LEARNING AT THE POTTER'S WHEEL

Here in the U.S. this recipe is more commonly known as macaroni & cheese. My mother makes this as her specialty dish.

{Sorry about the photo. The family got to it before I could get the picture taken. :-)}

Since our diet changed, I realized that I would have to find a way to make the old favorites fit within our new guidelines:

• No gluten. We do our best to avoid eating wheat, barley, oats and rye as these grains contain a protein known as gluten. In children with difficulties learning, gluten can (not necessarily always) impair neurological development. So, we try to stay away from wheat-based pastas.
• No homogenized or pasteurized dairy products. Again, we have seen difficulties with the development of allergies and other health issues which can be triggered by consumption dairy products that are homogenized and/or pasteurized.
• No soy products
• Organic foods within our budget.

So, with those guidelines in mind (and apologies for my faltering conversions to metric measurements), here is my recipe.

Empty Dish Macaroni & Cheese
Note: none of these measurements are EXACT, but approximate

¼ cup [1.25 ml] organic (or homemade) mayonnaise (without soybean oil) OR ¼ cup (total volume) of raw butter, olive oil, coconut oil (you can mix these to suit your taste)

2 cups [.48 L] whole, raw milk OR a mixture that equals 2 cups (total volume) of yogurt, cream, kefir, curds, and/or whole milk

2 cups [.48 L] (plus a little extra) grated raw cheese – for me, this usually equals about 8 to 10 ounces [225 g to 280 g] of cheese in a solid block

2 eggs

sea salt & ground pepper to taste

8 oz pasta [225 g] – quinoa, brown rice, vegetable, elbow or any other style will do. My family prefers elbows or some other pasta that seems to hold the cheese as opposed to thin noodles.

Preheat oven to 350˚F. [177˚C]

Cook the pasta until it is al dente, about 1 to 2 minutes LESS than recommended by the directions on the box. For me, this means adding the pasta to boiling, salted (sea salt) water and allowing it to cook on the boil for about 5 to 6 minutes.

Immediately remove from the stove and pour off the liquid, cooling the pasta with cold water to keep it from continuing to cook. It is okay if the pasta is underdone at this point. You want it to be underdone.

Place the mayonnaise (or oil blend), milk and eggs into a casserole (2” x 9” x 13”) [6 cm x 23 cm x 33 cm] dish and mix with a fork or spoon until blended. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes, I throw in a dash of paprika.

Add the 2 cups of grated cheese. We most often use mild cheddar, but you can use a blend of your favorite cheese for a more sophisticated taste.

Once the cheese and sauce are well blended, add the drained pasta to the casserole. Fold the noodles into the sauce until they are all well coated. At this point, you may wish to add more cheese. I place extra as a topping over the casserole.

The mixture should be liquid. The excess liquid will combine with the egg and cheese and complete the cooking of the pasta.

Place this into your pre-heated oven for 35 minutes. You may wish to turn on the broiler for the last 5 minutes or so of cooking time to allow the top to get a hint of bubbly brown.

I call this an Empty Dish Macaroni & Cheese, because there are seldom any leftovers the next day.

VARIATION: You can add your favorite organic wieners, sliced into the mix. When we do this, we use Applegate Farms (http://www.applegatefarms.com/stadium.shtml), but you could also use a nice homemade sausage.

This is one of those simple dishes that nicely showcases the quality of your ingredients. The healthy fats make it a satisfying and filling side dish, or a nice meal all by itself. I like the ease with which it goes together when time is short and the pantry supplies are low. It can easily be dressed up with your selection of additional ingredients, but plain is a favorite at our house.

Yields: 8 to 10 generous servings (which means my family gets seconds!)