Hot Dog Macaroni

Shmoo is quite the veggie dog lover, is he not? This time I took a cue from my lil' brother's childhood, and mixed sliced Yves Veggie Dogs in with macaroni and vegan "cheese" sauce. My brother went through a phase where he ate hot dogs mixed with boxed mac and cheese (the non-veg kind) every day for lunch until my mom thought it was going to come out his ears. On the side is an applesauce cup (I haven't been able to find applesauce tubes around here, but I'm still looking).

To complete this all-American kid meal, I made a pan of brownies. Oh, I've been craving brownies lately -- not the cakey kind that I usually make, but the fudgy, gooey, ultra-chocolatey kind. It was Dreena Burton to the rescue, with her incredible Fudgy Brownies recipe in Vive le Vegan!And to drink, a mixture of almond milk and vanilla soymilk, to go with that chocolatey brownie.

Verdict: Shmoo loved the hot dog macaroni; the "Amazing Mac 'N Cheez Sauce" I use for mac & cheese (from Ultimate Uncheese)is perhaps one of his favorite things to eat. And the brownies were perfection, just what I had been dreaming of! I can't imagine an omni ever guessing that these did not have eggs and dairy in them. 5 stars for sheer yumminess, but not too many for healthiness.

"Yes, where are the veggies?" I hear my critics complaining. Well, we do eat fruits and veggies every day, but I've noticed that my cooking tends to go back and forth between trying to be as super-healthy as possible, and trying to taste as delicious and comforting as possible (guess which style my husband and son prefer?).

Although I know it would be better if we always ate exclusively for our health, I don't think every vegan out there really cares about health first and foremost. Veganism for many is a path of compassion, rather than a "diet" or something they do for their bodies. And I'm glad of that, because everyone knows diets are meant to be broken! Thank goodness there are supremely decadent, ultra-rich vegan goodies -- like fudgy brownies! -- out there to enjoy, so we can continue to be kind to the animals, even when we're not being kind to our waistlines.