Game day Vegan Appetizers

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The following two quick and easy appetizers are tried-and-true crowd pleasers that with just a little advance planning come together with ease.

To be honest, I always liked concession stand nacho cheese ladled over a mound of tortilla chips topped off with jalapenos, but I almost never allowed it for myself or children. One look at this ingredient list and you may feel the same way I did— Yikes! (Find it here. ) The good news is this Nacho Cheese hack hits all the flavor marks using real recognizable food.

Credit for this recipe goes to Robyn, a former program coordinator at Farm Sanctuary in Acton, California.

Vegan Nacho Cheese

1/2 cup cashews

1 4 oz jar pimentos

3 cups water

2 generous TBSP nutritional yeast

2 strict TBSP corn starch

1/4 lemon, peel and seeds removed

2 tsp salt

***Jar of Tamed Jalapeno Slices

Place cashews in a bowl, cover with water and let soak. The water you use to soak the cashews is separate from the 3 cups needed for the recipe.

Throw the pimentos, 3 cups water, nutritional yeast, corn starch, lemon (watch out for seeds!), and salt into a blender. Lastly, drain the cashews and toss them in too.

Optional *** I take those same Jalapenos that are used as topping (Find them here) and throw a handful into the blender with the rest of the ingredients. I like the additional spice/flavor they add.

Blend on high / liquefy setting for about 3 minutes. Pour the cheese into a pan and heat. Bubbling/steaming is to be expected. Heat to desired consistency, stirring occasionally.

This cheese makes AMAZING nachos. Consider using it in burritos, tacos or even over veggies.

This next recipe is from Thug Kitchen, Party Grub. I edited out the choice language for a family friendly post. I thoroughly enjoy their cookbooks both for the recipes and the laugh out loud commentary. Find books here and here.

Landlocked Ceviche

Makes enough for 4-6 people

1 small head of cauliflower, chopped into tiny bites (about 2 1⁄2 cups)
2 cups diced tomatoes (about 4 medium-sized)
1⁄2 cup chopped red onion
1 jalapeño, diced
1⁄4 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup lime juice
1⁄4 cup chopped cilantro
1 avocado, diced
Black pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, mix together the cauliflower, tomatoes, red onion, jalapeño, salt, and lime juice. Add the cilantro and let that sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour so that the lime juice has some time to soften everything up.

Add the avocado and serve right away, with black pepper to taste.

Can be made a day ahead, but don’t add the avocado and cilantro until right before serving.

Enjoy,
Kathryn

Photograph by Matt Holloway/Thug Kitchen