Today at 12 noon, I went out on my back porch and sat while my daughter played in our sandbox. The weather was LOVELY! I was sitting in the shade and there was a slight breeze, the combo of this made it feel like it was probably about 76 degrees outside (This is especially wonderful because we live in Texas and it’s usually at least 92 degrees by this time of day). Fall is upon us y’all! I couldn’t be more excited. I love just about everything about fall. I even added a bunch of pumpkin to my grocery list for this weekend, so be ready for some awesome pumpkin recipes to come in the near future! I also got started on making my daughter’s Halloween costume last night and I’m so excited about it! When I finish it I’ll post a picture so you can see.
I love tomato pasta sauce, but a creamy tomato pasta sauce is even more fabulous. Because of the nutritional yeast in it it also has a hint of a “cheesy” flavor which is wonderful. I was so jealous this morning when my husband took the last of the pasta with him to work for his lunch today.
- 2 14.5 ounce cans of tomatoes (I used diced tomatoes, but they will be pureed so any type will work)
- ⅔ cup cashews, soaked
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
- sea salt to taste
- 13.25 oz. box of whole wheat noodles (I use rotini)
- Soak ⅔ cup of dry cashews in water for a minimum of 5 hours, or you can boil them in a pot of water for a few minutes until they are tender. Strain out the water and set aside.
- In your blender puree one can of tomatoes with the soaked cashews until the cashews are smooth. Add in the second can of tomatoes and blend until smooth again.
- In a medium size pot saute the onion until soft and then add in the garlic and saute for another minute.
- Pour your sauteed onions and garlic in your blender with your cashew/tomato mixture and blend until smooth. Add in the basil and nutritional yeast and blend until incorporated.
- Place the blended mixture back into your medium size pot and let it heat over medium-low covered with a lid. (you want it to be heating and cooking the flavors together, but don't want it to burn to the bottom of your pot, so turn down the temperature if needed.)
- Let the pasta sauce cook while you prepare your noodles according to the package directions on the box. This took me about 20 minutes.
- Strain the noodles and then add them to your pasta sauce. Give it a good stir and it's ready to eat. Don't forget to shake on a little salt and pepper before digging in.
Hope you enjoy this creamy tomato basil pasta while you take in the first hints of fall!
Kristin
