I cook the turkey breast side down and in a bath of chicken stock. This way the breast meat bastes itself in its own juices during baking. I also keep the roaster pan covered almost the entire baking time, which allows steam to circulate and keeps the entire turkey moist, not just the part that is bathed in the stock.

About a week prior to cooking a 12 to 14 pound Heritage turkey, I cook two chickens in order to make chicken stock. I use a big pasta pot (mine is 11 quart). In the pasta insert, I put the chicken bones from 2 chickens, a generous splash of raw apple cider vinegar, 2 inches of ginger root, a few bay leaves, a quartered onion, and about 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Then I put the insert into its base and fill with water to within 3 or 4 inches of the top. All of this I bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer, covered, for at least half a day. After the hours of simmering, I take it off the heat and pull out the pasta insert, letting it drip well before transferring it to a big bowl or the sink to catch remain drippings. Then I salt it to taste and let it cool.

If you’re reading this really close to Thanksgiving and haven’t time to cook some chickens, hopefully you have some bones tucked away in the freezer you could turn into stock right quick today. Or use purchased stock, preferably from free-range, organic chickens (or turkey). You need 4 to 8 cups of stock.

I prefer smaller turkeys, like 12 to 14 pounds. I figure on 15 minutes per pound for an unstuffed bird, cooking it at 325 to 350 degrees. You may brine your turkey (start this several days before cooking day).

I preheat the oven to 425 degrees while I rinse the fully thawed or fresh turkey and empty the inner cavity. I put the bird — breast side down – in a stainless steel roaster pan, preferably on a shallow rack. I add 8 cups of stock into the bottom of the roaster pan (one can also use 4 cups of stock and 4 cups of filtered water). Then I generously brush all the exposed skin with raw, virgin, unrefined coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil. Then I put the cover on and transfer the pan to the oven, where I let it cook at 425 degrees for one hour.

After one hour, it is time to lower the temperature to 325 or 350 degrees. A 12-pound bird should need about 3 hours total baking time. About every hour or every half hour, I will pull it out of the oven and brush more oil on the skin. When I think it is supposed to be done, I check the internal temperature by inserting a meat thermometer into the deepest part of the thigh. I am looking for 170 degrees, or even 5 degrees below (it will continue to cook from its own heat even out of the oven). If it has reached this internal temperature, then I remove the roaster pan lid, set the oven to broil, and brown the exposed skin. Then, if I am able to maneuver the turkey, I will turn it over and brown the breast skin under the broiler, too.

Now the turkey is done and boy, is it moist! I do let it sit on the counter for about 15 minutes before carving, to let it calm cool down a little. Then it is carving time. My main goal with this is to do it as quickly as possible so as not to lose moisture. I cut off the thigh/drumsticks and the wings and lay them flat in a glass dish (I love my Anchor Hocking refrigerator storage dishes for this). I ladle the broth/drippings from the roaster pan to fully cover these parts and cover the dish. Now it is time to carve the breast. I slide the carving knife under the meat to carefully remove each half breast from the bones. Usually it works allright, but I’ve never done it perfectly. I move each half breast to a cutting board and slice into strips, against the grain of the muscle, transferring these pieces to another glass dish (or dishes). I cover the breast meat with more broth from the roaster pan, adding the dish’s cover when it is full.

Now the turkey is all ready to go. The covered dishes of turkey meat are ready to serve, and any leftovers are already prepared for refrigerator storage after the meal, too. It is time to make the final preparations now — finishing off the gravy by adding broth from the roaster pan to the pot that has been simmering all afternoon with the gizzards; smashing the potatoes; tossing the salad.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I have much for which to be thankful and will surely be thanking God this year for good, healthy, local food and my special family! I am also thankful for you, my internet friends. God bless you and your families!

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

*If you would like to use eggs, use about 2 of them instead of the flax seed meal and water.

*If using homemade pureed pumpkin, let excess water drip out through a cheesecloth, until the puree is very thick.

