2014 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival: Primavera Kitchen (Italy Pavilion)

Buon pomeriggio! Good afternoon!

Today is the last installment of the food reviews for the 2014 Flower and Garden Festival. I have been dragging my feet on this one because Italian food has always- even before gluten and food allergies- been my least favorite food. Part of this may be because I dislike tomatoes. But I also find pasta generally very boring. If I ever do (did, past tense, before going gluten free) eat pasta, it merely served as a vehicle for butter and cheese. Heh.

However, all that said, I'm sure if you like Italian food, you would like Primavera Kitchen. For a gluten free option, you will find Caprese (mozzarella, roasted red peppers, olive oil). On the not gluten free menu, you will find Three Cheese Manicotti and Lemon Cheesecake. All of the offerings at Primavera Kitchen are vegetarian.

Primavera Outdoor Kitchen (Italy Pavilion)
It was a rainy day, which made for good photos without people in them,
 but did cast an overcast hue in the photo. 

Passport Page for Primavera Kitchen

Caprese (Gluten Free)

Three Cheese Manicotti (Vegetarian)

I do not have a lot to say about Primavera Kitchen, since I did not eat anything there and cannot really get too excited about Italian food. I will whisper in your ear that there is a gelato stand across the way- the Italian coffee and gelato stand is there all of the time, not just during the food festivals. You know, in case you like pasta and tomatoes as much as I do ;)

This concludes the food portion of the 2014 Flower and Garden festival from the Healing Kitchen. I hope to post some of the garden highlights as well- I particularly liked the Urban Garden and the Water Wise Herbs & Vegetables displays. Lots of good ideas!

Ciao!

2014 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival: Fleur de Lys (France Pavilion)

Lumiere and Cogsworth Topiaries (from Beauty and the Beast)

Passport page for Fleur de Lys

Gnocchi: Parisian Style Dumplings with Vegetables and Mushrooms (Vegetarian; NOT gluten-free)

Pulled Duck Confit on top of Parsley Potatoes (Gluten Free!) This was amazing. Just looking at this photo makes me want to drive back to Disney and order another one. It was that good. Get one. You will not be disappointed. This dish may qualify France as my favorite booth this year.

Orange Blossom Macaron with White Chocolate Ganache (Gluten Free!) Note: These are these type of macarons, not these type of macaroons :)  This was very delicious and very sweet.

Belle and the Beast Topiaries

As a side note, I just have to say I like/identify with Belle because of this:

and this

and this

and because the Beast's castle has THIS, and that is when Belle begins to change her mind, lol 

2014 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival: NEW! Urban Farm Eats

This is the booth that was the vegan booth during the 2013 International Food & Wine Festival. Honestly, I was not a fan of the vegan booth, so I consider this an improvement. 

Right next to this Outdoor Kitchen is an aquaculture demonstration booth, which demonstrates tilapia farming in conjunction with hydroponic vegetables.

NEW! Urban Farm EATS

Passport page for Urban Farm EATS

I'll post the Passport pages for each booth, so you can see the full menu descriptions.

Eggplant "Scallop" with Romesco Sauce, Microgreens, and Spaghetti Squash (gluten free, vegetarian, grain free)

Ghost-Pepper Dusted Tilapia with Winter Melon Slaw (gluten free, grain free)

Pickled Beet & Goat Cheese Salad (gluten free, vegetarian, grain free)

Cucumber Mint Lemon Spa Water (vegan, gluten free)

Tip: we kept this water cup with the mint, cucumber, and lemon, and refilled with water from the fountains. That way, we had refreshing spa water all day, and it was more economical and eco-friendly than buying bottled water at the park.

Another eco-tip: try to keep your plastic utensil, and re-use at each booth. All of those plastic utensils being thrown in the trash after two bites just makes me cringe! I wish Disney would at least have recycle bins for the plasticware. 

2014 EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival: Festival Center

And it begins! 

First stop: Festival Center. This is where you can attend lectures, demonstrations, and ask IFAS Master Gardeners all of your gardening questions. This is also where you can pick up an event passport. By the way, there is a stamp for Festival Center, even though there is not a designated box for it. Ask for a stamp at the front booth (this is also where you will come for the "Completed" stamp in your passport).

