A Different Kind of Thanksgiving

Menu from Chef Areeya's Go Raw Holiday Prep Class at the Go Raw Cafe, clockwise from bottom left: Spiced Pumpkin Bisque, Gramm's Pecan Dressing, Cashew Gravy, Green Bean Casserole, Split Vanilla Cheesecake Pumpkin Torte, Savory Sage Drumettes, Cranberries with Pineapple 

In the past, I was a maniac at Thanksgiving.  In my view, a Thanksgiving feast was not a success unless it was spectacular.  One of my rules was that there had to be at least two kinds of everything:  two kinds of roast meat, (like turkey AND ham,) two kinds of potatoes, bread, vegetables, salad, pie, etc.  Each year, there was so much food that the table was arranged carefully to use every square inch of space.  I often did most of work myself.  After the meal, the kitchen cleanup job was huge, and for many years I didn't ask for help with that, either.

Of course, everyone ate until they couldn't eat another bite, and then they spent the rest of the day resting.

Last year, we did things differently.  For the first time, I tried spreading out the feast over several days.  Much of what I served was raw, with a few cooked items to please certain family members.  It seemed to work out pretty well.

This year, we did it that way again.  I recruited family members to help with most of the food prep and cleanup.  We broke up our typical meal routine with more festive holiday dishes.  I asked my son which cooked dishes were essential to making it a "real Thanksgiving" for him, and only cooked those.

Many raw food recipes are best served right away.  Depending on ingredients, often the leftovers will not keep longer than two or three days.  For this reason, we aren't following the pattern of serving one huge meal and then eating the leftovers for the next week.  Instead, we are trying several different seasonal recipes over the four-day family holiday.  For example, for lunch today, we had a raw pumpkin-coconut nog smoothie, made with organic sugar pie pumpkin, young Thai coconuts, dates and pumpkin pie spice.

Another thing I did differently this year was that I didn't start planning several weeks in advance, and I didn't create an ironclad menu.  I just made sure that we had plenty of the ingredients we would need, and a general idea of which recipes we would make.  At one point, when we ran out of a staple ingredient, I considered going out to find a store that was open on Thanksgiving but decided against it.  Instead, we made something that didn't require that ingredient.  It was rather liberating.

So for us, Thanksgiving holiday was simple and easy, and yet, it's lasting the entire four days instead of one.  For some reason, it's easier for me to be thankful when the meal is smaller, lighter and simpler,  and I have more time to enjoy it.  Thanksgiving is really about spending time with family.



It does help to have some raw snacks on hand for Thanksgiving Day.  Clockwise from bottom left:  Pumpkin Pie Cookies, Magical Kale Chips, and Sprouted Buckwheat Bars

I hope that everyone who reads this had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that you have a wonderful holiday season.  I'm heading back into the kitchen to whip up some more raw holiday deliciousness.  Raw Green Bean Casserole, anyone?

Here are a few links to some of my favorite holiday recipes:

Marinated Mushrooms and Mashed Rosemary Cauliflower over at Rawmazing

A whole selection of raw holiday recipes at Pretty Smart Raw Food ideas

My husband really loves the poultry seasoning flavor of the Save The Turkey Portobello Mushroom recipe over at Mimi Kirk's Young On Raw Food.

Fully Raw Kristina offers a delicious recipe for Pumpkin Pie Brownies

To keep people happy while the dehydrator is running, some terrific snacks are:  No Bake Pumpkin Pie Cookies, Magical Kale Chips, and Raw Sprouted Buckwheat Bars.

Pumpkin Guts Smoothie and Two Soups

Yesterday, I found myself contemplating a pile of dinner veggies on the kitchen counter.  The goal was to get the veggies into my family in a way that they might enjoy.

Lately when people ask me to explain raw food, I tend to say something like:  Imagine a big bowl or basket of all the healthy veggies, greens, herbs, fruits, seeds and nuts that you know are good for you.  Nothing processed or packaged is in that bowl.  And then imagine eating it - the whole great big bowl of it.  Now, imagine different ways of prepping it, everything from fancy and gourmet to quick and simple.  Imagine sometimes using small amounts of selected enhancements, like spices, healthier sweeteners, fermented flavorings, minimally processed olive or coconut oils and other additives to help pop the flavors and make it taste a bit more like cooked food.  But the mainstay of your diet is fresh, raw, unprocessed plant foods.

