Creamy Tahini Pasta with Roasted Asparagus

I stumbled across Minimalist Baker's Creamy Vegan Lemon Asparagus Pasta and thought it looked divine. I planned to follow this recipe to the letter, but mid-roast I had an epiphany: if I added two of my favorite ingredients, this pasta could go from divine to other-worldly. So in waltzed my ever shrinking supply of tahini and cumin. Below I've listed the Minimalist Baker ingredients and directions, inclusive of my additions and tweaks.

Creamy Tahini Pasta with Roasated Asparagus

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus (12 oz), trimmed and washed
• Salt and black pepper
• Juice from half a lemon, plus 2 tbsp.
• Olive oil
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 12 oz pasta (I used spaghetti, but any shape will do here!)
• 2 1/2 cups plain, unsweetened cashew milk
• 4 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1 1/2 tbsp. cumin

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop asparagus into thirds and place into a quart-sized sealable plastic bag, along with a bit of olive oil and the 2 tbsp. lemon juice. Shake to coat asparagus. Spread the asparagus on a baking sheet and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
2. While the asparagus is roasting, bring a pot of water to boil for your pasta.
3. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and add garlic. Cook until lightly browned.
4. In a high speed blender, add the milk, flour, nutritional yeast, tahini, and cumin and blend until smooth. Add mixture to large skillet. You can add more salt and pepper here if you'd like. Stir every few minutes to avoid clumps until thickened.
5. Once the sauce is thickened, add the remaining lemon juice. Next add the asparagus and cooked pasta to the skillet, and toss to coat.

Sweet Corn Cheesecake

A few months ago, I came up with this idea for sweet corn cheesecake. I'd never had nor heard of corn cheesecake before, but I've been daydreaming about creating more savory desserts and I wanted this to be my first foray away from the decadent. And I'm happy to report it was a wild success!

Sweet Corn Cheesecake with Cornbread Pecan Crust

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup finely ground pecans
• 1/4 brown sugar
• 1/2 cup melted refined coconut oil (or melted butter)

Filling:

• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water for at least four hours or boiled for 15 minutes
• 1 cup soft tofu
• 2 12oz bags of frozen sweet corn (thawed)*
• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

*I used Birds Eye Steamfresh Super Sweet Corn, but you could use other frozen sweet corn or even canned corn - just make sure it's sweet corn!

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Stir together the ingredients for the crust. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan or pie plate. I recommend using wax paper to help you firmly pres the crust down and to keep it even across the bottom of your pan. Then set aside.
3. Drain your cashews and then put them in a food processor or high powered blender (I obviously used my Vitamix!). Add the rest of the ingredients and process/blend until smooth.
4. Pour the mixture into your spring form pan or pie plate.
5. Bake for 40 minutes. Oven temperatures vary, so I recommend checking on your cheesecake at five minute intervals beginning after 35 minutes. The cheesecake will be done when it's lightly golden and doesn't jiggle.
6. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Once the pan is cool to the touch, transfer to the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving.