Fresh Harvest Basil Pesto

Every year we like to make a fresh pesto with our basil harvest to enjoy during the winter months.

Our gang likes a traditional pesto of basil, garlic, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and pine nuts seasoned with sea salt and ground black pepper.

We blanch our garlic by throwing whole cloves still in their skins in boiling water, then in a colander immediately just to temper the raw garlic. (peel & rough chop to add to processor)

Combine the ingredients together in a food processor, and adjust the olive oil, and taste from there.

Then we use mason jars to freeze our bounty 9-12 months; fill them, and cap the mixture with a coat of olive oil to seal for freezing.

You can also try alternative ingredients such as cipollini onions, pecorino romano cheese, sundried tomatoes, walnuts, etc.

#basil #chef #gardens #herbs #livinggreen #naturalfoods #noordinarychick #pesto

Herbal Tips - Stevia

Stevia is associated with the Element Water and the Planet Jupiter.

The stevia plant is part of the Asteraceae family, related to the daisy and ragweed. Several stevia species called "candyleaf" are native to New Mexico, Arizona and Texas; but the prized species, Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni), grows in Paraguay and Brazil, where people have used leaves from the stevia bush to sweeten food for hundreds of years. In traditional medicine in these regions, stevia also served as a treatment for burns, colic, stomach problems and sometimes as a contraceptive.

If you’ve ever tasted stevia, you know it’s extremely sweet. In fact, this remarkable noncaloric herb has been used as a sweetener and flavor enhancer for centuries.

Culinary
Crushed dried leaves (by hand or in a coffee/herb grinder) can be used as a sugar replacement in baking and cooking, but remember stevia is many times sweeter.

You can also make your own liquid stevia sweetener like simple syrup by bringing ¼ cup stevia leaves and 1 cup warm water just to a boil, then cool and keep refrigerated. I like to use this method for cocktails, and to toss with fresh fruit for a bit of extra natural sweetness.

Gardening
Organic gardeners in particular should find stevia an ideal addition as nontoxic stevia plants have been found to have insect-repelling tendencies. Their very sweetness, in fact, may be a kind of natural defense mechanism against aphids and other bugs that find it not to their taste

Stevia plants do best in a rich, loamy soil; the same kind in which common garden variety plants thrive. Tender young stevia plants are especially sensitive to low temperatures so it’s best to wait until the danger of frost is past before transplanting them to your garden.

Harvest & Storing
Harvesting should be done as late as possible since cool autumn temperatures and shorter days tend to intensify the sweetness of the plants. Once leaves have been harvested you will need to dry them; on a warm fall day your stevia crop can be quick dried in the full sun in about 12 hours. (Drying times longer than that will lower the stevioside content.) A home dehydrator can also be used, although sun drying is the preferred method. Dried leaves can be stored in airtight jars in a cool dry cabinet.

#gardening #herbs #livinggreen #naturalsweetner #noordinarychick #stevia

Grill Night

Grill Night; NY Strip with Too Tasty Beef, Yukons n Broccoli all smothered in Herbed Gorgonzola Cream Sauce.

Visit http://noordinarychick.com and use coupon code TooTastyBeef to get 10% off till August 31st!
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#‎herbs‬ ‪#‎livinggreen‬ ‪#‎grill‬ ‪#‎naturalchef‬ ‪#‎noordinarychick‬ ‪#‎spicerubs‬

Summer Sun Sweet Tomatoes

 

Each spring we start different kinds of tomato seeds in our greenhouse for summers’ garden… 

and we never leave out our favorites the Brandywines!

Every growing season is different so you never know what you’ll end up with; but for us garden lovers there is nothing better than a sun sweet tomato ripe from the vine.

When our bounty gets too big; here’s what we like to do so we can enjoy them some cold winter’s day too.

We mix our tomatoes to roast but the bigger brandywines and zebras can have their skins n seeds cleaned up first. When sliced the peels usually pull right off, and if not the skins can easily be removed after roasting.

Rough chop tomatoes that have been cleaned and place in a roasting pan.
*We line our roasting pan with a double parchment for easy removal.

Clean n slice a few cloves of garlic over top; add your choice of fresh basil, marjoram, oregano, and flat parsley.

Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper, and drizzle with olive oil.

Place in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10-20 minutes depending on the tomato volume. The tomato mixture should be browned in spots and bubbling.

