Best non-cheese mac and cheese so far....

I just have to share a recipe with ya'll....

Most of you know that my family has some pretty interesting food challenges, so I am not going into big detail with that here, but I just wanted to share and uber-awesome recipe that we had tonight.

In the quest to find food that tastes good and is not some sort of derivative of chicken and rice, I recently signed up for a menu-mailer from Heart of Cooking- www.heartofcooking.com and I have to say I have been super pleased.  If you have a special diet, or simply want to improve yours, check Sarah's site out.  Deliciousness...

So tonight's menu called for Macaroni and Cheese....hmmmm...I have to say in the two years of being allergen free the search for a mac and cheese substitute has been somewhat like the search for the Holy Grail...near impossible and totally exhausting. Sarah has done it though....oh, man....she really has cooked up some yumminess...

So here is the recipe:

DAIRY-FREE CHEESY PASTA

Adpated From: Bryanna Clark Grogan

TOTAL TIME: 20 MINUTES * MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Ingredients:

1 package of your choice of pasta - we used Tinkyada fusili

1- 1 1/3 cup water

1 medium sweet potato (about 4 oz.), peeled and

chunked

1-2 medium carrots, scrubbed and chunked

1/2 medium onion, peeled and chunked

2 clove of garlic

1/2 cup raw cashew pieces

2 Tbsp. sesame tahini, optional (I didn't use this)

1/3 cup nutritional yeast " akes

1 Tbsp lemon juice or balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. salt

Steps:

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Drain, rinse with cold water, return to pot and cover

to keep warm.

2. Simmer the sweet potato, carrot, garlic and onion

in a small saucepan with the water, covered, for

about 10 minutes, or until the carrot and potato are

tender.

3. Add veggies to the blender container with the

remaining ingredients. Blend until VERY smooth.

Add water if too thick. Add back into the pot and

heat if too liquidly. The cashews will thicken as they

are heated. (You can also use a blending wand in

the pot).

4. Add desired amount of sauce to the pasta and

serve immediately. Or, refrigerate sauce, covered for

up to a week. (Reheat over gentle heat.) Add a little

water to thin.