Sun Cheese

I made this last night and it is really, really good. It is best after marinating a bit in the fridge--at least an hour or so. Also, I don't recommend over-doing the garlic. Something about the ume vinegar really brings it out and a little goes a long way. This went great on the chic pea broccoli casserole from Vegan With a Vengence, and would go great with any casserole probably. It's called sun cheese because of the sunflower seeds, but I want to try it with pumpkin seeds too. In addition to the suggestions in the recipe, I would suggest this as a sandwich spread with maybe a slice of ripe tomato and a crunchy cucumber, on salads, or as a cracker dip. You could jazz it up like hummus too--red peppers, hot sauce, etc. The best part is, sunflower seeds are very good for you! The chart below is from the website in my link list, World's Healthiest Foods, and illustrates some of the nutrients packed into the humble sunflower seed.



Sun Cheese
Casa de Luz Community Cookbook — Sauces, Dressings, Condiments and Spreads edited by Jill Kivikko

Serve this cool and creamy condiment over grains, enchiladas, pasta, or greens.

1 1/4 cups organic sunflower seeds, soaked 4–6 hours or
overnight
1 clove organic garlic
2 tablespoons organic umeboshi, aka ume plum, vinegar--found in asian section or maybe vegan/macrobiotic section if your grocery store has one
2 tablespoons organic lemon juice
1 1/2 cups spring or filtered water

Directions
Place seeds in bowl and cover with water. Allow seeds to soak 4–6 hours or overnight

Rub seeds between hands to loosen skins. Skins will float to top of soaking water. Pour out skins and soaking water. Rinse seeds, cover with water, and repeat rubbing process 3–4 times until most skins have been removed and poured out. The more skins you remove, the whiter the sauce will be. (I did this 3-4 times and there were still skins floating around but the sauce still turned out pretty white.)

Mix seeds with garlic, lemon juice, and umeboshi vinegar in a blender, and add 1 cup of water. Blend until desired consistency, For a thinner consistency, add up to 1/2 cup more water.