Freshtopia.net - Cooking for Karina

05:57 | Oscar Grimm | Jul 12th, 2007 11:44am |

We recently heard of an interesting food challenge that we just couldn’t pass up. The blog, Gluten Free by the Bay, created a blogging festival to collect recipes for a friend in need. Karina, a.k.a. The Gluten Free Goddess, recently found she has a bevy of allergies in addition to gluten. The Cooking for Karina blogfest challenged food bloggers to put together a recipe avoiding not just your run-of-the-mill food allergens, but also less common allergens such as lemon, avocado, papaya, kidney beans, soy beans, and pineapple to name just a few.

What we came up with is a bright, satisfying rendition of a classic comfort dish, pasta Alfredo. Our version uses marinated, julienned zucchini in lieu of conventional pasta, and the perhaps surprising combination of cashews and pine nuts to create a rich, delicious sauce.

Vegan Alfredo with Marinated Spagini:
serves 2

Fresh Alfredo Sauce:
1C cashews, soaked
1/2C water
1/4C pine nuts, soaked
3T olive oil
2T sweet onion, chopped
2t agave syrup
1t nutritional yeast
small clove garlic
1/4t sea salt
1/4t freshly grated nutmeg
fresh ground pepper to taste
1 pinch fresh lemon thyme, for garnish

Blend all ingredients in your regular or high-speed blender until smooth and ...