vegoftheweek

For vegans, vegetarians who don’t eat regular cheese, and non-dairy queens, nacho cheese dip is hard to find. Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet makes a nacho cheese, which melts wonderfully I might add. But to me it tasted too processed and I didn’t get that dripping “saucy” dip feeling when I tried it.

When I got to the bottom of this pile, the chips reminded me of eating Nachos at a fall festival in my hometown. When you reached the bottom of the tray, provided the cheese was drizzled properly, the chips were soft and the dip had thickened slightly. The chewy experience at the end was just as delightful as the hot and crunchy first bite.

Blue Corn Chips are a treat that not only provide a variety from traditional yellow, but make a gorgeous presentation against the orange sauce. I fell in love with blue corn after a black bean taco experience. Once you’ve made this, don’t stop at tortilla chips. There are numerous ways to enjoy it, including baked potatoes, bread and pastas.

When choosing your salsa, use what you would normally enjoy on tortilla chips without cheese. It’s not really the particular brand or type that makes or breaks the recipe. If you have a passion for salsa with peppers on the Scoville Scale of a habenero, it wouldn’t make sense to use a mild vegetable blend (although I wouldn’t recommend anyone using a salsa that hot, unless the taste buds are already damaged from a previous experience). My personal pick is Drew’s All-Natural Organic Mild Salsa.

Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

• 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

• 3 Tablespoons soy margarine

• 1/2-1 cup water

• 1/2 cup Salsa of Choice

• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons vegan sour cream, such as Tofutti Better than Sour Cream

• 1/4 teaspoon garlic granules

• 2 teaspoons tumeric

• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce or Bragg’s Liquid Aminos

• 1-4 dashes of chili (cayenne) pepper

Directions:

Tip: For a spicier or milder version add more salsa or sour cream until desired taste is achieved. Try to stir almost constantly to avoid clumping. If clumps appear, spread them out until smooth, and continue stirring.

1. Combine nutritional yeast and pastry flour in small bowl

2. Heat 3 Tablespoons margarine in skillet over medium heat to melt

3. Stir in yeast and flour mixture

4. Very carefully, add 1/2-1 cup water to yeast, flour, and margarine mix. The amount of water added will vary. Adding too little will not form a sauce, but too much will make it too watery. Also, adding too much water too soon will cause the yeast-flour-margarine mix to clump, making it harder to stir into a creamy paste.

5. Once desired cream consistency has been reached, stir in garlic granules, add salsa and blend well

6. Add Vegan Sour Cream and mix until blended

7. Add tumeric until blended. Then add soy sauce and blend

8. Finally, add 1-4 dashes of chili (cayenne) pepper. (You will want to take this 1 dash at a time so to avoid making it too hot)

9. Pour over chips of choice or into a heat safe bowl or cup for dipping

Week Links:

• Heather Mills: Demands In Divorce Court and Out…8 Pages of Food Requirements For Her Vegan Daughter

• Is This Toddler The Most Wanted Vegan Food Stalker? You Decide

• Recipe: Curried Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie