We recently heard of an interesting food challenge that we just couldn't pass up. The blog, Gluten Free by the Bay [1], created a blogging festival to collect recipes for a friend in need. Karina, a.k.a. The Gluten Free Goddess [2], 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 creamy, adding additional water as necessary. Serve over thinly shaved zucchini "pasta" and garnish with additional nutmeg and herbs! Marinated Spagini: 1C green zucchini, julienned 1C yellow zucchini, julienned 1t olive oil 1t fresh lemon thyme, de-stemmed and chopped dash sea salt Julianne your zucchini, combine in bowl with remaining ingredients. Allow to marinate 15 minutes before serving. Plate your marinated spagini, give it a generous dose of Alfredo sauce, and garnish with fresh lemon thyme and a pinch of additional ground nutmeg. Enjoy! [1] http://glutenfreebay.blogspot.com/ [2] http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/