But anyway, getting sick and not having the energy to cook good (or bad) food for myself did make me think about my diet and the things that I know are good for me and make me feel good. I stopped the chocolate habit cold turkey, and turned towards the good stuff. Kale is one of those things that makes me feel good. I like to buy it from Whole Foods because they have organic kale in all kinds of varieties, or even better, from the Farmer’s Market when it is in season. The other day, though, the DH took me to my follow up-checkup on my lungs (because he is a sweetie) and I was feeling so much better that we decided to get lunch out together.

Calafia Cafe
Town & Country Village Suite 130
855 El Camino Real (at Embarcadero Road)
Palo Alto California
(650) 322-9200

I had read about Calafia Palo Alto being a good restaurant with a gluten-free menu, and I’d passed it numerous times in the Palo Alto Town and Country square, but I’d never actually eaten there. Half of the restaurant is a deli, and I’m easily intimidated by delis. However, the other half of the restaurant is a nice, sit-down restaurant with menus, and we decided to get a table. I was happy to see the gluten-free labeml on many of their dishes, but weirdly enough, I was even happier to see that they split the menu in half between vegetarian and omnivore options. They even labeled their vegan dishes. Unfortunately, I wasn’t actually that hungry because I had eaten a very full and nutritious breakfast (leftover Dal made my the DH the night before, my hero!). But I decided to order their Braised Greens with Almond Butter, which they describe on their menu as: “rainbow swiss chard, sautéed with shallots, glazed with cider vinegar and finished with a vegan turmeric scented almond butter,
dried cranberries and walnuts.” The small dish that arrived wasn’t very dramatic, but when I took a bite I could literally feel my blood being supercharged with nutrition. The funny thing is, I wasn’t completely in love with the balance of flavor. I could taste cayenne more than turmeric in the almond butter, and was a trifle spicy for me after years of cooking for a DH with a sensitive tummy and now a toddler who despises spiciness. At the same time, I felt so good as I ate it and I was ultimately very happy with it. It was also novel because it was both like something I might cook for myself but at the same time not with the exact balance of flavor I would choose. How often can you go out to eat and feel like you’re getting a more nutritious meal than you would have at home? That is why I fell in love with this restaurant and would go back in a heartbeat. They had an intriguing assortment of specialty smoothie beverages, and tons of entrees and other dishes marked gluten-free and vegetarian. The DH was also happy, although he ordered a gluten menu item of what he called a “salad pizza”- a pizza with goat and blue cheese with a gorgeous pile of arugula on top. (They don’t offer gluten-free pizza, but plenty of other places do so I didn’t mind.)

I did some reading and found out that Calafia was started by a chef named Charlie Ayers that was the head chef at Google for six years after being a caterer for the Grateful Dead. Not only that, but he has his own book called Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google. According to the booklist description, “Raw, organic, and fermented is Charlie s mantra, which is reflected in more than 90 easy-to-prepare recipes, whether it s a Kick-start Breakfast, a Power Lunch, or a Light, Bright Dinner. And, following the world-famous formula Charlie used at Google headquarters, the meals and snacks are designed to feed your brain exactly what it needs at different points throughout the workday.” It has been a while since I went to a restaurant that I found as exciting as this one, and after reading more about the chef I can understand why. It isn’t a raw-foods cookbook, and not even a vegetarian cookbook, but I was intrigued enough by the description that I ordered a used copy for myself. I’ll let you know how I like it!

Anyway, their braised green recipe with almond sauce was a delightful restaurant offering and also got me thinking about how I might try my own (very different) version when I brought home some tasty organic kale from the farmer’s market this weekend. Here’s my take on it, which met with approval from my omnivorous dad and allergy-sensitive mother. Toddler Yum found it to be too much green for her, but since she scarfs down raw broccoli, cauliflower, and roasted chickpeas, I think I’ll overlook this temporary disdain for kale. It took me some years to develop a love affair with kale, after all, and now it is my favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu item! I hope you enjoy this recipe for a vegan almond sauce kale recipe as much as we did.

