• 8 C cauliflower, chopped including stems
• 4 C fennel, medium dice, fronds reserved
• 2 C parsnip or turnip, medium dice
• 2 C onion, chopped
• 2 lemons.sliced
• 1 tbl thyme, chopped
• 1 tbl fennel seeds, crushed or put though a spice blender
• 2 C vegetable stock, heated

Roast vegetables and lemon slices in a preheated 400 degree oven. Use butter or coconut butter or dry roast. Let it roast a bit, 30 to 40 min. 
Remove from oven, and put in oven proof dish, chop up the lemon slices, add thyme, fennel seeds, parsley and vegetable stock. Cover and put back in the oven 15 more min) Garnish with reserved fennel fronds. 

This makes a loose stuffing. You can add ½ cup of kamut, spelt, brown rice flour or choice to thicken up the vegetable stock to tighten up the stuffing. Just sift the flour over the broth when simmering and mix thoroughly so there are no lumps. Add a pat of butter to make it richer. 

You can add dried currants or cranberries and raw or toasted pine nuts if you are having a nut/dried fruit based dinner.

• Take 1 whole head of garlic and cut the top off.
• Wrap in tin foil and roast in a preheated, 400 degree oven for 1 hour or until cloves are soft a creamy.
• Squeeze the roasted cloves out of the skins and add to 1 cup of the reserved sautéed mushrooms from the loaf recipe.
• Put in blender, adding water or almond milk as needed to facilitate blending.
• Season with s/p.
• Add some finely chopped parsley to garnish. Serve on the side of Mushroom Loaf.

• 1 lb assorted mushrooms, chopped (portobello, cremini, button, shitake, porcini….)
• 4 C parsnip, small dice
• 1 C carrot, small dice
• 1 C red onions, small dice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 sprigs thyme
• ¾ sage leaves, chiffonaded
• ¼ C parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp thyme leaves
• 1 C zucchini, grated
• 2 tbl tomato paste
• 2 tbl nama shoyu

Preheat oven 400 degrees; Dry roast parsnips, carrots, red onions till soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Flip once if it browns too quickly. 

Saute garlic, thyme sprigs in butter or coconut butter till fragrant, 5 min. Add mushrooms and nama shoyu and sauté till soft, 8 to 10 min. Reserve a cup of the sautéed mushroom for the gravy. 

Put mushroom mixture (remove thyme sprigs) and the roasted vegetable in a food processor and pulse 3 or 4 times depending on your machine. You want it to keep it chunky but blended together.

Transfer to a large bowl, add rest of the herbs, tomato paste, grated zucchini (to keep loaf moist) and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Put in a meatloaf pan, thin out the tomato paste with a little water and spread on top to form a crust. 

Bake covered 30 min. Uncover and bake till crust gets a bit more toasty…. 15 min.

From my Thanksgiving table to yours with a heaping of family love, here’s the recipe for the Mushroom Loaf and all the Thanksgiving fixin’s below. Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of the recipe; the Thanksgiving flavors come through with the savory herbs and spices. You can pick and choose the sides. I bet a pumpkin spiced tea with a scoop of unsweetened chocolate powder with cinnamon sticks (and sweetened with stevia) will make your evening complete! Happy Holidays! 

Serve 6 to 8 people

• Mushroom Sage Loaf with Tomato Glaze
• Roasted Garlic & Mushroom Gravy
• Cauliflower “Mashed Potatoes” with Horseradish and Chives
• Roasted Fennel “Stuffing” with Lemon
• Raw Cream of Corn with Marjoram
• Shaved Brussels Sprouts
• Stuffed Acorn Squash with Spinach and Nutmeg
• Raw Jicama “Potato Salad” with Tarragon Mustard Vinaigrette

Now for the desserts…

• Citrus Sorbet (Neutral)
• Citrus Avocado Pudding (Starch Based)
• Maple Syrup Sweet Potato Ice Cream (Starch Based)
• Easy Yam Brulee (Starch Based)
• Chunky Monkey Banana Ice Cream (Nut/ Fruit Based)
• Beet & Cinnamon Ice Cream (Protein based)

• 4 C Jicama, peeled and cubed
• 2 Red Bell Peppers, roasted and marinated (recipe below)
• 1 Avocado, julienned
• 1 Scallion, cut lengthwise in strips
• Nori Sheets

Marinade:

I mix ½ teaspoon of Sriracha (asian hot sauce) or you can use any type of hot sauce, add liquid stevia, and a tiny splash of nama shoyu and a squeeze of lime. Adjust spiciness according to taste!

