Green Gratitude 2017 Recipes & Information

Here, unedited, are the recipes for GreenGratitude 2017.  Note that these raw vegan recipes are intended to serve 10-12 people so keep this in mind when preparing for your friends and family!

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Information and recipes for the dishes to be served at 
Green Gratitude, 

Sunday, November 19, 2017,  6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. 

The Levy Center in Evanston.  

A DONATION of $5-$10 per person attending the meetup is also requested to help pay for this wonderful space and eating ware.

Please visit this MEETUP page for updated information:   https://www.meetup.com/RawChicagoCommunity/events/243334995/

We need 4-6 people to make each dish for 10-12 people.  Recipes are posted at the following Meetup URL and also printed out below. 
https://www.meetup.com/RawChicagoCommunity/messages/boards/thread/51243713/

These dishes are to be RAW, VEGAN (Plant Based), ORGANIC and GLUTEN FREE.  

We also need 12 people to bring $20 cash instead of a dish (we prefer you prepare a dish, so only those who absolutely CANNOT bring a dish please bring cash and let us know at greengratitude[at]gmail[dot]com.

Regular readers of this blog please note: some recipes use extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO).  While you may wish to cut back on this for your personal use, when preparing food for Green Gratitude, please follow the recipes as given here.

Volunteers to help with serving and cleanup would also be greatly appreciated!
Please let greengratitude@gmail.com know if you could do this.

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MENU (recipes below): 

Appetizers:  Dandelion Cilantro Pesto, Pumpkin Seed Chili Red Kuri Dip,  Harvest Dip,  Crackers, Crudite (need about 12 people to create this)

Marinated Mushrooms (need 2 people to make double recipe)
Kale Collard Pomegranate Salad (need 5 people to make)
Napa Cabbage Carrot Beet Salad (need 6 people to make)

Sweet Potato Wedges (need 5 people to make)

Harvest Stuffing (need 4 – 5 people to make)

Mashed Cauliflower (need 4 – 6 people to make)

Cranberry Pear Relish (will be created by chef Ellie)

Onion Rings (need 3 people to make)

Dessert (pls contact us if you would like to prepare a dessert)

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Appetizers: Dandelion Cilantro Pesto, Pumpkin Seed Chili Red Kuri Dip, Harvest Dip, Veggie Crackers, Crudite:

Dandelion Cilantro Pesto inspired by Katrina Blair, Turtle Lake Refuge (serves 6 to 8)

3 cups of dandelion greens fresh(or one bunch no stems)

½ bunch cilantro

2 cups raw walnuts

3 Tbsp lemon juice

3 cloves garlic

3 T fresh thyme

3 T fresh sage

1 cup filtered water

1 tsp Himalayan salt

Mix all the ingredients in the blender until it forms a creamy texture. Blend until smooth. Option: use a food processor and make it chunky.

Pumpkin Seed Chile Red Kuri Dip 

2 C pumpkin seeds soaked 6 hours, rinsed and drained 

One medium to large winter squash such as Red Kuri or Blue Kabocha 

Juice of one large lemon or two limes 

Half a bunch cilantro (or parsley)

1 Tbsp  Apple Cider Vinegar (raw)

one inch fresh ginger

Two inches fresh tumeric (2 Tbsp dried if you don't have fresh) 

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1 Tbsp. onion powder, 

1 tsp.cinnamon

Dash of salt. 

Blend in Vitamix seeds, winter squash, fresh lemon or lime juice, ACV, fresh ginger, turmeric, chili powder, onion powder, cinnamon and salt.  

When above ingredients are blended, add half a bunch of cilantro (or parsley) and blend again.

Blend until creamy or a little chunky. (Vitamix can overheat if you use big pieces of squash, try to use cubes).

Harvest Dip

2 cups raw walnuts OR brazil nuts, soaked for 8 hours and rinsed very well

2 T tamari

1 t garlic, chopped

1 to 2 T fresh thyme

6 to 8 fresh sage leaves

4 T fresh chopped parsley

Preparation 

Rinse the soaked walnuts and drain well. Put nuts, tamari, garlic, and thyme in a food processor with an S blade, process until smooth, scraping down the sides when needed. Add parsley and process briefly. 

