| Raw Cashew Cheese | | | | Ingredients for Making Raw Cashew Cheese |
| As discussed in an earlier article, soaking and | | | | 1 ½ cups raw cashews |
| re-hydrating nuts makes them easier on your digestive | | | | 1/3 cup water |
| process. When you are making a raw food product | | | | 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice |
| like cashew cheese, pre-soaking the nuts also makes | | | | 2 cloves garlic |
| them softer, allowing for easier blending in the food | | | | ½ teaspoon sea salt |
| processor or Cuisinart. There is a bit of planning | | | | Put the cashews in a bowl and add enough cold, |
| involved with this recipe, as the cheese must set up | | | | distilled water to cover the nuts by about two inches. |
| for a period of around 24 hours before it is ready for | | | | Soak the cashews for around 2 hours, and then drain |
| eating. Prior to that, the nuts themselves must be | | | | them. |
| allowed to soak for a period of time in purified or | | | | Combine the cashews, 1/3 cup water, lemon juice, |
| distilled water. Make this cheese as a perfect snack or | | | | garlic cloves and sea salt in a food processor and |
| hors d'oeuvre for a party, just make sure to plan a | | | | blend them together. Be careful to scrape down the |
| couple of days in advance. This shouldn't be | | | | sides of the blender. Continue to blend the mixture for |
| considered the "make it an hour before the guests | | | | about 5 minutes, or until all of it is very smooth. |
| arrive" kind of dish. | | | | Place the cheese in a small bowl or Tupperware, and |
| For a recipe yield of about 1 ¼ cups of Raw | | | | cover it, allowing it to stand at room temperature for |
| Cashew Cheese, follow these instructions. Consider | | | | between 24 and 48 hours, but not longer. After the 24 |
| doubling the recipe for a small party of ten or less | | | | hours, refrigerate the cashew cheese until you are |
| guests; for a snack item for the week, make this | | | | ready to eat it. The cheese will keep for not more than |
| amount and keep the cheese stored in the refrigerator. | | | | 5 days, if kept covered and refrigerated. |