This is a wonderful hearty winter dish.  I recommend that you make it a couple hours to a day ahead of time to let the flavors blend.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Butternut Squash & Cranberry Cous Cous

Ingredients

4-5 cups  butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed

1/2 cup yellow onion

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup walnuts, crushed

2 teaspoons sea salt

freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions

Put small batches of the cubed squash in a food processor with S-blade and process into small cous cous size pieces.  Place processed squash in a large mixing bowl. Add onion, cumin, coriander, cilantro, cranberries, walnut, and salt.  Season with pepper to taste.  Mix well and enjoy.

Source: Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen

Thanksgiving can be a time to celebrate being Raw…  and introduce the rest of the family to some delicious, gorgeous raw treats.  These are some of my absolute favorites.  Try them out this Thanksgiving and let me know what you think.  

Walnut Cranberry Squash “Rice”

From Ani Phyo’s book: Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen

1 small butternut squash, @ 1 pound, peeled, seeded, and cut into 2inch cubes

½ small yellow onion, about ½ cup, chopped

1 T coriander powder

1 T cumin seeds

½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup walnuts, crushed

2 teaspoons sea salt

Put small batches of the cubed squash in a food processor and process into small pieces.  Put processed squash in a large mixing bowl. Add onion, cumin, coriander, cilantro, cranberries, walnut, and salt and mix well.  This one is super YUM. Enjoy!

Brussels Sprouts

3/4 cup olive oil

½ cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

5 cups Brussels sprouts

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients except Brussels sprouts.  Remove the outer leaves of the Brussels sprouts and cut away the interior core until the leaves are all separated.  Place in bowl and marinade for 30 minutes.  Optionally, Brussels sprouts can be placed on a teflex in the dehydrator for up to 45 minutes before serving.

Fresh Cranberry Salad

From Patricia Cook

1 bag of fresh cranberries

1-2 navel oranges (Peel & removed white)

1-2 apples

Pecans (optional)

Agave to taste

Chop cranberries & orange in food processor. Use as much orange as needed to keep cranberries moving so that they are finely chopped. Place in a bowl. Then chop apples in food processor. Add to cranberries Chop nuts if desired and add to cranberries. Mix well and sweeten to taste. The oranges also create the juice in the salad. So adjust the amount of oranges based on how juicy (wet) you want your salad.

Pumpkin Pie

Pie Crust

3 cups walnuts or pecans

2 ½ ounces date paste (5 large date)

¼ teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor with an S blade process until crust is well mixed and mixture can be held together with slight pressure.  Distribute crust evenly on bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie pan and lightly compact by hand. Decorate edge of the crust to your liking.

Pumpkin Spice Filling

3 cups raw butter squash, peeled and rough cut into chucks

(medium-packed, about 7 ½ ounces weight)

1-1/4 cups coconut milk

6 tablespoons agave

1 tablespoon ginger juice

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoon liquid vanilla

½ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon clove

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

1/8 teaspoon salt

¾ – 1 cups coconut oil

Add all ingredients, except coconut oil, to blender.  After ingredients are well mixed add coconut oil. Continue to blend until mixture is smooth and creamy.  Pour into pie crust and place in freezer to set for two hours before serving.

This is one of my favorite recipes and a staple during my week.  It is also a sure winner no matter who you are having over for dinner.  Raw and non-raw alike love this dish.  And if you have left over cream sauce, you might just find yourself looking for more ways to enjoy it.  I’ve been known dip grapes in it the next day for breakfast.  Yum!

Cashew Cream Sauce

1 cup cashews (you can soak them if you’d like, but it’s not necessary)

3/4 cup water

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Green Onion

1-2 cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth and creamy.  Enjoy over cucumber, zucchini, or summer squash noodles.  Top with chopped parsley and capers.

Raw Pumpkin Seed Basil Pesto

2 cups packed basil leaves

1 cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1/2 cup olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender and enjoy over cucumber or zucchini noodles.