Homemade Veggie Crackers – bring us your own creations!

Crudite – bring $20 worth of veggies sliced as chips for dipping!! Recommendations – Japanese white turnip, purple daikon, watermelon radish, black radish, jicama, cauliflower, broccoli, carrot, celery, sweet potato

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Dinner: Marinated Mushrooms, Kale Collard Pomegranate Salad, Napa Cabbage Carrot Beet Salad, Sweet Potato Wedges, Harvest Stuffing, Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes, Onion Rings.

Marinated Mushrooms inspired by Nomi Shannon, rawgourmet.com

Serves 8-10

Remove the stems and wipe the caps clean with a damp cloth or paper towel. Cut each mushroom cap in half, then thinly slice it. Place all of the remaining ingredients in a shallow bowl, add the mushroom slices, and gently toss until they are evenly coated. Let marinate at room temperature for one hour, then refrigerate.

Ingredients

8 Portobello mushrooms

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 T thyme

4 – 6 sage leaves finely chopped (optional)

3 T fresh lemon juice

1 T apple cider vinegar

2 T finely minced shallot

4 T organic wheat-free tamari

4 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed

½ t sea salt

Kale Collard Pomegranate Salad

2 bunches lacinato kale, stems removed & cut chiffonade

1 bunch collard greens, stems removed and cut chiffonade

6 large carrots, peeled and sliced thinly

1 large purple or white daikon radish cut in matchsticks

1 red bell pepper, seeded & cut julienne

2 leeks sliced thinly

1 bunch parsley, stems removed and chopped

10 – 15 sage leaves chopped

1 pomegranate seeds only

Toss in the juice of 1 - 2 lemons, 4 T EVOO, and 1 t good sea salt

(We will use Blake’s dressing on all salads at event, so you are just using a basic dressing to wilt salad….)

Napa Cabbage Carrot Beet Salad

1 large head napa cabbage, shredded

3 small golden beets shredded

6 carrots, shredded

1 red or orange bell pepper chopped

1 japanese or purple top turnip shredded

1 purple or white daikon radish, shredded

1 bunch of fennel bulb sliced thinly

½ bunch cilantro chopped

½ bunch parsley chopped

1 head celery sliced

1 leek, finely sliced

1 large shallot, finely chopped

Juice of 2 lemons or 3 limes

OPTIONAL – 1 cup chopped pecans

Toss in the juice of 1 - 2 lemons, 4 T EVOO, and 1 t good sea salt

(We will use Blake’s dressing on all salads at event, so you are just using a basic dressing to wilt salad….)

Sweet Potato Wedges

10 – 12 deep orange or purple sweet potatoes peeled and sliced into thin wedges

Marinate one hour in wheat-free tamari, paprika, sesame oil or EVOO, salt, pepper, and lots of onion powder

Dehydrate 6 hours flipping half way, keep on teflex sheet

Harvest Stuffing by Blake and Ariane

Stuffing Ingredients

4 cups walnuts or pecans or brazil nuts soaked and rinsed well (sub 2 c sunflower seeds soaked if you prefer)

2 lbs. crimini mushrooms chopped chunky

1 big zucchini (or 3 small), peeled and coarsely chopped

2 sweet onions chopped chunky (soak in water one hour before using, rinsing water off  3 or 4 times) OR 3 leeks

2 heads celery, peeled and chopped chunky

5 carrots chopped chunky

½ bunch chopped parsley

4 T fresh thyme

4 T fresh sage

2 T marjoram

2 T fresh rosemary

2 T dill (optional)

1 T sea salt

nutmeg

Step 1: Marinate celery and onions for one hour in olive oil, sage, rosemary, paprika, salt

Step 2: Marinate mushrooms in rosemary, salt, oil, garlic, onion powder one hour

Step 3: Blend well in vitamix or food processor 4 cups nuts with zucchini with 1 - 2 cups of water. Add at the end of processing seeds/nuts – salt, sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, dill

