Garden Beets and Kale with Yams

**This grew out of a traditional Thanksgiving dish I made every year. I used to steam the kale with garlic and cook the beets and serve them with a honey lemon glaze on them. But this year I wanted to eat some (I only eat food that is alive) so I found a new way to make it raw and added some new twists to it! It was a delightful discovery and everyone enjoyed it!  Hope you do too!

The Kale:

2-3 bunches of fresh curly leaf kale, washed, destemmed and sliced thinly
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup ground seseme meal
1 Tbsp raw agave syrup
1 Tbsp cold pressed olive oil (opt)
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Place kale in large mixing bowl.  Then add lemon, salt, seseme, agave and oil massage these ingredients into the leafs well with clean hands.  Then add the cranberries and pumpkin seeds and mix well.  Let it sit while you prepare the other parts.  This allows it to marinate.  Marinating greens is a such a great way to soften them and make them more palatable--it reminds me a bit of how they were lightly steamed.

The Beets:

4-5 med. raw beets, grated (salad shooter works well for this if you have one, but if not, just use a regular grater)
1 finely chopped garlic clove
1 Tbsp fresh raspberries, crushed
1-1/2 tsp raw agave
1 1/2 teaspoons  mustard powder (opt)
1 Tbsp fresh sq. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil (opt)

Prepare the beets in a bowl.  Then whisk together the other ingredients in a small bowl.  Add the dressing to the beets and mix well.

The Yams:

1 small yam, peeled and grated
1 Tbsp fresh sq orange juice
1 tsp fresh sq lemon juic
2 tsp raw agave syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon or coriander
handful of raw sliced almonds

Prepare yams in a bowl and add the orange and lemon juice immediately and mix well--this keeps them from getting brown.  Then add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix well.

Assembly:

5 large thinly sliced radishes for garnish and flavor

A large flat pasta serving bowl or platter with edges works well for this but you can be creative and find something in your kitchen that would work nicely.  Spread the kale evenly over the bottom of the bowl or platter.  Make an indentation in the kale for the beets.  Carefully mound the beets in the middle of the bed of kale with a large spoon being careful not to sprinkle beets into the outer edges of the kale bed.  Next, make a small indentation on the top of the beet mound for the yams.  Carefully spoon the yams into the indentation.  Use the radishes to garnish the edges of the bowl/platter or arrange them on the dish how you like.

Elizabeth's Thanksgiving concoction :-)