Vegan "cheese" sauce without nutritional yeast

So I'm trying this dairy free thing. 

It's scary to type that because I don't want real life people to be judging my every bite if I end up failing this quest like 2 days in. But I've already declined delicious pizza, ice cream and Mac n cheese, sooo... I'm pretty committed. 

The reason? Dakota has been seeming uncomfortable and I wonder if my dairy intake has anything to do with it. I also have the tell tale dark circles under my eyes that scream "dairy problems" so there's that. 

Well tonight I wanted to try out a dairy free cheese sauce recipe but I ain't no seasoned vegan so I don't have a pack of nutritional yeast flakes on hand. So I came up with this recipe myself. 

Confession 1: it's crazy delicious. I ate a portion of cheesy pasta fit for a beast. 

Confession 2: I totally added chicken and bacon to my pasta. So the final dish was not vegan. But it was dairy free!

Confession 3: I'm about to go eat a Lindor chocolate. (Sorry Dakota.)

1/2 onion, chopped and sautéed 

1/2 garlic clove, minced and sautéed 

1 cup cashews (and/or almonds)

1 cup water 

1 T lemon juice

1 tsp mustard

1 T vegan margarine

2 hot pickled banana peppers

Salt and pepper 

Soak the cashews in the water. Overnight is best but I did only half an hour. 

Sauté the onion and garlic. 

Blend all ingredients together. Season to taste. 

Warm in a pot on the stove or microwave for 2 minutes.