Beet & Lentil Salad with Cashew Cheese Breads

I started taking some classes recently.  You show up when you want, you study what you want, there is no homework… in fact, these are the hardest kind of classes there are:

The kind that leave it up to you to do all of it…..

They’re hard cause it is solely up to you and your desire to learn, to make the time, to turn off your tweetdeck and sit down and get to studying.  There is no teacher with a ruler and the head of the class making you behave.

But, I’m doing it!  I am taking Photoshop and Rosetta Stone Farsi.

I could probably go a little faster, but with everything else I do throughout the day, it averages that I have an hour for each per day.  And, I have to say, I am learning stuff.  Stuff that is all brand new.  So much of the day I am

confused

frustrated

excited

wanting positive feedback

proud

overwhelmed.

But, more often than not, it’s fun.  I’m enjoying seeing what new vocabulary I learn (gohrbeh, saag, meshki) or how I can transform a photo from “so-so” to “not half bad”.

My biggest fear is the window of time where everything will feel like it is falling apart… I won’t remember how to say hello, I will over edit a photo… all because I am trying to hard.  I know it is the process.  I will go through this and then one day I will wake up and it will click and all will be right with the world again.

But for now….

I wait.

Good thing I know how to cook, cause nothing fills the time better than experimenting with food.

I can’t believe the idea for the cashew cheese has never crossed my mind before.  I haven’t seen anyone do this on any other site, either.  Not that I think I’m “all that” when it comes to cooking.  But, this was so simple and so delicious!  I mean, I have been making cashew cheese for over a year and this is the first time I stuck it under a broiler.

Tangy Cashew Cheese

(adapted from C’est La Vegan)

a generous 3/4 cup raw cashew

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon

1 tsp salt

Soak the cashews in water for about 12 hours.* Drain and rinse soaked cashews.  Add to food processor with olive oil, salt and lemon juice for 6mins.  When that is processing, line a colander or mesh strainer with cheese cloth and place over a bowl.  Place entire mixture into cheese cloth tapping a few times to eliminate any trapped air and cover loosely with ends of cloth.  Let sit over night or about 12hrs at room temperature. (It will not lose too much liquid, but it will set up and develop some good flavor.)

Preheat oven to 250.  Place entire cheese cloth wrapped cashew mixture onto a baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes on one side, use a spatula to flip it over, and cook another 15mins.  Let cool.

At this point, I just transfer the cheese to a airtight container and we munch on it for as long as it lasts… about two days.

* I start my process first thing in the morning, so the blended mixture sites overnight and then I bake in morning.

But for this recipe, I sliced through some fresh baguette and spread some cheese on each slice.  I turned the broiler on in the oven and waited for it to get good and hot.  The slices were places on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and I slid it under the flame.

The bread got crispy, the cheese warmed up again… HOLY DECADENCE, BATMAN!!

There are no words to fully express how wonderful this turned out.

In my book, nothing goes better with tangy cheese flavor than beets.  This recipe had gotten posted recently on The Kitchn and I really wanted to try it.  (I did substitute the honey with a little agave and I doubt it made any difference at all). I placed it on a mixture of butter lettuce, fennel, endive, parsley and raddichio tossed in a little olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

This really was a lovely, light, little lunch… a nice distraction from my studies.

And, now… back to the books!