Friday 9 January 2015

Cashew cheese stuffed dates for a picnic

There are times I feel I could live without cheese.  Like when we have plenty of nice cheese in the fridge and I still want to just slather my bread with this cashew cheese spread.  I actually made the cheese because I decided to make a simple picnic lunch and wanted something a little fancy. 

Cadry's bacon wrapped cashew cheese stuffed dates sounded very fancy.  I didn't soak my cashews for as long as Cadry did.  Nor did I wrap facon around mine.  I was too busy baking Celia's overnight sourdough for our cheese sandwiches and making grubs.  My blender doesn't bother too much if I don't soak the cashews much but I did find I needed more water to compensate.

I'd love to recommend this cashew cheese to everyone but I suspect that nutritional yeast flakes and vegan cheese are an acquired taste.  I can hand on heart tell you how much I love it.  I wasn't quite sure how much to stuff the dates and was a bit stingy.  You need to stuff them as much as possible for the cheese to make its presence felt.  It is milder than the recent cashew cheese I made for a salad but equally good.

Sylvia and I had a lovely time arranging dried fruit in the top photo because I feel that the dates would work well on a platter at the end of the meal.  However we really put them in a plastic tub to take to the Botanic Gardens to see a performance of The Wind in the Willows.  We got there early and had time to explore the gardens and get grass stains on shorts (not mine).

The show was lots of fun.  Sylvia loved Toad falling out of his boat in the lake.  E like watching Weasel exploring picnic baskets when the kids ran off the The Wild Wood.  I loved the weasel fight at the end.  I also was amused by the mother beside us who gave her kids cheese sticks and the opened brie for the adults.  We all had cheese sandwiches (yes dairy cheese), dips, vegie sticks, BBQ shapes  but I was alone with the stuffed dates.  For dessert we had grubs, grapes, nectarines and cherries.

I made it towards the end of December for a picnic and thought how good cashew cheese stuffed dates would be to celebrate New Year's Eve.  But sadly I was too busy to share it.  However this is an everyday cheese.  It will dress up for a special occasion but is happy to be relaxing at home over breakfast or dinner with its pjs still on.  I loved having it for a sandwich filling as much as I loved it at the picnic.


I am sending these cashew cheese stuffed dates to:

More vegan cheeses on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Balsamic garden salad with cashew cheese
Chickpea and hemp seed cheese
Pepper-crusted cashew goat cheese
Sharp vegan cheddar cheese with sauerkraut brine 
Vegan cheddar cheese

Cashew cheese 
Adapted from Cadry's Kitchen and Spabettie

1 1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked*
1 Tablespoon white miso paste
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 to 1/2 tsp french lavender salt
2-4 tbsp water*

Blend until you have a thick paste - but not so thick that your blender is struggling.  (*I added water as I assume soaking for 1/2 hour to use in a high speed blender meant the cashews took on less water than if I had soaked them overnight.)

Cashew cheese stuffed dates
Remove the stone from medjool dates and use a teaspoon to stuff a generous amount of cheese inside.  They last well in the fridge for a day or two.

Cashew cheese is also great in sandwiches or as a dip.  Ours lasted in the fridge for a few days.

On the Stereo:
A Cool Crazy Christmas: Homer and Jethro

22 comments:

  1. I've certainly acquired the taste too! Stuffing dates with cashew cheese is a terrific idea.

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    1. Thanks Cindy - I love the stuff so much that I am not sure how much those who don't eat nooch regularly would enjoy it - I hope they would but I am not sure enough.

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  2. Oooooo, Johanna, The Wind in The Willows is a personal favorite of mine. How wonderful to be able to enjoy it on a picnic.

    I'd be willing to give that Cashew Cheese a go, but I'm not sure about the date stuffing. For some reason, I just can't warm up to dates. I may try it because Marion, on the other hand, LOVE dates!

    Thanks for the tip about the Cashew Butter. My grandson has recently been diagnosed with EOE and peanuts and peanut butter, which he LOVES, are off the menu for the next three months. I'll be telling my daughter about the Cashew Butter. I guess Almond Butter may be a good subsitute too.

    Thanks for sharing, Johanna...
    P.S. I don't know if you watch Downton Abbey but I posted some recipes from the cookbook for Cookbook Wednesday:)

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    1. Thanks Louise - we saw wind in the willows as kids (I think it was a puppet show) and loved it so was pleased to take sylvia to this one.

      The cashew cheese is excellent without dates but I just like the idea of making it fancy with dates - it would also go with other foods like spread on celery or stuffed in little tomatoes.

      There are so many nut butters other than peanut - though sadly sylvia has never really got into nut butters but at least she can try some other than peanuts which she is allergic to. Hope your grandson is coping with his new diet.

      Love downton abbey so will be sure to check out your post but am struggling for time with school holidays and summer activities so am slow to get anywhere in the blogosphere right now.

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  3. What a genius idea - stuffing cashew cheese into dates! I've only ever stuffed them with nutbutter or coconut oil. This would be such a nice, contrasting flavour. I think you are right about nutritional yeast being an acquired flavour. I tend to forget that as I LOVE it so much, but I don't think I did right away.
    Oh and thanks for sharing it over at Healthy Vegan Fridays! Yay =)

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    1. Thanks Kimmy (hope you got my FB message that my comments don't seem to be getting through to you - I seem to be having a lot of problems with wordpress commenting lately). I think I found nutritional yeast flakes an odd taste when I first tasted them.

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  4. I've got to make some cashew cheese! And this will be what I make with it after I finish my first batch! :D

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    1. Thanks Lorraine - make it - and am sure you would find the stuffed dates fun

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  5. I think this could be my cheese dish, Johanna! In the days I ate dairy I did like soft cheeses with dried fruits in them and this sounds like a variation on that theme with veganising to boot. And yes, very fancy - with a beautiful presentation too :)

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    1. Thanks Kari - I love this because it does have some of the mouthfeel of cheese and yet I hesitate to compare it to cheese for those who eat dairy because it isn't quite the same. But if this was your way to love cheese back in the dairy day then maybe it is worth a try!

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  6. Cheese is my weakness and I always crave sweet things after a meal, so this very picksble recipe would really hit two spots with me x

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    1. Thanks Deena - me too - and this is a lovely healthy way to end a meal!

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  7. I adore dates stuffed with blue cheese or camembert, so I can appreciate that this would have been good.

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    1. thanks cakelaw - I don't think I have had many stuffed dates before - though I am sure I must have

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  8. Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays Party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! :) I can't wait to see what you share next time!
    -Cindy

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  9. Looks absolutely gorgeous! Very elegant :)

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    1. Thanks Kate - it does seem an impressive dessert that doesn't require much effort (and travels easily)

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  10. I can't get enough of cashew cheese in all its forms, though I've yet to try it in dates. I can see my way forward is clear though!

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    1. Thanks Joey - I feel the same way about cashew cheese - amazing stuff

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  11. You have taught me something knew Johanna! I had never heard of cashew cheese before and now I'm intrigued. Thanks for taking part in Treat Petite.

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  12. I have made cashew cheese before, for burritos. Loved it. This is certainly a unique and interesting recipe that I want to try.

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