a wholesome threesome for turkey day

bow ties + moto jackets = dakotah's sweet style

do you have your recipes all set for thanksgiving?

here is the lovely threesome i cooked up this weekend while talking, sharing tips and giving away recipes to my community. THIS is officially my favorite new weekend activity!

dakota's farmer's market = home of the lake county food patriot = townsfolk who are voting for local, good food sources with every dollar they spend.

i.love.it.

whether you are ready or not for turkey day, these recipes will surely rock your hungry mouth and save you time.  i heart recipes that you DUMP into a pot or processor and it does the work for you.

it's like one stop shopping.

a turkey day (any day) raw stuffing 

serve as a side dish, spoon over turkey, plop it on mashed potatoes or spoon into endive cups (choose any green leaf can work as a wrap) or make spring/eggrolls!  YUM.

inspired by kimberly snyder & the food babe.

1 c soaked raw almonds (soaked overnight in water and drained)

2 c soaked raw pecans (soaked overnight in water and drained)

1 c organic carrots diced

1 c organic cremini mushrooms sliced (optional)

1/2 c organic onion diced

1 c organic celery diced

1 organic apple or pear

2 cloves garlic minced

1/2 c raisins or 3-4 pitted medjool dates chopped (optional)

5 sprigs fresh rosemary leaved(stems discarded) finely minced

small handful of fresh parsley leaves and stems minced

2-3 sprigs fresh oregano leaves (stems discarded) minced

10 sprigs fresh thyme leaves (stems discarded) minced

8-10 fresh sage leaves minced (stems discarded)

1/4 tsp tumeric

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp truffle oil

3-4 T of organic vegetable stock

juice from one lemon

sea salt and pepper to taste

DUMP everything into a food processor and pulse into a nice even chop. no processor?  dice, chop, mince and mix everything up yourself into a large bowl (it'll just take you longer).

the best cranberry relish evah (make it ahead!)

inspired by jamie oliver

1 bag fresh cranberries

1/2 c coconut sugar/nectar/honey (whatever sugar floats your boat)

1 organic apple peeled & diced

1 organic pear peeled & diced (optional)

1 organic orange (zest & juice)

1 tsp fresh grated ginger 

1 cinnamon stick

a pinch of nutmeg

a pinch of ground cloves

1.5 c white wine (i used kim crawford's savignion blanc) i usually use port but this works so well too!!!!

DUMP everything into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  stir & cook to dissolve sugar.  once the cranberries begin to burst (about 5 minutes) bring the heat down to a simmer and continue stirring until the liquids reduce (about 10-15 minutes).  let cool before serving or before covering and freezing.  (thaw overnight in your fridge to serve)  cranberry relish makes a lovely housewarming gift in a cute mason jar!

a pomegranate + apple + mango salsa (raw) or chutney (cooked)

inspired by realfoodwholelife's 52 new foods recipe

1-2 pomegranates, seeds removed (approx 1 cup). 

1 organic honey crisp apple diced
1/2 organic pear diced

1 c mango (thawed from frozen or fresh)

1/4 of a red or white onion diced

1 carton of grape tomatoes 

juice from two lemons or limes (either will work great)

1 T coconut nectar or honey or brown rice syrup or maple syrup 

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

(1.5 c white wine - for making chutney)

first, marinate the onion in lemon/lime juice for 20 min to an hour at the bottom of the food processor or blender then DUMP everything else into the bowl and pulse to desired chunky-ness.  serve with organic tortilla chips. to make it a chutney: place all ingredients + white wine and cook it down low and slow until you get your desired consistency. i like to divide this recipe amount in half: keep one portion a salsa and make the other half into a chutney. no processor?  dice it all up and mix!

it's sheer heaven on top of your favorite piece of meat OR sweet potato latkes! some girlfriends and i ate them so fast the other night i didn't have time to take a pic!  here they are staying warm in the oven:

simple sweet potato latkes

organic virgin coconut oil

4-5 organic sweet potatoes (peeled & grated - i use my food processor!)
1/2 an onion chopped or sliced super fine

3 organic, pastured eggs

some cinnamon shakes (about a tsp maybe?)

a healthy pinch of sea salt

fresh ground pepper

combine all ingredients in a large bowl. heat a large pan (cast iron works great) on med heat and melt 2 T coconut oil. spoon patties onto the pan. cook 3-6 min per side and flatten with spatula.  season with s&p.

now go eat this lovely food with your family & friends, sip limoncello and find those lucky pennies!! 

happy happiest thanksgiving to all my gobblers!!

to the mullies we go...

xoxoL

ps

i'll be back at dakotah's farmer's market dec 13th to cook up a lovely risotto with the cheese peddler + a dairy free risotto too!! my santa apron is just itching to come out and play!  

a pusher love girl soup

i had two lovely debuts last saturday:

#1 my lovely homemade food rev banner - i know, i'm nuts... but i have a lot of fabric scraps and my brother in law kevin made me a super rad stencil, so i just HAD to.  (thanks a bazillion mom for teaching me how to sew such a long time ago!)  abbie's leapard duck tape holds it up quite well. ha!

