 NUT CHEESE is taking over the world! So awesome. Look here- I love cheese. But cheese don't love me. Probably doesn't love you either. Not trying to be rude- just sayin'. Any who- I've been making cashew cheeze for a long ass time. It's been a staple in my fridge since I tried it for the first time at Cafe Gratitude maybe 7 years ago. Just before I went *pescatarian*. I fell in love. You have to try it to know what I mean. I remember being completely mesmerized by it after I tried it. Vegan food wasn't super popular then. So this cashew cheeze thing sounded CRAZY to me. But I had to try it. And like I said. Fell IN LOVE. Mine doesn't taste like Cafe Gratitude's. And I'm cool with that. Cause I like inventing my own flavors. And it really is super easy. Like if you have a food processor= you can make it. Put it on everything. Go right ahead- it'll probably taste good with it. Please try it & let me know how much you love it :) * This is not a melty cheese, just fyi- this is more of a sauce. It does work on pizza however. Obviously won't have a 'cheesy' consistency but it works. TRUST. *Recipe below*  Fiesta Pizza on cornmeal crust pizza
 Mashed sweet potato topped with black beans, cilantro, sauerkraut & cashew cheeze  Fiesta bowl with cashew queso  Potato Wedges with cashew cheeze drizzle Cashew CheezeRecipe by: The Daily Kale
——- I adjust the cheese based on what I’m making it for. I have 3 different versions I like to make with this base, depending on what I'll be pairing it with. But I do love it as is also. It's great on everything!
Add everything into the food processor & blend until it’s a creamy sauce. Add in more salt, lemon juice and or water for desired taste/consistency. (Add in water little by little & scrape down sides). Keep blending for a few minutes for an extra smooth, creamy sauce texture. Drizzle on pizza. Or use it as a dip for roasted sweet potato fries. Crema on tacos. Pasta sauce. Salad dressing. Stuffed mushrooms. Zucchini boats. Casseroles. I literally use it on everything. *I do not soak my cashews most of the time. But yes, you can. ENJOY!
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 I don't know about ya'll but I'm superrrrrr excited about Thanksgiving. For me, it's my chance to cook for my family and prove to them that vegan food tastes good! They shall see! I recently made a raw key lime pie for my mom on her birthday. Thankfully she loved it! I was very happy with it also. I just got back from a 2 week vacation being at home in Georgia. It was so very nice and I miss it so. But I am also thankful to be home safe. And be surrounded by all the healthy options we have here, very close. I will never take that for granted again! Believe me. Anywho. What are you planning on making for Thanksgiving? I've got a full on list. Let me tell you. I am super excited for the dishes to come. And I'll be posting all the recipes and pictures of everything. I am not the most traditional for thanksgiving. I actually am not a fan of traditional types of thanksgiving dishes. So there will be lots of variety with what I'm making- and lots of veggies will be incorporated for sure!
Now, for the original reason of this post. Fiesta Polenta. This happened yesterday. And it was magical. I'll hope you'll try this out for yourself and put your own spin on it. There are so many ways you can go with this. I have shared my other polenta recipe before with marinara and mushroom ragu. But if you know me, I like to change things up! So that is what I did. Here ya go! Fiesta Polenta // Recipe by : The Daily Kale
Optional:
For The Cashew Cheeze:
Blend everything in a food processor. Add more or less water for your preferred consistency. Let it blend in your processor for a few minutes so it gets even more smooth. Store in a tight lid container in fridge for about 5 days. Instructions // Sautee Kale & Black beans together with garlic powder and chipotle powder if you like it spicy. I don't add any oil to that because it doesn't need it. Your just warming those up, cause you don't want to kill nutrients in the kale by overcooking it. After you've cooked your polenta, I like to stir in spices with that as well. I usually add chipotle powder, garlic powder, paprika and black pepper. Place the cooked polenta on the bottom of plate and spread it out. Then add on your black bean and kale mix top with tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, avocado and cashew cheese. & Voila! You've got a very snazzy lunch! My boyfriend was jealous ;)     Don't get mad at me ya'll! Go ahead and make this yourself ;) VEGAN MEXICAN FIESTA PIZZA For the amazing SIMPLE cornmeal crust:
DIRECTIONS
*Note* I do go crazy with the spices. By all means, use whichever ones you'd like. I like to go for a very flavorful crust : )     Now take it out of the oven and spread the bean puree on top. Sort of like your icing a cake :) Make sure it's even spread on top. I made two pizzas, so I blended 1 can of cooked organic beans with no added salt. I also added spices into that while it was processing. Such as paprika, chipotle powder, a pinch of sea salt, cayenne, garlic powder and cumin. But you can add whatever you'd like. Next up you want to spread salsa on top of the bean spread. Then add your toppings. The toppings are totally up to you! But I added chopped onions, chopped bell peppers and jalapeños. Then put back in the oven for about 7-10 minutes. Until desired crispiness. I don't like mine to well done, so I did about 7 minutes. But some people like their crust extra crispy (Like my boyfriend). Once that is done now you want to add your final toppings, the ones you won't be cooking. I added chopped green onions, chopped cilantro, jalapeño cashew cheeze and avocado. I love this crust so much. I will probably never attempt a yeast crust again, cause this is way to simple & fast for all that time you wait for yeast to rise. No thank you. I absolutely love cornmeal crust & this hits the spot. Enjoy!     So this happened for dinner last night. I've now made it twice- cause I can't get e n o u g h.