Entering Festival Center

Inside Festival Center

Passports

And, we're hungry! Here are the offerings at Intermissions Cafe- including two vegan options. 

The prices are higher here, but the portions are much larger. Although we have not yet been out there to explore on THIS trip, from past experience, the offerings at the Outdoor Kitchens are tasting size. The offerings here in Festival Center seem to be full size portions.

Fruit & cheese plate (vegetarian; this should also be gluten free)

Caprese push-pop (vegetarian; this should also be gluten free)

The Caprese push pop is adorable! And only $1- you can't go wrong there. I need to come up with ideas to serve in a push pop. Fruit salad?

Vegan trio (Hummus, tabbouleh, couscous, roasted red pepper coulis, pita bread) NOT gluten free (also not a trio, I count 4 items here, no? ;) 

Southwest chicken wrap with black bean spread. Obviously neither gluten-free nor vegan. Luckily I'm here with Tim, aka the Test Kitchen, so we will get to try all interesting options, even if they are not ingredients that I could eat (which would make for a very limited blog post, lol).

And on the allergy note, while you might make an educated guess as to what may be (or is clearly not) gluten-free, there is really no way to guarantee that there will not be cross-contamination with gluten or other ingredients in a festival/food booth type of setting. So, proceed at your own discretion and use your judgement regarding what works for your particular needs.

There is plenty to enjoy at EPCOT and the Flower & Garden festival without eating at the food booths. The entire Walt Disney World Resort complex is fantastic about accommodating food allergies, so you might choose to enjoy all of the festival gardening events, but choose to eat in a Disney dining location that can safely accommodate your dietary needs.

Ok, off to the Festival, and Outdoor Kitchens (The smaller, Spring version of EPCOT's International Food and Wine Festival booths). 

P.S. I'm not used to this mobile Blogger platform, OR taking photos with an iPad- so bear with me. Hopefully the photos improve as the day goes on :)

Raw Vegan Watermelon Cups

Here is a fabulous idea for a summer fruit salad. It is the perfect party appetizer. Yes, it has several steps and looks like a lot of work, but it really wasn't that bad. The most time consuming part was dicing the fruit for the fruit salad. If you wanted to enjoy this recipe with a little less work, you could simply rough chop all of the ingredients for the fruit salad and serve in bowls. I highly recommend making the cilantro-lime creme dressing to top your fruit salad- it is quite good!

This recipe was inspired by this post. I raw-veganized it for the version below. This recipe does not contain any dairy, eggs, gluten, grains, soy, corn, or refined sugar.

Raw Vegan Watermelon Cups

Ingredients


For the Fruit Salad: 
1 mini seedless watermelon, 3-5 lbs
2/3 cup jicama, small dice
4 ripe yellow peaches, small dice
1/3 cup sweet or red onion, finely chopped
1/2 granny smith apple, small dice
1 clove garlic, pressed
1-2 tbsp fresh lime juice (depending on how tangy you want it)
1/2 fresh jalapeno, small dice (seeds and membrane removed if you don't like spicy stuff)
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped plus several small whole leaves to garnish
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the Cream Sauce:
3/4 cup soaked cashews (soak raw cashews in filtered water for 4-8 hours, drain)
1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 Tablespoons agave nectar
1/4 cup filtered water
Pinch of himalayan salt
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 tbsp lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 tbsp minced fresh jalapeno

Method

To make the watermelon cups:
Cut the ends off of the watermelon. Stand the watermelon up on one of the flat ends and cut off the sides, forming a rectangle. Discard the rind, but keep the watermelon "scraps" to add to the fruit salad.
Cut the rectangle into cubes. I pretty much just sliced mine evenly into squares- think Rubix Cube :)
Use a knife or a melon baller to hollow out the inside of each cube. I made mine square because I was in the mood to put in some extra effort, but you could just use a melon baller or spoon and make little wells in the cube. Once the cube is filled with fruit salad, you don't really see the shape of the hole anyway.
Put the watermelon cubes in the refrigerator until you are ready to fill them.

To make the fruit salad:
Finely dice the remaining watermelon, jicama, peaches, onion, green apple, and jalapeno.
Add to bowl, add lime juice and garlic.
Add chopped cilantro, salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine.
Refrigerate until ready to fill cups.

