Saturday, November 20, 2010

A Raw Food Thanksgiving: Mock Turkey & Cranberry Sauce



Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!
And thank you for stopping by, during this busy time!



This was my first attempt at a raw Thanksgiving meal and it was actually fun!
In this post I'll be showing you how I made the "Mock Turkey" -



And the "Cranberry Sauce".



These are the ingredients for the turkey.
These recipes are not my own (why reinvent the wheel?) so I can't share them with you here.
They are from Alissa Cohen's fabulous book, "Living On Live Food".
She also has a wonderful new book, "Raw Food For Everyone" and a great DVD!
You can find a lot of Thanksgiving recipes on these two websites, as well:



OK, here we go -
I placed the first batch of ingredients into the food-processor.



And gave it a little spin.



Then I cut the scallions and the celery.



And added them to the other ingredients.



I processed them until smooth.



And here is what it looked like. Pretty? Not so much.
A little on the green side, which just reminds me that we're eating healthy, raw food.
My father was a sculptor, and so is my oldest daughter.
My youngest daughter does wood-carving, so I thought I'd give it a whirl too!



And heeere he is.
Look at me! I'm a sculptor now!! :)



I've got dibs on a drumstick!



Moving right along -
Here are the ingredients for the "Cranberry Sauce".



I placed all of the ingredients into the food-processor.



And let it do its thing.



It ended up being too tart for my dainty, little taste-buds, so I added some Agave Nectar.
You may substitute Raw Honey for the Agave.



Lookin' good! And tasting even better!!
















It's almost time to eat!!










In the next post I'll show you how I made raw "Mashed Potatoes" -
and "Mushroom Gravy".
As well as a raw "Pumpkin Pie"! :-D (Be still my heart!!)



"Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare.
They are consumed in twelve minutes.
Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence."

- Erma Bombeck




There are SO many things to love!
I love "Followers" and comments too!
(Thank you!)


Signing off for now,
gabriele


16 comments:

  1. My daughter and her husband are vegan, so no turkey for them. Thinking about the many sides and the many raw food specialties I can put together will help me plan a menu for a couple of days.

    Great idea, raw food. Do you eat like this all the time?

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  2. oh...Gabriele...God bless ya, darlin'- I just don't think I could get past the green turkey. I always heard if the meat was GREEN throw it out-lol...of course..no one ever suspected their green would be meat! Happy Thanksgiving I think...to probably the healthiest person I know!>) Hugs-Diana

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  3. Hi lakeviewer,
    Like Kermit the frog said, "It's not easy being green". :)
    It's time-consuming when you first start, but it gets easier.

    I eat like this most of the time. Not fancy-schmancy, but raw.
    If I eat the Standard American Diet, I'm a mess - for days!!

    I can't figure out how to make something a live-link here, but if you'll take the time to look at:
    http://somanythingstolove.blogspot.com/2010/06/raw-food-vs-standard-american-diet-sad.html
    (Raw Food vs The Standard American Diet-S.A.D.)
    You will understand WHY I eat raw foods!

    There are a ton of wonderful books out there, to give you vegan meal ideas.
    Don't stress-out and have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family!!
    Hugs,
    gabriele

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  4. Hi NanaDiana,
    You make me laugh. :)
    Not only on your blog, but also the funny comments you leave here!
    Thanks for that!!

    There is another one of my Followers that hates anything green and I'm expecting her comment any minute now. Ha!

    I agree, some of these green dishes don't look real appetizing, but Lordy, they sure taste good!! Really good!
    And it makes a person feel like a million bucks, so I'm all for it!
    Bring on the green stuff!!

    I'm putting you all through another post about raw food and then it's about a trip to San Francisco and the wine country.

    Y'all come back now, ya hear?!!

    Hugs,
    gabriele

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  5. I salute you as you are a very brave lady! I am amazed of how you pulled this out. I for one would be at your doorstep to try all this healthy out. Great post and photos.
    Happy Thanksgiving!

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  6. Hi Rita,
    Thanks for the nice words.
    You would be welcome here anytime!
    Happy Thanksgiving to you too!!

    I'm off to read yours and my other friends' blogs now.
    A great way to start the day!

    Hugs,
    gabriele

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  7. yum yum! i will unfortunately be looking at the real thing this thursday, but i'll also be surrounded by loved ones. gotta look at the bright side!=)

    love the photos! so pretty, and your turkey looks perfect! love how simple the cranberry sauce ingredients were too. so many things to love!!!

    xoxo

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  8. Hi kelli,
    It's hard to be around the SAD when you don't eat like that.
    But, being around loved ones, is a good thing!!

    Thanks a bunch for the nice compliments! :)
    I hope you'll try the Cranberry Sauce - it was the best I ever tasted!
    Pure freshness in a bowl.

    Enjoy your day!
    Hugs,
    gabriele

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  9. When you have time stop by my blog and claim your little award :)))

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  10. Bollocks! I had written a very nice comment and it has vanished! Here is the shortened version........

    Wow Gabrielle you sure pulled out all the stops for this one! I hope you enjoyed your 'turkey'.

    The cranberry sauce looks very good indeed I can almost taste it.

    I hope you had a wonderful family day.
    Serena

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  11. PLEASE DO NOT READ MY BLOG on Thanksgiving! Your arteries will clog just reading the description of our meal! TO EACH HIS OWN! Happy Thanksgiving!

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  12. Your turkey looks white and quite appetizing on my computer. It does seem like an awful lot of work, but that's a comment from a person who gets exhausted cutting banana slices for a peanut butter sandwich. Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful(will be?---I get mixed up about American Thanksgiving).

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  13. I've heard of fried, brined, roasted and toasted turkey, but never sculpted. I have now heard everything! That cranberry sauce looks divine!!

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  14. Just Cake Girl,
    Thank you SO much for my award!! :) I really appreciate it!!

    Rena, Thanks for the good wishes. Thanksgiving is this Thursday, so I'll have to make everything all over again. :)
    I think the cranberry sauce was my favorite dish!

    Lora, you are so funny! HA! You know my curiosity will get the best of me, and I'll be one of the first to look at your blog!! :)

    Lorna, I'm happy to hear that my turkey looks good somewhere. :)
    Your 'exhausted' comment made me laugh!
    Our Thanksgiving is this Thursday. Thank you for the good wishes.

    Lisa, sculpting the turkey was fun.
    I can honestly say, "It was finger-licking good". :)
    The cranberry sauce will be something I make from now on. Not just for Thanksgiving.

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  15. Thank you, everyone, for the Thanksgiving wishes!
    To those of you that celebrate it, I wish you a happy one as well!!
    Hugs,
    gabriele

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  16. This is so awesome! Since I am a new raw food chef I LOVE LOVE that you showed me every step. Next year, when I am in my own home, I will be the host of Thanksgiving dinner. I think that I might just need to do a raw one, just to mix it up a little bit :)

    Also, I saw that one of your interests was raw food for children. I have a niece that is overweight and her parents only feed her fast food. She is four but already weighs 50 pounds!! I want to take her for the Christmas break and do a cleanse with her, and then all of next summer too. Any good ideas for recipes that little ones would eat and not turn their noses up at?

    I'll keep scanning your site to see! Thanks!

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