Southwest Cashew Cream

It's 2014, and I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some fresh, healthy, whole foods. 

So, my first post of the year is something I've been thinking about for a long time, but never made until now: cashew cream sauce! Cashew cream is a perfect dairy substitute if you're vegan or trying to cut back on dairy, but it's amazing even if you have no dairy aversions. It's smooth, rich, and creamy in way that sour cream or heavy cream isn't, and damn, it's good. Be warned: cashews aren't low fat, but healthy eating for me is about good-for-you natural fats. Get on it!

This sauce is pretty simple and mega flavorful, and goes great on everything from taco salads to brown rice to roasted veggies, or even as a dip for chips or carrots and celery. Also, it's 2014, and we're going to start this new year out by trying new things and having fun in the kitchen. So cashew cream it is! 

Plan ahead, the cashews need to soak over night. And, if you don't have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix (which, side-note, I bought with a year's worth of stored up credit card points and I'm obsessed with), then just blend a bit longer, or potentially even try to strain through a fine mesh sieve (it might be a tad grainy with a lower-powered blender). 

Southwest Cashew Cream Sauce

1 cups cashews

Water

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes

1.5 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder 

Pinch cayenne

1 garlic clove
juice from half a lime

Heavy pinch sea salt

Cover cashews in water and soak overnight. Drain and rinse.

Add cashews to blender, and add just enough fresh water to come to the top of the nuts, but not cover them. Blend until nuts break down, and then blend another minute or two until smooth and creamy. If too thick, add a tad more water. Add remaining ingredients, and blend another minute. Taste, and add more salt as needed.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. 

Southwest Quinoa Burrito Bowl...Salad

Some of my gal pals are really into the no-salad-salad, as they call it. The no-salad-salad is basically a big bowl of salady stuff that isn't leafy green and lettuce-like. They throw in a whole bunch of veggies, beans, and baby corn. 

Ugh. Can I tell you something? I hate baby corn. It totally freaks me out. When I was a little kid I loved it...until one time, at a fancy restaurant (ahem, it was the O'Callahan's restaurant at the Shilo Inn in The Dalles, OR... which I thought was like, the fanciest of fancy...it wasn't) I yoinked a baby corn off of Mel's plate when she wasn't looking, and it was pickled or something, and it tasted awful, and I threw up. I've been super anti baby corn ever since that day. PS. this is totally not food-blog friendly, but I have a lot of stories that end with "and then I threw up." 

But I digress, this post really has nothing to do with baby corn or my wimpy stomach. It's all about no-salad-salad.

So anyway, whenever I try to make the standard no-salad-salad, I feel like it doesn't come out quite as good as when my friends do it. It feels like a big, jumbled, incoherent mess. That's why I like themed no-salad-salads. Like Greek-style salads loaded with chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives. Or, my favorite: a no-salad-salad with southwest flair. Otherwise known as a burrito bowl. Can we just call it a Southwest Quinoa Burrito Bowl�Salad? 

This one has so much goodness in it: sweet corn fresh off the cob (not the baby variety, thankyouverymuch), avocado, green onions, tomatoes, cilantro, black beans, and cotija cheese, all doused with fresh squeezed lime juice. You could definitely eat this as is. Or you could make it even better by tossing it with quinoa and a creamy southwest sauce. I vote you do that. I vote you do that right now. 

Southwest Quinoa Burrito Bowl Salad

Serves 4

Creamy Southwest Sauce

1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon honey

1 tablespoon water

1/2 teaspoon of each: cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano

Splash hot sauce (I use Tapatio) 

Juice from half a lime

Salt & pepper to taste

For sauce, whisk together sour cream through hot sauce, until smooth and creamy. Save the other lime half for salad. Salt & Pepper to taste. 

Salad 

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 large tomato, diced

1 avocado, diced

Fresh corn off the cob from 1 ear

2-3 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/3 cup crumbled cotija cheese

Juice from half a lime

Creamy Southwest Sauce

Cook quinoa: Rinse until water runs clear, drain. Add to a medium pot with 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and cool before mixing with salad. 

Stir together black beans through cotija cheese, and toss with lime juice. Add cooled quinoa, and stir until just combined (gently, so you don't moosh up the avocado). Salt and pepper to taste. To eat, either mix in the sauce, or add sauce to each serving.