To make the creme sauce:
Blend cashews, lemon juice, agave, water and salt until smooth.
In a bowl, add cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno and 1/2 cup of the cashew creme and stir to combine.

To assemble: 
Fill watermelon cubes with fruit salad, top with cilantro lime sauce, and enjoy!

This recipe is linked to Made-from-scratch Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Allergy Free Wednesday- click on the links for more great ideas for sugar free, gluten free, allergy friendly recipes.

Homemade Vegetable Bouillon

My first batch of Homemade Bouillon

Vegetable broth is one of those ingredients that has stumped me for a while. I never realized how many recipes call for vegetable (or chicken) broth. I searched for about a year, but no matter which brand I looked at, there was always something in the ingredients that I was sensitive to.

But I also noticed something else. Even if I didn't have food sensitivities.... there are some products that I don't think I'd want to consume.

For example, take a look at the ingredients in a major brand of bouillon:

Ingredients: with Other Natural Flavors Ingredients: Salt, Sugar, Flavor (Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Salt), Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Contains 2% or less of Silicon Dioxide (Anticaking Agent), Fat Flavor (Partially Hydrogenated Corn Oil, Flavoring), Natural Flavor (Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Salt, Sugar, Whey Powder [from Milk], Lactic Acid), Spice, Onion Powder, Dehydrated Cooked Beef, Caramel Color, Dried Beef Stock, Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate, Autolyzed Yeast, Flavoring. No MSG Added (Contains Naturally Occurring Glutamates).

Food allergies and sensitivities aside... yuck! That is not even food- those are laboratory ingredients designed to taste like food.

In contrast, here are the ingredients in a top organic brand:

Ingredients
Vegetables* and Concentrated Vegetables* (Carrots*, Celery*, Onion*, Tomato*), Salt, Soy Sauce* (Water, Soybean*, Salt, Alcohol*), Cane Sugar*, Maltodextrin*, Natural Flavor, Potato Starch*, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Dried Onion*, Dried Garlic*, and Spice*. *Certified Organic by QAI

At least it is real food : ) But- as those of you with gluten or other sensitivities know- these ingredients still present an allergy/health issue- "natural flavor" could be anything. The catch-all "natural flavor" is so frustrating. It could be derived from corn, or soy, or wheat-- you simply do not know.

Even if the "natural flavor" turned out to be safe for me, I avoid corn, soy, potato, and yeast, due to allergies and sensitivities. So, even the organic brand does not work for me.

Of course, there are other brands, but I've found that they all contain very similar ingredients. Same goes for broth that comes in a box or can. In recipes, I would just use water instead of broth, but there was definitely flavor lacking in the final product.

One day, I came across this recipe for DIY Bouillon on 101 Cookbooks. This recipe is so easy, much healthier than store-bought, is made entirely from whole food (organic, if you choose) ingredients, and you can customize ingredients to your own needs or preferences.

I made a batch a while back, and it lasted forever. I used it in everything- in every recipe that called for broth (finally!), as extra flavor when making soup, in the rice cooker when making rice or quinoa, basically anything that could use some seasoning. I just love it. It is now a staple in my kitchen.

This time, I made half a batch, and adjusted the ingredients based on seasonal availability, and the fact that I am now tolerating more foods (yay!) I am posting with the ingredients I used, but click on the link above for the full/original version on 101 Cookbooks.

Homemade Vegetable Bouillon (Gluten free, Yeast free, Nightshade free, Vegan)
Equipment needed: Food processor
Makes about 1 1/2 cups (one quart, and one pint mason jar)

Ingredients
2 1/2 ounces leeks, slice into rings and wash well
3 1/2 ounces fennel bulb, roughly chopped
4 ounces carrot, scrubbed and roughly chopped
1 stalk celery
1 3/4 ounces shallots
2 small-ish garlic cloves
4.5 ounces fine grain sea salt
3/4 ounce parsley
1 ounce cilantro

Method
Add vegetables to food processor, and pulse a few times to mix. Scrape down sides of food processor, if necessary. Add remaining ingredients, and process until well combined. You will wind up with a loose paste.

Spoon into jars, and keep in freezer until needed. Because of all the salt, it barely solidifies, so it is easy to scoop out when you need it.

