Grain Free Bagels and Dairy Free Creamy Cheese

It's the time of year for traditional Jewish foods, and I've been getting lots of great ideas from Elana at Elana's Pantry!  My family and guests especially loved her Honey Cake and Tsimmes (I made with dates instead of prunes), which I didn't take pictures of because we devoured it all so quickly!  I also learned by making the cake that substituting ghee for palm shortening works just great!

Today I made her bagel recipe and everyone loved them!  I used chia seeds (ground in a nut grinder first) instead of flax and I left out the poppy seeds.  You can see the recipe here:  Elana's Paleo Bagels.

My son wanted some cream cheese and since we don't eat dairy, I had to be creative.  I found a recipe here http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2012/12/how-to-make-soy-free-vegan-cream-cheese/ and then I did my own thing with it:

"Dairy Free Creamy Cheese"

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cashews
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
around a 1/4 cup water (enough so that the blender will work, but not so much that it is runny)
sea salt

Directions:
I don't plan ahead for recipes well.  When I get a taste for something, I want to make it right away.  So, I didn't have 24 hours to soak cashews.  But, I do have a high speed blender.  So, I just placed the first 3 ingredients into the blender and blended on really high until smooth.   Then, I mixed in sea salt to taste.

At first I thought that the apple cider vinegar flavor was too strong.  But, after I placed it into the refrigerator for a few hours, the taste was perfect!  And the texture was also just right for spreading or even dipping.  I had to make myself stop eating!  My son and husband ended up enjoying their bagels with organic strawberry preserves, and everyone was happy!