New Farm Mac and Cheez

The original recipe for the New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook Mac and Cheez is the ultimate creamy vegan mac and cheez, not to mention flexible and dare I say, fatty.
I've made it at least 4 times now after it was posted on the ppk, and have always halved the recipe, cut some of the fat (margarine and oil), adjusted a spice or two, top with breadcrumbs or ground nuts for crunch and maybe add green beans or broccoli. I thought I'd share, because mac and cheese is one of my biggest vegan cravings....

Get Sconed's Adapted Version of the New Farm Macacorni and Cheez. (half recipe, feeds 4-6)

Ingredients:

-1.5 cups UNcooked pasta (ie elbows, penne, spirals, I prefer tubed pasta with lines myself)
-2 tablespoons non-hydrogenated margarine
-1/4 cup unbleached flour
-1 3/4 cups water (to boil)
-3/4 tsp. sea salt
-dash of freshly ground black pepper
-1 tbsp. shoyu or soy sauce (thanks michelle for turning me onto shoyu!)
-1-2 teaspoons of minced garlic, or 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
-pinch of turmeric
-1 tablespoon canola oil
-1/2 cup nutritional yeast
-1/2 tsp. paprika
-1/2 cup breadcrumbs (herbed, optional altogether)
-1/4 cup green beans or chopped spinach (optional)

1. Preheat your oven to 350F. Boil and drain the noodles. You know how to do this. Toss with a teeny weeny bit of oil or margarine, if desired, to stop sticking. Save 1.5 cups of this water to add to the sauce, or put more water on to boil.

2. Melt the margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the crushed garlic and cook for 2 minutes, if using.

3. Beat in the flour with a whisk, making a roux. Stir for one minute. Lower the heat if it bubbles too much.

4. Stir in the hot water, sea salt, shoyu or soy sauce, garlic powder if using, turmeric, pepper and any other spices you want (paprika, onion powder, chili powder, whatever).

5. Stir for another minute until the sauce starts to thicken. Whisk in the oil and the nutritional yeast.

6. Add at least half of the sauce to your cooked noodles and veggies, if using, in a lightly oiled casserle dish (I use a round 8''). Top with the rest of the sauce, the breadcrumbs, and/or paprika, if using and bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned, with or without breadcrumbs. Broil for approximately 5 minutes, and remove from oven.

7. Cool for about 7 minutes, and dig in.

*Double if feeding more, or you want a great bunch of leftovers.
*Also optional: add a spoonful of tahini and or/mustard for a tangier taste. (ala white cheddar style from brainstorming on the ppk)