Looking for more kale-almond recipes?
Addictive Vegan Kale Salad
Kale Almond Pesto
Almond Crunch Kale Chips
Chopped Kale Salad with Toasted Almonds
Just Plain Scrumptious Kale Recipes:
Cashew Creamed Kale Recipe
Kale and toor Dal
Kale in Puttanesca Sauce
Gluten-free Cornmeal Dumplings with Red Beans and Kale
Gluten-free Stuffing with Kale, Caramelized Onions and Mushrooms
Kale with Pine Nuts and Raisins
Vegetarian Lasagna with Kale and Cheese
Feta Breakfast Kale

Almond Butter Kale Recipe Side Dish  Vegetables  American

Ingredients 2 tsp. grapeseed or olive oil 1 small to medium bunch of kale, rinsed and dried with spine cut out, chopped 3 tbsp. diced onion sauce: 1/4 cup roasted almond butter 2 tbsp. hot water or more for desired texture 1 tsp. agave nectar, maple syrup, honey (look for neutral flavored honey), or simple syrup 1 tsp. lime or lemon juice herbamare or your favorite salt blend dash cayenne pepper or paprika Directions Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet on medium high and add your chopped kale leaves. I like to pan fry them until they get browned and dry in patches, but you can cook them to your preference. When almost done, add your diced onion to the pan and saute until translucent. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. Add more hot water if needed to have a sauce you can pour. When kale and onions are done, put into an attractive bowl and drizzle generously with sauce. Fold sauce into the kale until evenly distributed and serve.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Inspired by recent restaurant meal, but the contents of my brain. Please do not replicate without my permission. Recipe ID:  1585 Added:  February 5, 2012 Last Modified:  February 5, 2012

I know it has been a little while since I posted. The reason is that we’ve been quite sick with a cold that just wouldn’t quit. Toddler Yum’s cold turned into ear infections, and mine (as well as my mother’s) turned into pneumonia. So, I write this reclining on the couch, with the dear senior cat ra snoring and purring on my ankle and Downton Abbey playing on the television. The DH has been cooking soups for me all day, and roasting vegetables, and roasting chickpeas, and baking gluten-free french bread and brownies. Do I know how to pick them or what!

Stay tuned for any delicious recipes he comes up with… and the next sign up for Adopt a Gluten-free Blogger in early February.

Here’s me and my girl today, post chickpea scarfing.

Toddler or Mama’s Lunchbox Roasted Chickpeas Side Dish  American

Ingredients 1 can chickpeas, drained 2 tsp olive or grapeseed oil herb blend (I prefer bouquet garni or herbes de provence) herbamare or other mild herbal salt blend (salt-free is ok) smoked paprika 1 tsp. nutritional yeast Directions Preheat oven to 400f. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Drain chickpea in a strainer. You may rinse if you wish to get rid of some of the salt. Put in a bowl lined with a cloth towel. Pat the chickpeas dry and rub off any translucent skins that come off easily. Turn the towel wrapped chickpeas upside down into the bowl, removing the towel. Drizzle your oil over the chickpeas and evenly distribute over the chickpeas. Pour the chickpeas onto the baking sheet in a single layer and sprinkle with your herb blend, herbamare, smoked paprika, and then nutritional yeast. Roast for 30-40 minutes. If you like them extra crunchy, but don’t want to run the risk of burning them, you can turn off the oven and keep the chickpeas in the oven until they have reached a desired level of crunchiness. Notes Toddler Yum loves this recipe!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  The contents of my brain, please do not replicate without my permission Recipe ID:  1584 Added:  January 29, 2012 Last Modified:  January 29, 2012

Here are some of my friend’s recipes:
Diane’s Roasted Chickpeas
Shirley’s Roasted Chickpeas
Jaden’s Roasted Chickpeas

