Last night I had craving for comfort food and tt has been really hot this week where I live (close to 100 degrees yesterday and even hotter the day before). Soups and casseroles were so unsuitable for this climate, so I had to invent another kind of comfort food.  I had some packaged whole wheat gnocchi and some fresh basil, so I decided to throw together a cashew-based pesto cream sauce. I also sauteed some shiitake mushrooms to top it off and the result was amazing. Gnocchi is an excellent "vehicle" for the pesto cream sauce. The textures are perfect together. The shiitake mushrooms add an extra dimension of flavor, texture, and richness. I also sauteed some kale to go on the side and the meal couldn't have been better!

Kale: Saute 2 minced garlic cloves in a bit of olive oil until beginning to brown. Add kale (washed and chopped) and saute until it is bright green and the thicker stems are somewhat tender. I season mine with red pepper flakes, a squeeze of lemon juice, and gomasio (lightly toasted sesame seeds processed in the blender with sea salt until it is a course powder like ground parmesan cheese).

Pesto cream sauce

Serves about 3 to 4 people

1 cup water or unsweetened non-dairy milk

1/3 cup raw cashews
~1 cup fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp gomasio (or 1/4 tsp sea salt and 1 tsp tahini)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1-2 cloves garlic
Dash of fresh cracked pepper

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Taste and add more sea salt, if necessary. To serve, place the hot gnocchi on a plate and top with the cream sauce then add the mushrooms over the top.