Giving Thanks

After the Raw Spirit Festival, I found myself experiencing a huge burst of inspiration. In fact, before I went to the festival, I wasn't expecting much. I wasn't sure what to expect, and to be honest, I was a little afraid of going. I had begun to seesaw back and forth between the worlds of cooked and raw food. Were it not for the spontaneous last-minute generosity of a wonderful family I had never met who offered to give me a ride and a camping spot with them, I might not have even gone. Because of a small miracle, not only was I able to attend the festival, but I had the opportunity to spend time with and get a glimpse of the lives of 5 terribly beautiful and special people who are now very dear to my heart.



Thank you Kise', Danny, Peri, Abbey, and Julius!!! I love you guys SOOO much!!!!!

As I began to drive home once we got back from the festival, I started thinking about the holidays and how I was going to face all the cooked food. Then I thought, well I should just make a marvelous raw Thanksgiving dinner so I don't even need to worry about the cooked food. Then I thought about all the people who are dreading all that Thanksgiving food just like me and I thought - Wow. I should try and make a marvelous raw Thanksgiving dinner to-go! One that is affordable, can be purchased easily and picked up on Thanksgiving morning!!! So that is what I am doing and I encourage anyone else to do it also.

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than with raw foods, anyway! Eating raw really helps cultivate a sense of gratitude for everything. That is one thing that being at the festival reminded me of.

Plus, the added benefit is that I get to eat exquisite raw holiday food starting NOW!

Here are some of the foods I have been making:



Easy Kim Chee Salad
by Emily Lee Angell, from The Complete Book of Raw Food.
Serves: 6, Special Equipment: none

1 medium head Napa or other green cabbage
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
3 carrots, peeled and grated
1 c cilantro leaves
2 T grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 T Celtic sea salt
1/4 c apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/4 c honey
3 T olive oil
1 t dried red chili flakes or any Asian red chili sauce
1-2 avocados, cut in small cubes

Mix everything except avocado together well in a bowl. Adjust the spices to taste and let salad sit for 1 hour, until the cabbage wilts. Sever topped with avocado cubes. This salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

personal note: this is one of my favorite cabbage salad recipes.


Mashed Potatoes
by Juliano, from the book RAW

3 c chopped caluiflower
1 c cashews
1/2 c lemon juice
1/2 c fresh thyme, chopped
1 T minced garlic
1 T Celtic seasoning

Blend cauliflower in a blender using a little lemon juice and add remaining ingredients. If you have a Green Power Juicer, use it instead. Hocus pocus! You have mashed potatoes!

personal note: next time I might use less lemon juice and soak the cashews a bit first

Marvelous Mushroom Soup
by Nomi Shannon from her book The Raw Gourmet

1/2 c water
1/4 c almond butter
1 1/2 c quartered mushrooms
1 T liquid aminos
1 pinch sea salt

In a blender, combine the water and almond butter and blend. Add the mushrooms, liquid aminos and salt. Blend until smooth.

personal note: I used this as gravy and it was STELLAR!



Meat loaf
by Juliano, from the book RAW

1 1/3 c walnuts
1 1/3 c sunflower seeds
1 1/3 c almonds
1 T minced garlic
1/2 T Celtic sea salt
1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 c chopped celery
2 c Marinated Portobello, chopped (see recipe below)
1 T chopped onion
1/2 T minced ginger
2 T fresh rosemary, minced
1 T fresh tarragon, minced
1 c red bell pepper, chopped
1 T minced jalapeno
1 1/2 t cumin seeds
1/2 c olive oil

Soak sunflower seeds and almonds in enough water to cover for 2-6 hours. Soak walnuts for 1/2 hour. Drain and throw the nuts and seeds into a food processor with the minced garlic. If you have a Green Power, push them through -- they're best when homogenized. Process until the contents develop a dough-like consistency. Add a dash of olive oil if the dough is too thick. Stir in the Celtic sea salt, presley, celery, portobello, onion, ginger, rosemary, tarragon, bell pepper, jalapeno, cumin seeds, and olive oil. Mix well. On a solid dehydrating sheet shape the mixture into a loaf about 1 1/2 inches high. Dehydrate for 3-4 hours at 90 degrees.

personal note: I think I dehydrated this for 12-24 hours. I had more leftover and I used it to stuff mushrooms with. Magnific!

Marinated Portobello
by Juliano

2 c diced portobello mushrooms
1 c Nama Shoyu
1/4 c olive oil

In a bowl soak mushrooms in Nama Shoyu and olive oil for at least 10 minutes, up to 6 hours. Note: if you don't have Nama Shoyu, substitute 1/4 c miso and 1 1/2 cups fresh-squeezed orange juice. Discard marinade.

personal note: I used 1/4 c Bragg's aminos instead of 1 c of Nama Shoyu and it was still too salty for my taste. Other than that, it was great!


Viola!

I will continue to update this post with more holiday-style recipes.

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