Cashew-Basil Gravy w/ Vegies

A friend stopped over for a yak and some food. My friend has been interested in my unusual diet, especially as she a couple of years ago she was very ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). Actually when I first started trying to figure out what my problem was, CFS really caught my attention. CFS is basically when a person's vital energy is depleted and their adrenal glands are exhausted and deal with stress of any kind. That was one of the reasons I hit green vegies so hard when I became sick. Stress, stress, stress was in everything and I knew that vitamin Bs could help me deal with stress (doctors tried to laugh me out of the hospital on that one!), but on the days I ate green vegies, I did feel better. My friend is now doing all right, holding down a job, and has pretty much returned back to the normal way of eating ... oh that yummy Korean food with sesame seed oil, soy sauce, vinegar, spicy red pepper sauce and fermented soybean paste . But she's still so wants to eat to continue better health AND she's very curious about what I've found to help me with my health probs.


So, I put together a vegetable rich spread! For supper we had:

brown rice with chestnuts
cucumber salad with dill, lemon, olive oil, garlic, sea salt
baby bokchoy and tomato salad sprinkled with hemp seeds
cashew-basil gravy with zucchini and baby lima beans
almonds and walnuts (washed and dehydrated)
strawberries (3 little ones max for me)

Cashew-Basil Gravy w/ Vegies

1/2 cup cashews (soaked 4 hours, soak water tossed)
10-20 leaves fresh basil
2/3 zucchini, sliced
2/3 cup baby lima beans, frozen
1 medium onion
5-6 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 - 1 teaspoon turmeric
sea salt
4 stems parsley, chopped (more for garnish)
carrot shavings (garnish)
3-5 cups water (as necessary to adjust thickness)

In blender, blend the soaked cashews, fresh basil, onion, garlic, cumin, thyme, turmeric and 3 cups of water. In the fry pan, lightly saute the zucchini until soft adding baby lima beans gradually. Pour the blended gravy over the softened vegies. As the gravy is heated, it will thicked. Salt as needed. Stir occasionally and remove from heat after 10-15 minutes. Stir in the fresh chopped parsley, reserving some and the carrot shavings for garnish. Serve with rice or pasta.