For me, that's basically raw food in a nutshell.  And that's how I found myself staring at a pile of veggies on the counter, trying to figure out what to do with them. 

I've been loading TONS of raw food recipes into my Pepperplate account, and going to Chef Areeya's wonderful raw food prep classes every month.  I've started to internalize a few things, because I just put this raw chowder together without a recipe.  Was it inspired by Chef Areeya's "Orleans-style Dirty (cauliflower) Rice," and her "New England style Chowder?"  Probably.  My family loved it.  My husband suggested that it's a keeper, so I wrote it down.

This recipe is very quick.  If you have a food processor, the veggies can be prepped in minutes, not counting dehydrator time.  The cream base is quick, too.  It's one of those rare instances when it took us longer to eat it than it took me to make it.

As always, if you don't like the additives used for flavor, (like the miso or Braggs,) you can probably get by without it or find a substitution that works better for you.

This recipe can be made without any of the recommended equipment such as the dehydrator.  Your veggies just won't be wilted.  Alternately, if you place the veggies in a glass casserole dish with a clear glass lid, and place it in direct sunlight for several hours, that will do the trick.  The cream base can be made with a regular blender.  It just might not be as creamy.  It's also possible to prep all the veggies by hand with a box grater and a good knife, rather than using the food processor. 

Raw Veggie Chowder
6 - 8 generous servings

Ingredients

1/2 head red cabbage 
4 carrots  
1 red bell pepper 
3 cloves garlic 
1 head cauliflower 
3 Roma tomatoes
1/2 tsp marjoram 
1/2 tsp thyme 
2 tbsp Bragg's liquid Aminos 
1 tbsp olive oil 
1 tsp miso paste 
juice of 1/2 lime 
1 cup hemp hearts 
1/3 cup Brazil nuts 
1/3 cup nutritional yeast 
2 tsp smoked paprika 
freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 cups water, almost boiling 

Equipment:  Food processor, dehydrator, Vitamix, knife, cutting board, shallow casserole or baking dish, soup pot or tureen

Instructions

Shred the carrots and cabbage. Use the S blend on the food processor to mince the cauliflower with the garlic until it reaches a rice-like texture. Mince the red pepper. Mix the veggies together and massage with a drizzle of olive oil and Braggs Liquid Aminos and 1 teaspoon of miso paste until wilted. It should be moist but not dripping wet.  If the mixture seems too dry, the recommended amount of Bragg and olive oil can be increased slightly.  Chop the tomatoes and fold in. Add thyme and marjoram to taste and stir.

Place veggies in a shallow casserole dish and spread out in an even layer. Dehydrate at 105 degrees for several hours, until just before serving.  You can do this in in the morning and have dinner waiting when you get home in the evening.

Blend the hemp hearts and Brazil nuts with about a cup of water until smooth and creamy. Blend in the nutritional yeast and smoked paprika with another cup of water and another squirt of Bragg's Liquid Aminos.  Taste and adjust.

Bring the remaining water almost to a boil. Remove the vegetables from the casserole dish and place in a large pot, serving bowl or soup tureen. Stir in the cream sauce, then add some almost-boiling water, stirring, until desired consistency is reached. Taste and adjust flavors.  Garnish with fresh black pepper.   The soup will be warmed-through, but not cooked.

Note: Many other veggies can be used for this. Zucchini, carrot and parsnip can be made into pasta. Corn can be added, and squash. For newcomers to raw food, the texture of the cauliflower might be accepted more easily if it is blended into the nut mixture.

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Our morning routine is fairly simple.  I prep some type of fruit, maybe pineapple, grapes, or apples and oranges, toss it in the Vita Mix, throw in some freshly washed greens, add a few cups of frozen berries and some bananas, and blend until creamy.  No recipe is needed.  But there's been a pumpkin taking up residence on the kitchen counter, and I've been trying to decide what to do with it. 