Paula of Free Life Gluten Free adopted Kalinda from Wheat Free Meat Free and made her Vegetarian Chicken Salad. Paula called the recipe amazing, and told us that “I enjoyed it in so many ways…on Schar crispbread, on lettuce, with my pita bread, and straight out of the bowl.” She found Kalinda’s substitution of chickpeas for chicken to be brilliant, and though that this recipe “the perfect replacement to chicken salad.” After seeing her pictures and hearing about the recipe, I found myself agreeing, especially because Toddler Yum has developed a fondness for the rotund legume and would no doubt gobble it up in a creamy mayonnaise sauce. Not to mention that it sounds absolutely delectable and I’d like it in my own lunchbox! Thank you, Paula, for introducing us to this promising recipe from Wheat-free Meat-free!

Recipe:
Vegetarian Chickpea Un-Chicken Salad Recipe



Wendy of Celiacs in the Hose adopted Johnna of 52 Sweets and made a savory olive “cake” that sounds like something both Toddler Yum and I would find absolutely delightful. I hadn’t heard of Johnna before Wendy introduced her to me, but now I’m quite intrigued. I tend to like baked goods with half “Grain” flour and half almond flour, and I bet this would be no exception. Yummy! I have to explore Johnna’s other recipes now.

Recipe:
Black Olive Cake Recipe

Shirley of Gluten Free Easily adopted Paleo Parents and made their Dark Chocolate Banana Bites. I’m not Paleo but this recipe would appeal to just about anyone. How can you go wrong with dark chocolate and bananas? And although Toddler Yum isn’t huge on bananas, she adores chocolate and I’m pretty sure the mini-muffin presentation would thrill her endlessly, so we’ll have to try them. Besides introducing this recipe and some others by the Paleo Parents, Shirley shares wonderful range of information from suggestions from how to use paleo recipes in a vegetarian diet to introducing their upcoming cookbook, Eat Like a Dinosaur: Recipe & Guidebook for Gluten-free Kids.

Recipe:
Dark Chocolate Banana Bites
*Paleo Parent Photo used with permission

Thomas of the GFCF Experience adopted Cassidy of Cooking Gluten-free and made her Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Thomas found a lot to enjoy at the Cooking Gluten-free Blog, from information on alternative flours (almond and coconut) to dairy substitutions and of course, recipes. He ended up tweaking the recipe a little both to accommodate his larger skillet, flour preferences, as well as his preference for canola mayonnaise over veganaise. However he made it, it looks delicious! We’ve enjoyed pineapple upside down cake at our house, but Toddler Yum ended up picking out the pineapple to eat rather than eating the cake itself. That silly girl. The next time I want pineapple upside down cake I may try her recipe.

Recipe:
Gluten-free Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I adopted Megan and Kim of Welcoming Kitchen and made recipes from their blog as well as their cookbook Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen- & Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes First I made a apple scone recipe from their blog, and pined after a birthday cupcake. And then I made vegan artichoke fritters and gluten-free biscuits from their cookbook. All of the things i made were delicious! I also did a giveaway of Kim and Megan’s book, and Gloria B. was the lucky recipient!

Congratulations, Gloria. And I hope those of you who were interested will check it out at a local library or maybe pick up a copy from Amazon. I think you’ll find it a good purchase!

Recipes:
Gluten-free Dairy-free Apple Scones

*Not officially an entry but I couldn’t leave out Debbi’s adoption post:

Also check out Debbi’s adoption featuring Easy to be Gluten-free’s Corn Casserole recipe.

One thing that is a little weird for me is that many of their recipes either call for oat flour (usually with a substitution listed) or for all-purpose gluten-free flour. Since there are so many and they vary in quality and style so much, it seems to me the recipe could be really different if you used, say Bette Hagman’s white flour gourmet blend, or a high protein sorghum or bean blend. I wish Kim had told us what her preference is so that I could have tried it and tasted it like she would have made it herself. In this case I used Bette Hagman’s white flour gourmet blend with a half cup of sorghum flour subbed in for higher nutritional value. The turbinado sugar was just enough to make the dish special without making it sickeningly sweet, and I loved the diced apple. The seasonings were nice, and the coconut milk added subtle richness to the recipe.

