My First Raw Thanksgiving

Hello! I haven't been blogging much over this holiday break, but I have been cooking a LOT! I am so excited about how much I have been learning, even if a lot of my learning has had to come from mistakes. My husband, my son and my parents enjoyed a wonderful meal and with some great support from my mother, who made two raw dishes herself, I was able to stay raw!

One of the big tips I have, now that the weather is getting colder out here on the East Coast, is to keep your plates warmed if you are eating savory food. It is amazing what a great trick this is! No one wants ice cold dinner, so leave the food out if it is safe to keep it out of the fridge and transfer onto an oven-warmed plate right before serving. Use potholders the whole time though, it can be a bit dangerous!

Another exciting thing I discover was my raw gravy recipe! I have made raw gravy twice before and I wasn't impressed. This one was my own invention and I was pretty happy with the results! The recipe is at the end of this blog, in case you want to try for another holiday meal, or an everyday-holiday meal!

Guiding you through the pictures below, first is my full plate, of which there were two! (Hey, just because I am raw doesn't mean I don't like to EAT!) Portobello marinated and dehydrated mushrooms with gravy, stuffing (which I won't go into detail until my cookbook... it is that good), pickled brussel sprouts with maple carrot "bacon", and purple cabbage slaw (from my lovely mother). Further down I have images of my pumpkin spice cookies, made from juicer pulp, and my frosted cranberry crumb cake, which I made in individual sizes a few weeks ago and have the recipe listed from November.

Marinated Portobello Mushrooms with Gravy

Mushrooms

5 large portobello mushrooms
3 tablespoons coconut aminos
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper
Celtic sea salt to taste

Clean mushrooms and cut into 1/2" thick strips. Combine all marinade ingredients in a shallow dish or pan, and allow mushrooms to soak roughly 2 hours in the fridge. Space the mushrooms evenly on your dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for 6 hours at 105 degrees.

Gravy

Leftover marinade from above
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon almond milk
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
Large handful of fresh herbs (I used rosemary, sage, and thyme)
Extra water as needed
Celtic sea salt to taste

Save the leftover marinade from your mushrooms, and combine in a small food processor or blender with the ingredients listed above. Add extra water as needed to reach desired consistency. Be careful not to water down.