Creamy Vegan White Sauce for Pasta

After my son told me his friends didn't like beans or chickpeas, I was wondering what to make for dinner last night. I figured a bunch of boys would eat pasta, and I wanted them to have some protein and  vegetables too. I decided to disguise the protein by making a CREAMY VEGAN SAUCE for the pasta.

Ingredients

Greens
2 cups — chopped cooked greens
1 can — straw mushrooms
Small bunch — green onions, or 1 small chopped onion
5 — chopped garlic cloves
1/2 Tablespoon — tamari, or to taste


Creamy White Sauce
1 package — Morinu tofu
1/2 cup — nutritional yeast
1/4 cup — unbleached white flour
2 Tablespoons — light miso
1 Tablespoon — dark mustard
1 Tablespoon — vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 — chopped garlic clove
3 cups — water

Pasta
Large pot — boiling water
1-2 packages — pasta (I used linguini)

Method
I got a large pot of water heating up for the linguini. I needed enough to cook two packages.

I then started with the vegetables, which for us these days means dandelion greens. My oldest son seems to enjoy going out and picking them every couple of days, and then we cook them, pour off the bitter water, and then cook them a little more — about twenty minutes in all. This takes away some of the nutrition, but most of the bitterness is gone. I had some already cooked, so that was a good start.

I went out to pick a handful of green onions, chopped them up, and started sauteing them in about a tablespoon of olive oil. I added five chopped garlic cloves and two cups of chopped cooked dandelion greens. I suppose you could use some other sort of greens if you wanted to.

I opened a can of straw mushrooms, drained the water, and threw those into the pan, along with half a tablespoon of tamari. The vegetable part of the meal simmered while I made the creamy vegan white sauce.

I blended together one Morinu tofu, a half cup of nutritional yeast, a quarter cup of white flour, two tablespoons of light miso, one tablespoon of dark mustard, one tablespoon of vegan Worcestershire sauce, one garlic clove, and three cups of water.

I poured this into a saucepan and whisked it until it was slightly thickened, while cooking the pasta until it was tender.

After I drained the pasta, I sneakily stirred some of the creamy vegan white sauce into the noodles, just enough so no-one would really notice. The rest I left for everyone who wanted some ladled over their pasta. That way everyone got a little protein, whether they knew it or not.

I would never trick someone into eating something they are allergic or have a philosophic aversion to, but simple bean and other prejudices can often be circumnavigated with the use of a blender. (See peanut squash soup recipe).