Toddler Yum loved helping make the recipe, and I loved that my little raw-dough-fiend could steal bites of the vegan dough without worry over raw egg or other undesirable ingredients. I did find the dough a little difficult (wet) to transfer to another plate, but it worked out in the end. It was fun to make these with my little helper, and she even enjoyed eating them baked, which is the real test. She’ll eat almost any baked good in its raw dough form, but baked is quite another matter.

I also wanted to make their birthday cupcake recipe, but didn’t have applesauce, so that will have to wait for another time. I was intrigued by the usage of both applesauce and sweet potato puree in a “sweet” vegan dessert.

Now, on to the Welcoming Kitchen cookbook. Kim begins her story explaining that when she had a new baby boy eight years ago, he developed severe eczema and breathing issues and they discovered that he was allergic to cow’s milk, egg, and tree nuts. To breast feed her son, she cut out those foods from her diet and learned how to cook for herself and him. This is an issue close to my own heart, as Toddler Yum’s case of allergic colitis also meant that I had to change my diet to breastfeed her, cutting out the top eight allergens and more (rice, potato, and corn). I could identify with Kim’s determination to breastfeed, even if it meant changing her own diet. As she says, after this experience, as she learned more about those facing dietary restrictions, she began developing recipes that would work for many people, and turned her kitchen into a “welcoming” kitchen.

Kim’s recipes are free of eight of the top allergens- “peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, dairy, soy, wheat, shellfish” and sesame for good measure. All recipes are gluten-free as written as well, although I would mention to those with Celiac or gluten intolerance that many of the non-savory recipes call for oats in one form or another. While gluten-free oats have become increasingly available in recent years, from my understanding many doctors recommend that those with Celiac incorporate oats in their diet cautiously and keep an eye on antibodies. Some people with Celiac have difficulty digesting oats and may cross-react to the oat protein as it is similar to the gluten protein. For this reason, and because I’m a little chicken at heart, I haven’t chosen to try to incorporate oats into my diet, so the recipes solely relying on oats without clear options for substitutes are not something I can use personally. However, this cookbook would be a godsend for any breastfeeding mom trying to cut out the top eight allergens for her baby. As well, for those who “simply” have a problem with wheat, oats seem to be a gateway grain that helps many people adjust to a wheat-free diet. If you are comfortable incorporating gluten-free oats into your gluten-free diet, you will love Kim’s creative use of this grain!

For my first experiment, I made Kim’s Artichoke Fritters on page 26, a simple but satisfying dish with lightly pan-fried artichoke hearts. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to deep-fry or pan-fry the artichokes, but Kim told me that 1/8 inch oil would be plenty, which had been my guess as well. I used frozen artichoke hearts because I was out of canned. I thought this was a delightful dish and would make it again, especially served with a vegan mayonnaise or some other nice dip. The DH commented that he prefers fresh artichokes, but he is a hard sell for some vegetable dishes anyway. The recipe didn’t call for any salt but we needed to add it when using frozen artichokes, and I think I would even with salted canned artichokes to suit our household’s taste buds.

You may or may not know that I am a biscuit fiend. I’ve tried out many of my gluten-free friend’s biscuit recipes, from Elana’s in her The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook to Ali in The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook: Whole Foods Recipes for Personal and Planetary Health, Second Edition. For the record, biscuits are one of my favorite ways to bake with almond flour, and I enjoyed the simple healthful flavor of Ali’s biscuits too. Happily, Kim did not disappoint with her reliable biscuit recipe. I made it not once but twice this month, using different dairy-free milks depending on the contents of my pantry. It turned out well both times. I ate them in a vegetarian and easy “eggs benedict” with mayonnaise, as sandwich “bread” and this morning, with a tofu veggie vegan scramble and a vegan avocado sauce. I used my own formulation of 3/4 cup sorghum, 1/2 cup tapioca, and 1/4 cup potato starch for the gluten-free flour blend, by the way, and it worked! I had to wait for the xanthan to do its magic and thicken the dough. The first time I made them, I ended up adding a little extra flour. Regardless, another gluten-free biscuit recipe option is definitely a bonus.