Corn and Cherry Tomato Salad with Macadamia Nut ‘Cheese’

This is a versatile little salad.  You can either serve it as a salad, or serve it up in endive boats as an appetizer.  In either case, it is a winner!

Corn Cherry Tomato Salad

2 cups corn, (fresh off the cob is best but frozen is ok too)

2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Half a handful of chopped cilantro

Half a handful of chopped basil

1 green onion, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together.

Macadamia Nut Topping

2 cups macadamia nuts

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 green onion, chopped

1/2 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt

Place ingredients in food processor or blender and blend but remain coarse.

Assembly

Serve salad with a dollop of nut cheese on top.  Or to serve as an appetizer, arrange endive leaves on a plate.  Place a couple tablespoons of the corn mixture in the endive leaf with a dollop of macadamia nut topping on top and serve. Enjoy.

Kale has more vegetable protein than any other leafy green. Scrunching down Kale is the key to making it edible in a salad. Here I show you how to scrunch it down and make my favorite version of Kale Salad. Enjoy!

Learn how to make cucumber noodles. Plus learn how to make one of my favorite quick delicious recipes.

Today’s Observations
Today is the first day of Autumn.  Although we don’t have the dramatic changing of the seasons here in SoCal that I experienced when I lived in Boston, I still enjoy the reminder of change… a new season, a new day, a new opportunity.  This morning while I was doing yoga, I went to do a pose that has always come easily for me – plow pose. I was surprised and a little disheartened that I could barely get my feet over my head, let alone go into a decent plow pose.  I’m so out of ‘yoga shape’ I thought…  my back is stiff, my hips are tight, and my legs are crooked. This evening I had a session with my Pilates teacher and I told her how stiff I was and how I couldn’t even do the things I used to do so well.  The lesson she shared was simple, yet profound… She said that she has learned to accept her body each day exactly the way it shows up, and that today is a new day with a new body, and that, while today’s body may not be able to do some of the things it did yesterday, today’s body is full of new possibilities. I love that… and think it is a fitting lesson for the first day of Autumn… a new season, a new day, a new body… full of possibility and potential.  And so today I enter Autumn as a season of acceptance and anticipation, as I look forward to the newness each day brings.

Today’s Menu
Orange, Mango Salsa for breakfast
Avocado Soup for lunch
Snacks – apple
Beet Ravioli for dinner with Cardamom Ice Cream for desert

Today’s New Recipe – Beet Ravioli with Pine Nut ‘Goat Cheese’
I’ve wanted to make this recipe from Living Raw Food for a while, so tonight I invited a friend over who was a willing participant in my experiment.  We both liked it a lot.  It is a bit rich, so you can’t eat a lot, but the flavors were very good.  You really do need a mandolin for this one in order to get the beet slices as thin as possible.  And although it may look like a lot of steps and ingredients, it actually is pretty easy to make.  I made half a recipe for 2 people and it was more than enough. All together, this gets 4 Yums. Enjoy!

Pine Nut ‘Goat Cheese’
4 cups pine nuts, soaked for an hour or more
1/2 cup olive oil
2 medium shallots (I used green onions)
Zest of 1 lemon
21/2 teaspoons sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Put all ingredients in a high speed blender of food processor and blend until very smooth.  Reserve 1/2 for the sauce.

Rosemary Cream Sauce
1/2 the pine nut goat cheese
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
3/4 cup filtered water
pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper

Puree ingredients in high speed blender until smooth.  This is yummy.

Assembling the Ravioli
2 medium beets, peeled
2 tablespoons oive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons balsamic vinigar
Microgreens or other herbs for garnish. (I did a nice salad of microgreens on the side.)

Using a mandolin, slice the beets very thin (1/16″).  If you want, you can place them all in a stack and cut into even squares.  I just left them round.  Place in a bowl and cover with remaining ingredients and let marinade for 30 minutes if you can (I did not).  Lay half the beet slices on a plate, add a rounded teaspoon of the nut mixture, and top with another slice of beet to make the ‘ravioli’.  Spoon sauce onto the plate, and arrange ravioli on top.  Garnish with rosemary and serve with salad of microgreens.

