Trying to describe my life lately is difficult.  Discombobulated is by far the best description I can think of.  It has been good, actually great, just different from what I am use to.

We are pretty much moved into our house, but not quite organized. Still feeling my way around the new kitchen.  It is weird how the kitchen I have cooked in for the past 6 years had about a 2′ x 2′ working space and now that I have my dream kitchen, I am feeling a bit lost. This week Anzia, our little vegan (who really isn’t little anymore) wanted to cook together, so I found the energy to get my butt in the kitchen and figure things out.

Anzia knew a few things. She wanted pasta, a cashew “cheesy” sauce, and veggies.  I gave her a list of veggies that she could use and she picked out what she wanted. She decided how she was going to cut the veggies and how much she wanted of each. The only help she needed was with draining the pasta.

This is a perfect recipe for someone new to cooking vegan and not just because it was so easy a 9-year-old created it. There are minimal ingredients, it took thirty minutes to make and it was delicious. Plus the ingredients can be changed for personal preferences.

Notes:
* In order to make the cashews creamy you will need a high power blender.

* The first night we served the “cheesy” sauce over the pasta and Gardein. I put the leftovers away with the pasta mixed with the sauce which was also tasty. If you are simply interested in the pasta dish this is how I recommend doing it.

*We had the Gardein Zesty Marinara Crispy Chick’n Filets in the freezer so that’s what we used. Since the sauce wasn’t needed we put it in the freezer for later use.

*Soy Sauce or Tamari may be substituted for the Braggs.

*This will serve four people.

Ingredients:
1 lb pasta of choice
1 package of Gardein of choice
1 tbsp olive oil
half of a yellow bell pepper diced
1 carrot shredded
2 cups frozen peas
1/4 vegan butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup water
1 cup raw cashews
boiling water to cover cashews
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp tomato paste
2 tbs Braggs liquid aminos

Cook pasta and Gardein according to directions. Prepare the following steps while they are cooking.

In a large deep skillet, over medium heat, cook bell pepper and carrots in olive oil for five minutes.

While the bell peppers and carrots are cooking put cashews in blender. Cover cashews with boiling water. Add ingredients from garlic powder to Braggs. Blend on high speed on high for a minute or until creamy.  Set aside.

Add peas to skillet.  Cook for another two minutes. Add butter. Once butter is melted slowly stir in flour. Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium/low. Slowly stir in one cup of water. Cook for two minutes. Add cashew mixture and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally until ready to serve. See notes above for serving suggestions.