Ideal Bite

I've been planning Thanksgiving since March! All of the veggies are from my garden - potatoes, squash, beans, turnips etc. We're having a turkey from a local farm, mashed potatoes and creamed carrots made with raw milk from a friend who has a dairy farm, and sweet potatoes glazed with honey from a local source. The wine is from Long Island, which is not within 100 miles, but was procured on vacation from the wineries - so the extra miles are really negligible since we were driving there anyway. And sometimes you have to break the rules to keep the peace - I'm including Ocean Spray cranberry sauce so there isn't a mass revolt.

I live in Panama so Thanksgiving takes on a new meaning as it is generally a time that our family gets to come visit us in our new home. Almost all of our meals come from within a 100 mile radius, the exceptions are the turkey (not a Panamanian delicacy) and the pecans. Given that we come from the south, a Thanksgiving without pecan pie wouldn't be Thanksgiving. Here is the menu: Bruschetta Green Salad Smoked Turkey Corn Casserole Pixbae Casserole (pixbae is a local starchy vegetable that is similar to sweet potatoes or pumpkin in taste and texture) Broccoli Tortilla Cornbread Dressing Creamed Onions Pixbae Pie Pecan Pie

We are members of a the oldest (continuously operating) food coop in the country, in Park Slope, Brooklyn, which prides itself on buying from farmers in New York and New Jersey. We buy all our food there, and it's all organic -- but I confess it still takes a lot of effort to buy mostly local. What about the cranberries? And the butter and cream are from Organic Valley farmers coop in Vermont. And where's the flour from? And what about the wine? Our free-range heritage turkey will be brined. Lots of sides using locally grown vegies, like my aunt's famous sweet potato dish with Grand Marnier (not organic, not local!). My daughter and her friends will bake a lot of pies for our local soup kitchen, and I'll make a few for us. But where do the pecans come from? I'm still trying to figure out a great dish for the vegetarians. I personally no longer eat turkey and want something fabulous to look forward to, not tofu. Any ideas?

I am so fortunate that we were able to get our organic turkey from a local farm this year. In addition, I have a winter CSA farm share and will prepare the fixings from whatever is harvested the day before Thanksgiving. Some possibilites: roasted fingerling potatoes, acorn or butternut squash, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, turnip mashed potatoes, carrot and kale salad. Pumpkin pie, and wheat-free/gluten free stuffing for the turkey will round it out.

I'm looking forward to a local (vegetarian) Thanksgiving with ingredients from a radius around my home near Washington DC as well as contributions from my parents, who'll be visiting from northern Michigan. The plan: *Roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes from my garden and CSA share * Olive bread brought from my favorite local bakery in Michigan * Butternut squash stuffed with mushrooms from the farmer's market Swiss chard and mustard greens from garden and CSA * Pumpkin pie made from CSA pumpkins and Michigan maple syrup Yum!

My Kansas City Thanksgiving Feast will be somewhat local. Turkey (ordered from the local City Market) Stuffing made with homeade bread with flour milled in Missouri. Ideally I would have put some fresh local apples in there too, but we'll see. Cranberry sauce and cranberry tarts...I know, it's not local, but it's not Thanksgiving without it. For the crust I will use the semi-local flour. Walnuts from Missouri for the stuffing. Sweet potatoes and turnips from the city market. Green Beans(local only if I can find some by next week) Happy Thanksgiving!

We're having a salad from late crop of lettuces, a venison roast cooked with a local Virginia wine, roasted sweet potatoes from the farmers market, and a pumpkin pie made with the fruits of my first attempt at growing pumpkins! All the food will be supplemented with herbs from the garden and some awesome mulled Virginia wine.

Organic, locally raised turkey with sage and rosemary Baked organic corn Homemade stuffing with apples & celery Cranberry Cherry Compote Mashed potatoes (can't skip those) Homemade Pumpkin Pie Homemade Chocolate Pecan Pie