Look, I'm from the south. Grits are a big part of my life. I've loved grits for quite a long time. Corn anything- is my favorite, except weirdly enough, actual corn on the cob. Lol. I'll take it any other way though! So I'm going to give you the gift of this recipe cause you have to have it- and make it for yourself. Soooooo goooooood. Right in time for fall weather. It'll warm you right up ;) Enjoy. What you'll need: 3 cups of unsweetened almond milk 1 cup Organic Bob's Red Mill Polenta/Grits 2 cloves of minced garlic (optional, but not in my opinion hehe :) 1/2 cup marinara/and or tomato basil sauce (Home made or store bought) 1/2 cup diced mushrooms Steamed kale (Or any veggie) Cashew Cheeze Bring 3 cups of unsweetened almond milk to a boil. Then pour in polenta and minced garlic, slowly and stirring. For about 5-10 minutes. I like to keep my polenta creamy-and not on the harder side- As you can see from my photo above. But if you'd like to have your polenta more solid, you can continue to cook it on a low heat for a bit longer, Stirring occasionally. *In a separate sauce pan - Sautee mushrooms with the sauce of your choice ( I use TJ's Organic Tomato Basil Sauce, cause I love it ) and cook until mushrooms are nice and tender. *In a separate pan steam kale or spinach, or any green of your choice :) Now put it all together! I put polenta- then topped it with the kale, then topped that with the mushroom marinara, then topped it all off with my FAVORITE, why cashew cheese of course :) I have several cashew cheese recipes! Enjoy ya'll! <3  (or cinco de mayo) -Hello Hello. How is everyone doing? I hope great. It's been quite some time since my last post. But I had been doing some very productive things, so hopefully you can understand :) Lets see. First and foremost, I joined the gym! Now that is huge for me. It's been over 4 years since I've belonged to a gym. I feel so good, after working out. It definitely still is hard- just getting there. But once I do. It's really good after. So I always try to remember that feeling I feel after a workout. When I'm trying to make excuses not to go. Which happens a lot :) I've never been a workout person. Or athletic, active, etc. I grew up with hobbies being singing. Of course I've always loved swimming. But it was just for fun. I never really learned discipline when it comes to eating or working out. I think thats why I struggle so much with keeping a routine. Today my friend made a good point. That instead of 'writing down' a fixed plan and schedule, etc. To just wake up and that be apart of your day- just like going to work. Or other tasks you have to do. I always make it optional in my mind, and typically just get consumed with laziness :( But I am going to start trying that out. I came home today from gym and tore my 'schedule' up. Decided to just make it apart of my daily life. Sure I don't need to go everyday. But staying active when I don't go is also very important. But this is just my advice. You can obviously do, whatever is best and works for you! Sooooo back to yesterday. I made this dish late in the night or I would've shared it with you earlier yesterday. I got this black bean penne pasta from whole foods. I couldn't believe there was only 1 ingredient in the pasta! So I had to try it out and create a recipe around it. Very pleased with the way it turned out! My boyfriend said it was a tad bit too spicy, but spice never bothers me :) You can omit peppers and get mild salsa, if you don't like spicy :) The pasta kept together really well- just like normal pasta. After cooking it at first, it was a bit weird, but once you add sauce to it, it gets just like normal pasta. I'm sure it'd be good with alfredo or any type of regular italian pasta sauce too. It takes on the flavor of whatever sauce you put in. This pasta itself is sooooooo good for you per serving. My goodness. -22 grams of protein -15 g of Fiber Yowza! Sooooo here is the recipe! (Scroll down) Black Bean Mexican Casserole - [with TOLERANT Black bean penne]   2 cups of Black Bean penne ( cook according to box instructions)
1 small can of diced green chilis 1 small can of tomato paste 1/2 cup salsa (I used HOT!) 1 chopped bell pepper 1/2 red onion 1/2 cup organic corn 2 cloves minced garlic 1 tsp chili powder 1/2 tsp. salt (optional) -Add as much as you want cashew cheeze, after baking. -Avocado & Cilantro for topping After you cook pasta, place all ingredients in bowl and stir. Then place in a oven safe pan and bake for 15 minutes at 425. And then finito! If you'd like to enjoy it with a nice refreshing TDK margarita, you can do that too :) So heres my recipe I made last night. Sparkling Grapefruit Margarita: For 1 drink. (Salt your rim of glass first ;) 1/4c Grapefruit Zevia Sparkling soda Juice of 1 lime 1.5 oz Tequila .5 oz of Triple Sec Mix it up and put a festive straw in there and enjoy!! |
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