There are plenty more easy, and allergen-friendly recipes in this book I’d like to try, from lentil sloppy joes to roasted fennel spread, from gluten-free beer bread and “cheesy” broccoli baked potatoes. Oats or no, I am going to have a lot of fun with this book and I’m so glad Kim shared it with me! Don’t forget to comment below to win your own copy.

[1/21/2012 WE HAVE A WINNER! Gloria B's comment was selected through a random number generator lottery. Gloria, I'll send you an email and once I have your address will mail you your book. :) ]

So- with a bit of our life squared away, hopefully I’ll be able to get some serious work done on my dissertation and even find time to develop new recipes here. You may have seen my old recipe for A gluten-free wholegrain Indian Naan. It called for yogurt, greek yogurt specifically (European yogurt is too runny). But this wouldn’t work for anyone on a gluten-free, dairy-free diet, and my little dairy-free Toddler Yum couldn’t have it either. I thought it would be interesting to play with the flour blend more, and to try using coconut cream instead of yogurt. To supplement the coconut milk, I used the new Pacific original hazelnut milk which they sent me to review. (Toddler Yum is a big fan of the stuff, and I don’t mind it even though I don’t generally care for hazelnuts.) To my delight, it worked perfectly and might even be better than the original! It went beautifully with some of my favorite toor dal (I use peanut oil, coconut oil, or mustard oil instead of ghee to make the Ghee Tarka variation). These naan can also be sliced in half and filled with whatever filling you like. This makes a small but filling recipe that is hardly more difficult than pancakes and a lot more interesting! *Note: because I have an annoying gas oven, it is hard to estimate how long it would take on an electric oven. Start with the given time and then, if it isn’t done enough, extend (non broiler) baking time in five minute increments.

Gluten-free Dairy Free Wholegrain Coconut Naan Bread  Alternative Grains  Indian

Ingredients 1/2 Cup Brown rice flour 1/2 cup sorghum flour 1/2 cup tapioca starch 1/2 cup sweet rice flour 3 tbsp. amaranth flour 1 teaspoon xanthan gum 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons dried active yeast 1 can full-fat coconut milk WITHOUT thickeners like Chaokoh (chilled but NOT shaken) 1/2 cup hazelnut or other non-dairy milk 1 egg, whisked Directions Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 500F. Combine dry ingredient in a medium-large bowl from brown rice flour through baking powder, and whisk to combine. Collect the coconut CREAM that has risen to the top of the chilled coconut milk can first in a liquid measuring cup. I use a large spoon but you may also have good luck with a small spatula. For the last bit I poured the milk through a fine strainer and collected the cream remained on top of the strainer. I had about 3/4 cup coconut cream in my can. Combine thin coconut milk with hazelnut milk or other non dairy milk to have a cup of liquid. Warm the thin liquid in a microwave until barely warm. If you heat it so that it is hot rather than warm, just let it sit until lukewarm. Whisk sugar into your warm dairy-free milk and then add your yeast. When it foams, pour into your bowl with the dry ingredients. Then add your coconut cream and whisked egg and fold together. You should have a fairly thick batter that is not runny but not firm enough to pick up with your hands. Spoon out large rounds of dough onto your parchment paper about 4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch high. (Or smaller, to your preference. Larger may be difficult to manage.) Smooth out top with a large spoon. If you like you can dampen your hands with water and make the tops really silky and smooth. Bake in the oven on 500F until golden brown. In my rather freakish gas oven, it took about 15 minutes but yours may take less time so watch carefully. Then I finished them off under the broiler for a little extra browning. Watch them like a hawk during this step! Golden brown is one thing and char-grilled is quite another. Notes These were amazingly soft and fluffy. The coconut flavor was nice and subtle without overpowering the recipe, and I was surprised by how nice the touch of amaranth was for making them taste whole-grain. Yummy with toor dal!!!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  modified version of my dairy whole-grain naan recipe, but a new creation. Please do not replicate without my permission Recipe ID:  1583 Added:  January 5, 2012 Last Modified:  January 6, 2012

Here’s how you participate.

