WARM Comfort Food….My best friend “Alfredo”

All joking aside, in this cooler climate, I love to hibernate. Did I say I LOVE to hibernate. Winter is not for me….I’m chilled to the bone most of the time and the only way to fix me up is a delicious, comfort food dinner with some yummy Californian Pinot Noir or Zinfandel, savouring it all in front of the fireplace and then followed by a warm sea salt bath….simple pleasures. Honestly, this is the only way to avoid me wearing woolly socks to bed (I know, this might be too much information!).

I’m going to share with you a very quick and easy favourite dish of mine (and my hubby, Ken and daughter, Erinn and her boyfriend, Mike too).  The good news is you probably have all the ingredients in your home already! It’s my “Fettucine Alfredo”, done blender style!!! This sauce is so divine and you may even find other uses for it.

I was in a rush one day and frantic from running errands. Of course I craved carbs (pasta) because my blood sugar was so low from starving myself all day. I didn’t have the time nor energy to make a sauce from scratch and make a roux. So I decided to wing it and use our blender. Voila!! A beautiful sauce was born!

You can use whatever noodle you like. I tend to opt for the Brown Rice Fettucine Noodle. Really, any pasta noodle will work so try it out with whatever you have in your cupboard. Another idea is to pour it over braised kale or broccoli or a pile of grilled veggies. YUM. It totally makes your veggies taste FANTASTIC!!

Alfredo Sauce

1 cup of Coconut Milk or Soy Milk (Make sure it’s the beverage kind of coconut milk – not the canned type)
1/2 cup raw unsalted cashews (must be raw not roasted)
3 tbsp shoyu or tamari1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp Soy-Free Earth Balance
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon
1 pinch nutmeg (totally makes it yummy!)
1 pinch paprika
1 pinch salt black pepper to taste
1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
lemon zest for garnish

1. Bring pot of water to a boil and add your desired noodles.

2. To make the sauce, mix together the soy milk, cashews, yeast, tamari, Earth Balance, tahini, lemon juice, mustard, paprika, nutmeg, salt and pepper and add the garlic now too if you’re using it.
If you don’t have a Vitamix or Blendtec blender (a high powered one), you may get a couple of lumps from the nuts in the sauce. That’s okay because it gives some texture the meal. If you do want it smooth, feel free to soak the cashews for about an hour ahead of time and then drain. They will get soft this way.

3. Drain the noodles. Then, place them back into the warm pot. Add as much of the sauce as desired and stir. (I also, at this point, take a handful or two of some ‘fresh’ baby spinach and toss it with the warm sauce and noodles at the end. The spinach softens ever so slightly and maintains it’s optimal nutrition level). Turn the heat up ever so slightly to warm through and there you have it!

Introducing: my best friend, “Alfredo” ….in only few minutes….. and don’t forget to top with some zested lemon, pepper and/or fresh basil.

Are you living your life yet! Nourish it.

Love,