Veganomicon Comes Through Again

I've written before about the perfection that is Veganomicon's cauliflower and mushroom pot pie with olive biscuit crust. The other night I had a load of veggies that needed to be used up, but I was also craving something dense and creamy. The pot pie is pretty involved between making the sauce and the biscuit crust from scratch, and I wanted something quick. I decided to make a veggie, whole wheat pasta dish and douse the whole thing in the pot pie sauce. I also wanted to try making it with coconut oil instead of vegan earth balance-  coconut oil is still very high in fat, but at least it's natural.

 I used the same measurements for the gravy, in terms of replacing the vegan butter with coconut oil. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature- and looks a bit like shortening- and melts into a totally clear liquid.

 I didn't change anything else about the sauce prep- here's the wheat flour bubbling into a paste when mixed with the coconut oil...

 and then the almond milk and spices are whisked in.

 I've dumped this over biscuits after crumbling Field Roast sausage into it. Amazing.

 While the gravy making was going on, about 2 cups of veggies- onions, zucchini, squash, carrot, and spinach- were cooking in a bit of olive oil. Whole wheat pasta spirals were boiling too, but let's be honest, boiling pasta doesn't really call out to be photographed.

 I mixed the veggies, sauce, and pasta all together in the gravy making pan. By the way, I *love* this pan. It's deep enough to make sauces and one pot meals, but it's still my go-to "saute something in olive/coconut oil" pan. It's stainless steel, Wolfgang Puck brand, and was $3 at Goodwill.

Dear Goodwill-
Thanks for helping me out in all sorts of kitchen ways. You're a real pal.

As you can see from the above picture and this one, the sauce wasn't really that heavy. Just enough to impart some flavor and coat everything evenly. I really liked this on pasta but I think it would have been improved with some fresh basil and roasted portabella mushrooms. Maybe some pine nuts or toasted walnuts as well. Oh, and I took this picture before I added diced Roma tomatoes. The freshness of the tomatoes was a nice contrast to the density of the pasta and the creaminess of the sauce.

I've said it before and I'll say it again- Veganomicon is a fabulous cookbook and I highly recommend it.