My quest for a healthy cream - parve sauce that tastes good

Mitzvahmom

Tue, Oct 27 2009, 9:32 pm

So we all know how to make a cream sauce with that horrible non-dairy creamer and we all know how unhealthy that is.. So I began a quest, my mother sent the following to me, and I built on it.

Makes about 2 1/4 cups thick cream or 3 1/2 cups regular cream

2 cups whole raw cashews (not pieces, which are often dry), rinsed very well under cold water
Put the cashews in a bowl and add cold water to cover them. Cover the bowl and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the cashews and rinse under cold water. Place in a blender with enough fresh cold water to cover them by 1 inch. Blend on high for several minutes until very smooth. (If you're not using a professional high-speed blender such as a Vita-Mix, which creates an ultra-smooth cream, strain the cashew cream through a fine-mesh sieve.)

To make thick cashew cream, which some of the recipes in this book call for, simply reduce the amount of water in the blender, so that the water just covers the cashews.

To make the cream sauce I used the above for the creamy base, then did the following.

margarine (the unsaturated kind) - 2 tbsp in a pan
One small onion diced
cook until onions look clearish
Add mushrooms (I prefer portabella) - sliced
two cloves of diced garlic
cook until mushrooms look cooked.
Add 3/4 c - 1 c of white wine
Let it boil down until there is very little wine left
Then add the above cashew cream

Now I also added spinach with the mushrooms to get my green leafy vegetable.

Mitzvahmom

Wed, Oct 28 2009, 12:45 pm

Cashew is a bean shaped nut that grows on a tropical evergreen tree. The casher tree is related to poison ivy and the shell of the cashew nuts contains an irritating poison. People who touch the shell sometimes develop skin rashes/blisters; this is the reason why cashew nuts are always sold shelled and dried. Even the so-called "raw" cashews have actually been roasted to remove all the poison/toxic resin from the nuts. Cashew nuts has a high content of monounsaturated fats, copper and magnesium

Nutritional Content: Per 100 gms.

Thiamine: .63 mg.
Riboflavin: .19 mg.
Niacin: 2.1 mg.
Calcium: 46 mg.
Phosphorus: 428 mg.
Fat: 48.2 gm.
Carbohydrates: 27 gm.
Protein: 18.5 gm.
Calories: 578

Health Benefits:

Good body builder
Cashew has no cholesterol.
Cashew helps maintain healthy gums and teeth.
Cashew is an energizing food.
Cashew contains healthy monounsaturated fat that promotes good cardiovascular health, because monounsaturated fats reduce high triglyceride levels which are associated with increased risk for heart disease.
Cashew is rich in antioxidants that help in the elimination of free radicals that may cause some cancer.
Magnesium works with calcium to support healthy muscles and bones in the body. It also helps promote normal sleep patterns in menopausal women.
Cashew nuts have a high energy density and high amount of dietary fiber, both have been attributed to a beneficial effect on weight management, but only when eaten in moderation
Cashew's has high copper content is vital in energy production, greater flexibility in blood vessels, bones and joints.
Cashew nut consumption helps the body utilize iron, eliminate free radicals, develop bone and connective tissue, and produce the skin and hair pigment melanin.