These holiday recipes come from The Self Healing Cookbook, Christina Pirello’s various books, and the Natural Epicurean.

 

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Creamy Parsnip Soup

Acorn Squash stuffed with Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf

Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes

Watercress and Fig salad

Cranberry Relish

Pumpkin Cake

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Holiday Parsnip Soup

 

4 parsnips, cut in chunks

1 cup of broccoli florets

Sea salt or sweet white miso to taste

4 to 6 cups water

 

Cut parsnips and place into a pan with water.  Bring to a boil and add a pinch of salt.  Cook until tender, approximately 10 to 15 minutes.  Blend in a food processor and return to pot.  Add broccoli florets and simmer gently until tender, around 10 to 15 minutes more.  Add seasoning to taste.  Ladle into soup bowls and serve warm.  Sprinkle parsley, scallions, or even nutmeg on top to garnish, if desired.

 

Variation:  Add a small amount of curry powder for variety.

 

Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes

 

— Filling —
4 organic yams or sweet potatoes
1 cup spring or filtered water
1 pinch unrefined sea salt
3 tablespoons organic apple juice
2 tablespoons organic kuzu, dissolved in apple juice

zest of 1 organic orange or tangerine
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
1 teaspoon organic cinnamon

— Topping —
1 cup whole organic pecans
1/4–1/2 cup organic maple syrup (it’s quite sweet with just ¼ cup)

 

Filling

Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut sweet potatoes into 1-inch squares. Bring to a boil in spring water with sea salt, turn flame to medium low, and cook until tender. Place cooked sweet potatoes in a blender or food processor, or mash with a potato masher. Dissolve the kuzu in room
temperature apple juice. Add dissolved kuzu, and blend until smooth. Stir in orange zest, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour mixture into casserole dish.

Topping

Prepare topping by mixing pecans and maple syrup together in a bowl. Pour over casserole or arrange pecan halves on top of the casserole and bake at 375° F for 1 hour.

 

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf

 

2 cups brown rice

¼ cup wild rice

4 to 4 ¼ cups water

2 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and diced

½ cup carrot

½ cup celery

1 onion, diced

1 cup pecans or almonds, toasted and chopped

½ cup dried fruit (such as raisins, fruit sweetened cranberries, apricots, dried persimmon), optional

1 to 2 tsp sesame or olive oil

2 T parsley, minced

½ tsp sage, minced

¼ tsp rosemary, minced

¼ tsp thyme, minced

1 to 2 tsp shoyu

Sea salt

Black pepper, to taste, optional

2 medium to large acorn squash (or 1 large kabocha)

 

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Rinse squash well, slice in half, scoop out seeds and place face down on a well oiled baking sheet.  Bake until a knife can pass easily through any part of the squash, approximately 45 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, place rice and water into a pot.  Bring to a boil, add salt, and cover.  Turn heat to low and simmer for approximately 50 minutes. Turn off heat, and allow the rice to steam an additional 10 minutes or so.

 

While squash and rice are cooking, place oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat.  Saute vegetables (onion, carrot, celery, shiitake mushrooms) for about 5 minutes in a small amount of oil.  Add toasted nuts, optional dried fruit, and additional seasonings and cook for 5 more

minutes.

 

Mix with rice and stuff into baked squash.  Bake for 10 minutes more.

 

Variations:

• Try quinoa instead of rice, for ample protein and a nutty flavor. 
• Add roasted chestnuts instead of dried fruit and/or nuts.
• Serve with a healthy, hearty mushroom gravy on top.

 

Watercress, Artichoke, and Fig salad

extra virgin olive oil
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, thinly sliced
1 red onion, thin half moon slices
sea salt
8-10 marinated artichoke hearts, split in half lengthwise
2 bunches watercress, stem tips trimmed, left whole
4 to 5 dried figs, sliced
2-3 fresh scallions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

dressing:
juice of 2 limes or lemons
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons brown rice syrup
generous pinch black pepper

Instructions
Place a small amount of oil, garlic and onion in a skillet and turn heat to medium. When the onions begin to sizzle, add a pinch of salt and sauté for 1 minute. Stir in artichoke hearts and sauté just until heated through, about 2 minutes more.

Prepare the dressing by whisking together lime juice, oil, vinegar, and rice syrup, adjusting seasonings to taste.

To plate the salad, arrange watercress on a platter. Spoon sautéed artichoke heart mixture over the top and drizzle lightly with dressing, serving the balance of the dressing on the side for those who want to use more. Sprinkle with sliced figs and scallions and serve immediately after dressing.

Cranberry Chutney

12 ounces fresh (frozen) cranberries, rinsed well
1-2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, diced
grated zest of 1 orange
juice of 1 orange
1/2 (one half) cup unsweetened, dried apricots
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 (one half) teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch sea salt
3-4 tablespoons barley or rice malt (maple syrup will make a sweeter taste if desired)

Place all ingredients, except barley malt, in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.
Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 25 minutes.

Remove cover and add barley malt to taste. Continue cooking over low heat, uncovered, until the
barley malt thickens, about 10-12 minutes more. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature before transferring to a jar. Seal tightly and chill completely. Before serving, bring chutney to room temperature. Makes 6-8 servings.

Pumpkin Cake

2 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

½ cup corn meal

4 tsp baking powder

Pinch of sea salt

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1 cup pumpkin puree (homemade is so much better. The canned variety is not as naturally sweet or tasty)

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup light vegetable oil (like Spectrum Canola Oil)

½ cup brown rice syrup (if using canned pumkin, I would change to maple syrup, and perhaps add ¾ cup)

¼ cup Eden barley malt

1 tsp freshly minced ginger

Approximately 1 cup Eden soymilk

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F and lightly oil and flour a standard cake pan.

Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, corn meal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, dry ginger and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients: stir in pumpkin, soy milk, vanilla, oil, rice syrup, barley malt, and fresh ginger.  Mix wet and dry together to create a smooth, spoonable batter. Spoon evenly into prepared pan.

Bake until the center of cake springs back to the touch or a toothpick inserted comes out clean, 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Serve with your favorite 100% fruit sweetened jam, such as apricot. Serves 8 to 10.