Spicy Nacho Cheese

Winter has not lost its grip on me. It's snowing right now out my window.  I have been cold, cold these past few weeks. Wool sweaters barely do the trick. I kept my winter coat on in a meeting last week.  Is it my age? Is it my metabolism? Am I tiring of the dark months? Why won't people stop talking about their recent trips to Florida and the islands?

There is, however,  much beauty to be found in the winter months: ice on bare branches, dogs with snowflakes on their noses, children bundled up.

I'm hanging in there till I see my first robin. And I'll keep eating comfort foods.

Spicy Nacho Cheese
(This recipe is much easier if you have all the ingredients in place before you begin)

1/4 C flour

2 T Earth Balance non dairy butter

2 t smooth peanut or almond butter

1 C unsweetened non dairy milk (maybe a bit more)

3/4 t garlic powder

1/2 t salt

1/2 t onion powder

1/4 C nutritional yeast

1 can El Pato brand salsa (or 1 C of your favorite salsa)

chopped pickled jalapenos to taste with a little juice (optional)

Toast the flour by whisking it over medium heat until it starts to produce a warm, toasty smell. It will smell nutty.

 Remove from heat and drop in the margarine and nut butter. Allow them to melt and then whisk them into the flour. Slowly pour the milk into the butter blob and whisk until smooth. It should become quite thick.

 Add the remaining ingredients and adjust the milk to your taste - depending on how thick or thin you want your cheese.

This stuff is great! 

The recipe is inspired  from a Non-Dairy Cheese Making class I recently attended. All the recipes came from these books: Artisan Vegan Cheese by Miyoko Schinner, Non-Dairy Formulary by Skye Michael Conroy, and The Un-Cheese Cookbook by Jo Stepaniak. I do not know which author gets credit for this recipe. Sorry!