Homemade Vegan Cream Cheese from Cashews

Cream cheese on a bagel is definitely something that I miss since going vegan, and although there are a few different cheese-less cream cheeses out on the market, I find that many of them aren't that great. I am not a fan of the soy taste, so this recipe by the amazing Miyoko Schinner (author of Vegan Artisan Cheeses) looked easy enough to make and totally appealing - no soy involved in the process!

At first, I wasn't sure if I was a fan of this recipe. The cream cheese is made out of raw, soaked cashews and a bit of non-dairy yogurt (I used almond yogurt), which didn't taste like too much at first. After a few days, I realized that this spread tastes way better the longer it sits in the fridge! After a week, it tastes amazing. I did make a few alterations - added some garlic powder, onion powder, and some fresh chives. It tastes fantastic on a bagel and definitely fills that void of no longer eating real cream cheese!

Here's the recipe! I should also mention that this keeps up to two weeks in the fridge, or 4 months in the freezer if you don't think you'll use it up all at once.

2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for 8 hours and drained
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons non-dairy yogurt (I used almond yogurt)
1 pinch salt

optional ingredients to taste: onion powder, garlic powder, fresh chives

Put everything in a high-speed blender or food processor and process until smooth and creamy.

Transfer to a glass bowl, cover and allow to sit out at room temperature for 24-48 hours. (48 hours if using for a cheesecake.).

Cover and refrigerate.

Baked Falafel and Hummus

I made this over the summer but didn't get around to posting about it until now! I was sorting through some old photos and remembered....hey, those falafels! That hummus! That was a delicious meal. I will definitely have to make this again sometime soon.

There are some vegan falafel balls that I'm able to buy at my local grocery store, but these ones blow them right out of the water. Plus, they are baked, making them healthier than other fried versions out there. (Feel free to fry these up if you'd prefer, of course!)

Baked Falafels (recipe originally posted on Epicurious):

1 cup dried chickpeas (2 1/2 cups cooked)
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (1 cup)
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp salt
1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp baking powder
4-6 tbsp flour

1.  Soak the chickpeas for 8 hours or overnight.
2.  Drain the chickpeas well, and put into the food processor with onion, parsley, cilantro, salt, garlic, and cumin. Pulse the mixture until well chopped and blended, but not pureed. Sprinkle in the baking powder and flour; pulse. If the chickpea mixture doesn't stick together, you might need to add more flour.
3.  Move the mixture to a bowl with a lid and chill for several hours or overnight.
4.  Form patties out of the mixture and bake at 400 degrees F, turning once, until lightly browned on both sides (22-26 minutes).

What would a falafel  be without hummus! I made a small salad with baked falafels and hummus on the side to dip the falafels in, or to mix with the salad. Or, you could take the greens, falafels and hummus and put it into a wrap or pita bread.

The hummus recipe I used is from the amazing cookbook, Veganomicon (a must-own for anyone interested in healthy cooking!). At the time that I made this hummus, I had lots of fresh herbs growing in my garden. I added some fresh Zaa'tar leaves in this mixture, since it can be used sprinkled on the top of hummus. It was my first time ever growing zaa'tar and I hadn't even really heard of it until I bought it! It is a wild type of oregano that grows in Israel. It has a flavor similar to oregano, thyme, and marjoram.

Hummus (from Veganomicon):

2-15 oz cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 3 cups of soaked chickpeas from dried)
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tbsp sesame tahini
3 cloves garlic (or 1 head roasted garlic)
1/4 cup water (more or less for desired thickness)
ground cumin, coriander, and paprika, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix everything together in the food processor except for the water. Slowly add the water to the desired consistency.

I sprinkled zaa'tar and smoked paprika on top of the whole mixture! Yummmmm!