creamy sun dried tomato basil dressing

I have taken the base for my vegan vegan caesar (the cashews and nutritional yeast) to create another creamy treat. I first made it just as a salad dressing, but all I could think about while eating my salad, was eating pasta! So,  the next night I made a pasta with it. It worked out perfectly, two meals in one post! 

For the dressing/pasta sauce:

• 1/3 cup soaked cashews
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 or 2 cloves garlic (depends on how bad you want your breath to smell)
• 1/3 cup fresh  basil leaves
• 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, in oil
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• salt and pepper to taste

Soak the cashews for 1 to 2 hours in water. Add drained cashew and 1/3 cup water to blender and blend until completely smooth. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes in the fridge. Add the rest of the ingredients, and the other 1/3 cup water to blender and whiz away! If you are using dry sun dried tomatoes, be sure to rehydrate them for about 10 minutes with hot water. Mine were in a jar with oil, so no need. 

yes, there is feta on this salad. this is why i am almost vegan, for the love of cheese. there is also walnuts and avocado on there, great combo.

The next day...

A pasta was born. I just tossed the extra sauce with cooked brown rice penne and some fresh spinach. Keep it on the heat for a few minutes to wilt the spinach and heat the sauce. I also sauteed baby squash and onion in coconut oil to throw on top. Voila! 

I am still working on the photography, so I apologize for my dodgy photos. It looked way better than this, I promise. I just think food photos were meant to be taken during the day, which unfortunately, isn't when dinners like these happen. So, just bare with me, and imagine how tasty it really looked!