Lemon Parsley Cashew Cream Cheese

Hello Cheese Lovers,

As many of you may know, I had a love affair with cheese.  I attended cheese festivals and visited local cheese makers so I got to know who made my cheese.  I tasted, enjoyed and loved cheese.  A perfect day was lunch with cheese, homemade RedFife bread and dark beer, followed by an evening appetizer that was cheese, olives and wine.

You can only imagine how hard it was for me to have to give up cheese as it was the cause of my chronic sinus infections.  Yes, the beer, wine and bread are also gone from my diet.  Every once in a while I test each of the items out to see if I can enjoy them again and the next day, I can’t get out of bed, my brain is foggy, my face hurts around my sinuses and I usually get a killer headache.  So let’s just say, I keep my distance from the foods that make me feel that way and I have learned to love new foods.  One of the new foods that I now enjoy is Lemon Parsley Cashew Cream Cheese.

Add this cheese to your list of things to make.   As usual, the photos are below the recipe for you to visually see how to make it.

Lemon Parsley Cashew Cream Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 cup soaked organic cashews
• 2 tbsp red onion
• 1/4 cup filtered water
• Juice of one lemon and the rind (grated)
• 1/4 cup chopped organic parsley
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper
• 1/4 tsp Himalayan salt

Directions

1. Soak the cashews in filtered water for two hours or overnight.
2. Drain the cashews.
3. With a high speed blender combine the drained and soaked cashews with the filtered water, lemon juice, lemon rind and onions and blend until smooth.
4. Remove creamy mixture from the blender and transfer to mixing bowl.
5. Add the dried thyme, freshly cracked black pepper and salt and combine.
6. Add the chopped parsley and combine until thoroughly mixed.
7. Place in a nice jar for storage and serving.
8. Enjoy.

Tips

• Buy your cashews from an organic store that keeps them refrigerated.  Once you purchase them, store in your freezer until you are ready to use them so they stay fresh.
• Do not try to mix all the ingredients in the blender – you get a grey cream cheese that everyone in your house will not eat.
• This cream cheese is great on crackers with cucumber, on a sandwich or on a stalk of celery.

May your day be filled with alternatives to your food allergies.

To loving new cheeses,

Jo-Ann Blondin, your 9CupChallenge partner