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Wild Rice and Chestnut Dressing

Compliments of Diane Carlson

This dressing makes an excellent addition to a meal as well as a delicious stuffing for poultry or for your favorite squash, such as acorn, sweet dumpling, or hubbard (a large blue- or orange-skinned sweet squash). Since it has a complement of grains and nuts, it offers a complete vegetarian protein source.

One of Dianes favorite tricks is to use a hubbard squash in the shape of a turkey. She cuts off the neck, removes the seeds, and partially bakes both the squash and the neck. She then stuffs the squash with the wild rice and chestnut dressing, replaces the neck with toothpicks, and continues to bake the squash until soft to the touch. When served on a platter surrounded by greens or colorful vegetables, it looks just like a turkey.

Ingredients

cup raisins brought to a boil with 1 cup water

cup reserved raisin stock

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped Spanish onions

1 cup diced celery

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 large clove garlic, minced

teaspoon dried thyme

teaspoon dried sage

teaspoon dried rosemary

teaspoon celery seed (optional)

teaspoon sea salt

teaspoon black pepper

4 cups cooked wild rice or 2 cups cooked wild rice and 2 cups cooked brown Basmati rice

cup vacuum-packed, roughly chopped chestnuts

cup roughly chopped roasted walnuts

cup minced parsley

cup finely sliced scallions

2 tablespoons tamari or shoyu

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Chopped fresh parsley (for garnish)

Shoyu is a soy sauce consisting of water, soybeans, wheat, sea salt, and koji. Diane prefers the Eden brand. Wheat-free shoyu is often called tamari. It is found in any health food store.

1. In a pot, bring the raisins to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until raisins are plump. Drain and reserve cup of the raisin stock. Set aside raisins and reserved stock.

2. Heat oil in a 12-inch frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and saut until soft and translucent. Add celery and saut until crisp tender.

3. Add carrots, mushrooms, and garlic and saut until mushrooms become limp.

4. Add herbs, celery seed, sea salt, and black pepper, and saut an additional minute.

5. Add the rice to the sauted mixture. Add the raisins and reserved raisin stock. Add the next six ingredients and combine well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the dressing is to be served as a side dish, place it in an oiled covered casserole and bake in a 350F oven for 30 minutes. Serve garnished with chopped parsley.

Serves 810.

As a teacher, she is committed to providing students with solid information that is essential for their health and well-beingand for liberating their bodies from food cravings caused by nutrient deficiencies. To feel satisfied after a meal, free of such cravings, Diane recommends choosing the highest quality foods available. Ideally, this includes whole, fresh, natural, seasonal, local, and organic foods that are sustainably produced. It is also important that the meal is delicious, balanced, and satisfying by consciously including a variety of colors, flavors, cooking methods, and textures. If any of these menu-planning principles are out of balance, it can lead to after-meal food cravings. For example, a meal with too much or too little fat will likely bring about a craving for sugar. A meal that is predominantly soft in texture will often send the diner looking for something dry and crunchy later. When the willpower breaks down, people often seek the very food they are trying to avoid, and they end up consuming excess calories to satisfy the craving caused by an imbalanced meal. Being consciously aware of these principles and planning meals accordingly will result in a meal that will leave diners feeling content. (See Dianes recipe for Wild Rice and Chestnut Dressing as an example of a food with all the right ingredients.)