New York Raw Food Chef... In the House!

Welcome to the 91st weekly edition of...

Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: Today's "YOURS" goes to The Crunchy Kitchen! Posted at the Crunchy Kitchen is a recipe for Lentil Sloppy Joes. I was unbelievably excited when I saw this recipe! I love lentils and my kids love Sloppy Joes when they can get their grandma to make them out of hamburger meat and store-bought sauce, but this idea seems infinitely better! For the Crunchy Kitchen's recipes, go HERE. Thank you so much, Crunchy Kitchen, for linking up and we will look forward to hearing a lot more from you! If you'd like, feel free to take the "I Was Featured" button from my left sidebar. :)

MINE: As for the title of this post....it's true!

During my visit to the border town where my mom lives, my brother lined up his friend, a New York raw food chef, to prepare a meal for us in my mother's home. My kids had three days off from school, and they were supposed to return on Thursday, but I let them ditch, as I thought this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and worth missing Math and English for.

Let me introduce Tzoul Shine!

(pronounced "Soul Shine")

I asked him if it was okay if I took pictures of him during his food preparation, and he was totally hip to that. In fact, he is probably one of the hippest people I've ever met. However, that might not be saying a whole lot because being a mom of ten, I really don't meet that many hip people.

He had the coolest dreads, which he spun around into a bun to put into an enormous beanie...,

...and he danced to the 80s music my brother had playing too loud in the background...

...and he said "magical" a LOT, especially when talking about coconut oil.

As I usually do while my brother prepares food, he worked and I took pictures...

Fortunately, the 10-year-old boy was willing to help, though...

...and the 8-year-old girl spent her time in the kitchen making swirls with the water spilled on the table...

So the menu consisted of raw Fettuccine Alfredo (a super-healthy and delicious version of the standard American diet (SAD) Fettuccine that is said to be the most unhealthy food on the planet), marinated kale and grape clusters.

The Fettuccine Alfredo was to die for and I literally couldn't get enough...because there wasn't enough for thirds.

The first step was to make the sauce. Tzoul used a base of almonds and I didn't ask for the exact recipe, but because I've made my own version of raw Alfredo sauce before, I'll be posting it below. My recipe calls for macadamia nuts, but as I stated above, Tzoul used almonds...

...which were a perfect, delicious, and less expensive substitute.

While Tzoul was working on the sauce, he instructed my brother on how to prepare the raw "pasta"...

When preparing a pasta-like dish, most raw foodists use squash or zucchini, sliced very thinly, as a pasta substitute. You would be amazed at how wonderfully this takes the place of pasta, one-upping it in taste and texture in my personal opinion...

As a topping for the zucchini "pasta", my brother chopped up a variety of vegetables....

You could really use any vegetables you like...

The final product filled six plates for our family with vegetable, herb and nut goodness and it felt absolutely wonderful to be eating something I knew was good for me on every level...

Tzoul, I know you are going to read this, and just in case I didn't express it enough in person, let me again thank you from the bottom of my heart for the time you spent with our family teaching me and my children about the importance of choosing the best foods to put into our bodies. My brother communicated it best this way...

So here are the recipes and thanks for listening!

For the Fettuccine Alfredo:

Ingredients

* 1 ½ cups carrots, peeled and thinly julienned
* 1 cup zucchini, thinly julienned
* 1 cup squash, thinly julienned
* 1 cup red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, and thinly julienned
* 2 tsp. basil, minced
* 2 tsp. parsley, chopped
* ½ cup Alfredo sauce (see Alfredo sauce from Mom2my10)
* 2 TB. pine nuts

Directions

1. Combine carrot, zucchini, squash, red bell pepper, basil and parsley in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir well.

2. Add Alfreda sauce and stir well. Place veggies on plates and drizzle with leftover Alfreda sauce. Garnish with sprinkle of pine nuts.

Direct recipe link: http://keyingredient.com/recipes/310081/

For the Alfredo sauce:

Ingredients

* 1 ¼ cup water
* 1 cup macadamia nuts
* 1 TB. freshly squeezed lemon juice
* 2 tsp. nama shoyu or soy sauce
* 1 ½ tsp. garlic, minced
* ½ tsp. raw apple cider vinegar
* 1 ½ tsp. nutritional yeast
* Pinch cayenne
* ⅛ tsp. salt or to taste
* ⅛ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender, preferably a Vita-Mix, for about 60 seconds, or until smooth as possible.

This sauce can also be used as a dip for vegetables.

Direct recipe link: http://keyingredient.com/recipes/310085/

OURS: All righty then, what homemaking tips do you have for us today? Can't wait to see!