Shoyu Vinaigrette Dipping Sauce:

• 3 tbsp Shoyu with equal parts water
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 garic, minced
• 1 knob ginger, in matchsticks
• 1 scallion or chives, chopped
• 1 dash of cayenne
• A couple of drops of sesame oil (optional)
• Stevia to taste
• Sesame seeds to garnish (optional)

Combine all ingredients, let flavors steep. Thin out with more water to taste if shoyu is too salty.

Directions:

Roast the red peppers whole over a burner or cut remove core and broil skin side up till charred. Remove skins and cut into strips. Add to marinade and let sit while making “rice.” 

To make the “rice”:

• Make sure the jicama is firm.
• They tend to get soft and moldy.
• Remove all tough fibrous parts with a knife (peeler will not work) until you have only the white of the jicama left.
• Cube and pulse in food processor three or four times till it resembles white rice. Go slow! You don’t want it too mushy!
• Place the jicama on a clean kitchen towel and wring out the excess moisture. Do it in batches. This is important; otherwise the “rice” will make the rolls soggy.

Next: 

• Take a nori sheet and place on top of sushi mat (yes, you need it!)
• Add rice to lower second half of sheet
• Add avocado strips in a row
• Top with red pepper strips
• Add scallions
• Roll bottom half, tucking in the rice inwards
• Keep rolling until you reach the top and moisten with water to seal.

Finally:

To make it a complete and satisfying meal, start with a bowl of vegetable miso soup with carrot, shitake mushrooms and scallions. (In a pot of water add dried shitake mushrooms and a slice of ginger and boil for 10 minutes. Remove shitake and cut into slices, add thinly sliced carrots and simmer till slightly soft. Add mushrooms back in. Take off heat and stir in your miso paste of choice; red, white, etc…) 
Add sliced scallions to garnish. 

As an extra, a plate of steamed zucchini sticks will take this meal over the edge. Make extra shoyu to dip zucchini sticks!

 For the Sweet Potato “Pasta”:

• 2 med sweet potatoes, peeled and spiralized
• 1 handful basil
• 2 inch stalk of lemongrass
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 clove sized ginger
• 1 or 2 limes
• stevia to taste
• handful of whole cilantro

Instructions:

Blend all ingredients and toss with spiralized sweet potatoes. Top 
with cilantro. 

N.B.: 

1. Allowing the mixture to marinate will soften the pasta.
2. Butternut squash or carrot can be substituted in place of the sweet potato if necessary.

For the Chopped Salad:

• 1 head romaine, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 med seedless cucumbers, finely chopped
• 1 sm red onion, finely chopped
• 1 handful flat leaf parsley, chopped

For the Spiced Eggplant Dressing:

• 1 lg italian eggplant
• 1 clove garlic
• handful parsley,
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp of cumin, coriander, paprika

Instructions: 

1. Toss salad ingredients together, add s/p as desired.
2. Cut eggplant lengthwise and broil skin side up till charred (10 min). Let cool an scrape out flesh, add rest of ingredients and put in a food processor and blend till smooth. Add water to thin if necessary. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

For the Salad:

• 1 lb spinach, blanched
• 3 med carrots, shredded
• 1/2 lb mung beans, blanched
• 1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1 scallion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• kosher or fine sea salt

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 tsp korean hot pepper paste (Kochujang)
• 1 tbsp nama shoyu
• drizzle of toasted sesame oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• stevia to taste

Instructions: 

1. Mix all ingredients together, adding water to thin the sauce so it pours freely.
2. Blanch the spinach till it turns a bright green; ten seconds or less. Immerse in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and to retain the bright green color.
3. Repeat process with mung beans but blanch for thirty seconds and skip the icebath.
4. Salt the shredded carrots and let sit for 10 minutes. Rinse off salt and drain.
5. Place shredded romaine lettuce in a salad bowl, add each vegetable in three separate mounds on top of lettuce, sprinkle with scallions and serve sauce on the side.

Note: To make carnivore friendly, you can take a piece of high quality chopped beef and marinate it in a splash of soy, sesame oil, minced garlic and ginger for 10 minutes and then saute it quickly till desired doneness. Serve this alongside the vegetables.

I have been craving Mexican food and been eating this all week. It is a guilt free pleasure without the usual flour or corn tortillas (notice we’ll be using red leaf lettuce instead).

1 cup shredded carrots 
1 handful of cilantro 
1 handful of red cabbage, shredded 
1/2 head of red leaf lettuce for wraps 
pico de gallo

To assemble tacos, take one whole red leaf lettuce, add main ingredient, chipotle sour cream if using, radishes and cabbage, top with pico de gallo and garnish with cilantro. 

