A Queso Haiku

{Disclaimer: the kids are working on Haiku this week. I have 5-7-5 rhythm stuck in my brain}

Chile con Queso
Five years I have yearned
What's a vegan girl to do?
Teese to the rescue!

I stumbled across Homesick Texan's blog today and felt like I found a kindred spirit. Sure, she eats meat and lives in New York, but she's a Texan far from home constantly searching for those taste memories from the South.

Her post on Chile con Queso really hit home. Maybe I shouldn't be ashamed of my fond memories of Velveeta and Rotelle tomatoes. In fact, if it wasn't for the cheese and trans-fats, I'd microwave myself a bowl of Chile con Queso right now.

But like Homesick Texan, I'm not up for eating Velveeta. I can, however, adapt a recipe to suit my snobby tastes.

The following is adapted Homesick Texan's recipe in order to be vegan and allow for me not having any cilantro. Besides, my mom hates cilantro so any Tex-Mex I remember doesn't have any cilantro in it!

Chile Con Vegan Queso Blanco
Ingredients:
1/4 onion diced (about 1/4 cup)
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 Tbsp minced jalapeño (I like pickled jalapeños)
2 tablespoons of Earth Balance
2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 cup of non-dairy milk
1 cup of shredded Teese or other meltable vegan cheese (Yeah, I know, it's expensive and you don't want to part with a whole cup. JUST DO IT!)
2 plum tomatoes, peeled and diced (about 1/2 cup, can use canned if tomatoes aren’t in season)
Salt to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp)

Method:
1. Melt the Earth Balance in a saucepan on medium-low heat, and then cook the onions and peppers for about five minutes or until onions are translucent.
2. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Whisk the flour into the Earth Balance & vegetable mix and cook for about 30 seconds.
4. Add the non-dairy milk to the pot, and cook on medium, whisking constantly until sauce is thick, about five minutes. Stir in the tomatoes.
5. Add the Teese and stir well until completely melted
6. Add salt to taste.
Notes: You can vary which chiles you use to control how hot you want the queso to be. Also, if the sauce is too thick, feel free to add a bit more milk a tablespoon at a time.
Be sure to serve this warm. The Teese tends to solidify when cool.


This "queso" is everything I could ever ask for. Creamy, gooey, spicy, and it sticks to a homemade flour tortilla like you wouldn't believe.

Now I really didn't plan on eating a cup of Teese AND an ice cream sundae today... But I had a long hard day at work and still needed to test out a sundae recipe for a Tex-Mex class I'm doing at the Co-op this weekend. So here we go into ultimate indulgence:

This is a Spicy Mexican Chocolate Sundae. It has So Decadent vanilla ice cream, chopped mangos, Mexican chocolate sauce, and a little Soyatoo whipped topping. Oh, and some extra cayenne pepper on top for good measure.

Here's the Mexican Chocolate Sauce recipe:

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup non dairy milk (coconut would be awesome)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Warm the chocolate chips and milk in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking frequently. When chocolate chips are melted and sauce is smooth, stir in the spices. Serve hot over ice cream. And feel free to add extra cayenne or experiment with other chile powders!