, “butternut squash pasta sauce” is a food fad to watch for the upcoming year. So here is a simple way to make an old favorite.

1 large butternut squash ($2.00)

1/2 cup almond milk ($.20)

4 tablespoons nutritional yeast ($.40)

1 tablespoon lemon juice ($.10)

3 tablespoons smart balance ($.30)

3 tablespoons olive oil ($.30)

1/2 teaspooon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

pepper

1 pound dried macaroni, medium shells ($2.00)

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the butternut squash on a cookie sheet in the middle of the oven and bake for about an hour and a half. Let cool slightly, then cut in half.

Scoop out the seeds (these can be roasted just like pumpkin seeds) and then scoop out about two cups of the butternut flesh into a food processor fitted with an “S” blade.

To the butternut, add the almond milk,nutritional yeast, smart balance, olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt and process until very smooth and creamy. This will take a few minutes. And if using a smaller food processor, may have to be done in batches as well.

Cook the macaroni according to package instructions, and drain well. Let cool for just a few minutes, then spoon in the cheese sauce and stir until well coated.

This sauce can also be used over raw zucchini noodles.

Toasted bread crumbs can also be added.

calories: 380

fat: 9 gr

carb: 65 gr

protein: 12 gr