Veganized New Joe's Special (Tofu, Mushrooms, Spinach)

Have you guys ever heard of New Joe's Special? It comes from a restaurant in California called Joe's.  Joe's became New Joe's after it burned down. The special at New Joe's was a dish with lots of spinach and ground beef and egg. My mom figured out the recipe, and made it all the time. I grew up eating it. But ever since I've gone vegan I've craved it. Not in the OH I NEED MEAT kind of way but in the "this is a comforting food from my childhood" kind of way. So I decided to veganize it. Enjoy.

Ingredients

• 16 ounces tofu
• 6 cups of baby spinach
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 2 cups water
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Mix the flax seed and 6 tablespoons water in a bowl. Put in the fridge to gel.
2. Drain the tofu by putting it between two paper towels and pressing out the water. 
3. Chop the tofu into cubes. 
4. Fry the tofu in the oil in a large pan on high heat.
5. Once it has browned, add the mushrooms and garlic.
6. Stir until brown. 
7. Add spinach and stir.
8. Take the bowl of flax seed water out of the fridge and add the nutritional yeast. Stir in the rest of the water slowly until the nutritional yeast/flax is dissolved. 
9. Move the spinach/tofu/mushrooms mixture to one side of the pan and add the nutritional yeast to the other side.
10. Slowly incorporate the two sides of the pan. 
11. Stir until the nutritional yeast is no longer sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add salt and pepper and serve!

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Cashew Macaroni and Cheese

This recipe is perfect if you're craving Kraft mac n' cheese. Kids and adults alike, will love it. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cashews (I soaked them for 12 hours but it isn’t necessary, just use more almond milk)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 to 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 to 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, depending on the consistency of the cashews
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt, to taste
• Steamed veggies of your choice (I used carrots and zucchini but I’ve used broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms before. They’re all good)
• Pasta of your choice. It really doesn’t matter what kind. I’ve used elbow, spaghetti, and the curly kind. Gluten free works too, but is optional.
• 4 to 8 ounces tofu (optional)

Procedure:

1. Start the water boiling for the pasta.
2. Start the vegetables steaming.
3. Blend cashews in a blender until smooth, adding almond milk, vinegar, and lemon juice as you go. (if you have an awesome blender this should be easy. If not—like me—you might have to only put in a few cashews at first, and add a few at a time. I have a crappy blender).
4. Add garlic, blend
5. Blend in mustard, nutritional yeast, and salt.
6. The water will probably have boiled at this point. Put in the pasta.
7. Cook tofu however you want. I fried it in a little bit of olive oil. You can bake or grill it if you’d like. 
8. Once the pasta is done, drain. Put the pasta in a large bowl (or back in the pot you cooked it in. Add the cheese sauce, veggies and tofu to the pasta, mix well.

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