Step 4 Mix everything well in a bowl and add carrots, parsley, dash of nutmeg

Step 5: tweak all spices

Dehydrate at 105 degrees 1 inch thick for 2 –3 hours on teflex, then flip and do another 2 – 3 hours – should be crusty on outside and moist inside 

KEY to this recipe: use lots of water with the nuts in the food processor to make very creamy and make the veggies very chunky, also use fresh rosemary and fresh sage

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 cups cashews, soaked 20 minutes and rinsed

1 large cauliflower, chopped (include stems)

Juice of one fresh lemon juice

2 T EVOO

2 T dried or fresh savory herbs such as thyme, rosemary, tarragon

Blend in high speed blender. Process until completely smooth, adding small amounts of additional lemon juice or water  as needed to allow the blender to run smoothly. You can use a food processor if you don’t have a high speed blender and will come out a bit chunky.

Onion Rings inspired by Adam Graham, Rawnora

3 lbs sweet onions (5 medium sized) 1 C pumpkin seeds soaked and rinsed  1 C Sunflower seeds soaked and rinsed well  ¼ C onion powder  2 T mesquite powder (optional) 2 T ground chia or ground flax  2 tsp salt

Slice onion about ¼” thick (3 mm) using mandolin, v slicer or processor.

Place in bowl, lightly salt and toss.

Leave to sweat 20 minutes, press and pour off juice (you can use a nutmylk bag to press out as much juice as you can) 

Place soaked sunflower and pumpkin seeds in processor with S blade to process smooth.

Mix together in a bowl with onion powder, ground chia or flax (and mesquite if you are using it) and salt. 

Mix in onions to coat evenly.   Use tongs or hands to transfer to dehydrator with teflex sheets.

Dehydrate 12 hrs @ 110F flipping off sheets after 6 hours.

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Benjamin Gasparra

Green Gratitude SPEAKER:
Easy Tips For Better Health
Benjamin Gasbarra, Expert on Sprouting and Microgreens
Green Entrepreneur, former Director of the Creative Health Institute, MICHIGAN

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Eat Your Dressing!

If you are following a program of Whole Food Plant Based Nutrition (WFPBN) you are probably eating a lot of salads.   A humorist once said that what separates man from the rabbit is salad dressing, and it is true that most of us like to add the flavors and texture of a good dressing to our salads.

Certainly you can do wonders with some balsamic vinegar to make a light dressing, but when a salad is going to be the principal portion of a meal, you might want something a bit more substantial.

You can make your dressing part of the nutritional "payload" of your salads.  Instead of recipes, here are some general guidelines for making dressings to enhance both the flavor and healthfulness of your salads.

Remember the importance of balancing the "basic flavors" of foods, especially the five principal ones:  sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory.    (There are some other systems of naming and classifying flavors, but this is good for a start).

SWEET:  A great source would be a few dried dates.  Just one or two finely chopped medjool or similarly sweet dates chopped and blended into a dressing add just enough sweetness to bring out the flavors of the other ingredients, and add a bit of fiber as well. A few drops of maple syrup or honey can do this as well, but I like dates the best!

SOUR:  A generous squeeze of lemon and lime juice adds the sour flavor.  A good time to add this is just juicing a a lemon or lime and stirring it into your salad vegetables before adding any dressing.  Or add a little raw apple cider vinegar.  My preference is for fresh lemon or lime.

BITTER:  Most salad greens have enough bitterness that you do not need to add anything.  Mainly your task is to balance the bitterness with the other flavors.

SALTY:   For saltiness, some miso, preferably not soy (we get enough soy in our lives!).  I especially like Miso Master Organic Soy Free Chickpea Miso.  This is a fermented bean paste and adds a nice rich flavor of its own.  You can find it at Whole Foods Markets and other outlets. Read about it here:  https://great-eastern-sun.com/shop/miso-master-miso/miso-master-chickpea-miso/.)    Saltiness can also come from small amounts of sea salt, but for many reasons I'd say miso is the better choice.