Sunflower Pate 3 cups sunflower seeds, soaked 8-12 hours. Sprouted for 2-4 hours 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 1/2 cup chopped scallions 1/4-1/2 cup raw tahini 1/4 cup liquid amino's, or 2 tablespoons nama shoyu, or pinch of sea salt 2-4 slices red onion, cut in chunks 4-6 tablespoons parsley,coarsely chopped 2-3 medium cloves garlic, coarsley chopped 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or more to taste) Soak sunflower seeds 8-12 hours, drain, allow to sprout for 3-4 hours (leave out on counter) then thoroughly rinse and drain removing as many of the thin inner husks that float to the top as possible. In a food processor, process the sunflower seeds, lemon juice,scallions, tahini, liquid amino's, onion, parsley, garlic and cayenne until the mixture is a smooth paste. When thoroughly blended taste and adjust the seasoning. The pate will develop a stronger garlic taste in a few hours. Yields a large mixing bowl of pate. (approximately 8 cups) Pumpkin Seed “Cheese” 2 cups Pumpkin Seeds (raw) Soak in Filtered Water x 15 minutes 1 bunch Parsley 1 Tbs. Garlic, minced 1 Tbs. Ginger, minced 1/4 cup Lemon Juice 1/3 cup Olive Oil Salt 1/8 Tsp. Jalapeno Pepper Blend in food processor. Spread on large lettuce leaves, roll up & enjoy !! Carrot Juice Soup By Frederic Patenaude 1 cup celery juice 2 cups carrot juice 1 cup carrot pulp 1/2 avocado small handful dill, or cilantro 2 medium tomatoes, chopped 1 cup vegetables of your choice (cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, etc.) 1/2 avocado, pieces (optional) When juicing the carrots, save 1 cup of carrot pulp. Blend the juice with the avocado and herb (dill or cilantro) together. Add in, without blending, the remaining ingredients. Hummus 2- 14 oz. Cans Garbanzos (chickpeas) or equivalent made fresh 1/4 cup water (use water from Garbanzos) 1 clove garlic 2 tsps.- Tahini (Sesame) 2 Lemons (Juiced) 1 tsp. Sea Salt 1/2 tsp. Cumin (Ground Fine) 1/2 tsp. dried red pepper (Ground Fine) Mix all ingredients in a food processor and puree. Fabulous dip for carrot sticks, zucchini strips. Note: can be served warm or cool. Add one or more of your own spices like cayenne or tumeric or curry to make it more interesting Jalapeno Cheese by Jackie Graff 2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked for 8 hrs./drain 2 cups filtered water 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tsp. tumeric 2 sun-dried tomatoes Juice of 1 lemon 1 cup pine nuts, soaked for 8 hrs./drain 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped very fine Place macadamia nuts, filtered water, salt, tumeric, sun-dried tomatoes and lemon juice in blender - blend till smooth. Add pine nuts & blend until smooth. Stir in jalapeno peppers. Great on dehydrated crackers! Mango Cranberry Salsa by Alex Malinsky 1 cup fresh mango (diced) 4 tbs. sun dried or fresh cranberries 2 tbs. red bell peppers, (diced) 2 tbs. red onion (diced) 1 jalapeno pepper (minced) 2 tbs. fresh mint (chopped) 1 tbs. lime or lemon juice 1 tbs. agave nectar or honey 1 tbs. avocado oil How to: Mix everything together in a bowl and let marinate for 1 hour before serving. VEGGIE “CHIPS” from Wellthy Choices FOOD DEHYDRATION book (see below) by Jan Jenson Fresh veggies - sliced THIN with a madolin or other slicer. Slice whole or cube and slice. Try any of these veggies: Zucchini Carrots Sweet Potatoes Butternut or Acorn squash Pumpkin Beets Radishes Herbamare (sea salt with organic herbs) For yellow veggies try these seasonings: Cinnamon or nutmeg Curry and/or Tumeric Graham Marsalla Salad seasonings Dry in the dehydrator till they are “crunchy” or slightly soft... you will develop your own taste and methods, the more you experiment. Get the kids involved too. They will LOVE these tasty, healthy treats!! Make sure you make LOTS - and share with friends and co-workers... they will be chasing you down (literally!) for more...! ALMOND NOG 1 cup soaked almonds 3 cups water 2 bananas 2 Tbs. agave nectar 1 tsp. alcohol free vanilla 1 tsp. nutmeg Blend soaked almonds and water until pureed. Strain almond milk to remove pulp, use either a strainer or a nut bag. Pour milk back into blender, add bananas, agave, vanilla, and nutmeg. Blend completely. Serve with a sprinkle of nutmeg on top. Makes two glasses. MAIN DISHES Sweet and Sour Neatballs (Serves 8-10) 1 Cup Walnuts 1 Cup Sunflower Seeds, soaked overnight 1 Cup Almonds, soaked overnight 1 Tbsp. Fresh Garlic, pressed 1 Cup Cilantro Leaves 1/4 Cup Olive Oil 1 Tsp. Celtic Sea Salt, 1 Tbsp. Nama Shoyu, or Wheat-free Tamari 1 Bunch Green Onions, chopped finely 2 Tbsp. Freshly Grated Ginger 1 Cup Red Bell Pepper, chopped finely 1 Tsp. Chinese Five-Spice Powder Finely chop the walnuts, sunflower seeds, and almonds in a food processor. Add the garlic. Process the seed, nut, and garlic mixture through a heavyduty juicer, such as Champion, to make a dough. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and add the sea salt, cilantro, green onions, ginger, bell pepper, spice powder, and olive oil by hand. Mix well and adjust seasoning to taste. Place uniform balls, like mini balls of ice cream, directly on a meat dehydrator tray. Dehydrate 2 to 3 hours or until set. Dip in Sweet and Sour Sauce (above) and continue to dehydrate until dry on the outside, but still moist on the inside (2 to 3 hours more). Serve with extra Sweet and Sour Sauce on the side. Faux Salmon (or Mock Tuna) This attractive dish resembles salmon casserole. But we know it's not! Adding more kelp, dulse or any other sea veggies that you have on hand will increase the seafood flavor. For fun, press into a mold and unmold onto a platter, surrounded with kale and parsley, topped with almonds or olives. This dish is elegant served with warmed Mushroom Gravy. For a luncheon or brunch this recipe is lovely served in a scooped out tomato. 2 cups almonds, soaked 8-10 hours 2 whole carrots 1/2 cup coarsely chopped red onion 1 1/2 cups finely minced celery 1/2 cup minced parsley 1/4 cup minced shallot or scallion 1/4 cup lemon juice 2 teaspoons kelp powder 1 teaspoon dulse powder or granules 1 tablespoon liquid amino's 2 teaspoons nama shoyu or 1 teaspoon sea salt Soak almonds 8-12 hours, drain, rinse and drain again. Put the almonds, carrots and onions through the heavy-duty juicer, using the blank screen. Place mixture in a large bowl, add celery, parsley, shallots, lemon juice, kelp, dulse, liquid amino's or sea salt and stir thoroughly. Shape into a mold or place in a pie crust. Or shape free hand like a fish. Keeps several days, covered, in the refrigerator. Serves 4-6. Mock Turkey Dinner 6 cups of walnuts 5 stalks of celery 2 lg. carrots 1 med. yellow onion 2 cloves of garlic 1/4 cup flaxseed oil 1/4 cup dry sage 2 Tbs. thyme 2 Tbs. rosemary 1/2 cup fresh parsley 1/4 cup of miso 2 tsp. sea salt 1 Tbs. poultry seasoning 1 Avocado In a food processor or in a Champion juicer - homogenize walnuts, miso, flaxseed oil. Place in a separate bowl. In a food processor chop celery, then carrots, then onion and add to bowl. Add chopped garlic, sage, thyme, rosemary, chopped parsley, and poultry seasoning. Add mashed avocado and mix everything together by hand. Mold onto a nice platter and garnish with rosemary and thyme sprigs. Mock Mashed Potatoes 1 head of cauliflower 3 cups of macadamia nuts Salt and pepper to taste Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend. Add salt and pepper to taste. Candied Yams 6 sweet potatoes (yams) 1/2 cup raw honey 1/2 cup coconut butter Soak sweet potatoes overnight. Pour off water. Place all ingredients in a Vita Mixer with as little water as possible and blend into a cream. Spread in a rectangular 2” deep Pyrex dish. Whipped Topping for Yams 2 cups macadamia nuts 10 dates 2 Tbs. vanilla extract 2 tsp. ginger powder 2 2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 1/4 tsp. cardamom A pinch of cloves and allspice Blend in a Vita Mixer with as little water as possible to make a cream. Spread on the top of the sweet potatoes. Refrigerate. The Gobblers will attack often... better make a double batch! Cauliflower Loaf from Living Foods for Optimal Health by Brian Clement. 1 cup shelled dried almonds, soaked for 6 hours in 2 cups pure water 1 1/2 cups grated cauliflower 4 to 5 reishi mushrooms, grated 1/2 celery stalk, chopped 1/4 green onion, diced 1 garlic clove, pressed 1/2 tsp. dried basil 1/2 tsp. dried ground sage Grind almonds as finely as possible. Mix all ingredients well and shape into a loaf. Serve on a bed of lettuce with salad or soup. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired. Makes 6 servings. More desserts and goodies coming later - as I gather them! These will all be in my new Raw Harvest & Holiday Recipes book!

wild alsakan salmon (not local, unfortunately) sweet potatoe casserole steamed green beans and rosemary (from our garden) tossed salad cranberry salad coconut cream pie iced tea