Today’s Affirmation
I accept my body exactly how it shows up today, knowing that today is full of new possibilities.

Today’s Observations
Detoxing is contagious.  I’m finding that as my body is detoxing itself and bringing in new energy and vitality,  I’m also wanting to get ‘cleaner’ in some other areas of my life.  I expect that I will experience this in different ways in different areas of my life, but the first one that has come to the fore is how I spend my evenings.  What I have noticed is that my evenings have become filled with more and more television, starting around 8PM and ending sometimes after midnight as I watch a combination of previously taped shows and then ‘whatever is on’.  I want to be more deliberate than that in how I spend my time. So, for this week, I want to invite new energy and vitality into my routine by going to bed by 10:30 PM and getting up at 5:30 AM.

Today’s Menu
Smoothie – Meat and water of one coconut, one mango, 1/2 cup frozen raspberries (my favorite)
Left over Tabouleh for lunch
Snacks – pear, pistachios, pecans
Macadamia nut Hummus for dinner with veggies

Today’s New Recipe
I’ve wanted to learn to make a raw version of hummus, and it just so happened that I had all the ingredients on hand to make it… and it was super easy to make.  After I made it though,  I remembered that sometimes I have a hard time digesting nut ‘cheeses’ and dips – oops.  So I ended up just having about a 1/2 cup.  It was pretty good, but needed a bit more flavor, so I added a few “amendments”.   I’ve indicated my additions below.

Macadamia Nut Hummus (2+ Yums)
11/2 cups macadamia nuts, soaked for 1-2 hours
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
11/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/4 cup raw Tahini
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
1 small clove of garlic
I added about a teaspoon of cumin, some more salt, and pepper to taste.

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  Enjoy!

Today’s Affirmation
I embrace a well-being in all its forms.

Today’s Observation
Today is the end of week one, and I am feeling clear headed and happy.  I woke up this morning with no headache, so i guess the big glass of water and a good night’s sleep did the trick.  Time will tell if that is the end of the detox symptoms.  I LOVE that I’m doing this!… if for no other reason than that I am discovering some amazing new recipes.  Check out the cream sauce below.  It was excellent!

So here are the numbers:
7 days raw
5 new recipes
3.5 pounds lost
230 joints happy :)

Today’s Menu
Coconut, Mango, raspberry smoothie
Cauliflower with Cream Sauce and capers for lunch
Snacks – apples, green sugar peas
Cucumber noodle duet with cream sauce, and tomato, basil, capers

Today’s New Recipe – Cauliflower with Cream Sauce and Capers
I was really surprised at how delicious this cream sauce is.  It tastes very close to an Alfredo sauce in my opinion.  And the great thing is that it meets my 10 minute rule – if i can’t fix it in 10 minutes, I don’t do it.  I just had to think to soak the cashews an hour ahead of time, but it only took a few minutes to throw everything in the blender, cut up the cauliflower, and serve.

Cream Sauce (4+ Yums)
1 cup cashews, soaked for 1 hour
3/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 Tablespoon onion (I used one green onion)
1/2 Tablespoon garlic
1/2 Teaspoon salt
1/2 Teaspoon pepper

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth and creamy, about 15 seconds. Serve over bite sized cauliflower florets or cucumber noodles.  Sprinkle with capers and chopped parsley.

Bonus Recipe
On day three, before I started the blog, I made Black Olive Pesto.  Didn’t want you to miss out.  If you live olives, you’ll love this one from Everyday Raw.

Black Olive Pesto (3 Yums)
1 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked for 1-2 hours
1 cup pine nuts (I used pistachios)
2 cups kalamata olives, pitted
2 cups fresh basil
1 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine sundried tomatoes, nuts, and olives in a food processor or blender.  Pulse until chunky.  Pour mixture into a bowl and set aside.  Add basil, parsley, and olive oil to the food processor and pulse until chunky.  Add basil mixture to sundried tomato mixture and mix well.  I served this over cucumber noodles.

Today’s Affirmation

With crystal clear clarity of mind, I create a beautiful day.