1) Pick a gluten-free blogger whose recipes you admire and adopt them by commenting on this post with your name, blog name and their name and blog name.

*Blogger’s recipes must all be gluten-free or have a way to sort and read ONLY gluten-free recipes
*Please pick a different blogger every time you participate
*Please pick a blogger that has not been adopted yet this month!

2) Pick one (or two!) of your gluten-free blogger’s recipes to try.

3) Make the recipe, photograph it and write a post in your blog introducing the blogger and their recipe.

*Follow the recipe as written, as closely as possible. And, please don’t print their recipe on your post- just provide your reader a link to their original recipe.
*Provide a link to this event announcement page

4) Email me at adoptaglutenfreeblogger[at]gmail[dot]com with your photo of the recipe, the URL of your post, name of the recipe and the URL of the original blogger’s recipe post. PLEASE SIZE PHOTO TO BE A MAXIMUM OF 500 pixels wide. Otherwise I will have to resize it manually and after the first one or two I start to cry sad tears of weary despair. You don’t want me crying while I post, do you?

5) Post YOUR POST’s URL in a comment to this post, and if possible please try to visit two other blogger’s posts that are posted here (and comment!).

*The goal is to make this event more interactive and fun!

Deadlines:
Sign up BEFORE December 30(loose deadline; late sign-ups are ok)
Post your Review and Email me by January 9th (firm deadline, no foolin’)

If you don’t have a blog, you are still welcome to adopt a gluten-free blogger. Sign up to adopt a blogger, write a review of one of their recipes, including your name (or pen name), the recipe URL and recipe title. Then take a photo of the completed recipe (if you can) and EMAIL ME the review and photo. I will create a special page just for our non-blogging participants and post it for you.

I’ll start the adoptions by adopting Kim Lutz of Welcoming Kitchen . Now it is your turn!

Adoption Sign-Up Sheet:
1) Kim Lutz of Welcoming Kitchen (adopted by Sea of the Book of Yum)
2) Kalinda from Wheat Free, Meat Free (adopted by Paula Decaria, from Live Free, Gluten Free)
3) Easy to Be Gluten Free (adopted by Debbi Does Dinner Healthy)
4) Stacy and Matt at Paleo Parents (adopted by Shirley of Gluten-free Easily)
5) bill and Haley at paleo comfort foods (adopted by Pip of adventures of Pip)
6) Cassidy from Cooking Gluten (&Dairy) Free (adopted by Thomas of the GF CF Experience)
7) You Pick!

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
If you sign up and cannot complete this event byJanuary 9th for any reason, please email me immediately at adoptaglutenfreeblogger[at]gmail[dot]com and let me know. Please ONLY use this email account for Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger relevant emails.

Can’t find a blogger to adopt or looking to meet some new gluten-free friends?
Visit my Gluten-Free Blogroll
Example of an Adoption Post (I went a little crazy)

