Dairy Free Soft Cheese

From: A great friend of mine who also has a son who is lactose intolerant shared this recipe with me.  Thanks, Kendahl!

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups water
1 cup raw cashews
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp keltic sea salt
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp l seasoning: Mexican, Italian, pizza, etc (I used Italian seasoning.)
1/3 cups Arrow Root Powder

I found nutritional yeast and arrow root powder difficult to find.  Nutritional yeast is different from regular yeast and can be found at stores like Whole Foods. Arrow root powder can also be found at Whole Foods.  Remember the cashews must be raw, not roasted.

How to:  In a blender, put 1 cup of water and the cashews.  Process nuts until completely dissolved.  Add  the rest of the water and all other ingredients except the arrow root powder. Blend until smooth.  Pour entire mixture into a cooking pot.  Add arrow root powder and mix with a spoon until smooth while heating over medium heat.  Stir continuously as mixture thickens.  Once it is quite thick, transfer to a Pyrex and refrigerate.  After setting for several hours, cheese will be similar to the consistency of cream cheese.

Side notes: For hard cheese, replace arrow root powder with 3 Tbsp agar.  I have not tried making hard cheese yet, but I'll update once I've tried it.