Vegan Macncheese!

The idea for this particular macncheese came from a couple different sites, mainly Fat Free Vegan and Detoxinista. Since it is still freezing here, I've been focusing my energy towards the best macncheese ever. Well the recipe from Smitten Kitchen is still my favorite (with the ricotta cheese!), but this is my second favorite. The sauce is creamy and surprisingly cheesy from the tahini and nutritional yeast. Top it off with some hot sauce and it is perfection.

For the cheese sauce:
1 1/2 cups raw cashews
2 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
1 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 head garlic (I love garlic)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp. dried mustard
dash of cayenne pepper
plenty of black pepper

For the pasta
1 pound bag brown rice pasta
vegetables of choice (broccoli, radishes, squash)

Soak the cashews overnight. Then rinse them well and place into a blender with 1 cup of water. Blend until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well. Cook the pasta until it is almost done but still a little crunchy. For the brown rice pasta, I boiled it for 1 minute, and then covered the pot and let it sit for 12 minutes. Pour the pasta into a 9x13 inch baking dish with the vegetables (I used radishes). Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and mix to incorporate. I sprinkled the macncheese with dulse flakes and black pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the top looks crispy.