Uncheese Cookbook reccomended recipes?

Hi everyone,

One of the 5 vegan cookbooks I got from Amazon last week was the Uncheese Cookbook. Lots of it looks great but some weird stuff equals cheese taste!!!!

So far I have only made the Gee Wizz american style cheese sauce stuff. It wasn't too bad, although tasted really strange, very overly tahini-ish (I didn't mix in the settled oil, and just scooped out the solid stuff for the recipe, so maybe that made it too strong)... but we made some notes to try it a little different next time. I had some just now, m/waved onto nachos, and it was FAB! Maybe I just had to stop expecting it to taste exactly like cheese and enjoy it as a tasty thing that is loosely cheese like.

I'll tell you what I had hope for - has anyone, pre vegan, been to Big Eds Easy Diner (the two branches I know are Bluewater and the Troccadero) and had the cheesey chips?!!!!!!!!!!!!!! god I loved that so much. I really wanted to recreate it. I'm sure I will find stuff as nice if I keep trying out these Uncheese recipes!

Can you tell me what you have tried and how it turned out, and any tips etc? :)

I HIGHLY recommend the Nacho Cheese Dip. It's a bit thinner than I'd like (since I used to be addicted to Tostitos cheese in a jar :eek: ) but the flavour was superb! I only had almond milk on hand, but if I had had soymilk, I bet it would have tasted even creamier! Let me know if you make it, I want to see if anyone else likes it as much as me :)

I also made the red pepper spread (I can't remember the actual name of it), and had it been thicker, I would have loved it. It had a bit of a cheesy undertone to it, but was mostly flavoured by the red peppers.

I don't recommend the Melty White Cheese. It was too tahini-ish as well, and I really don't like Tahini at all. And the Broccoli Cheez soup wasn't all that great either, probably because of the tofu. And I tried the Broccoli Cheez casserole, and it was sooooooooo salty that I could barely stand it! It called for a bunch of nutritional yeast (already salty), and like 2 or 3 teaspoons of salt (I can't remember exactly how much) on top of that. I think if I ever make this casserole again, I'll use no salt and cut back on the amount of nutritional yeast. Even without any cheesy flavour, it would probably taste great (as long as there's less salt).

I haven't tried any of the desserts yet, but I've read customer reviews and most people say all of the desserts are awesome. Good luck!

I really want this cookbook!

Ummm, I tend to read recipes and then con someone else to make them for me. Not that great a cook myself. I have heard that a lot of the recipes in the Uncheese Cookbook come out really salty so they rule of thumb is to either cut back on salt or leave it out entirely. I find since becoming vegan foods just seem to taste saltier and saltier though.

I've just ordered some agar flakes online (from nutrition direct (?)) so I can try some of the other interesting recipes in there, hopefully I'll get my parcel on Friday and so can do some cooking over the weekend!

I have to admit that the cheesey macaroni looks gorge... might have to try that!!

And I'd love to try making myself some of the cheeseboard type cheeses. Crackers, fruit, heaven! :)

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Yoggy

I HIGHLY recommend the Nacho Cheese Dip. It's a bit thinner than I'd like (since I used to be addicted to Tostitos cheese in a jar :eek: ) but the flavour was superb! I only had almond milk on hand, but if I had had soymilk, I bet it would have tasted even creamier! Let me know if you make it, I want to see if anyone else likes it as much as me :)

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Hmmm maybe if you used a little less milk, and some more of those white beans that seem to be in most of the recipes? it would make it a bit thicker. I wonder what would happen if you used soya cream/oat cream in place of the milk??? :rolleyes: <--- thinking of yummyness !!

I haven't looked through it yet, but I bought it specifically because I was told it has a lasagne recipe.

do you really need a lasagne recipe??!! or just the white sauce for it? :confused:

For the white sauce in lasagne i use soya cream and add a few dessert spoons of egg free mayo. Give it a good whisk and layer. It will be lumpy but when it is cooked they will go.
I make the tomato sauce as followed
2 onions
2 peppers
Tin of tomatos
Half a yeast free veg stock cube
Dried herbs (i love basil)
Some tomato puree.
And extra water in the sauce if you are not cooking the pasta sheets.
Just fry the onions and peppers until done and add everthing else and leave to simmer for a while.

I put spinach in between the sauce and tomato sauce.

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Jamie

do you really need a lasagne recipe??!! or just the white sauce for it? :confused:

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The white sauce, and something to go crispy on the top.

I have plenty of ideas for what else to put in it :)

Has anyone tried the crock cheese? I have a copy of it from another website, but haven't tried it yet. I have a bulk uncheese recipe that I use in burritos or use for a nacho-salsa dip. A cheezy spread might be nice, though, for crackers or something.

