a veg life

(posted by Emily)  Anyone who went to Butler or lives in the Indy area knows of the magic that is t he Brew Pub 's beer cheese. A delicious, thin, cheesy fondue-type dip, served with crusty bread, it's one of the few things I wish I could have when in the Hoosier state.  At Jennie's last week, pub cheese was my must-do recipe. The cheese can be thickened into a spread, or melted with beer to make a dip. I thickened the cheese at home, and left it at spread stage. Rick and I added it to our Yukon Gold Hash this morning, and it was delicious!  The cheese fermented for 48 hours before it was sharp enough for my taste. In a saucepan, I heated and mixed some dark beer and agar to thicken the cheese.  I added the cheddar base to the beer and mixed.  Added fresh chives. Let cool in a glass tupperware and smooth the top.  Enjoy! Hope you're having a great Monday! --E&R

(posted by Emily) It has been a cheesy week at our house! When we started thinking about new things to post on the blog, Rick suggested I do a post about the cheese fondue I make . I used to love all things fondue--cheese, main course, and chocolate. Vegan chocolate fondue is pretty straightforward, but cheese posed a bit of a challenge. Luckily, thanks to one of our new favorite cookbooks, it has become a simple staple at our house.  It has been a number of years since I last had "regular" cheese fondue, but I think the flavor of this one is spot on. My parents tried my vegan when they visited in January, and all reviews were positive. I think they would be the best judges of all!  The magic begins with the soft gruyere cheese from Miyoko Schinner's Artisan Vegan Cheese book.  The cheese is a mix of cashews, miso, coconut oil, salt, nutritional yeast, xanthan gum, and rejuvalac . Rejuvalac is a fermented beverage that helps give the cheese its tang. We mak...