Smoky Spicy Cauliflower Cheese Sauce

Well I had yesterday off and although I'm still not feeling one hundred percent human, I mustered up a little energy to cook something! I made this delicious smoky, spicy cauliflower cheese sauce! I made cauliflower Alfredo awhile ago and loved it, but I also used a small amount so I wanted to experiment with using more cauliflower. For those who don't know cauliflower has always been on my do not eat list. I gag when I taste it raw, roasted, steamed, etc. But there are now two ways I can eat this vegetable, cauliflower wings or cauliflower cheese sauce. Progress!
For this sauce I used a whole head of cauliflower! I thought for sure I was going to gag but instead I wanted to eat the sauce like soup! I ended up adding some liquid smoke at the end and it tasted a lot like Heidi Ho smoky chia cheese. I wrote down what I did and I'm so glad because this recipe will be on repeat for sure!
                                                      
                                              Smoky Spicy Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

• 1 head or Four Cups chopped cauliflower
• 3 Cloves Garlic
• 3/4 Cup soaked slivered almonds
• 6 T. Nutritional Yeast
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2- 3/4 tsp. black pepper
• 4-5 drops liquid smoke
• 11/2 cups water
• pinch of crushed red pepper

Boil the cauliflower and the garlic cloves for about fifteen to twenty minutes until soft. Reserve one and a half cups of the cooking liquid and drain the rest of the water. Add the cauliflower and garlic along with the reserved cooing liquid to your blender. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. Try not to eat it all with a spoon. I won't judge if you can't resist!

I tossed my sauce with some quinoa elbow pasta and also stirred in some baby spinach and let it wilt right in the bowl. It was so incredibly delicious! No one would ever guess in a million years that this is made with cauliflower.
If you don't like smoy flavors leave out the liquid smoke. I wasn't planning on using the liquid smoke, and it tasted delicious without. I just was in an experimental mood and decided to try making a smoky cheese. Either way it's delicious!!!