5 medium tomatoes, diced 
1/2 medium red onion, diced 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
1 jalapeno, deseeded and fine diced 
1 handful cilantro, chopped 
juice of 2 to 3 limes 
s/p to taste 

For tacos, take one whole red leaf lettuce, add main ingredient, chipotle sour cream if using, radishes and cabbage, top with pico de gallo and garnish with cilantro. 

This is actually made out of soft goat cheese which is far superior to the milk based sour cream. You can also use goat yogurt but it tends to become too runny when you add the other ingredients.

4 oz soft goat cheese 
1 lime, juiced 
1 garlic clove, minced 
1 chipotle pepper, chopped* 
s/p to taste

Blend all ingredients in food processor, adding more lime juice if needed.

* Chipotle peppers are canned and available in spanish markets. Alternatively, you can substitute for up to 1/4 teaspoon of smoked chipotle powder 

2 red snapper fillets 
1/2 bunch radishes, sliced 
1 handful of red cabbage, shredded 
1/2 head of red leaf lettuce for wraps 
pico de gallo 
fresh cilantro sprigs 

Marinade:
2 cloves garlic 
1 handful cilantro including stems
1 jalapeno, deseeded 
1 lime, juiced 
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil 
s/p to taste

Blend marinade ingredients in food processor and marinate fish for at least 1/2 hour. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. You can substitute for any other white fish such as tilapia, cod, whiting, etc….

1 ripe avocado, sliced 
1/2 bunch radishes, sliced 
1 handful of red cabbage, shredded 
1/2 head of red leaf lettuce for wraps 
pico de gallo
fresh cilantro sprigs

2 salmon filets 
1/2 bunch radishes, sliced 
1 handful of red cabbage, shredded 
1/2 head of red leaf lettuce for wraps 
pico de gallo 
fresh cilantro sprigs 

Salt and pepper the salmon as desired and pan sear in a little butter till slightly pink in center, 4 or 5 minutes per side. Let cool and flake apart with fork. Add chipotle sour cream.

Japanese Curry is usually sweeter and thicker than other traditional curries and is made by making a roux with butter or oil, flour and curry powder. Carrot and onion is the standard vegetable with the addition of beef or chicken. It is eaten over rice or udon noodles made of wheat flour. It is Japanese comfort food at its best …or maybe not. Most people forgo making the roux and buy the instant version which is cheap and cheerful until you read the ingredients: WHEAT FLOUR, EDIBLE OILS (PALM OIL (SOY), CANOLA OIL, SALT, SUGAR, CURRY POWDER, SPICES, CARAMEL COLOR, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, MALIC ACID, AND DISODIUM GUANYLATE, DISODIUM INOSINATE. 

This is what my son was eating when I picked him up from his grandma’s house. He barely looked up at me when I walked in and it wasn’t him being rude; he was just up to his ears in this steaming bowl of curry and didn’t see me… Could I blame him? No way, it smelled terrific! But MSG is serious business. Growing up, it was right alongside the salt and black pepper. My mom used to put spoonfuls in her kimchi but now she knows better. Chinese restaurants have been boasting, NO MSG! for a long time now because the long list of horrors associated with it has been comprehensively documented. 

In this lifestyle of eating wholesome, unprocessed natural foods, we pick and choose our battles. It is not often he goes to his grandma’s and when he does, he eats fairly well but there is the occasional meal that is processed and packaged; instant ramen noodles still have a place in my mom’s home. So I allowed him to finish his bowl but I vowed to find a better alternative. So here is my version and it is uncannily indistinguishable from the “real” thing. Next time we visit my mom, I’m bringing extra! 

It’s important to use really good strong curry powder that isn’t mainly turmeric like British curry powders. You will know if it does if the powder is more yellow than brown. To make a curry spicy, you can use garam masala which is available in Indian or most specialty supermarkets. Serve the curry over cauliflower rice (florets pulsed in a food processor). You can heat up the rice by putting it in a double boiler (stainless steel bowl over a pot of boiling water). The curry is also delicious with a big bowl of steamed broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini and carrots garnished with a handful of roughly chopped cilantro

Japanese Curry 

1 medium kabocha squash 
2 carrots, chopped 
1 knob of ginger 
3 cloves garlic 
2 tbs curry powder

Place the whole kabocha squash in a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes, rotating it if not fully immersed. Remove from pot and and let sit until cool enough to handle. Use a vegetable peeler to remove only the top green layer of skin. Cut in half and remove seeds and cut the squash into large equal pieces. Put the squash and the rest of ingredients in a large pot adding enough water to cover the vegetables. Simmer till the carrots are soft. Blend all ingredients in a food processor adding the cooking water as needed. You want a nice puree, not too thick and not too thin. Add the curry powder and season to taste.