As the original recipe suggests, I typically use about 1 tsp of this bouillon per 1 cup liquid; although sometimes I use a little more. It is totally up to you- feel free to adjust amounts (and ingredients) to your preference.

This recipe is linked to Made From Scratch Mondays on Living With Food Allergies and Celiac Disease. Be sure to check their page for more gluten free recipe ideas.

Pomegranate Lentil Soup

Brrrrr! Cold outside = make soup!

Here is a recipe I originally found on theKitchn. It is warm, tasty, full of iron, protein, & fiber. I used spinach instead of chard, only because that's what I had on hand. I didn't put the pretty pomegranate arils on top, either, because I didn't have any. But I think that punch of red would be very pretty on top of the soup. Especially in the heart shaped bowl :)

This recipe contains no gluten, corn, dairy, soy, or nightshades.

Pomegranate Lentil Soup 
Serves 6

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 1/2 cups brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 1/2 cups finely chopped chard (I used fresh spinach, but any dark leafy green would work)
6 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice* (I've found Costco has the best price on pomegranate juice, but Target is a close second, especially when on sale)
1 large pomegranate, de-seeded (I've noticed in the produce section of some groceries, you can now buy a small container of pomegranate arils already out of the pomegranate)
*If making it from scratch, you will need about 3-4 pomegranates to make 1 1/2 cups of juice.

Method
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrot and sauté until onion is translucent.
Add cumin and coriander and sauté for another minute.
Add lentils, chard, water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.
Stir in pomegranate juice and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Click here to see nutritional information and health benefits of: Lentils, Pomegranate, more on Pomegranate, Chard, Spinach, and other Green Leafy vegetables

This recipe is linked to Made From Scratch Mondays on Allergies and Celiac- check it out for more gluten free and allergy-friendly recipes.

Raw Vegan Cranberry Apple Cheesecake

Our Thanksgiving dessert was delicious:

I started with a recipe I found online. That recipe didn't turn out the way I'd hoped, but I was able to rescue it by making some adjustments.

I made too many changes in the middle of creating this cheesecake to feel comfortable posting a recipe yet, since I would only be guessing what I added and in what amounts. 

I can tell you the basics:

Crust: Almonds and dates

Filling: Cheesecake with just a hint of cinnamon, nutmeg, & cloves

Topping: Cinnamon, apples, cranberries, almond crumble 

Yum! 

Just writing about it makes me want to go eat one of the slices still in the freezer.

I don't have step-by-step photos of the dessert-making process, but I'll describe it, and post photos of the finished product. Warning: you may be hungry by the end of this post ; )

The week before, I dehydrated the (organic) cranberries: 

Aren't they beautiful? It was super easy, too. Just note: cranberry juice stains EVERYTHING it touches. Such as your cutting board, the dehydrator tray, a ceramic knife, your clothes if you are not wearing an apron... 

The cheesecake crust is simply almonds and dates processed in the food processor until crumbly. Reserve about 1/3 cup of the crust mixture for the topping, then press the remaining crust mixture into a 9" springform pan 

The filling is super simple. Most raw cheesecake recipes start with soaked cashews as a base. I followed the recipe I'd found online, but I was not happy with the taste or texture. A note here: a Vitamix really does make a huge difference. The original recipe suggested processing in a food processor, and I tried that. The mixture just does not get smooth enough. No matter how long I processed, it still had little pieces of cashew in it. Not good.

So, I put the mixture in the Vitamix, added a little filtered water, gave it a 20-second whirl, and it turned out perfectly smooth and creamy, as a cheesecake filling should be! Mmmm.

The taste was still not right, however. So I added some ingredients, added some more cashews, and played around with the flavor until it resembled a fall-spiced cheesecake. Yum!

Next step: pour the cheesecake batter into the springform pan, tap to remove any air bubbles, cover, and put in the freezer to firm up.

While the cheesecake was chilling, I peeled and cored 3 Honeycrisp apples. I sliced the apples super-thin with the mandoline, and dehydrated about 2 hours. 

After 2 hours, the apples were warm and soft, not fully dehydrated (which would have made them crispy or chewy). I tossed with agave and cinnamon, and quickly realized we would need more apples to cover the top of the cheesecake (I think that's because I used a 9" pan, while the original recipe used a 6" pan). So, I repeated with 2 more Honeycrisp apples. Then tossed all of the semi-dehydrated apples with about 2/3 cup of the dried cranberries, agave, cinnamon, and the reserved crust mixture, and voila! Cranberry-apple topping. Yum. Just place mixture on top of the cheesecake. When ready to serve, remove the springform.