So, about those recipes. I think you all know my friend Ali Segersten with the blog at Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen, Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook, and a new cookbook coming out soon. I adopted her some time ago for Adopt a Gluten-free Blogger. Way back in July she had this amazing recipe for Dairy-free Creamed Kale that I could eat like candy, I swear. Instead of using those tasteless packaged dairy-free milks, Ali used all fresh, real ingredients and make the creamy sauce with cashews. I just loved this recipe, and started thinking about other ways to use cashews as a creamy sauce in recipes.* I tried a creamed broccoli/cauliflower recipe, and it was good but not spectacular. But then the other night I was staring at my pantry trying to figure out what to make for dinner, and I was trying to think of how to make pasta interesting but not so interesting that Toddler Yum would snub it. We also had this huge container of mushrooms from Costco staring glossily back at me in the refrigerator, and it occurred to me that a cashew, dairy-free cream sauce would make a great mushroom alfredo. I seared some mushrooms and chard from our garden and added grated zucchini for bulk and sneaky mama veggie quotient and reduced the heck out of that cashew cream sauce. I also popped some white sweet potato “fries” in the oven to roast as a side dish.

At first I was going to make some plain pasta for the dear toddler, who can be relied on to ask for “plain, mama, plain pasta”. But then I thought that since she has never met a cashew dish she didn’t like, I’d try serving her the alfredo. The mushrooms were picked out immediately, and she eyed the chard very suspiciously, but she slurped down the pasta in sauce like a starving puppy and asked for more. My girl had four helpings before the night was out! And before you get worried, she had skipped the (disgusting) lunch at her daycare and had recently recovered from a tummy bug, so I think she was ready for a serious calorie infusion. The picky DH, who can be very skeptical of dairy-free sauces, dove in with gusto, and it goes without saying that I ate more than my fair share. Success!

I would definitely make this recipe again, and might just have to try this cashew sauce in some other classic creamy recipes. If you have a vitamix, I think the creamy sauce will be even more creamy, but the texture with my (pathetically weak) blender reminded me of the texture of melted parmesan regianno bits, so it worked well for us. These photos were taken the following day when the greedy pasta had drank up a lot of the sauce. It tasted good reheated but was most spectacular freshly made. Also, I used the new Trader Joe’s gluten-free corn spaghetti, and thought it worked well. A brown rice (Tinkyada) or my all time my favorite gluten-free pasta by Le Veneziane might make it even better!



*This recipe posting is Ali-approved… I love my fellow bloggers and always like to ask them when I use a blogged recipe as serious inspiration when developing a new recipe.

Dairy-free Soy-fre Mushroom Alfredo Pasta Sauce Recipe Main Course  Sauces & Condiments  Vegetables  American

Ingredients The Sauce: 2 tbsp. olive or grapeseed oil 1 small onion, diced 1/2 cup cashews, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast 2 cups water 1 teaspoon raw cider vinegar 1 teaspoon herbamare or your favorite herbed salt The Pasta: 1 lb. gluten-free spaghetti The Veggies: 1 tbsp. olive or grapeseed oil (if needed) 3/4 lb mushrooms, cleaned and sliced freshly ground pepper and additional herbamare to taste large handful of chard, cleaned and cut into slivers 2 small zucchini or 1 regular zucchini, cleaned and grated Directions Heat oil on medium-high in a large cast iron or stainless steel skillet. Saute your onion until translucent. Then combine translucent onion, soaked and drained cashews, nutritional yeast, water, vinegar and herbamare in a blender. Blend until you have a creamy sauce. Reserve. Boil pasta until al dente. Heat additional oil (if needed) in your pan on medium-high and add your sliced mushrooms in a single layer on the pan. Season with freshly grated black pepper and herbamare. You may have to do several batches. Brown one side and then turn over to brown the other side. Remove from pan and reserve while you brown the remaining mushrooms. Add your slivered chard to the last batch of mushrooms and sautee them until they wilt and start to brown. Sprinkle on your grated zucchini and let it soften slightly. Pour on your sauce and let it thicken. Mix pasta into the sauce and serve topped with fresh basil if desired. Notes Best the first night it is made, but can be reheated too. I think I might save any uneaten pasta separate from the sauce for the next day and combine them right before heating so that the pasta doesn’t absorb too much of the sauce and you get more creamy liquid for leftovers.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Cashew un-cheese sauce inspired by Ali of Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen Recipe ID:  1582 Added:  December 13, 2011 Last Modified:  December 14, 2011