Notwithstanding the view that sodium in miso may act the same way in the body as the sodium in table salt, (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=114) go easy!  But also bear in mind that we are avoiding a huge source of sodium in our diets: processed foods!  

Also, nutritional yeast adds a "cheesy" flavor as well as some saltiness.  I prefer it as a "shake on" after dressing the salad, rather than incorporating it in the dressing.    Find a brand that is Vitamin B-12 fortified.  If you are not familiar with nutritional yeast a nice "starter" product is Parma, at http://www.eatparma.com.  You can find it in the cold chest at stores that carry it.   It combines nutritional yeast with walnuts and seeds for a rich, cheesy texture and flavor.   Whole Foods Market and other stores carry it.  If you haven't had it before try the smaller size of the "Original"  flavor to see if you like it, or if you like spicy, the "Chipotle Cayenne."  It's a bit of an acquired taste, so give it a chance.  You can shake it on all sorts of veggies, raw or cooked, for a bit of excitement!

SAVORY (or spicy).  This is mostly about spices!  Hopefully all your spices will add to the health "payload" of your dressing.   This means freshness and not the spices that have been sitting in your kitchen cabinet for a year or more!

My fave is Anti-Inflammation Spice from Love That Spice in Highland Park (and online at    https://www.lovethatspice.com).  If it's convenient go to her store and meet Marlena who grinds spices fresh daily to be at the peak of their flavor and healthfulness.

Related to spices but fresh rather than dried would be some fresh ginger.  Grate it or mince it, and let your blender do the rest.   Great for health as well as flavor.  Also garlic, onion, leeks, scallions, etc. add to the flavor and nutrition!

MOUTH FEEL  This isn't really a flavor category, but more about how the dressing feels in your mouth as you eat it.  For this you may want to add some fat in the form of avocado, tahini, or even sesame seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.  Beans are great too!  Garbanzo beans work here (just add a little more liquid to your favorite hummos recipe!).  Cannellini beans in particular make a great sauce or even salad dressing.  If you like garlic, here's a very simple one from Anne Esselstyn:  https://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes/cannellini-bean-sauce/#gs.g7jFEZE.
(I like it with fresh lemon juice instead of tamari).

Now you are ready to make a dressing!   Do not make a lot!  Make enough for just a day or two - three at the most!    For most of us, a small blender is much easier to manage than the larger ones we use for soups and smoothies.     

Tribest Personal Blender; Complete Set

There are a number of mini-blenders on the market, but my favorite for this purpose is the Tribest Personal Blender.  The complete set  has a larger container for blended drinks, and two smaller containers (with two different kinds of blades). This blender has many uses and the jars have covers for easy refrigerator storage.  

A small Magic Bullet works too and also has  container covers so you can store right from the blending bowl.

These small but powerful blender is available at many outlets but here are e Amazon.com link:
http://tinyurl.com/TribestPersonalBlender
http://tinyurl.com/SmallMagicBullet

(if the tiny links doesn't work let me know or just search on Amazon or Google.)

Small Coffee Grinder

Another blender choice would be a stick blender used in a wide mouth pint jar.   I've had this one for years and I use it a lot.  http://tinyurl.com/proctorsilexstickblender
It's a little slower than the Tribest or Magic Bullet and needs a little more liquid to start, but it does the job!

A small coffee grinder quickly turns seeds into a fine powder to thicken your dressing.  You can find a small electric coffee grinder for under $15.


SO HOW DO WE MAKE THIS DRESSING?

Here are some of the ingredients you may want to use to make your own dressing:

Begin with your  liquid or very soft items such as a little lemon or lime juice (even if you've already sprinkled some on the salad), and miso, tahini, avocado, grated or minced or grated ginger, etc.

Add your thickeners, including your ground nuts or seeds, and blend well.

Now add your chopped veggies such as zucchini or yellow summer squash.  They'll add a little liquid when blended, they don't add much of their own flavor and they give a nice smooth texture.  Cucumber adds a lot of water so if you use that you might want to scrape out the central seed core.

