What are some tasty, “umami” vegan foods/recipes?
Cheese does different things in different dishes, and while I haven’t really found a vegan equivalent, there are indeed some dairyless ways to satisfy those cravings. Nutritional yeast (flakes are better than powder) has a “sharp,” parmesan-like flavour. Tofu, when drained and blended with a little lemon juice, soy sauce and oil, makes a great ricotta substitute. Nuts like cashews or macadamias are good for sweeter cheese cravings. Usually I end up doing some combination of the above: for example, I make an “alfredo” sauce with tofu, nutritional yeast and soy sauce as the main ingredients. More broadly, I find good, fresh guacamole or hummus does the trick too (though obviously they don’t taste like cheese). Also, I don’t know how you feel about processed cheese substitutes, but here are the ones I find palatable: Tofutti cream cheese (decent substitute for cream cheese, though I mostly use it in recipes rather than spreading it on bagels), Tofutti American slices (taste almost exactly
