Mock-aroni and Cheese

This week end we went out for brunch after a strenuous bike ride.  I had a garden omlette with Hollandaise sauce.  Don't ask me how macaroni got on my mind.  Maybe it was because I had been promising the kids I would make it for them for about a week, but still had not yet complied.  As I ate the omlette, I was taken by the creaminess of the sauce and its natural yellowness with a sheen as the light hit it.  Usually when I make Hollandaise sauce it is over Asparagus or Broccoli, but over noodles?  I had never even thought to use it over eggs!

The first time I had Macaroni and cheese in the non-dairy world, I remember walking away feeling like I had not yet eaten.  I felt starved, like there was a bottomless pit at the bottom of my stomach.  I walked away from the commercial versions out there and started to make my own.  Slowly that pit was going away as I added fats to the recipe.  Finally it was gone when I added the cream cheese substitute and butternut squash.  The only problem with the cream cheese substitute was it did have soy in it, so we had to limit our intake and use it sparingly meaning we could not have it very often.  The great part of this one is that it has egg yolk in it which is actually a good source of Protein and will be 'filling'. Though non-dairy cream cheese does have a good flavor, you really don't need it, but could choose to use it if you want.  So my kids can enjoy mac and Cheese a lot more often now!  For those of you who have an egg allergy, the other Mac and Cheese recipe will better suit you.

So, tonight, I set off to accomplish macaroni for my kids using a method far different from my previous methods.  This macaroni is great in every sense of the word!!  It has the texture, look, and flavor of macaroni.  It looks like macaroni on day one and looks like it a day old too. . . not that it will last that long : )  

Mock-aroni and Cheese

 

4 egg yolks

1 TBSP freshly squeezed Lemon Juice (or vinegar)

1/2 cup unsalted butter,  melted (1 stick)

1) Bring a pot of water to a boil as you whisk egg yolks, melted butter, and lemon juice together with a fork in a metal bowl.  

2) Over the pot of water continue whisking briskly with a fork until mixture thickens. Be careful not to let the mixture go up the sides or sit, because the yolks will scramble.

3) Remove from heat, set aside (still in the metal bowl) and add your uncooked macaroni elbows (about 12 oz) to the already boiling water.

 

Then:

1 1/2 TBSP Butter

1 TBSP Cornstarch

1  cup Rice Milk 

  

4) Melt butter in a pan over the stove and then add the cornstarch and stir feverishly so no lumps can form.

5) After well mixed, add milk and stir constantly til it starts to thicken.  Remove from heat and add to the 1st mixture in the Metal bowl.

Then add:

3/4 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp White Pepper (you can use black if you don't mind the specks)

1/4 tsp Ground Anatto Seed (for color only; you can find this in the spice section)

You don't have to, but I recommend adding 1/4 cup pumpkin or butternut squash puree.  Mix well and pour over cooked noodles.  Serves about 5 average 6-10 year old kids.