Thanksgiving in the raw

November 12, 9:01 PMLA Green Life ExaminerVicki Godal

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As I approach the holidays from my sustainable raw point of view, I wondered what a traditional raw Thanksgiving dinner would entail. How would someone who has lived the great American love story with cooked food, adjust to a holiday without the wonderful aromas, much less the tastes of turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie drifting through the house. Amazingly, most conventional cooked foods have their raw counterparts mimicked ingenuously by raw chefs. In fact, one can get a raw version of almost any of our favorite comfort foods including favorite Thanksgiving dishes like mashed potatoes and gravy. How, you may ask? Lets just say, raw food chefs know a thing or two about how texture and color impact our dining experience.

So lets talk turkey. Obviously as a raw foodist, I won't be having turkey and giblets instead I'm substituting holiday mushroom loaf this year but that's really the only thing that can't be conjured up to fool guests while allowing me to feel like I'm preparing a delicious, traditional Thanksgiving dinner for my family. We'll start with the basic staples of an all-American Thanksgiving dinner; holiday mushroom loaf, dressing, whipped potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin tart with vanilla cream. Remember as you browse the recipe ingredients lists that some of these dishes contain the main ingredient in name only, so don't be surprised that whipped potatoes actually contain no potatoes. (And thats not the only surprise!)

Preparing raw food requires a whole different set of recipe instructions and tools. Tools you will need for your Thanksgiving feast are a blender, food processor, dehydrator(to warm and dry food) and a citrus juicer. All dishes can be made at least two days in advance except for the whipped potatoes which taste better if eaten the day they are made.

Holiday Mushroom Loaf
(8 servings)

1 1/2 cups raw almonds, soaked overnight then rinsed
1 1/2 cups raw pecans, soaked overnight, rinsed then dehydrated about 12 hours until crunchy
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning of your choice
1/2 -3/4 cup water
4 stalks chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons flaxseeds soaked in 6 tablespoons of water for 15 minutes

Puree all ingredients until well ground in a food processor except the celery, onion and flaxseeds.
in a large bowl, combine the celery, onions and flaxseeds with the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Shape the mixture into a shallow loaf pan on a solid dehydrator sheet and dehydrate at
 100 degrees for 12 hours.

Voila! We've got ourselves a main dish. Next, how about some dressing to go with that memory making main mushroom loaf?

Dressing
(8 - 10 servings)

1 cup raw walnuts
1 cup raw macadamia nuts
1 cup peeled and chopped zucchini
1 small chopped white onion
3 stalks peeled and chopped celery
3 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 tablespoons fresh sage
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Put all ingredients into a food processor and using the S blade, combine until well chopped. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 and up to 24 hours. To warm, dehydrate at 100 degrees for 2 hours before serving. Be careful not to dry the mixture too much.

So lets see that took all of about 20 minutes total prep time. Moving onto the whipped potatoes and gravy.

Whipped Potatoes
(8 - 10 servings)

1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 20 minutes
1 medium chopped cauliflower ( 5 - 6 cups)
1/2 cup fresh lemon or celery juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Drain cashews, rinse twice. Place the cashews, cauliflower, 1/4 cup lemon or celery juice, olive oil and sea salt in blender. Blend until totally smooth adding the extra juice if needed.

Mushroom Gravy
(6 - 8 servings)

2 1/2 cups chopped cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup raw almond butter
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 teaspoons Nama Shoyu (raw soy sauce)
sea salt to taste

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Okay we're finished in just under 10 minutes. Let sit for about an hour, then enjoy over those most excellent whipped potatoes!

Cranberry Sauce
(8 -10 servings)

1 - 2 oranges
12 ounces fresh cranberries
4 pitted dates (add more if desired)

Juice the oranges in a citrus juicer. Once juiced, place in blender with remaining ingredients and process until chunky. Add more dates one at a time until desired sweetness.

Now the most labor intensive of these actually quite easy recipes is upon us, the pumpkin tart with candied pumpkin seeds and vanilla cream topping. Yum, I think you'll agree, its worth the extra time and effort. Some of the ingredients require shopping at health food or specialty food stores on this one as well.

Pumpkin Tart

First the Tart Crust:

1 1/2 cups coarsely ground almond flour
1 1/2 cups finely ground almond flour
3 tablespoons date paste
3/4 cup maple syrup powder
3/4 cup coconut butter
pinch of sea salt

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients until thoroughly mixed. Line a tart shell with plastic wrap. Press the dough evenly onto the sides and bottom of the tart shell. Refrigerate about one hour until firm. Keep refrigerated until ready to fill.

Pumpkin Filling:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked 4 or more hours
1 cup coconut meat
2 cups carrot juice
3/4 cup agave nectar
3/4 cup coconut butter
1/3 cup date paste
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon sea salt

Place all ingredients in a Vita-Mix or high speed blender and blend until completely smooth. Fill the tart shell. Refrigerate at least one hour to set.

Vanilla Cream

1 cup raw cashews, soaked at least 4 hours
1 cup coconut meat
1/2 cup filtered water
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup coconut butter
3 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Blend all ingredients in a Vita-Mix or high speed blender until completely smooth. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until firm and scoop-able.

Candied Pumpkin Seeds:
(Makes 2 cups)

2 cups pumpkin seeds, soaked at least 4 hours
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/4 cup maple syrup powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Drain pumpkin seeds very well and place in a medium bowl with the rest of ingredients. stir well to combine. Spread on a dehydrator tray. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 12 - 24 hours until dry and crisp. Sprinkle over the entire top of the pumpkin tart. Serve on top or to the side of each pumpkin tart slice.

Now after reading these recipes, aren't you in the least bit curious what they actually taste like? Experiment and try them out. You may accidentally like them. I do. I also like knowing that I'm conserving energy, eating totally healthy food and sustaining organic and local farmers.(I didn't think I needed to mention that all ingredients are local and organic, after all this is the green life examiner writing, you know.) Happy thanksgiving and bon apetit. Let me know if you like these recipes. There are plenty more where these came from.