11/18/2009

By GARY DEMUTH

Salina Journal

With one child a vegetarian and the other a vegan, the Rev. Martha Murchison had to come up with alternative Thanksgiving dinners.

"I had to have something appropriate for Thanksgiving, but also something that was a celebration of the holiday," said Murchison, pastor of Sunrise Presbyterian Church, 825 E. Beloit.

A favorite of her family has become a stuffed celebration roast, which looks like a pork loin but is made from wheat gluten, butternut squash, apples and mushrooms. The roast was available at a natural foods store near Murchison's former home in Dallas. When Murchison moved to Salina last April, she didn't expect to find it here.

Then she discovered the Field Roast Grainmeat stuffed celebration roast at Prairieland Market, 138 S. Fourth. The one-pound roast costs $7.95 and serves 4 people.

Open since 2004, Prairieland Market is a cooperative community market. It is an alternative grocery store that features goods from local producers and provides products that promote sustainability, biodiversity and care of the environment.

"We're here to promote local producers who produce without using synthetic chemicals," said Sue Keating, who works at the store and also supplies a selection of homemade breads and grains from Keating Farms.

Murchison said Prairieland Market is able to supply just what she needs for an alternative Thanksgiving meal.

"There's so much locally grown stuff in here," she said. "A store like this is the first place I looked for when I moved here, a place where I could eat organically and support local growers."

Cooking demos at market

Murchison will demonstrate how to prepare a celebration field roast (with vegetarian French brown sauce) during an open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Prairieland Market.

Salina attorney and chef Karen Black will bake a sweet potato pie and a honey-baked pumpkin risotto using a number of natural ingredients.

A free-range turkey (turkey with no hormones or antibiotics) also will be prepared at the open house, and samples of prepared foods will be offered to those attending, Keating said.

"We want to show people they can buy for their holiday needs here," she said.

Products offered at the market that can be used to make holiday meals include baking and canning supplies, bulk flour and grains, cheese and cheese substitutes, fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, meat and meat substitutes, soy, soups and chili and deli meats.

"Almost everything I need is here," Murchison said. "And I'm helping to support the local community as well as reduce our carbon footprint."

While Black supports the efforts of Prairieland Market, she knows compromise is needed when preparing a Thanksgiving meal for her family.

"I have a family that expects certain things, and Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful you have a family to celebrate," she said. "You should make them happy."

That's not to say many Thanksgiving staples can't be prepared with natural ingredients, she said.

"A sweet potato pie is an alternative to pumpkin pie, and I use organically grown rice in the risotto," she said. "There are ways to indulge in Thanksgiving without guilt."

The very first Thanksgiving, after all, consisted of nothing but fresh and natural foods, Black said.

"Thanksgiving was based on local, natural and seasonal foods," she said. "Pumpkins, cranberries and turkey were what were available at that time."

Celebration Field Roast with Vegetarian Brown Sauce

1 stuffed celebration roast

Place roast in foil or covered roasting pan. Add a few cups of vegetable stock. Put in oven at 300 to 325 degrees for one hour.

Brown stock:

2 cups vegetable stock

3 tablespoons finely minced onions and carrots

1 tablespoon finely minced celery

1âÑ2 cup red wine, dry white wine or dry white vermouth

2 parsley sprigs

1âÑ3 bay leaf

1âÑ8 teaspoon thyme

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Simmer stock with rest of ingredients for 20-30 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve.

Brown sauce (makes about 1 quart):

1âÑ3 cup each finely diced carrots, onions and celery.

6 tablespoons clarified butter or cooking oil

4 tablespoons flour

6 cups boiling brown stock

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Herb bouquet of 3 parsley sprigs, 1âÑ2 bay leaf and 1âÑ4 teaspoon thyme tied in cheesecloth

Cook vegetables slowly in butter or oil for 10 minutes. Blend flour into vegetables and stir continually over moderately low heat for 8-10 minutes until flour turns golden, nut brown.

Remove from heat. With wire whip, blend in all the boiling liquid at once. Beat in tomato paste. Add herb bouquet. Simmer slowly, partially covered, for 2 hours or more, skimming off fat as necessary. Add more liquid if sauce thickens too much. There should be 4 cups of sauce, thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. Strain, pressing juice out of vegetables.

-- Recipe provided by Martha Murchison

Sweet Potato Pie

Pastry for 9-inch, one crust pie

3 eggs

1âÑ3 cup granulated sugar

1âÑ3 cup light brown sugar

2 cups sweet potato puree (see note)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1Ôªø1âÑ2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1âÑ2 teaspoon ground cloves

1âÑ2 teaspoon ground allspice

pinch of salt

3âÑ4 cup heavy cream

3âÑ4 cup half-and-half

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Beat eggs and both sugars together in mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in sweet potato puree, spices and salt; mix thoroughly. Stir in cream and half and half.

Roll out pastry and line 9-inch pie plate with it. Trim and crimp edges; pour in filling. Bake pie for 8 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 degrees and bake until filling is set and knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes.

Remove pie from oven, cool completely before cutting. Makes 6 portions.

NOTE: To make sweet potato puree, scrub 2 medium sweet potatoes. Drop into pot of boiling water, enough to cover potatoes. Cover pan and cook until tender, 25-35 minutes. Drain potatoes and let stand until cool enough to handle. Remove skins, then mash, put through a ricer, or purée in food processor.

Honey Baked Pumpkin Risotto

2 pounds pie pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1âÑ3-inch cubes

1âÑ4 cup olive oil

1Ôªø1âÑ2 tablespoon honey, plus extra for drizzling

3Ôªø1âÑ2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

3âÑ4-inch piece of peeled ginger, grated

1 cup Arborio rice

2âÑ3 cup dry white wine

juice of 1âÑ2 lemon

1âÑ2 cup chopped flat leaf (Italian) parsley, plus extra to garnish

2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese, plus extra to serve

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Lay pumpkin in even layer on large baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 15 minutes; remove and drizzle with honey, tossing well to coat each piece of pumpkin. Roast another 15 minutes or until tender and golden brown. Remove from oven.

Place stock in saucepan; bring to simmer over low heat.

Heat remaining oil in large, heavy pan over low heat. Add onion and stir until soft, 2-3 minutes. Add celery and cook for 1 minute; add ginger and rice and cook another minute, stirring to coat rice until it is absorbed. Stir in simmering stock a ladleful at a time, allowing each to be absorbed before adding the next. Continue for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently, until rice is cooked but still firm. Add lemon juice, pumpkin and parsley; season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in mascarpone.

To serve, spoon individual portions into soup bowls and garnish each serving with a dollop of mascarpone, a drizzle of honey and a sprinkling of parsley.

-- Recipes provided by Karen Black

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.