In years past, when we made Jack O'lanterns at Halloween, after cutting the top off the pumpkin, the next step was to scoop out the seeds and strings, otherwise known as "pumpkin guts," and toss all that into the trash.  Now of course we know better.  Pumpkin seeds are very nutritious, rich in protein, healthy fat, vitamins and minerals. 

The only thing important to know about this recipe is that when you are grinding up things like pumpkin seeds or dates, use just enough water to get the blender going and barely cover what you are blending.  Start on "slow" and gradually increase the speed.  This helps ensure that the ingredients are broken down as finely as possible.  After it's finely ground, increase the liquid.

The flavor of this smoothie came out rather interesting.  It was like a cross between apple and pumpkin pie with a bit of tangy orange.  To pump up the pumpkin flavor, toss in a few chunks of raw pumpkin when puréeing the apple.

Pumpkin Guts Smoothie 
4 Generous Servings 

Seeds and strings from a fresh pumpkin
About 4 cups pure water
3 Macintosh apples
3 navel oranges
9 pitted dates or to taste
1 /12 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Equipment:  High speed blender, knife, nut milk bag

Pre-prep:  If you want you can soak the dates 20 minutes to overnight in just enough water to cover.  This is a good idea if your dates aren't very soft.

Scoop out the "pumpkin guts"  and toss them in a Vitamix.  I found that a coconut demeater also makes an excellent pumpkin scooper because it cuts the strings from the pumpkin flesh, and the curved blade fits the inside of a pumpkin.  Add just enough water to the blender to cover the pumpkin seeds.  Blend on low speed, gradually increasing speed as the seeds grind, until it's on full speed and the mixture is finely ground.  Add another 2 cups or so of water as the machine runs, until you have a milk-like texture.  Pour the "pumpkin milk" through a fine mesh milk bag, to eliminate the grit from the ground pumpkin shells.  This step is optional but in my opinion makes a nicer smoothie.

Place the dates in the bottom of the blender and pour a bit of the milk over it, again just to cover.  If you soaked the dates, use the soaking water.  Blend until fine. Add the pumpkin pie spice.

Peel the oranges, break them into segments and add them to the blender.  Chop the apples and add them to the blender.  Start the blender on low to break down the apples and the orange, then purée.  

Now add the rest of the pumpkin milk to the top of the blender.  If there is room, you can add water or ice, depending on how thick you want the smoothie and how many people you are serving.

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For tonight's dinner, we used the other half of the purple cabbage.  Again, I had some veggies and needed to figure out what to do with them.  This time, I decided to make a sort of a broth with noodles.  To make this soup, some of the veggies are divided.  Half are processed and used for mouth feel, and half are juiced to help make the broth.  According to my husband, this one is another keeper. 

Sweet Asian- Inspired Noodle Soup
4 servings

Ingredients:

1- 12 oz bag frozen white organic shoepeg corn, thawed
8 carrots, reserved
1/2 head of purple cabbage, reserved
1 large bunch celery, reserved
5 smallish or 3 medium zucchini, spiralized into noodles or cut into thin fettucine strips
3 tbsp olive oil
 3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp honey, agave nectar, or sweetener of choice
water

optional:  minced ginger, dried pepper flakes 

Equipment:  Food processor, Spiralizer or other spiral tool, juicer, dehydrator

Drain the corn and discard any liquid.  Place the corn in a shallow casserole dish.  Grate half the carrots and purple cabbage, and set the other half of the carrots and purple cabbage aside.   Add the grated carrots and purple cabbage to the corn.  Thinly slice half the celery, and set the other half aside.  Add the sliced celery to the rest of the veggies in the casserole dish, drizzle with the olive oil and massage, mixing together and softening.  Stir in the spiralized zucchini.  At this point you may wish to stir in a bit of minced ginger and some dried red pepper flakes.

Juice the garlic with the reserved carrots, cabbage and celery.  You may decide at this point to juice additional veggies for more broth.  It might be nice to juice a small piece of ginger to add to it.

Add the tamari and sweetener of your choice to the juice and pour it over the veggies in the casserole dish.

Place the casserole dish in the dehydrator on low until warmed through and flavors are intensified, or about 6-8 hours.  Just before serving, add some almost-boiling water until you like the ratio of veggies to broth, and stir.  Taste and adjust.

