Smell the herbs dancing through the air as your homemade cheeze bakes in the oven!
Ok, my "oven" is a toaster oven and it's on my back deck because if I had that thing on inside, I would melt.
Even so, the herbs found their way into my window and taunted me to take the pan out early for a taste!
Soaking nuts is a regular thing at my house. In my fridge there is most certainly always a jar of something ready to to be crafted into something magical when inspiration hit!
That said, my cashews that I had big dreams for, got quite the long wait... 5 days actually and instead of going off to become the creamy layer of a cake like I had planned, their fermentation decided otherwise! *They had become perfect for cheeze!
Why I soak my nuts: In a nutshell ;)
Long story short, a nut is this tiny thing that has a lot of protection surrounding it so that it doesn't get digested and "exits" the body, to go on to become a brand, new, shiny plant!
Well, we humans (especially us vegans) love our nuts, so we need to make them easier for our bodies to deal with.
By soaking them, we are taking away a lot of work from our tummies. The water over time will break down those protective layerings and the nut will start to sprout which means it is ready to be accepted into the environment (normally the ground but in this case, our stomachs!)
Ok so see how that's important? Otherwise, I hate to tell you this... you might be spending all that money on something that's going to either go right through you or, cause your tummy to spend too much time trying to prepare for you.
Let's help make things easier on our bodies, working with them, not against them!
So, soaking times can be found online if you want exact approximations:
My rule is at least overnight, usually longer. Ideally until they sprout, especially when used in raw recipes.
Most of my cheese recipes have been raw in the past but this baked version stole my heart and opened a whole new world of possibilities!
Want to see what cashews can become?
What you need:
- 1 cup soaked cashews
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1/8 lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup water + 1/8 cup arrow root powder
- 1/2 tbs oregano
- 1/2 tbs rosemary
- 1/2 tbs thyme
What to do:
- Soak cashews overnight (at least), drain and set aside.
(If you don't need your cheeze right this minute, let the drained nuts sit in the fridge in a sealed container for a couple of days to increase cheezy-ness!)
- Blend cashews, oils, nutritional yeast. salt, garlic and lemons in a food processor or high speed blender until it is smooth.
Set this aside while you make the magic to hold it all together!
- In a skillet on medium heat, add the water first. When it gets hot, quickly add the arrow root powder, stir together (do not leave it, it will burn very fast) until it becomes a gooey consistency.
- Remove from heat. (In fact, try to get it out of the skillet right away so it doesn't burn from the residual heat of the pan.)
- Add in the arrow root thickener to the food processor and blend together with the mixture!
- Pour this mixture into a glass container or oven proof dish!
- Sprinkle your herbs on top!
- Place in the oven at 180'C for about 20-30 minutes depending on the texture you prefer!
- Trust me, let it cool in the window before trying to eat it! ;)
- Serve and enjoy! This delicious cheeze can be served on crackers, sandwiches, wraps, salads, as a side, you name it. It's perfect for every occasion!
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