cashew almond cheese alternative

I have made many variations of cashew cheese but I finally discovered one I REALLY Like...I blended raw cashews and almond milk. YUMMY!

That's all I've got right now...dashed home for a minute from the diner...gotta get back. HAPPY SATURDAY!

Tuna cashew cheese and peas

Well, well...I felt adventurous today so I took some cooked Mrs. Leeper's corn spaghetti I had leftover and mixed in the rest of my cashew cheese mixture and then three drained cans of tunafish, salt and pepper, and about a half bag of frozen peas and mixed it all up well. It seemed a bit on the dry side, so I added some rice milk. Then I spread it out in a glass 9X13 pan and sprinkled crushed corn tortilla chips on top. I baked it uncovered in a 350 deg. oven for about 45 minutes.

I missed making and eating tuna noodle casserole, so this was a nice treat. It tasted a lot like what I remember it tasting like...but better since it is gluten and dairy free.

Thunderstorms all afternoon...didn't get my bike ride in. Darn...maybe later.

Cashew cheese mistake

I bought raw cashews to make cashew cheese and when I went to make it I wasn't paying attention and did a little fiddling too, but it came out okay...sometimes mistakes end up being discoveries.

I rinsed the cashews in purified water. I soaked them in purified water and then put them in the food processor with the water and a cup of boiling water with a dissolved packet of plain gelatin. After processing I poured the mixture into a loaf pan. It set up into a creamy pureed ricotta-like consistency. I am pleased. I can use it to spread on crackers or rice cakes or corn thins. I can use it to make GF CF mac and cheese. I can use it in GF CF lasagna. Mistake? No way...usable product.

I am at 53,000 words in the novel I am writing...It is going very well. I have to get back to it...I hope your day is going well too. HUGS

Cashew cheesy rice and flop flop...

I made two flops over the weekend and was feeling a little gun shy about working in the kitchen but this dish came out delish so I decided to post it.

Made cashew cheese (recipe posted in a past post) and added rice milk, dry mustard, and pepper...mixed well... and then added this to leftover rice and then baked the mixture in a 350 deg. oven for 25 min. It is tasty and filling.

Okay so I had two flops...I don't want to talk about it...okay...twist my arm.

Saturday I decided to make something that was similar to the sloppy jo recipe handed down from my mother-in-law that everyone loves, but I used carrots instead of tomato for the sauce. I ground up carrots and added celery and onion and garlic (there is no garlic in mother-in-law's recipe) and added rice flour to thicken and cooked ground beef and a little mustard and vinegar and sugar, but no no no it was not like mother-in-law made or anyone else's sloppy jo recipe for that matter...so is that a bad thing? When you eat it and can't decide if you like it, it's bad...I kept telling myself that everything in it is good for me so I should love it...but it ended up in the garbage can...then on Sunday I was feeling ambitious and tried to make soba noodles...noodles made from buckwheat flour and water. Well, I mixed up buckwheat flour and water and rolled it out and cut it up into strips and boiled them in water and drained them and there I had a colander filled with homemade brownish black noodles and I tasted one and said "Blech!" They tasted to me like dirt, smelled musty...okay...no go with soba...at least my homemade version of soba...BUT did I leave it alone? NO...I added cashew cheese and spread it in a pan to bake...even topped with crushed up Frito Lay chips...after it baked for a half hour I tried it and again, I could not tell if I liked it... but the thought of eating anymore of it made me nauseous, so needless to say my garbage can was full (burp) this weekend. Chow...

Cashew Cheese tomato-free gluten free lasagna

I made some cashew cheese and had a hankerin' for something that looked and tasted like lasagna, so off to the kitchen I went.

Cashew cheese (recipe from vegcooking.com, chef Ann Gentry)

1 1/2 cups raw cashews
Cold water enough to cover nuts by 2 inches
1/3 cup water
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Let Cashews soak for 2 hours, then drain. Put nuts and all the ingredients in food processor and process for 5 min., cover and keep at room temp. for 1-2 days, but no longer, and then store in fridge and use for up to 5 days.

On to the lasagna...

I discovered 8 (10 would have been better) no bake rice lasagna noodles in my cupboard and followed the directions fairly closely on the box. Unfortunately I threw the box out and can't remember the company name. I adapted the recipe so I do remember what I did...

I blended a drained can of beets and about four peeled carrots in the blender, added water and garlic cloves and spices like basil, oregano, parsley, salt and pepper and then a little fennel and a little crushed red pepper and olive oil and a handful of mushrooms. It made about 4 cups of sauce. I cooked about a half pound of ground beef and a cup of chopped onion and a bunch of sliced mushrooms and set aside. I layered a 9 X 13 pan with sauce, then noodles,then meat mix, then cashew cheese, repeat...I topped it with some grated parmesan (I don't do dairy, but I wanted a little parmesan flavor in the mix).I covered the pan with foil and baked it in a 350 deg. preheated oven for one hour.

The strange thing about this creation is that the sauce looked red when I made it, but the lasagna is a goofy shade of yellow and brown so it does not look at all like lasagna. The pic even came out so bad I didn't post it...but it is yummy. I cut it all up and bagged it and today I took out a portion, warmed it in the micro, and enjoyed it again.

Don't judge nontrad lasagna by its looks...it might just be delish!

NEWS FLASH!!!! I rode my bike four miles today...first ride of the year. It was great. It took me back 40 years...I was a bike riding fool back then. It is good to be back in the saddle again.