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:

The Raw Diet

Pretty Smart Raw Food Ideas

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

Cabbage Rejuvelac: The Enzyme Drink

"Rejuvelac" is Dr. Ann Wigmore's living-drink.

It can be made with sprouted wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, rye,

rice and other grains. Or, with red or green cabbage.

I chose cabbage, because of the simplicity of it.

I found my information online and in books.

I liked the fact that all I needed for Cabbage Rejuvelac

was one head of organic cabbage and water. My kind of recipe!

First I gave the cabbage a little rinse.

I cut out the core and chopped the rest into chunks.

With a high-powered blender, like my BlendTec,

you don't have to chop it too fine.

I stuck half of the cabbage into the blender-jar. About three cups.

I used half that amount of water. One and a half cups of distilled, or purified water.

Tap water has chlorine in it and that kills the good bacteria in the Rejuvelac.

I blended it until it was liquefied.

I poured it into a bowl. (Use glass, or ceramic, not plastic.)

Then I did the same thing with the other half of the cabbage.

I opened a bag of Cheese Cloth.

(That sounds like a snack that leaves the fingers orange,

but tastes mighty fine! Except for the 'cloth' part.

That's a little dry.)

I cut a piece, large enough to cover the bowl.

And cover the bowl I did.

It was suggested to always write the date on there, so that you don't forget.

(That would be me!)

Place the bowl, undisturbed, in a warm area for three to four days.

And wait...

And wait...

And wait.

On the third day, I opened my new Sprout Bag.

(I love new 'stuff'!)

Here is what I used to finish making the Rejuvelac:

Glass Mason Jars for storage, the Sprouting Bag stuck in the blender-jar,

and a mask that I wish I could have used the entire three days!

The room it was in smelled like a locker-room filled with dirty gym socks!!

Nasty! (Kidding about the mask.)

This is what it looked like. Innocent enough, right?

I poured it into the Sprouting Bag, while it was sitting in the blender-jar.

Then I squeezed the livin' daylights out of it.

I read that wearing gloves is a good idea, since we're dealing with bacteria.

I poured it into the Mason Jar. I ended up only needing one of them.

This is what the cabbage-pulp looks like. Some people use it for composting.

So - this is what one medium-sized head of cabbage gave me.

The directions say that if you save 1/4 cup of the Cabbage Rejuvelac,

you don't have to wait three days. Just use that as your 'starter'.

The nutrients from the Rejuvelac are 'pre-digested' nutrients now.

Proteins, vitamins and minerals have been broken-down by this

high enzymatic process.

Its rich source of friendly-bacteria will help to heal your digestive system.

Drink it before you eat.

It can also be used as a 'starter' for other fermented foods such as cheeses,

raw nut and seed sauces, and essence breads.

(Cheesecake anyone!!)

I took my first little sip, expecting it to taste as nasty as my house smelled -

But it was surprisingly nice!! And no odor!

It tasted a little like carbonated water, very fresh, with just a hint of cabbage.

Apparently, if it tastes sour, or weird in any way, it needs to be tossed-out.

Sooner, than later!

If you are a Candida sufferer, Rejuvelac may not be the drink for you.

For more information about Rejuvelac:

Sublethings

The Nourisher

Om Sai Ram

The next time I make it - I'm goin' for the odorless sprouts!!

There are SO many things to love!

I love "Followers" and comments too!

(Thank you!)

Signing off for now,

gabriele

Hair-Hogs: A Family Tradition

This is my oldest granddaughter,

with the most gorgeous head of hair.

Hair-Hog personified!

She's now 17 and likes her hair short.

Wouldn't ya know it?!

This is my second granddaughter.

She's now 13 and likes her hair long.

She always had a thing for hair.

Here she is wearing my mannequin wigs.

Here she is again - wearing her own hair.

This is my third granddaughter.

She's seven now.

She loves a good spiked-do.

And apparently, a bit of static-cling.

Can't leave out the only grandson!

He's six now. And has his hair in a buzz-cut.

My newest granddaughter.

She's 17 months now.

With a great head of hair - and smile.

Talk about great smiles and hair -

These are my four children, at a young age.

Here are the girls, showing off their little brother,

my oldest son.

He had the most beautiful head of hair.

Everywhere we went, people would pat him on his head!

And he would go from this...

To this.

He was not amused.

(I wouldn't be either.)

I love this picture.

Even the toy was hairy. :)

And this little girl?

Well, that's me.

I don't imagine my mother, or grandmother,

had a good time brushing that hair every morning.

I have a strong feeling they had to chase-me-down!

And it's still not a lot of fun to brush through!

(An old passport photo.)

Speaking of my mother -

here she is.

Not to be outdone, in the hair department!! ~~

"A grandparent loves you from when you're a bald baby

to a bald father and all the hair in between."

- Erma Bombeck

There are SO many things to love!

I love "Followers" and comments too!

(Thank you!)

Signing off for now,

gabriele