When a Salad's Not Just a Salad

Before becoming vegan, I was that girl who, when dining out, would always order blue cheese dressing on her salads. Sure, they'd taunt me with interesting fruity vinaigrettes and other creamy variations but I always went back to the sure-bet goodness I've known and loved since childhood. When I became vegan I knew that it'd be time to give up my favorite,dreamy guilty pleasure and I'd finally be forced to get to know other dressings to wow my taste buds when enjoying a fresh bowl of this...or so I thought. But I'm here to tell you that you can still indulge! I, on a whim, after my brother (aka the blue cheese kid) had been going on and on and on about his culinary quest to come up with the most perfect homemade blue cheese dressing, thought....'hey! why can't I try a vegan version of that?!'. And girls and boys? I totally did with winning results!

Enter the fabulous Sheese, which until now? I didn't love. I actually thought it to be a total waste of money when I opted to try the Cheddar flavor from veganessentials.com. I'd since written off Sheese and hadn't thought about it again. But then I remembered they had a Blue Cheese variety and the reviews were all pointing to 'try this now!' so I splurged. The resulting dressing I came up with is not even close to low fat. In fact, this is something you don't wanna eat all the time. But if you wanna kill a craving? I highly recommend you whip this stuff up and wow all the blue cheese lovers you know by turning your salads like above into this...I mean just look at all that creamy goodness!so, without further ado...

Just As I Remember It But Vegan! Blue Cheeze Dressing
(this will make a ton, so cut it in half if ya like. it's what I did)

8 oz. Sheese Blue Cheese
3/4 c. Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream
1 1/3 c. Vegannaise
1 tsp. vegan Worcestershire (i used a scant tsp. i didn't wanna overpower it or turn it brown)
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
splash of lemon juice
pinch of sugar
soy creamer (you won't need much)
black pepper to taste

crumble up your Sheese and add the rest of the ingredients except creamer. break out the stick blender or put all in a food processor and process til smooth and creamy, adding a splash or two of creamer til you get the consistency you want.

i'm still wanting to try out my little brother's version. His, when made vegan, will certainly be a muuuuuch lighter creation and a LOT less fattening. I know it involves soy creamer, the Sheese, lemon juice, a bit of sugar, basil, olive oil and water to thin it out. Seems simple enough. I'll get back to you on that one, for sure! enjoy!