Arugula Kale Salad with Sweet Tart Banana Vinaigrette by Chef Areeya

clockwise from bottom left:  Herbed Crème of Celery Soup, Parmazan Zucchini Boat with Neat Bruschetta, Arugula Kale Salad with Sweet Tart Banana Vinaigrette, Vanilla Iced Banana Splits, Savory Garlic Cheez Pate with Sweet Crackers

I went home and prepared all of the dishes from the September prep class at the Go Raw Cafe.  The family enjoyed everything but they REALLY approved of the Banana Vinaigrette, and they went crazy over the Vanilla Iced Banana Splits, which were made with a coconut and cashew iced crème base, and toppings made with real fruit, raw cacao, and a coconut whipped crème.   We had the dessert after a salad one evening, and had the leftovers for breakfast several days later.  Banana splits for breakfast, YUM! 

The Vanilla Iced Banana Splits went well with algebra homework

Arugula Kale Salad with Sweet Tart Banana Vinaigrette by Chef Areeya

 

Ingredients

• For Salad

  • 8 oz. arugula
  • 15 oz. chopped kale, massaged
  • 1 cup walnuts, crushed
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced small

• For Dressing

  • 2 small ripe bananas with small brown spots, (add more to taste)
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos (more to taste)
  • 1 to 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp. ground vanilla bean
  • sea salt
  • fresh black pepper

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Instructions

• For Salad

  1. To massage kale, pick it up by the handfuls and squeeze it gently using the pads of your fingertips, letting it drop as you squeeze.  Repeat until it is reduced in volume and has a somewhat wilted appearance.  Toss salad ingredients together and set aside.

For Dressing

1. Blend dressing ingredients until smooth. A high-speed blender is recommended. Taste and adjust for a balance of banana flavor with the salty/savory flavor of the Liquid Aminos.



Chef Areeya

Nothing Cures the "Blah" Like the "Raw"

Chef Areeya's amazing feast at the Go Raw Cafe

Yesterday, I attended Chef Areeya's Go Raw Prep Class, and learned to make Herbed Cream of Celery Soup, Arugula Kale Salad with Sweet Tart Banana Vinaigrette, Savory Garlic Cheez Pate with Sweet Crackers, Parmazan Zucchini Boat with Neat Bruschetta, and Vanilla Ice Banana Split.

It was amazing, yet again.  Chef Areeya has a real talent for raw flavor.  Her next class will be October 27, at the Go Raw Cafe Westside location.  If you are a raw foodist and are in Las Vegas, I highly recommend it.   Eat lightly the morning of the class, because the raw food that Chef Areeya serves is very satisfying.  You will not leave hungry.

Recently, I've been "going off the rails" a bit with my eating habits.  It's not that we haven't been eating raw food, because we've never stopped our morning habit of green smoothies and huge fresh salads.  It's just that life is complicated, and other priorities have led to some relaxing of standards.  Also, my raw diet was a bit off-balance, as I'll describe later, and that made it harder to resist certain temptations.

As a result, I was feeling a bit "blah" and a bit disconnected when I walked into the Go Raw Cafe yesterday.  But I walked out feeling so much better!  Nothing cures the "blah" like the "raw."

Sorry.  Couldn't help it.

Anyway, it's still amazing how eating raw makes you feel better, inside and out, top to toes.

After arriving home, I saw this YouTube video of John Kohler interviewing Dr. Douglas Graham.  Dr. Graham is the author of the book, "The 80/10/10 Diet."  The video contains some very valuable advice.  The biggest thing that I took away from the video is that if half of what you eat in volume is vegetables, you will be healthier.  The video doesn't address the other half, but honestly no matter what a person's eating habits are - raw or cooked, paleo or vegan, whole or  SAD, if half of the diet is vegetables, the person will be more healthy.

As a person who came from years of eating an evening meal that consisted of a main course, a vegetable and a starch, I found this useful.   When trying very hard to transition to a plant based diet, and especially trying to be as raw as possible, that old paradigm doesn't quite work as well.  Lately I've been off-balance, eating way too much fruit in ratio to vegetables, which helped lead to the "going off the rails" problem I described above.  But I can visualize a plate that is half filled with vegetables.  That's easy.