When they come out of the oven you can remove any unwanted skins before jarring for storage.

Pour into mason jars and refrigerate up to 10 days, or freeze for 6 months.

Now you can enjoy your summer bounty in your most cherishes meals all year long.

#chef #gardens #herbs #livinggreen #naturalfoods #noordinarychick #tomatoes

Tiny Frogs in the Garden

 

I had a special garden visitor, only the size of my thumb nail... A symbol of transition and transformation, the frog spirit supports us in times of change. Strongly associated with the water element, it connects us with our emotions and feminine energy, as well as the process of cleansing whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual.

#enchantments #frog #livinggreen #naturalgardening #noordinarychick #todem

Easy Garden Refrigerator Pickles

These pickles are a must with burgers and bratwurst for your summer barbeque or anytime!

9 5-6 inch Fresh garden Cucumbers *English, Kirby, or Marketmore
2 medium Organic Onions *Sweet or Vidalia
*optional 1 red, yellow, or jalapeno pepper for spice.

Seasonings…
1 heaping tablespoon Pickling Salt (or Kosher)
1 tablespoon Celery Seed
2 teaspoons Brown Mustard Seed
1 heaped teaspoon Coriander Seed
½ teaspoon Coarse Black Pepper
1 large Bay Leaf

½ cup white wine vinegar
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups organic Florida Crystals (sugar)

Cut peeled or unpeeled cucumbers into 1/16 to 1/8 inch slices and layer in bowl.
Clean onions and slice thinly on top of the cucumbers.
*Remove stems and seeds from the pepper, and slice thinly on top if using.
Sprinkle seasonings (as listed) over the ingredients in your bowl and toss gently to blend, laying the bay leaf on top. Cover with plastic wrap and set to the side for 1 hour.
While you are waiting mix together the sugar and vinegars; stir for a few minutes to dissolve sugar. Cover and rest until cucumber mix is ready.
After an hour stir the vinegar & sugar mix and pour over the cucumber mixture, gently tossing to blend well.
Pickles are ready in in about 10 minutes; but old-time recipes suggest storing the pickles in the refrigerator for a day before eating, and waiting a few days for proper pickling.
Transfer to no-metallic containers and refrigerate, pickles last about a month if you manage to not eat them first!   (photo shown does not contain optional peppers)

#cucumbers #gardens #healthyfoods #naturalchef #livinggreen #noordinarychick #seasonings

Echinacea for Health

 

GROWING ECHINACEA
Echinacea is easy to grow from seed; pick a moist, sunny spot with room to spread. The plant takes two years to flower (and become large and potent enough for harvest) when grown from seed, but can flower the first year if you have a longer growing season or plant early indoors. Echinacea is a pretty common garden flower; it self-seeds and will spread where you let it.

HARVESTING ECHINACEA
Once your Echinacea is ready for harvest, you have options for extracting the medicinal properties of the plant. Tincturing the fresh plant is highly recommended for getting the most out of the herb. A honey or glycerin extract would be a good choice for kids, but a strong alcohol tincture will be more versatile.
The root is the most concentrated medicinally, but harvesting this kills the plant. This is only recommended if you have a sizable stand of Echinacea and can leave enough to continue growing. The flower and leaf can be harvested without affecting growth, especially if you just use the flower petals and allow it to go to seed.

ECHINACEA TINCTURE RECIPE
10 oz strong grain alcohol or vodka. Everclear 190 or 151 proof will make a stronger tincture that you can dilute if desired. 

1 oz Fresh Echinacea root/flower/leaf
Glass jar with tight lid
Mix herbs and alcohol in your clean glass jar. Cap tightly and let sit in a cool, dark place for at least two weeks. Shake the jar several times. The longer you let it sit and the more you shake it the stronger it will be. When your tincture is ready, strain and press the herbs through a muslin bag or fine mesh sieve. Bottle in amber glass to help preserve the extract. Store in a cool dark place

USING ECHINACEA TINCTURE
Dosage will depend on the strength of your tincture, which can only be determined by use. Most commercial tinctures recommend a dosage of 15-30 drops up to four times a day. Start at the lower end and increase the dose as needed. Echinacea works best if taken when you are first exposed to a sickness or immediately when symptoms appear.

#echinacea #flowers #gardening #health #herbs #livinggreen #noordinarychick