Cauliflower Mac ‘n’ Cheeze for One

The weather is changing, and a nice piping hot bowl of something filling is all you can think about. But the refrigerator only has a little lingering cauliflower and the cupboard is nearly bare. What to do? Cauliflower Mac ‘n’ Cheeze, of course!

2.5 ounces dry macaroni pasta (for me, that’s about two double handfuls. Your hands may be bigger.)

½ a cup of cauliflower florets, broken up

1 garlic clove

2 ½ TBLSP almond milk, or the non-dairy milk of your choosing

2 TBLSP nutritional yeast

¼ lemon’s-worth of lemon juice

A splash of soy sauce

A pinch of kosher salt

A dash of turmeric

A smidgen of Dijon-style mustard

A grind or two of fresh ground pepper

1. In a saucepan, boil the water for the pasta. You can salt it, if you like, but I don’t. The salt makes it take longer to boil, and there’s soy sauce and salt in the sauce. Once the water’s boiling add the pasta. Cook according the package directions and drain.
2. Meanwhile, in another pan, steam the cauliflower for no more than 10 minutes. You want them just tender, not really cooked.
3. In a blender, add the cooked cauliflower, the garlic, milk, yeast, juice, soy sauce, salt, turmeric, mustard, and pepper, and blend until it’s smooth and creamy.
4. Add the sauce judiciously to the cooked pasta in your serving bowl. You might not want all of it, you, maybe you’re feeling like slopping it all up with a nice piece of crusty bread. It’s your choice.

Variations:

• Chop some onions (I like green onions) to toss into the finished dish.
• Add nuts, faux meat, tofu, or faux cheese to the finished product to add a protein element.
• Parsley or cilantro would be nice, chopped finely and stirred into the finished sauce. Or you could grind it up with the sauce and have a greenish delight.