I haven't read Dr. Graham's book yet, but after seeing this video I'd like to.  In the past I've thought that the 80/10/10 diet didn't seem right for me partly because I like to eat sprouted grains, and I read that this diet excludes those foods. However, even if I disagree with some of the opinions in the book, it's worthwhile if some of the information is useful.

Inspired by yesterday's terrific raw experiences, I've decided to set some raw goals for this week.  I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't achieve them, but will do my best.  Here they are, in no particular order:

1.   Stay on budget.

2.  Use everything before it spoils (that will help with #1)

3.  Drink LOTS of water.  (The water bottle will never be empty)

4.  Strive for 50% vegetables by volume in our meals.

5.  Make at least one healthy raw treat for the kids.  Even if it's fudge or cookies and loaded with dates, if it's healthier and they'll eat it, that's a step.

6.  Strive for at least 80% raw and 100% plant based except for local honey.

7.  Include the following dishes in a balanced menu this week:  The creative recipes in the September prep class by Chef Areeya, the Blueberry Ice Cream with Coconut Macaroon Crunch by Heather Pace of Sweetly Raw, the Peach Salsa with Veggie Crackers by Susan at Rawmazing, the Chia Porridge, Chard Pockets, Barbeque, and Froodles and Meatballs, (no meat) by Lisa Viger at Raw on $10 A Day, and the Black Pepper Honey Ginger Chewy Granola by Amie Sue at Nouveau Raw.

8.  Include in the diet all of the healthy components such as:  Lots of fresh leafy greens, brightly colored fruits and vegetables, citrus, brassicas, and smaller amounts of nuts and seeds rich in fatty acids.

Eating to Starve Cancer

This isn't about raw food specifically, but about avoiding and curing disease with diet.  There is a terrific YouTube video here:

It's a Ted Talk called, "Can We Eat To Starve Cancer?"

It's only 24 minutes long and well worth the time.

The speaker, William Li, talks about anti-angiogenic therapy, which is a method that inhibits the growth of the blood vessels which feed cancer cells.  He proposes that by eating certain healthy foods each day, we can inhibit the growth of cancer-feeding blood vessels while keeping healthy blood vessel growth in balance.  A healthy diet may prevent cancer cells from growing to a size where medical intervention is needed.  He doesn't go into this in detail, but lists other diseases that may also be affected by angiogenesis.  He shares a list of foods which contain angiogenesis inhibitors, such as:

strawberries
black berries
raspberries
blueberries
oranges
grapefruit
lemons
apples
pineapples
cherries
red grapes
bok choy
kale
ginseng
maitake mushroom
licorice
turmeric
artichokes
lavender
pumpkin
parsely
garlic
tomato
olive oil
grape seed oil
green tea
soybeans

Our family already eats many of the foods on this list on a daily basis, and we aren't even 100% raw.  This is a wonderful trend - every day, more information is shared about the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. 

Carrot Cake with Apricots

My husband had a birthday fairly recently, but we were on vacation and I didn't have a chance to make his favorite cake.  So last night, we broke up our nightly salad routine and had cake for dinner.  We had some apricots in the freezer from the harvest at the local "pick-your-own" farm, and these added a nice color and flavor.  My husband had juiced earlier, and when I promised him cake, he saved a bowl of carrot pulp that would have normally gone into the compost.  This cake is made with nuts, and a generous slice is equal to a good-sized handful of almonds, macadamias and walnuts.  We have cut back on our nut consumption and are no longer eating nuts as frequently as when we first discovered raw food.  So for us this was fine as an occasional treat.  I did use honey for the frosting, but if you are vegan and do not eat honey, substitute with your favorite sweetener.  This cake is not a diet food, but it's much better for you than the alternative.

Carrot Cake with Apricots (Raw and Plant Based)

 Cake:

1 cup dates
1 cup dried apricots
1 1/4 cups apricots with juice, frozen and thawed, or about 1 cup of fresh apricot puree
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger  (next time I want to try grated fresh ginger)
1/2 tsp sea salt
6-8 cups carrot pulp
1 cup almond flour


Frosting:

1 1/2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked and drained
Juice of one lemon
1/2 of one vanilla bean
2 tablespoons honey or sweetener of your choice
20 drops of orange flavored stevia (I used SweetLeaf)
pinch of sea salt
up to one cup of water

Garnish:

1/2 cup walnuts, (optional)

For the cake:  Pulse the first 7 ingredients in a food processor until well-combined.  If you do not have a food processor, chop the dates and dried apricots finely, then mix in the remaining ingredients, using a fork to mash and break the thawed apricots down.

