Sam gets mac and cheese again...sort of...

I saw a recipe on the Gluten-Free Goddess for a cheesy uncheese sauce, and I wanted to try it for Sam. He loves mac and cheese. In fact, I felt so bad a couple days ago because I made some for Ethan and Phenix and tried to hide it from Sam, but he saw it and was so sad. I should say mad.

So tonight we had no-cheese sauce with quinoa noodles, chicken sausage, and peas and corn, and I think it was a pretty good meal for my little guy. He ate it all.

The Best Cheesy Uncheese Sauce

4 tablespoons light olive oil
5 tablespoons sweet rice flour
2 1/2 cups unsweetened plain hemp milk (or rice milk- but it's thinner, less creamy)
2 rounded tablespoons good tasting nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or more, to taste
A good dash or two of garlic powder to taste
A good dash or two of minced onion to taste
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free Dijon or honey mustard, or to taste
1 tablespoon golden balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar, or lemon juice- to taste
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon paprika (for orange) or turmeric (for yellow) color- may omit
1/4 cup white wine, to taste (Frey Organic is vegan/egg-free)

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and stir in the rice flour (I like to use a whisk to do this). Cook and stir the flour for about 30 seconds- it will make thick paste- and continue stirring to cook the raw flour taste out of it.

Slowly add in the hemp milk, whisking to blend the flour paste and hemp milk.

Bring the mixture to a bubble (it will thicken as it heats) then reduce the heat to low. Add the nutritional yeast, sea salt, garlic and onion powder, mustard, vinegar, nutmeg, paprika or turmeric, wine (and sesame tahini, if using), and whisk to blend.

Continue heating and stirring the sauce over gentle heat for about five to ten minutes. Taste test. Does it need a hint more salt? Wine?

Stir and gently heat through.

Remove from heat and use on pasta, rice, potatoes, vegetables or casserole fillings.

Makes about three cups sauce.

Karina's Notes:

Originally I used rice milk in this recipe, but lately I have switched to hemp milk- gluten-free soy-free Hemp Dream - it's thicker and creamier, and rich with Omegas and calcium.

I added the salt and vinegar to my basic sauce recipe because- to me- it helps replicate the flavor found in Parmesan.

As for the mustard- I'm allergic to it, but I included it because I've always found that a dab of mustard really livens up a white or cheese sauce. If you're sensitive to mustard, leave it out and don't worry- it will still taste good.

I now add a tablespoon or two of toasted tahini paste (sesame butter) for added creaminess and depth. Allergic to sesame? Use almond butter or cashew butter.

Read more: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2007/12/cheesy-uncheese.html#ixzz0nCnTXeCC