Red Devil

My mom (aka Red), circa 1972

I realize this blog is all over the place, but that's kinda how my brain works, too.  So there you go.  Some days you get art, some days you get poetry... you always get food! (Woot!  I'm almost halfway through my first Vegan MoFo!)

Today's recipe is a veganized family favorite:  Red Devil.  Now, based on the picture above, you might think this recipe was named after my Mom.  Actually, it could be.  I have no idea where this recipe originated, although I once found a slightly different variation of this recipe in my Grandma's recipe box.

I love this recipe so much, that when my parents celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary a few years ago, me and my siblings made them a quilt and everyone had to design a square.  Mine had the recipe for Red Devil on it.

Red Devil is a thickened, cheesy, tomato soup-gravy that is poured over crushed crackers and scarfed down with wild abandon.  I always imagine this to be a hobo recipe, or perhaps a wartime stretching the few groceries we have recipe.  It would be fun to imagine that somewhere in my family's history, I come from a long line of Hobo world-travelers, who honed their skills for fine cuisine over a lonely campfire in the middle of nowhere, whilst a lonely wolf howled in the distance as the trains rolled by.

In reality, this is probably some recipe that was copied off the back of a soupcan label, and made it into the family archives.  Ah well.  It's still delicious!  The original Red Devil recipe called for one can of condensed tomato soup, one can-full of milk, one egg, some cheese, some cornstarch, and salt and pepper. Lots of dairy. 

Final verdict?  Veganized Red Devil is AWESOME!  You could probably put this over steamed vegetables and have a much healthier meal, but I recommend trying it with crackers at least once.  After you've hopped off that train and started your campfire.

Red Devil
serves 2-3

Ingredients

One can of condensed tomato soup
One can-full of your favorite non-dairy milk (I used almond)
A generous half-cup of cashews, soaked in warm water for about an hour
1 heaping Tbsp of cornstarch
2 heaping Tbsp of nutritional yeast
1 tsp. mild white miso
1 smallish squirt of (1/2 tsp probably) of yellow mustard
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Put everything in the blender and whiz up.  Pour into a saucepan and cook over medium heat until hot and thickened.  Stir frequently (otherwise may stick/burn on the bottom).  Crush up a couple handfuls of your favorite vegan crackers on a plate.  Pour Red Devil on top, stir and enjoy!