I made the pumpkin uncheese cake last week. I made it with the walnut crust (I think it's called caramel something) and it was good. It tasted more like a pumpkin pie than a cheesecake though; it was light and moist instead of dense. Still, it was good. They say it lasts 7-10 days, but mine didn't keep well at all. (I didn't use plastic wrap, so that's probably why)

The Eggplant Parmesan is wonderful. Just make sure to slice the tomatoes thin or it is too watery and loses flavor. This is a favorite with my husband and kids.

The Parmazano Sprinkles need to be made a few different ways before you find the taste/texture you like. A very high quality miso is the most important ingredient or the finished product will just taste salty, not at all like an aged food. Don't use toasted sesame seeds - hulled, raw is best. I've made the sprinkles with all almond, all sesame, half almond/half sesame, and sometimes with a combination of soy powder. The combinations seem to work best since you won't get an overwhelming taste of any one ingredient. I also add about twice the amount of miso for the best flavor. You can always add more of any ingredient as you go along.

I made the uncheese sandwich for lunch today, and I liked it. It tastes better than the type of soy cheese I once had (yuck), but not really like daily cheese. The texture was really good. Next time I will use fresh lemon juice instead of already squeezed lemon juice from a bottle.

I loved cheese before I went vegan, but since going vegan the various cheese substitutes I have tried have been really disappointing. I made a faux cheese from a Sarah Kramer book (mix of cashews, peppers and agar agar) and it just gave me the willies! Good luck to all on the faux cheese trail.

There was on in a SK book that we tried recently - it was actually a cheese sauce type thing, the recipe was something like 'something-girls cheese sauce'.. I don't know, maniac-girl, rocking-girl, atom-girl, something along those lines. Anyway, it was fab, because it tasted SO familiar, like something I used to eat ages ago that isn't vegan. I think it was some sort of Aussie cheesy crackers. So anyway, I'll look it up when I'm back home and let you guys know. :)


ETA: It's actually Random-girl! lol

i adore road's end mild nacho chreesy sauce... you can get it through vegan essentials. expensive with shipping to the uk, though...

i haven't used the uncheese cookbook, but we've combined two recipes from two cookbooks (the new farm vegetarian cookbook and native foods) to make a really good nacho sauce:

part 1 (from native foods cookbook):

1 cup of water
just shy of 1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 cup natural tvp bits (we use a combo of tiny pieces and medium pieces)

combine all liquid and spices. add tvp. bring to a boil. cover and let sit 10 minutes. start part 2.

part 2
from new farm (from memory, i don't know how similar it is anymore):

1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes (i squash the flakes in tightly)
1/2 cup flour (we tend to use a fine whole wheat)
about 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder (the really fine stuff)
1/2 tsp salt (we like herbamare spicy)
2 cups water
a large scoop of margarine
a big glop of mustard (we vary which sort we use-- usually a dijon, though).

mix the dry ingredients together, slowly stir in the water. place over a medium-medium high heat. stir it like you're making gravy or custard. it will be very watery to start with, but after if you let it bubble for about a minute, it gets a good consistency. remove from the heat, stir in marge and mustard.


after you get this one going, turn the stove back on for the tvp part. take the lid off, and stir occasionally, whilst stirring the cheesey sauce. you want to reduce the liquid in the tvp stuff.

when both are done, you can either put them one at a time on corn chips (doritos style), or regular chips (fries), jacket (baked) potato, pasta, or steamed cauliflower and other veggies.

yum yum yum.

just wondering- i've only just heard of this uncheese stuff an im a recent vegan. do the recipes in the book have lots of weird ingredients either expensive or a bit hard to come by? i was a big cheese lover an im looking for a good alternative but im also dirt poor... as in i dont have 50c to buy a stamp so i can post my tax and get some of my money back!

The chocolate uncheese cake, the fake caeser dressing and the mac and cheez are all amazing. I put pureed white beans in the mac and cheez and my onmi husband adores it.

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Yoggy

And I tried the Broccoli Cheez casserole, and it was sooooooooo salty that I could barely stand it! It called for a bunch of nutritional yeast (already salty), and like 2 or 3 teaspoons of salt (I can't remember exactly how much) on top of that. I think if I ever make this casserole again, I'll use no salt and cut back on the amount of nutritional yeast. Even without any cheesy flavour, it would probably taste great (as long as there's less salt).

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Um, huh? :confused: Nutritional yeast isn't salty.

I am looking at this recipe and she calls for 2 to 4 tablespoons of umeboshi vinegar and/or salt to taste ... meaning add a bit of salt if you think the recipe needs it. Did you substitute 2 tablespoons salt for the vinegar? :eek:

Maybe try making it again. I know a lot of folks really like this dish, and Jo's recipes are usually very dependable [I love her books!]. :)

The fondue recipes in here are fantastic... a nice gloopy mixture to dunk your bread into.

Yumilicious!

The Gooey Grilled Cheez is very good. I used only half the tahini and next time I'll use a bit less lemon juice. Even my omni boyfriend liked the taste (he was very sceptical at first but was very impressed by the taste and how much it looked just like the real thing).

The Cheez-a-roni is excellent! Very tasty and REALLY quick to make