The King of Cheeses goes Vegan

Any good chef will tell you that the undisputed KING of cheese is Parmeggiano Reggiano. It's one of those things over which there is NO debate.

Like Frank Sinatra being the greatest singer who ever lived.

Wayne Gretzky.

Champagne.

Paris.

We all know of "the great ones".

When students used to want to say thank you for something nice, they would offer me chocolate. My friend Debbie would pipe up and say "Get her cheese".

So it is with great glee that I pass along the most delicious recipe my veganism has come across. More than cashew cream, vegan parmesan just blows me away.

The King of Vegan Parmesan Cheese
1/4 slivered almonds
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp nutritional yeast.

Pulse in a magic bullet or spice grinder or blender, and ANDIAMO! Molto Delicioso.

Nutritional yeast is the shocker here, because when you buy it it smells like the bottom of a hamster cage. But mixed in applications requiring a strong cheese (hey! didn't I discover this when I made caesar salad for our 30 day celebration dinner??)it is heavenly. The little bites of nutty almond are reminiscent of those delicious crystallized bits in the parmesan.

Today I hit one of those mental blocks. What the heck is for dinner???

I bought some canneloni, and stuffed them with a white bean mixture, and baked them in the oven for 30 minutes. Had LOTS left over, so I made two more batches for family.

Canneloni Stuffed with White Beans

Prep pasta according to package directions
In a large pot, I turned the heat onto medium.

One diced onion
Two cloves of minced garlic
One diced stalk of celery
Two medium chopped carrots
Two cans of white navy beans
Italian spices to taste
One can of Bravo spaghetti sauce

In a lasagna pan, I added:

One ladle-full of crushed tomatoes
1-2 tbsp of white balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup of white wine (I keep cubes in the freezer for sauces)
Fresh cracked pepper and sea salt
1/2 cup of water

Stuff the canneloni with the bean mixture. Liquid should just cover the tips of the pasta shells. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until the pasta swells. Top with vegan parmesan.

Also found myself with lots of French ingredients (quel surprise!) and made a white bean cassoulet, minus the limbs and things Julia suggests in Mastering.

All in all : a great day, save for the shocking reminder that I completely missed a friend's "we're having a baby" open house party yesterday. I feel terrible - but maybe bringing them a white bean cassoulet will make up for it?