*Use whole wheat pastry flour for a cake-like muffin. Use whole wheat flour for a heartier muffin. The flour is very flexible in this muffin. I use gluten-free flours without any other changes. So you can branch out with other flours if you’d like. 2 cups kamut flour and 1 cup millet flour are a good combination (that is not a gluten-free combination).

*You can use Texas-size muffin tins. Those are fun. When I use them, I brush them with oil and sprinkle unsweetened shredded coconut in the bottom. Then I fill them with the batter (no paper for these). They may bake a little longer. I think you’ll get about 8 muffins if you do it this way.

*Add chocolate chips instead of the raisins. A good healthy choice are the grain-sweetened dark chocolate chips from the health food store.

Today’s batch of pumpkin muffins

My mom makes this relish every year. She has made it for so many people, who all love it.

It is really easy. You will need either a manual or electric grinder, or a food processor. If you only have a blender, you can use that too, but what you’ll want to watch is that you don’t liquefy the fruits. If you’re using a blender, chop small batches of fruit and use brief pulses of chopping to prevent liquefying the fruit.

Update 11/16/09: We like to stir this relish into our morning kefir! It is delicious!

• 1 to 2 pounds raw cranberries
• 4 apples
• 4 oranges
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup sweetener of your choice – honey, Rapadura, Sucanat, maple syrup, evaporated cane juice, etc.

Wash cranberries. Remove any bad cranberries.

Wash and core the apples, leaving the peel on, and cut into wedges.

Peel the oranges and cut into wedges.

Chop all ingredients in batches in the food processor or food grinder. Mix well. Add sweetener, to taste. Store in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavors mingle. Enjoy!

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons raw honey
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons tablespoons butter or unrefined coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup chopped crispy nuts*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and chop sweet potatoes coarsely. Place in pot and cover with filtered water. Bring to boil, reduce heat to a simmer. Partially cover and let sweet potatoes cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Drain.

While still hot, beat or mash until smooth. Stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup honey, 1/4 to 1/2 cup of butter or coconut oil, sea salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg; beat or mash until the mixture is light and fluffy. Transfer mixture to an ungreased 3 quart casserole dish. Arrange the nuts in a single layer on top. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons honey. Top with 2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil in chunks. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and bubbly**.

*To neutralize enzyme inhibitors, nuts should be soaked overnight. Crispy nuts are soaked nuts that have been dehydrated. See Nourishing Traditions for more information. A second choice preparation is to toast the nuts before using; this will neutralize some, but not all, of the enzyme inhibitors.

**Or refrigerate and bake for 30 to 45 minutes just before serving.

We love this pumpkin pie. I modified the recipe from a raw foods cookbook a few years ago. This was when we first began eliminating dairy and eggs for the sake of our son Mikah’s food allergies. The pumpkin and spice flavors come through so naturally and appetizingly. It is really a good pumpkin pie.

Edit (11/17/09): Even though Mikah no longer has allergies to dairy or eggs, we still make this pie.

Pumpkin Pie (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free)

• 1 cup almonds
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 cups cooked pumpkin (drained of excess water if using fresh pumpkin)
• 1/4 cups maple syrup
• 1/4 cup raw honey (preferably a mild-flavored, light-colored honey such as Spring Nectar)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon dry ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Soak the almonds in the 3/4 cup of water overnight, or for 8 hours. Don’t rinse or drain.

After the soaking time has elapsed, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place all ingredients (including the soaked almonds and their soaking water) in food processor or high power blender (such as Vita-Mix) and blend until creamy and smooth. Pour into prepared pie crust.*

Bake for one hour or more, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Optional: drizzle with frosting! See Vanilla Frosting (Coconut Cream).

*The coconut crust in Nourishing Traditions is nice, as is this gluten-free nut crust. However, I would recommend soaking and then dehydrating the nuts to neutralize enzyme inhibitors, ala Nourishing Traditions.