Can you believe that this is a healthy, living food? It is gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar free- but so sinfully rich, you would never know it.

(You know, I usually want pecan pie for Thanksgiving, but I just realized, I didn't even miss it!)

Here are some links to the health benefits of:

Cashew

Almond

Vanilla

Cinnamon

Cloves

Nutmeg

Apple

Cranberry

Raw Vegan Thanksgiving: Recipes and Photos

Gluten-free? Grain-free? Dairy-free? And trying to navigate holidays???? Don't worry, you can absolutely do it. The menu below is completely free from corn, soy, dairy, eggs, pumpkin/squash family, gluten, grains, refined sugar, processed foods, additives or preservatives. Hopefully it may give you some ideas in planning your holidays.

My neighbor and I decided to experiment and see whether we could create an entirely RAW Thanksgiving with traditional-type dishes. I'm thrilled to report it was a huge success! The dishes came out smelling great, looking great, and tasting great. Just like the traditional version- we were STUFFED afterwards (no pun intended). Somehow, we still managed to eat cheesecake after an after-dinner walk with Bailey on the beach.

The best thing... none of the guilt, nor that "GROAN-why-did-I-eat-that" feeling from eating too many inflammatory foods.

100% Raw Vegan Turkey- No tofu here!

Raw Turkeyless Turkey

Equipment: Food processor, dehydrator

Prep time: Soak nuts overnight. Dehydrate turkey 12-14 hours.

Serves: 5-6

Ingredients

5 ounces walnuts (about 2 cups)

5 ounces almonds (about 2 cups)

1 pound carrot pulp

1 medium onion, diced small

1 Tablespoon raisins, soaked just long enough to make them soft (while you are getting your other ingredients together should be enough time)

1 Tablespoon good olive oil

1 Tablespoon caraway seeds, ground

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning (I didn't have Italian seasoning, so I used Costco/Kirkland brand Organic 20 Spice No Salt Seasoning)

Sea salt to taste

Method

Soak nuts 6-8 hours or overnight. Drain nuts and rinse well.

Combine all ingredients in food processor until you have a pate. It should be firm, not soggy, and hold together when you press it together. 

Shape your "turkey" into whatever shape you like. Many people make a loaf. I am goofy about making food look festive, so I shaped a turkey body, then separately shaped two drumsticks and two wings. After they were dehydrated, I assembled the "turkey" on the platter. 

Tip: if you are Googling recipe ideas the night before Thanksgiving (not that I have ever done that, hahaha) and do not have 12-16 hours to dehydrate, you could simply shape a loaf, slice it, and dehydrate the slices. Or you could shape lots of wings and drumsticks to dehydrate. Any small shape will dehydrate more quickly than the big solid turkey.

You could also eat this not dehydrated, and it is still safe and tasty. However, dehydrating this recipe really makes a big difference in texture, flavor, and color. It als makes the turkey warm, and holds together better. I highly recommend dehydrating this recipe- but I tell you all of that just to point out that if all you do is get it in the dehydrator for a couple of hours, you'll be fine. It's just for taste and texture- it's not like undercooking a real turkey :)

Raw Walnut and Mushroom Stuffing 

Serves: 5-6

Equipment: Food processor Optional: Dehydrator

Prep time: Marinate mushrooms 2-4 hours or overnight

 Raw Vegan Stuffing in Turkey :)

Ingredients

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup Bragg's Liquid Aminos (Or substitute: Allergy-safe vegetable broth plus sea salt)

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 portabello mushrooms, chopped

3 cups walnuts

1 tsp salt

2 tsp chopped fresh thyme

1 ½ Tbsps fresh rosemary, chopped finely

2 Tbsps chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp chopped fresh sage

3 Tbsps olive oil

1 ½ cups grated carrot

1 cup chopped celery

½ cup pecan pieces

½ cup raisins

Method

Combine olive oil, Bragg's (or broth), and apple cider vinegar. Marinate the chopped portobellos in this mixture overnight.