Place the mixture in a large bowl and begin stirring in carrot pulp.  You want enough carrot pulp that the mixture is not too wet, but no so much that the mixture doesn't hold together.  The type of juicer you have may make a difference in the amount of carrot pulp you'll use.  Drier carrot pulp is less dense so you can use more of it.  Just keep stirring it in until it starts to remind you of carrot cake.  Next, stir in the almond flour until well combined.

(Notes:  If you don't have a juicer, you can substitute with grated carrot.  Grated carrot is more dense than carrot pulp, and you'll need about half as much.  You may need to increase the amount of almond flour to compensate for the moisture in the grated carrot.  You can buy almond flour, or you can make it.  I placed raw almonds in the dry container of a high speed blender and ground them finely.  It took about 20 seconds.  Alternately, you can dehydrate the leftover pulp from making nut milk.  Ideally, the nuts should be soaked for 8 hours, rinsed, and dehydrated prior to grinding.)

For the frosting:  Place all of the ingredients except the water in a high speed blender. Blend, gradually adding enough water to achieve a frosting-like consistency.  Taste and adjust for sweetness.

To put it together:  I formed the cake mixture into a large ball, then placed the ball on a plate.  Using my hands, I formed the cake into a traditional round cake shape.  It was kind of fun, like making mud pies as a kid. 

Frost, sprinkle with walnuts, and serve!

We had some leftover frosting.  No worries.  I stirred in a capsule of pro-biotic and set it aside to make a delicious cream cheese-like spread for the raw bagels planned for a breakfast in a the near future!

Yes, this was dinner!

Many thanks to the following amazing bloggers for their carrot cake recipes that were the inspiration for this one.  They make life just a little sweeter.  In no particular order:

Chef Amber Shea's Enlightened Carrot Cake 

Emily von Euw's Raw Carrot Cake With Cashew Cream Cheese Frosting

Laura-Jane The Rawtarian's Raw Carrot Refrigerator Cake

Karen Knowler's Raw Carrot Cake

Russel James's Carrot & Orange Cake

Black Forest Torte

Black Forest Torte

In July, I attended another of Chef Areeya's wonderful raw food prep classes.  The menu included Cucumber Melon Herbed Chiller, (soup), Sliced Tomato and Belgian Endive Salad with Basil Vinaigrette, Baby Swedish Neatballs for the appetizer, and Pasta Primavera with Spinach and Asparagus Alfredo for the main course.  The dessert was Black Forest Torte.

I took pictures, but unfortunately the camera malfunctioned and they were lost.  You'll have to trust me on this one.  It was delicious and raw, putting big smiles on all of our faces, like always.

I went home and made the Black Forest Torte.  Chef Areeya has given permission to share the recipe, so here it is:

Black Forest Torte

Cake/Crumble: 

1 cup pecans soaked and ground to medium-small pearl
1 cup almond flour or soaked almond puree
 1/2 cup cacao powder
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 tsp ground vanilla
pinch of salt

Massage nuts/flour with chocolate, sweetener, pinch of salt and vanilla beans then press into pie tin or individual containers.

Filling:

1 large bag of fresh or frozen organic black cherries
1/4 cup of desired sweetener (agave, honey or coconut crystals are all great)


Topping:

1 cup coconut cream (1 cup young Thai coconut flesh blended into a cream)

Press your crust mix into desired plan, layer with sweetened cherries and drizzle with coconut cream.  Simple, sweet and decadent.  Delish!

Notes:  This is also nice if some of the crumble is reserved and placed between two layers of cherries.  The Black Forest Torte in the photo was made by blending half of the cherries with chia seeds and allowing it to thicken, then stirring the remaining cherries in. I replaced the agave nectar in the crust with date paste, and used honey to sweeten the cherries.  I also added a bit of vanilla powder to the coconut cream, because that's how we like it.