Getting Even More Daring . . .

My frustration with not being able to eat dairy through this Crohn’s flare-up has been well-documented throughout this blog. I love cheese. I mean really love cheese.

Milk is something that I could give up, especially when I discovered that rice milk is actually quite acceptable on breakfast cereal. But the absence of cheese and yogurt left a big hole in my life for many months. It was a serious celebration when yogurt and cottage cheese and some cream cheese (like Dairy Lea and Laughing Cow triangles) started to go down.

Last week, I decided to get more daring and ordered some “proper” cheese on my grocery order. I do really like a good Double Gloucester, and I am very excited to say that it went down without consequence.

So that begged the question, can I stomach macaroni and cheese again? This is important for two reasons. The first being that macaroni and cheese is low-fibre and low-residue (unless you are of the no-dairy low-residue camp). The other is that I make a mean macaroni and cheese.

I will never understand the Canadian obsession with Kraft Dinner. My homemade macaroni and cheese is just so much nicer than anything that comes out of a box. And it takes about the same amount of time to make (and is made with real ingredients, not E-number filled powder).

So, on Sunday, I gave that a chance. Here’s my macaroni and cheese recipe. This is for one person, so obviously increase portions as needed.

Boil water for the pasta, then add a bit of salt and the macaroni.

While that’s cooking, melt 1 tbsp of butter in the microwave (I tend to use my big Pyrex measuring cup of this), which takes about 20 seconds on high. You can use margarine, but you will notice that the flavour won’t be as rich.

Add ½ tbsp of plain flour, and stir with a whisk. Add 1/4-1/3 cup of milk, and stir with a whisk. Heat it in the microwave for 1 minute.

Meanwhile, shred cheese of your liking. I like Double Gloucester, a good cheddar does well too. I usually shred a generous handful of cheese, but you can use as much or as little as you like. When the milk is done, stir it with a whisk, and put it back in the microwave for another minute.

Take the sauce out of the microwave and add some fresh ground pepper, a few dashes of paprika and a pinch of cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicier) and give it a good whisk.

 Then add the cheese a bit at a time and whisk in until it’s all melted.

 The pasta should be ready about now. When it’s ready, drain the pasta, then add it right to the cheese sauce. Give it a good mix, then transfer to a bowl. I like some more fresh ground pepper on it.

And voila. Macaroni and cheese.

How I have missed you! Especially as this is one of those recipes I have made so many times that I don’t even need to think about (I had to think about it to write this post!)

It went down reasonably well. My tummy was a tad grumpy about it, but it’s hard to know if that was the macaroni and cheese or the steak and chips the day before, but it wasn’t anything unmanageable.

So I got super daring when I bought groceries this week and got some Jarlsberg to try out . . .