Homemaker Monday: A Raw Vegan Thanksgiving

Welcome to the 69th weekly edition of...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" goes to Hannah over at Mulberry Spot! Hannah sewed the most adorable shopping bag and I thought this would be the perfect link for today's Homemaker Monday, as the biggest shopping season of the year is approaching. Behold the cuteness...



To find out where you can get the pattern and make one, too, click HERE. Thanks so much, Hannah, for linking up with us and we look forward to many more posts from you!

MINE: Today's "MINE" isn't actually mine, but rather a guest post from my daughter, AKA the 20-year-old girl. I mentioned her in THIS POST, about how to cut an onion with crying, and referred to the fact that she eats a predominantly raw vegan diet. This sparked many questions in the comments section and a few requests that perhaps we do a post on raw vegan living. So....here we are! "Why raw", you ask? Here's what the 20-year-old girl has to say...

"Cooking your food over 115 degrees F kills natural enzymes and roasts most of the nutritional benefits your food already has in it. When you kill these enzymes, you then have to draw from your body’s enzymes reserves. Digestion is easier, leaving more energy to spare to put towards doing what you love! Cooking your food also evaporates a lot of the water out of your food, meaning you have to drink more rather than getting it from your food. The bottom line really is: why do you need to alter your food, when you can eat it in its natural state, free from frying, sautéing, microwaves, grease, preservatives and chemical alterations?"

For thanksgiving (NOT turkey day!), the 20-year-old girl prepared an unsurpassed bounty of raw vegan cuisine. As I listened to her tell me about the recipes she used over the phone, I began to have an urge to take up this type of food preparation again, as I ate like this for a few months at the beginning of the year, but reverted back to my old eating habits during the most difficult part of my early pregnancy. I imagined how wonderful her and her guests must have felt after having eaten all of this raw plant food for thanksgiving instead of the greasy, buttered, fair we ate. While our traditional dinner was absolutely delicious, none of us felt too good after stuffing ourselves! So, here, let me show you what she made. We did not post all of the recipes, as most of them came from cookbooks, but if you'd like the recipe for a particular dish, please leave me a comment in the comment section with your email address (or email me at mom2my9 [at] gmail [dot] com) and we'll get it to you. However, the 20-year-old girl did find a delicious "eggless" nog recipe on the internet we can share with you at the end of this post. Enjoy!



(From left to right: Brussels Sprout, Eggless Nog, Marinated Portobella Mushrooms, Mashed Root Vegetables, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, Candied Pumpkin Seeds, Pumpkin Pie)



(Marinated Portobella Mushrooms: Marinated for 10-15 minutes in marinade of onions, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, herbs, sea salt and pepper. Feel free to add king oyster mushrooms to act as “white meat”.)



(Brussels Sprouts: Marinated for at least 30 minutes in a mixture of olive oil, maple syrup, pistachio oil, sea salt, and pepper. May be dehydrated for up to 45 minutes for more tender sprouts.)



(Cranberry Sauce: Cutie oranges (including rind) processed with freshly frozen cranberries mixed with grated apple. Sugar added to taste.)



(Stuffing: Processed cauliflower florets, ground pecans, carrots, celery onion, truffle oil, and herbs.)



(Mashed Root Veggies: Celery root, jicama, parsnips, nutritional yeast, olive oil, lemon juice, scallions, and truffle oil processed with a pine nut creamed with water.)



(Pumpkin Pie: Crust- Almond flour, maple syrup powder, date paste and coconut butter.
Filling- Cashews, coconut meat, coconut butter, carrot juice, and spices.
Candied Pumpkin Seeds: Pumpkin seeds soaked for 4 hours, then tossed with a maple syrup powder/ginger mixture, then dehydrated for 12-24 hours.)

"Eggless" Nog

Ingredients:

One cup raw, unsalted almonds
Three tablespoons of raw, organic agave nectar as your sweetener
Two 14 ounce cans of Thai Kitchen brand coconut milk
Two cups unsweetened rice milk or hemp milk
Three tablespoons of rum flavoring
Two tablespoons of vanilla flavoring
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, powdered
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, powdered
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, powdered
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, powdered

Directions:

Step 1: Soak the almonds in a covered jar of water overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, drain the almonds in a strainer and put almonds in your blender to liquify. Add the coconut milk, agave nectar, and the soy milk on top of the almonds. Then add the rum and vanilla flavorings. Finally, add the spices--cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg. Optional, add 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom.

Step 2: Liquify all ingredients in a blender. You have the choice of serving the nogg with the tiny ground almond pieces in the liquid or straining out any almond pieces or skins. Either way is fine. It's a similar to a choice between serving juice with or without the pulp.

Step 3: If you want to remove the almond pieces not liquified, then when everything is liquified, strain the contents of your blender through a cheesecloth so that the almond skin and itchy to swallow pieces of almond skins are strained out and the liquid and spices runs through the cheesecloth into a bowl, container, or jar.

Step 4: Chill in the refrigerator and serve with a small amount of cinnamon on top. If you want a thicker eggless nog, stir in 1/2 teaspoon of grapefruit or apple pectin powder which will turn the nog into a gelatin-like consistency. Or keep the nog thin the way it is. Serve cold with your holiday dinner or desserts. If desired, top the nog when served in small glasses, with grated coconut or chopped nuts. If you want a sweeter nog, add a teaspoon more of agave nectar until you reach the sweetness level to your preferred taste.

Does all this cuisine not look absolutely amazing? 20-year-old girl, I want to thank you very much for helping me with this post and for the the wonderful example you set of healthy living. Love you!

And now, because it is almost December, I would like to share with you one of my favorite Christmas musical arrangements ever. The video isn't the most spectacular thing, but I could listen to this music over and over again, and have. I even ordered the piano sheet music and it is every bit as beautiful. And just for your enjoyment, I will attach a musical Christmas Youtube video with every post I do until the end of December. Yes, that's how excited I am about Christmas, and how much I care about you.



OURS: Okay, now it's your turn! Do you have anything Christmas-y to help us get ready for the holiday season? Feel free to link anything homemaking, even if you have to dig through your archives. We all love learning from fellow homemakers! I hope you all have a wonderful Homemaker Monday!