March 12, 2014 March 12, 2014/ Morgan
But really, who didn’t eat grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup growing up?! It’s a classic kid dish. I want my daughter to get to eat it too – of course in a healthier version without a bunch of processed stuff (like Daiya – blech!!!) and without any animal products. I think we will be eating these two recipes for a long long time.
Now, just a fair warning – this is totally a vegan Velveeta-like American cheese sandwich, not an artisanal aged cheddar-like cheese sandwich. I grew up with the processed cheese slice grilled cheese sandwiches and I freaking LOVED IT. Loved it. It’s simple, delicious and satisfying! It’s a huge kid with my kid!! She says “Don’t forget the pickles!!”
Now are you ready to dig in to a childhood classic?! Got any others you’d like me to remake??? Let me know in the comments and I’ll try my best!!
Grilled Cheese Sandwich:
- 12oz (about 1 cup) silken tofu (such as Mori-nu Soft Silken Tofu)
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
- 2 Tablespoons miso paste (white, “mellow” or red work!)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- 1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder (optional, for color!)
- 3 Tablespoons tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour. If you cannot find it you can use rice flour or cornstarch but it won’t have the same texture so try to find tapioca starch sometime!)
- bread! As much as you need. This makes a lot of sauce so you can make many grilled cheese sandwiches!
Blend everything together until it is very smooth. I use my immersion blender for this! Heat the sauce in a small saucepan over high heat until it comes to a boil. Make sure you stir constantly while making this sauce so it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom. Continue to stir while boiling until the sauce becomes thick. Remove from the heat.
Heat up your pan (I used my shiny new cast iron grill pan that I am totally in love with!!) for you sandwiches. Spread a bunch of cheese sauce over one slice of bread and slap the other piece on. Grill them on a dry pan until browned on each side (really, there is no need for butters, oils, or anything else – it gets lovely toasty in a dry pan!!) Serve up with your tomato soup – which, by the way, you may want to start before you start making sandwiches!
Tomato Soup:
- 2 (14.5 oz) cans of tomatoes (either whole or chopped)
- 1 onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar (or stevia to taste)
- salt to taste (for reference, I used about 1/2 teaspoon. How much you use will depend on how salty your broth is and how salty you like soup!)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened soy or almond milk
Saute your onions in a nonstick pot with a tablespoon or so of water over medium high heat. Cook until the onions are translucent.
Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in the vegetable broth, tomato paste, canned tomatoes and sugar. Bring up to a boil and then put on the lid. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and blend the soup. Again, I use an immersion blender for this. It’s PERFECT for blending up soups right in the pot! You can also use a regular blender though you may have to blend in batches.
Once blended stir in the soy milk and add salt to taste.
If you need to reheat some later make sure you reheat gently.
Enjoy!
March 12, 2014/ Morgan/ 
