Vegan Queso Dip - Not Unhealthy!

Last night was fajita night, and my roomates and I made a delicious feast with peppers/veggies, black beans, guac, cilantro lime rice, and ... vegan Queso! I used this recipe because it was the "healthiest" I could find, most of the other ones used a good amount of margarine. So, I haven't had queso in awhile and I thought that my judgment might be skewed, but everyone (including 3 omnivores) really liked it! The "cheesy" flavor comes from the nutritional yeast, and the melty texture is thanks to the cornstarch and ground cashews. I used the whole foods 365 brand hot salsa, but just use your favorite type. Everyone agreed that it doesn't taste exactly like queso, but that its a really tasty cheezy dip (and is much healthier!). If you make it, let me know what you think!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk (not "plain," which is still sweet)
2 t. apple cider vinegar
1 T. cornstarch
1/2 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup lemon juice
3/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. tumeric
1/4 t. mustard powder
2 T. tahini
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (or more to taste)
1/2 cup prepared spicy salsa, draining excess juices
1/4 t. salt (or more to taste)

Preparation:
1. In a small bowl, combine the soymilk and vinegar and allow to rest for 3-5 minutes or until thickened slightly. Mix in cornstarch, stirring to dissolve. Set aside.
2. In a blender or food processor, process the cashews until finely ground. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, spices, salt, jalapeno, and tahini. Stir in ground cashews and soymilk mixture until well blended. Stir in prepared salsa and salt. Cook for another 5 minutes on medium heat, and then put on low heat; it will thicken as it cools. Add more salt to taste (if you want, I didn't)
4. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold with tortilla or pita chips, or use as a sauce for tacos, fajitas,or burritos.

Vegan Risotto with Butternut Squash, Peas, and Capers

I adapted this recipe from the Post Punk Kitchen. We added some butternut squash that I had from the farmers market and also Doz purchased some capers when we went to Kroger (because she played hookie from school today for prior insomnia related reasons).

You can really add any veggie of your choice to this recipe, like fresh or re-hydrated dried mushrooms, whole cloves of roasted garlic, chopped sauteed spinach and olives, chunks of pre-cooked pumpkin or other squash.

The fun vegan ingredient here, which is optional and could be replaced with Parmesan cheese, is nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast, usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae. It is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses, then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging the yeast. It is commercially available in the form of flakes, or as a yellow powder similar in texture to cornmeal, and can be found in the bulk aisle of most natural food stores. It is a complete protein, a good source of vitamins, and is naturally low in fat and sodium. Many brands of nutritional yeast are fortified with vitamin B12. The vitamin B12 is produced separately from bacteria and then added to the yeast. Nutritional yeast has a strong flavor that is described as nutty, cheesy, or creamy, which makes it popular as an ingredient in cheese substitutes. It is often used by vegans in place of parmesan cheese. Another popular use is as a topping for popcorn. It can also be used in mashed and fried potatoes, as well as putting it into scrambled tofu or eggs. Some movie theaters offer it along with salt or cayenne pepper as a popcorn condiment.

Vegan Risotto with Butternut Squash, Peas, and Capers

Ingredients
4 cups vegetable stock (or mushroom stock)
3-4 cups water
1 medium onion, finely chopped (or 4 Tbsp onion flakes)
1/2 head celery, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (or more if you like it spicy) cherry pepper, finely chopped (or thai pepper or jalepeno pepper or other spicy pepper you'd like to try!)
2 cups arborio rice
3 Tbsp capers, drained
1/2 cup peas (or edamame)
1 medium butter nut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups dry white wine (We used cheap Sauvignon Blanc from Kroger, yay)
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. olive oil
Fresh basil, chopped, for sprinkling on top
1 Tbsp (or more to taste) Nutritional yeast, for sprinkling on top

Directions
1. Heat stock in saucepan to near-boiling.
2. Peel squash, and remove seeds. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Add squash and peas and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover. Cook until squash is tender but still holds its shape, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
3. Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, garlic, and hot pepper. Cook until soft, 10-15 minutes. Add rice, salt and pepper, cook one minute, or until rice is slightly translucent, stirring constantly. Turn up heat to medium high.
4. Add wine and cook until absorbed, stirring constantly. Stir in a pinch of salt.
5. Add 1/2 cup ladle of stock, cook until absorbed, stirring constantly. After stock is absorbed, add another ladle full. This process should take 15 minutes or so. Add capers and sauteed peas and squash thee quarters through going through all the stock. Taste some rice, if it is still under cooked, then add 1/2 cup of water, cooking until absorbed and stirring constantly. Repeat until rice taste cooked and al dente (slight resistance in the center when the pasta is chewed -- not mushy!).
6. When all the stock/water is absorbed, turn off the heat, put on the lid and let it sit for 3 minutes. Then take off the lid and stir in the rest of the olive oil. Stir and serve with chopped fresh basil and nutritional yeast (optional) sprinkled on top.