Vegan Comfort Food: Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

'Tis the season for squash! While it's usually pumpkin and pumpkin flavored items that we are bombarded with this time of year, there are so many other wonderful squash varieties out there. Each has a slightly different flavor profile, so you can find one that works in whatever type of recipe you're cooking up. Butternut is a common variety and what I chose to use as the sauce for a pasta dish. This mac and cheese recipe I created is kid friendly, but also appeals to and satisfies a more sophisticated palette. The flavor of the butternut squash works perfectly here, giving the dish a slightly sweet taste and the cashews make it super creamy. For the pasta, you can use whichever noodles you prefer. I tend to go for gluten-free options; for this one, I used a chickpea-based noodle, which turns a typically carb-heavy dish into a high-protein, high-fiber meal. This meal was lovely paired with a glass of wine for dinner but also made a healthy lunch for my three-year-old niece when served with some apple slices. This recipe makes quite a bit of sauce, and you may have some leftover. Luckily, it saves well and tastes delicious over roasted broccoli and cauliflower.