The Most Delicious Cashew Cream Sauce

I cannot tell you half of the raving I hear about this sauce. I made it for a vegan lasagna a couple of weeks ago, and let’s just say, I made sure that the spatula got every last drop of it out of the blender. The spatula didn’t have any left on it by the end either if you catch my drift.

We discovered that this sauce is good on everything. We put it in our fajitas, added some to our enchiladas before (and after!) baking them (goodbye vegan cheese!), and my husband even likes spreading it on his bread in the mornings! My guess would be that it would make a fantastic vegan queso...just putting that out there. Must experiment more to find out.

The stuff is gold - and not just because raw cashews are expensive.

I think I have officially found my cheese alternative, and I am crazy excited to share it with you!

Cashew Cream Sauce
Makes about 2 cups

what you need:

• 1 ¼ c raw cashews (soaked overnight or for an hour in hot water if you don’t have a high speed blender)

• 1 cup almond milk, unsweetened

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp onion powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• ¼ c nutritional yeast flakes

what to do:

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until very smooth

---

Have you tried a cashew cream sauce before? Tell me about it below!

---

Family Movie Night & The Best Topping for Popcorn

With summer upon us and school out, I feel I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. But not really. It's only about to get busier as the next couple of months are some of our most full ones!

A few days ago, my husband and I were reminiscing about childhood family-fun traditions we had growing up.  For me, it was getting take out some Saturday nights and getting to choose DVDs from Blockbuster (they still had those then!). It was always so fun and we looked forward to those nights as a family. Game night wasn’t as fun to everyone since there would usually be the more competitive of us left up at 2 am still trying to win Monopoly. Those games could last days, I tell you!

As we move on from participating in family fun nights to having to be intentional about planning our own, these fond memories still play in our minds. Even when life gets hectic, we know how important it is to set aside time to bond and relax. For us, a family fun night isn’t complete without some kind of fun food and an activity we can do together - whether it be a rad board game or a great movie.

When it comes to a fun movie night, we like to get creative to switch things up. Once we find the perfect movie (that usually takes a while), we start getting cozy. Sometimes we set up a blanket fort, and sometimes we use a projector to get a theatre-type feel. Blankets and snacks are a must, whatever we do.

We are pretty picky about the movies we decide to watch and always go for true stories that are inspirational. If you like a good family-friendly movie too, be sure to check out Pure Flix for some wholesome, Christian and educational movies. You can try Pure Flix free for a month, which is a good thing since it might take you longer to decide on a movie than to watch one!  You can pair your subscription with Plugged In Movie Reviews from Focus on the Family to get some in-depth and free reviews.

And then, of course, we need snacks. We take snacks very seriously.

We LOOOOOOOVE popcorn. We recently got a new stovetop popcorn popper and it has been put to good use! I personally like sprinkling (okay, dumping!) nutritional yeast flakes on mine. If we have time, we even cut up some potatoes and throw them in the oven for homemade "fries!" Depending on the night, we might even whip up a homemade pizza or pop some frozen stuff in the oven. It’s a seriously good time. Here's what we do with our popcorn:

Easy Popcorn Topping

what you need:

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels

• up to 1/2 TBSP olive oil (or vegan butter)

• a bit of salt to taste

• nutritional yeast flakes (in my opinion, you can never have to much, so it's up to how much you want!)

what to do:

1) Pop your popcorn by whatever means you do so (we have a stovetop popper right now, but I do love air poppers!)

2) Add (sparingly) your olive oil or vegan butter and sprinkle a bit of salt

3) Go to town with adding your nutritional yeast flakes :) 

Now that it’s summer, we hope to spend more time outside on the porch or around the fire pit making s’mores and roasting hot dogs. It's so much fun just hanging out outside and enjoying the heat of the fire.

Hope you've been inspired to set some time aside to enjoy an evening with your loved ones. I’ve decided to share some favourites with you so you can get started right away with your family-fun movie night - and don’t forget the popcorn! I'd love to hear about your family fun nights too!

---

What do you do for family fun? I'd love to hear about it!

---

Easy Enchilada Sauce

I've been conjuring up all sorts of sauces lately. I've always been a gravy-type food fan, so it's only natural that I love all sorts of sauces. 

The other day, I was cooking up some dinners I had frozen and came across some enchiladas. They were so sad there in the bottom of the freezer, so of course, I had to whip up some sauce to bake them in.

I have a sauce that I usually make, but I was feeling a little adventurous, so I changed it up a bit. This one is a little thicker and a little spicier. Yes, it's very similar with one added ingredient, and I like it a little more!

Best part? Freezer friendly!

Related: Spinach & Black Bean Enchiladas

Enchilada Sauce
Makes about 2 cups

what you need:

• 3 TBSP olive oil

• 1 1/2 TBSP white whole wheat flour

• 2 TBSP chili powder

• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (Try this homemade version!)