Next your firmer veggies such as onions, garlic, peppers, or even a little jalapeño!   (Keep track of which of these you've already put in your salad!) Also any sweet fruit.

Finally add your spices and, if you wish, a few drops of something sweet like maple syrup.  

Start out making small amounts.  It will probably be thick so just work it throughout your salad; this is especially good to do with leaves that may be tougher, like cabbage, kale, chard and collard.  You can chiffonade the large leaves, rolling them up like cigars and cutting across the rolls in fine slices, and then massaging in a little dressing at a time with your clean hands.

Mix your dressing well into your leafy greens as well as the other veggies in your salad, such as finely sliced carrots, radishes, turnips, parsnips, and other veggies, all diced or sliced or cut into matchsticks, to make sure your it gets everywhere!

Put leftover dressing into a in a glass jar in the fridge to enjoy the next day.    These don't have preservatives so enjoy them quickly!

Consider freezing a small amount - perhaps an ounce or so - to see if it might be something you could make ahead.  Experiment to find flavors you enjoy.  Add flavorful herbs such as dill at the last minute so that you can make several flavors from one base.

Write down what you put in your dressing:

1.  So you'll remember for next time, and,

2.  To compare with the labels on just about any commercial dressing and see the difference you made!

MAKE SMALL AMOUNTS when you are EXPERIMENTING!  In time you'll find the combos you like the best!
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This post (like all the others in this blog) is a work in progress.

But that said, I would like to thank Ariane Glazer  (https://www.meetup.com/RawChicagoCommunity/ ) 
and Cyndi Dodick  https://www.meetup.com/LiveFoodChicago/  who have added to my understanding of making great raw dressings that could be meals in themselves.   Join their meetups and you can learn more from them!

Whatever is good in this post is thanks to them.  Whatever doesn't quite work -- well you can just blame me!  

Clearing up Confusion -- a little!

I've been a bit confused by some of Dr. Esselstyn's directives -- perhaps others have too -- especially about quantities of greens to eat per day and how to prepare them, and also about adding or eliminating certain groups of foods.

Nutritionist Jeff Novick (who has already appeared in these pages in another post, The Genius of Jeff Novick, had some of these same questions, so he asked Dr. Esselstyn for clarification.

To see Jeff Novick's summary of Dr. Esselstyn's answers,  please click here.
I found this most helpful!

(To go to The Genius of Jeff Novick, please click here.  There you will find some fast, easy meals, that are easy to adapt for rice cooker preparation as described in more detail here.  )

A NEW Small Appliance and a Recipe to Go With!

Not another small appliance!

Zyliss Easy Pull
Food Processor

Yes, but this one is small and not even electric!  It is the Zyliss Easy Pull Food Processor.  I bought one today at Whole Foods in Lincoln Park for about $28, and here it is on Amazon: click here. 

(By the way, when I list a store, I am not necessarily recommending that store, but just identifying a place where you can see or learn more about the item. )

(Also, if you buy this, note that you remove the blade guard by first pulling off the bottom "paddle" (it's a little tight but it does come right down off the central column by pulling down) so the  blade cover can slip right off that column.  Then just replace the bottom paddle and it's ready to use!   There were many complaints on Amazon about the company providing no instructions for this and it took me a while to figure it out!)

This is a great little chopper that uses a "pull cord" (like some of the lettuce dryers for example).   This can be useful if you don't have an electric outlet nearby, and it also makes this much smaller and lighter and easier to clean.  

I chopped just one ingredient at a time because each requires a different number of "pulls" to get the sizes I wanted.  It made the receipe below with it's many chopped ingredients quickly and easily, and I think I'll use it a LOT in the future, especially for meals for myself.

Below is the RECIPE I made using this.   It is called "Carrot Salad with Lemon Turmeric Vinaigrette," but as you will see I made some changes to make it "Essy Compliant" as well as for my own personal taste.