Pulse walnuts, salt, thyme, rosemary, parsley and sage in food processor. Once roughly combined, add olive oil. Pulse until combined and the texture you like. We chose a chunkier texture that resembled traditional dressing.

Stir in carrot, celery, pecans and raisins.

Optional: put stuffing in dehydrator for 30-60 minutes to warm before serving.

Raw vegan (Gluten-free, Grain free, Dairy free) dressing right out of dehydrator

Raw Vegan Mushroom Gravy

Equipment: Blender Optional: Dehydrator or High-speed blender

Prep time: Soak nuts 4-6 hours

Ingredients

¼ cup warm water

¼ cup brazil nuts, ideally soaked for 6 hours, rinsed and drained

1 shallot or 1 clove garlic

2 teaspoons dried mushrooms, ground to a powder

¼ teaspoon salt

Pinch of pepper

½ Tbsp olive oil

Method

Blend all ingredients until smooth. 

Optional: Place in dehydrator 30 minutes before serving to warm. Alternatively, if you are using a VitaMix, you can simply blend until warm.

Note: We didn't care for this recipe. The original recipe called for 1/4 cup olive oil, and the final result tasted like olive oil. I have reduced the oil here to 1/2 Tbsp. I think this would help, but have not tried it. If you try it, post here and let me know! I'd suggest adding the olive oil slowly and taste as you go.

Raw Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Serves: 5-6

Equipment: Blender Optional: Food processor, Dehydrator.

Prep time: 3-24 hours to soften green beans

Casserole ingredients:

Fresh green beans

¼ cup red onion, sliced very thin

½ cup chopped mushrooms (any kind you like)

Cream of mushroom soup ingredients:

½ cup pine nuts

¼ cup white button mushrooms, chopped fine

½ teaspoon garlic

½ teaspoon salt

1 dash black pepper

1 cup filtered water

Top with caramelized shallots (recipe below)

Method

Thinly slice green beans with knife, or shred in food processor. To soften green beans, freeze them for 24 hours, and then let thaw. Alternatively, you can dehydrate for a few hours (I have not tried this, if you try it, let me know how it works).

Blend soup ingredients: pine nuts, mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper (this is SO good!)

Pour soup mixture over sliced green beans, red onion, and chopped mushrooms.

Optional: Warm in dehydrator before serving.

Top with caramelized shallots (recipe below)

Note: I have made a few things with raw green beans, and I've decided raw green beans taste a bit "green" for my liking. But this and similar raw recipes get rave reviews online, and Joan liked it a lot. 

I'm thinking... if you didn't care about the recipe being "raw", you might be able to gently steam the sliced green beans, then combine with the soup and shallots. I may try that next time.

I LOVED the cream of mushroom soup, and would definitely make the soup on its own for lunch.

Raw Caramelized Shallots

Equipment: Dehydrator

Time: Deydrate 2-4 hours

Ingredients

3 large shallots, sliced very thin

3 Tbsp maple syrup

1½ teaspoons olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Method

Combine ingredients. Spread out on dehydrator tray lined with Teflexx sheet or parchment paper. Dehydrate until crispy, approximately 2-4 hours.

Yummy! I am wondering what else I can top with these in the future :)

Fresh Cranberry Chutney

Equipment: Food processor / blender

Time: Blend

I don't have Joan's top secret super-duper cranberry chutney recipe pictured above, but here is a cranberry recipe that came with my VitaMix that I think is very good.

Ingredients

1 orange, peeled, halved

1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1 apple, cut in quarters

1/4 cup sugar or other sweetener 

1/3 cup walnuts or pecans

Method

Place all ingredients in Vitamix and secure lid.

Blend, starting with level 1, slowly increase to level 4.

Blend about 10-15 seconds, or until chunky.

Oh, I almost forgot, I also made Cafe Gratitude's Pumpernickel-Rye toast:

We didn't even eat this, or the olives, we were so full from everything else!

Some more holiday photos:

 Place Settings

 Fall Flowers (Thanks, Ed)

 Acorn Salt & Pepper Shakers

Raw Vegan Thanksgiving Table

I'll post dessert (Raw Vegan Cranberry-Apple Cheesecake) in a separate post. Yum yum yum.

I'd love to hear what you made, and any suggestions for next year.

Soooo... does anyone have suggestions for Christmas dinner???