Macaroni and cheese is such a staple now for families. If you have food intolerances or allergies in your house, try this workaround and see if your family can still enjoy. This is a rare favorite in my house because of food intolerances. Fluid cow’s milk is only in our fridge now and then, and when it is, I hope it’s raw and full fat (which can be had in Boulder from this dairy). Cheese if present is a raw goat milk cheddar, with occasional transgressions for organic raw cow’s milk Parmesan from Italy if I can get it (pricey). That’s it – no cow’s milk cheeses otherwise, sadly (who doesn’t love cheese?). We also have fewer forays into gluten free pasta since I’m grain-free now and leaning toward Paleo-friendly recipes. But this is such a favorite for my family that once in a while I break down and cook it up. No recipe, just from my head, remembering how I saw my mom assemble this when I was a kid. She would make a white or bechamel sauce first, then add chunks of cheddar cheese. No Kraft box stuff in my house then, or now. All ingredients organic. You can stick with just aged hard goat cheeses too if you like – and leave out even the Parmesan I added here – but don’t use soft goat cheese.

1 bag Tinkaya gluten free elbow pasta

1 and 1/2 cans whole unsweetened coconut milk

1 and 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk

2-3 TBSP ghee

8 ounces raw goat milk cheddar, grated

4 ounces raw milk aged Parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 small onion, minced (about 3 TBSP)

2 teaspoons mustard powder

dash nutmeg

2-4 strands of saffron

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2-3 TBSP gluten free flour blend (Hagman blend)

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta per package instructions; meanwhile, mince onion and saute in ghee til soft but not brown. Add mustard powder , saffron strands, and nutmeg; stir over medium heat til blended and soft. Add flour, stir and heat til soft and evenly textured. Add coconut milk about 4 ounces at a time; increase to medium high heat and stir steadily. The sauce should thicken. As it gets thicker, add more coconut milk, and allow it to thicken again before adding more. Add almond milk slowly and stir to thicken again. Sauce should be bubbling gently and thicken steadily. Once it has reached a smooth even texture and thickness, add in grated cheeses and stir til smooth. Add culinary sea salt to taste, and add turmeric (helps impart color as well as subtle flavor).

Pour cooked macaroni into a greased pyrex baking dish (olive oil or ghee work fine). Then pour cheese sauce over this and mix so that it penetrates all the pasta. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper and paprika. If you like you can add gluten free bread crumbs on top. Bake ~35 minutes or until bubbling and browned on top. Since this much cheese in one meal is unusual for my family, this is always served with a side of digestive enzymes (DPP-IV with broad spectrum support) and/or betaine hydrochloride. These aid digestion and help us all enjoy this treat – but you may wish to go totally dairy free with a product like Daiya cheese. The coconut milk and almond milk are neutral in this recipe and don’t impart any strong flavors that don’t fit.