• 6 Ounces tomato paste

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp organic cane sugar

• 1 tsp nutritional yeast flakes

what to do:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan. Sprinkle flour over oil and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

2. Stir in chili powder and tomato paste and continue to cook for another 30 seconds.

3. Whisk in stock,  cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, cane sugar and nutritional yeast flakes.

4. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings and use.

Honey Oat Chia Bread

There are plenty of opinions on using honey as plant-based eaters. We are rebels, though. Bees are crazy amazing and honey is called a superfood - full of nutrients and thought to be immunity-boosting and antibacterial. I love that it can be produced locally as opposed to some of the other natural sweeteners that are imported. On that note, we love local maple syrup as well! 

Someone recently gave us a bottle of honey from their own beehive. How can you say no to a gift like that? Well, you can't. And before you get on me for using [local, gifted] honey and how horrid and unethical it is, just know that you can use agave or maple syrup instead :)  

Since we like to eat our own homemade bread, I decided to try honey oat chia bread, and I love what came out! Here is the recipe for our honey oat chia bread!

I had not had much luck with baking bread in a loaf pan, so that is why I stuck with the super easy artisan bread that I made in my dutch oven, but last week I was inspired to try something new. I hadn't made bread for a bit and my husband really wanted some. The only problem with the bread I usually make was that I prep them the night before to be ready to bake the next day. Of course, I kept forgetting to do that, and when we finally ran out of bread, I knew I needed one to be done that day. So I tried and after a few tries, I finally got it just how I liked it, and am pleased to say that we have a new favourite quick-loaf. 

I also have a loaf pan with 4 cavities, so I am going to try to make mini loaves for neighbours!

It's a perfectly sweet-ish bread that is great for sandwiches and your morning toast fix. 

Related: Tomato Roasted Almond Spread

Honey Oat Chia Loaf

What You Need:

• 2 cups warm water

• 2 teaspoons yeast

• 1/4 cup honey (or agave or maple syrup)

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 1 cup old fashioned oats

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 TBSP ground flax

• 1 TBSP chia seeds

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

What to Do:

1. In a large bowl, mix water, yeast and honey. Let stand for 5 minutes until bubbly.

2. Mix in olive oil, oats, ground flax and salt

3. Mix in all-purpose flour.

4. Mix in whole wheat flour 1/2 cup at a time. You might not need all the flour.

5. Knead dough for 5 minutes. Dough should be tacky, but too sticky.

6. Put dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let sit for at least one hour, until doubled.

7. After it has doubled, gently deflate the dough by pressing your fist into the center of it.

8. Divide the dough into two and shape into two loaves. Place loaves into greased bread pans. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

9. Preheat oven to 375 degrees about 20 minutes in.

10. Optional: Just before baking brush loaves with water, and sprinkle with oats and chia seeds.

11. Place in oven and bake for 40 minutes.

12. Once baked, allow the bread to rest and cool for about 5 minutes before removing it from the pan and cooling on wire rack.

---

Do you make your own bread? What's your favourite kind?
Let me know below - I always want to try something new!

---

Simple Maple Almond Granola

I am so glad that the summer is almost here. I always look forward to the fresh fruit of the summer, and the chance to eat outdoors again. There is something about enjoying fresh ingredients in the out of doors that truly creates extra happiness in life. Though it's been chilly, the sun has been shining more, which has made me crave more fresh fruits and veggies as I enjoy it. Naturally, granola came to mind as I was deciding what I wanted to eat for breakfast this weekend. I found some gorgeous raspberries to pair it with and set to making a simple maple almond (not alps) granola.

I have always loved granola. It has the right amount of crunch and flavours that I love. It also creates an atmosphere that only granola can make. Perhaps it's linked to memories of camping and breakfasts in foreign homes and places that make it so special - or maybe I'm thinking about it too much - but I think you understand that I enjoy granola.

I like to experiment with different flavours and combinations. I love that granola is so versatile! Around Christmas, I like to make a gingerbread version, and in the summer I like adding coconut. This time, I decided to go simple and add some almonds and maple syrup. What a delicious combination! I love eating it with fresh fruit and some soy yogurt! So much yum!

Simple Maple Almond Granola
Makes about 7 cups

what you need:

5 ½  cups old fashioned oats
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp sea salt
1 cup slivered almonds
1 cup roughly chopped almonds
½ cup coconut oil
¾ - 1 cup maple syrup (depending on your sweet tooth)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pure almond extract

what to do:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a large baking sheet by putting parchment paper on it
2) Mix dry ingredients well in a large bowl
3) Melt coconut oil in a small saucepan and whisk in maple syrup and vanilla and almond extracts
4) Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and mix until oats and nuts are well coated
5) Spread granola evenly on the baking sheet (you may have to use two)
6) Bake for 10-15 minutes, being careful not to let it burn
7) Allow to completely cool, then crumble the chunks and store in an airtight container
 

---

Do you like granola as much as I do? What kinds of foods "feel like Summer" to you?

---