Drumroll Please. . . Homemade Vegan Cheddar!

Ta-da! I have been wanting to try making my own cheese at home, because it always looked so easy. Not to mention that it is much cheaper than trying to buy the packaged cheeses at the health food store (and probably healthier too!). This recipe is from The Uncheese Cookbook. I only found this book on the internet, received it for my birthday, and finally got around to use it.

This recipe was surprisingly easy to make. I had all the ingredients on hand, because it uses a lot of vegan pantry staples. It contains raw cashews, miso, nutritional yeast, agar agar flakes, and some other spices. The video below shows what it looked like when I put it into the container to set up.

I let this set up overnight. The next morning I flipped the container, and it came out easily with just a few taps. It slices nicely just like the store bought vegan cheeses. It doesn't taste like them however. The store bought vegan cheeses are usually made from either tofu or rice. It tasted a little sharp like cheddar tends to, but doesn't taste exactly like real cheddar. I think that most vegans understand that you can't find an exact match for real cheese, but you can get close enough to sate your craving.

We had black bean burgers a few nights later and I put slices of this cheese on them. It tasted great. It melted nicely, but I found melting it in the microwave has an uneven melt, so it is best to melt it while the burger is in the pan. Another way is to very briefly stick it under the broiler in your oven.

I rate this recipe with 4 onigiris!

Mediterranean Spread

I had an old friend over today, and decided to make a light snack. I used the flatbread recipe to put a Mediterranean spread over. This spread is great warm or cold, and has a fresh but savory flavor. It's easy to make, and will impress any guest.

Mediterranean Spread

1 chopped tomato
1/2 chopped cucumber
1 chopped medium sized yellow onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 tbsp. canola oil or water
Salt to taste

1. Warm a medium to large frying pan with canola oil or water over medium heat. If you use water, use a non-stick or better a hard anodized pan.
2. When the pan is warmed, add onions and garlic.
3. Cook the onions and garlic until they are caramelized (or a nice brown color) stirring often.
4. Add cucumber and tomato to pan. Cook until the cucumber starts to look a little transparent.
5. Turn off heat, and let the pan cool for a few minutes.
6. Pour the vegetables into a food processor, and blend until smooth.
7. If you want your spread to be a little thicker, pour the blended mixture back into the pan and add 1 tbsp. of arrow root powder, or cornstarch if you do not have any. Heat until it thickens to desired consistency.

I put this spread over the Mediterranean flatbread. The flatbread was hot and fresh with the hot spread, and even as it cooled it was great. This recipe is a great crowd pleaser.