Mac Daddy'll Make Ya Jump! Jump!

Yesterday I got a flat tire at work. Actually, it appears I drove to work on my flat tire. Without noticing. Let's move on. At my job this sort of thing is considered an occupational hazard and as common as it might be, it is no less a pain in the rear to deal with. Luckily at my job we also have on-site mechanics and understanding supervisors so I was able to get my tire pumped with enough air to get me to the tire place and then a nice coworker drove me back to work (and then back to the tire place to pick up my car). Things that are a pain to deal with alway call for comfort food, and when the call for comfort food is made, I turn to macaroni and cheese. And as if some force had pre-knowledge of how my day would go, I was already planning to make v-con's Mac Daddy. The title of this recipe makes me remember that song "Jump" by Kriss Kross. So then I remember how much I unabashedly LOVED that song when I was 13. Umm...and I think I may have had a crush on Mac Daddy. Or was it Daddy Mac?



What was I thinking???

The recipe calls for elbow macaroni, but I couldn't find that at the co-op but I did find this pasta on sale for $1.99 so I bought two. I have no idea how to pronounce chiocciole, but I have the feeling that if I ever did learn I would repeat it endlessly to myself.


See how the pasta up close kind of looks like the mask from the Scream movies? Doesn't that make it so tempting? Mmmm...scary pasta.


And here's the finished casserole, ready to go in my face! It was pretty damn good, good enough for a second happy helping, but it did not make my head explode with joy. It wasn't as creamy and saucy as I would have liked, but I wouldn't necessarily go so far as to call it "dry", just not creamylicious, and I've identified why that is my fault. 1) I used too much pasta, and this kind of pasta swallows up a lot of sauce in those mouth-looking holes it has. 2) I squeezed too much water out of my tofu and never got that ricotta cheese-like texture I was looking for. Plus the brand of tofu I used seems to be firmer than all other brands based on previous usage. With only that going against it, I would still call this dish and unqualified success and it's still the best vegan mac'n cheeze I've ever had. The cheezy sauce was ridiculously good and I had the idea while I was making it that I would just make it all the time and have batches around the house to put on *everything*, veggies, pasta, my cat, everything.

Dinner was followed up with a smallish container of vegan chocolate mousse from the co-op, and after all was said and done, my goad of comfort through food was smashingly successful. Mission accomplished!

(and I apologize if I got that song stuck in your head. you can come over for leftover mac if you need some comforting)