#2 my delicious dairy free, gluten free cream of mushroom soup - it knocked people's socks off and i was shocked at how excited people were that it was df and gf! i had a good 10-15 people who could not have eaten it the "normal" way as they were either vegan, cutting out diary or living gluten free.  i hope you'll make it sooner than later in your kitchens whatever which way you like it... you could make it and replace that canned cream of mushroom soup from your favorite family recipe (green bean casserole much?  mmmmmm-kay?)  check out this great "toxins vs traditions" article by the food babe.

to the mullies with a cream of mushroom soup

a few T's of extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil

3.5 c sliced cremini mushrooms divided

1 onion sliced thin

2 celery ribs sliced thin + leaves chopped

3 cloves garlic sliced thin

1/2 tsp dried thyme (1 T fresh)

2.5 T gluten free flour

1/2 c light coconut milk (you can add as much as 3/4 c here)

2 c organic rice milk (or almond milk)

2.5 qt (2 cartons) organic vegetable stock

sage infused sea salt (my dear friend terri also shows you how to make more homemade herbal salts here!  she knocks my socks off - i'm making every single one for my pantry!!!)

freshly ground pepper

freshly chopped parsley (optional as my kids would give me a thumbs down on the "grass")

heat oil in a large stock pot and add your 2.5 cups of the mushrooms, sliced onions, celery, garlic and thyme. (reserve 1 cup of sliced mushrooms to sauté on the side with oil + s&p.  you can add as a garnish later. however, if you have eaters who do not like the texture of whole mushrooms, simply skip this step). cook vege low and slow with the lid on until onions are translucent and juices have released (about 10-15 min). add 2 T flour to vege and mix for a few minutes - it should be clumpy and pasty = we are forming a "roux". slowly pour in coconut milk and stir until a smooth paste forms.  next, slowly pour in rice milk ad stir until mixture begins to thicken. pour in stock, mix and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 15 min. using a handheld immersion blender, whiz up until silky (or transfer to blender). season to taste with sage salt and freshly ground pepper. garnish with parsley + some sautéed mushrooms. enjoy a cozy crock or two with your friends and family.

see you again this saturday at dakotah's indoor farmer's market for three lovely thanksgiving inspired tastes:

pomegranate + mango + apple salsa (inspired by 52 new foods cookbook)

a raw thanksgiving stuffing/dressing (inspired by kimberly snyder)

apple + orange + cranberry relish (inspired by jamie oliver)

xoxoL


ps

big huge thanks to ulysses and the other fab MHS national honor society volunteers who helped me cook up a storm and pass out greens from the fremont community garden!  

inspiring eaters at dakotah's indoor farmer's market

i had some major butterflies in my stomach last week.  for i jumped out of my kitchen for the first time and got my feet wet cooking with induction while talking to strangers.  with a successful peterson garden project's cooking class under my belt + a night of cooking greens on my new portable induction cooktop, i was ready to take another 1st step and cook up some vege inspiration at dakotah's indoor farmers market!

do you like to eat sautéed greens? 

my kids & chris would still say "not reeaaaaally" (but i make them eat a few bites anyway).  i cooked up 5 rounds of sautéed greens last saturday and i'll be cooking up even more next weekend for dakota's farmer's market shoppers.  

so how did it go?  the majority of the market goers were definitely wary... but after they tried one bite, everyone finished their cup!  NOT.A.ONE threw the rest out!  (and i gave them the a-ok to toss it if they didn't like it!)  i turned a ton of people ON to these delicious lovelies and i felt like i won the lottery each time.  i brought 100 recipe cards and only brought 5 cards back home!  my favorite moment was when a mother daughter pair approached and the mother said, "oh, she'll ever try that, she hates greens." perhaps out of curiosity, perhaps a little out of defiance, the 18 year old picked a cup up, took a tiny bite and said,  "this is not terrible... wow.  ok, now don't get me wrong, i'm not going to eat an entire plate of this, but i can do this amount!"  and she finished the cup.  the mom took a recipe card home and i'm crossing my fingers they might cook it up together again soon.

one step, one bite, one new recipe to work into the kitchen mix per week.  a perfect place to bring the 52 new foods cookbook and talk about cooking and eating better together in the food revolution!

the village homesteading mundelein group runs our fremont township community garden and there are a ton of greens and other produce still available and getting sent to our lake county food pantries. since the broccoli, brussel sprout, kale and turnip greens harvest is abundant (and not as popular at the pantries), i get to cook these lovelies up and inspire people to eat them!  

it's my new saturday hangout while chris takes the kids to ymca basketball games all morning (yes, he coaches all three of their teams).  sports + real food = team shifdog.

dakatah, you've cooked up something wonderful for our fair town and i'm thrilled to be gathering with you and the other wonderful vendors and community members to help #growmundelein.   

to the mullies with sauteed greens + bbq

1 T olive oil or coconut oil

1 onion sliced thin

2 garlic cloves sliced thin

1/2+ c vegetable stock

1 lb washed greens (kale, collard, broccoli, brussel sprout, turnip, beet, spinach, rainbow chard...)

splash of apple cider vinegar

sea salt & pepper

BBQ sauce (make your own or buy one like holcomb hollow's with clean ingredients!)

Optional additions:

1 can cannillini or white beans

nitrate/antibiotic free bacon or sausage

tomatoes

mushrooms

sesame seeds (pair with a korean bbq!)

red pepper fakes

honey

be creative and add in your own with gumption!

remove middle stem/rib from greens.  dice stems like celery.  heat oil over medium heat and add ribs + onion.  sauté until onions become translucent and begin to caramelize (5-7 min).  add garlic and sauté for another min until fragrant (add tomatoes and/or mushroom here too.  sauté until juices have released).  add greens + stock + s&p and cover pan.  turn occasionally and cook for 5-15 minutes depending on toughness of greens (kale, collard, broccoli and brussel sprout greens take 5-10 additional minutes to wilt, so add these first before the more tender greens like spinach, chard, beet and turnip).  once all greens are wilted and still vibrant in color, add a splash of apple cider vinegar and stir to incorporate.  season to taste.  adding meat?  cook meat first in pan, then set aside and follow recipe.  need a bean fix?  add last, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for additional 5 minutes. plate with your favorite bbq sauce and dig in.  use local/organic ingredients whenever possible:)

i super love my new mobile cooking toy!!

xoxoL