More Spaghetti Squash and Mac u'Ncheese with Seitan Nuggets

I had bought another spaghetti squash, expecting to treat us to another round of lemon artichoke pesto, but used all my basil in the marsala the night before. Thus, this was born
I'm not sure where this cheese-like sauce came from (I've found countless versions on the internet and in cookbooks), but this is the basic one I love the most. I'm still wanting to try those that enlist potato and carrot, but haven't yet. This one I just put on top of steamed brocolli on top of some baked spaghetti squash.

u'Ncheese Sauce

1/3 c. Nutritional Yeast
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 Tbs. light miso
1/4 c. Parma*
2 Tbs. cornstarch (dissolved in 2Tbs. cold water)
1 Tbs. flour
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbs. oil (I use olive)
1c. water

*if you don't use/have Parma, you can just add additional nutritional yeast and some walnuts ground fine to equal 1/4c, or just omit it altogether

Mix everything but the oil and 1/2 c. water in a pot and cook over med. heat until it starts to thicken, add remaining water and oil, cook until it's bubbly and thick, stirring constantly. Add to pasta, veggies, whatever!

For the sp. squash, I just cut it in half (no easy feat!) and place it in a covered baking dish with 1/4 c. water. (I have an aversion to using my microwave for more than reheating, but I know you can cook it there, as well. there's lots of info on the 'net on how to). This goes in a 350 degree oven for 30-45 min. Allow it to cool a bit, then shred out innards with a fork.

Mine was not as subltly sweet as it usually is. I think I got a dud squash for one, and overcooked it just a tad also. It was still yummy, just a little mushy and a tiny bit watery. I've never had that happen before so I didn't really sweat it and it certainly won't deminish my love for spaghetti squash. :)

There was a bunch of the sauce leftover so, after a long day of football watching (Go Gators!), we got home and I remembered I had defrosted some seitan. So, we had this for dinner...

Crispy Seitan nuggets with Agave Mustard Sauce and Macaroni uN'cheese with some chopped leftover brussel sprouts. Basically, I needed to finally get rid of my huge batch of brussel sprouts and thought they'd be good chopped up and stirred in the macaroni (they were) and u'Ncheese sauce.

For the nuggets, I just seasoned some flour with sea salt, pepper, and paprika, dredged them in that. Dipped 'em in soy milk, then coated 'em in Ian's Panko breadcrumbs (these are sooo amazing! what crunch!). Then I sauteed them in olive oil until crispy, which only takes a few mintes each side.

A great honey mustard substitute is equal parts of Vegannaise, Dijon Mustard, and Agave Nectar. It's not at all thick (I like a tasty but thin sauce for dipping), but the flavor is wonderful and really compliments the seitan nuggets. I'd like to try baking them next time and see how they brown. I'm sure the crunch factor will still be way up there, but in this case I find that sauteeing is just another word for frying.

Tomorrow the Cap'n is taking me to my favorite sushi place in town for my 'last meal' before my gastric endoscopy early Monday morning (already dreaming of their Nerudo Veggie roll....kim chi, asparagus, avacado, tomato, romaine, all wrapped up in the thinnest slices of cucumber and doused in two sauces, one sour, one sweet....mmmmmmm). I doubt I'll be blogging any food until after that. They say my throat will be a bit sore right after, and I've never been put under anesthesia so we'll see how long it takes me to get back into the groove of things. I'm typically pretty sensitive to medications so I don't know. Until then!!!!