This recipe was in a Chicago Tribune article that appeared Wednesday, March 15, 2017 in the Food and Dining Section.   The article was about Turmeric -- quite a long article that said not one word about the health benefits of that wonderful spice.  This conforms with what appears -- to me at least -- to be the unfortunate Chicago Tribune policy of avoiding discussion of health considerations in the Food and Dining Section!

I've posted the recipe below.   In ITALICS I've added the changes I made to make it better for my needs and also Essy-Compliant!

1 pound long, thin carrots, peeled and sliced into rounds.
I used four long thin carrots, very coarsely chopped before putting in the processor. 

1/3 Cup Virgin Olive oil plus extra for drizzling!
OMITTED! But I broke the rules a bit and shook in a few drops, less than a teaspoon, of toasted sesame oil for "mouth feel" and a bit of flavor.   This could be omitted.

1/2 C bulgur
I need to be gluten free so I used Quinoa that I cooked quickly in my little rice cooker!

1/4 C lemon juice
I used the juice of one large lemon and one lime - because I like it!
I think a wedge of lemon when serving would "pop" up the flavor nicely as well!

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
I used a generous amount of Love That Spice Anti-Inflammation seasoning which I love and which  has lots of turmeric in it.  To learn more see https://www.lovethatspice.com

1 large garlic clove, pressed
I didn't have any on hand :-( so I shook in a little garlic powder.

1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
It would be nice to roast seeds but I just added some cumin powder.

1/2 tsp salt
I used a little sea salt, considerably less than in the recipe.

2 cups chopped red cabbage
I used about half a small red cabbage, chopped into coarse chunks to put into the processor.

1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
I cooked my garbanzo beans from dried beans in the rice cooker a few days ago, adding fresh jalapeño peppers to the water. 

1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley.
I chopped curly parsley very coarsely and then used the processor.

2 green onions sliced
I chopped these coarsely and then used the processor.

4 ounces feta cheese
OMITTED! I'm strictly dairy free!

PLUS,  I used a few big chunks of fresh fennel because I had it and I like it!
And I added a few shakes of dulse flakes for a bit of iodine in our "goiter belt" midwest!

In the future I think celery stalks and/or leaves chopped with the above processor would add a nice flavor touch, as would some pomegranate seeds!   No end of variations on this theme or it's uses.   

I think adding some fermented veggies would also pop up the flavor and may try this next time!


Instructions:

Directions call for cooking the bulgur (which, as noted, I didn't use) and the carrots.
I cooked the quinoa in my little rice cooker but left the carrots raw.

Next it calls for all ingredients to be tossed in a large bowl, and notes you can make this 2 days in advance.

When you are ready to eat,  you might want to "pop up" the somewhat bland flavor a bit with a squeeze of fresh lemon and/or lime juice, and even a small grind of sea salt.  (The salt on the "surface" of a food will taste a lot "saltier" than the salt mixed into the food, so you will use a LOT less that way!)

I ran each ingredient requiring it through the Zyliss Easy Pull Food Processor one by one to get the consistency I wanted.  It handled the raw carrots and cabbage, parsley, green onions and fennel  quite well and quickly as long as I coarse chopped them first into medium large chunks.    I did one ingredient after another this way -- no need to rinse the bowl in between as they were all winding up in the same dish.

You could use this as a sandwich filling mixed with a little hummus to hold it together, or perhaps incorporated into a salad dressing.   It could even be heated up in some veggie broth for a quick soup. If you use a commercial plant based salt-free broth (as opposed to one you make and season yourself) consider adding to the flavor with just a few drops of a savory commercial sauce.  

I have enjoyed the Sky Valley line of organic, gluten-free, non-GMO products.  Sriracha, Korean BBQ, Sweet Chili, Thai Peanut Sauce, and others.  I especially like their "nozzle" tops that let you add these sauces by the drop!  Whole Foods also has some nice 365 products. These are fairly high in sodium if you use the amounts often used in their labeling, but most of the time a few drops will not add much sodium and can add a lot of flavor!

I'm not including the nutritional information but this is obviously a colorful,  low fat, high plant-protein, high fiber dish, and I think the little Zyliss Easy-Pull Food Processor will be handy for many uses!