It's Pumpkin Time

New England Sugar Pumpkins are here! If you’re a pumpkin lover like we are at this time of year you’re on the hunt for the best local/organic sugar pumpkins for baking.

We bake and clean a few during prime season, and then use them for muffins, soups, and Thanksgiving tarts all winter long.

Just preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Wash n dry your pumpkin; place it on your baking sheet and knock the stem off with your heavy meat tenderizer/hammer.
Pierce the soft top with a knife providing a vent so the pumpkin can breath while cooking and bake an hour or more until soft.
Check after an hour and when sides are soft to the touch, remove and cool for cleaning.
When pumpkin is cool enough to handle split into pieces and remove peel and seed matter.
Place pumpkin meat in zip lock freezer bags; remove as much air as you can, and freeze up to 6 months. We like 1 pound packs; it’s about 2 cups and plenty for most recipes.

#baking #fallharvest #livinggreen #noordinarychick #naturalfoods #pumpkin

Fall Pear Butter

6-8 pounds pears bartlet, bosc, kefir, red or any mix of large pears tender but not mushy (you need 6-8 pounds cleaned so you need to buy 8-10 pounds to account for waste)

5 lemons, juiced
2 cups organic Florida crystals sugar
2 cups scotch, bourbon, dark rum, calvados or apple cider *we use scotch

Pour the lemon juice into a stainless steel (*non aluminum) 8quart pot.
Peel, core, and rough chop the pears into lemon juice, tossing to coat and prevent browning.
When you get 1/3rd of the pears into the pot add the scotch (your choice of cooking liquid), and continue to add pears and toss to coat.

As soon as you get 2/3 rds of the pears into the pot add the sugar, toss to coat, and continue to add the rest of the pears.
After all your pears are in the pot place over medium/low heat and bring to a boil, stirring regularly to prevent sticking.
Reduce heat to a simmer; stir regularly, and cook until pears are translucent and saucy.
Remove from the heat and use an immersion blender to blend your pears into a smooth sauce with a few chunks.
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
Pour into a shallow (*non aluminum) baking pan; the more surface the faster it reduces, and bake about 8 hours, stirring well and scraping the sides every 2 hours until your pear butter is reduced by almost half.
Pour your finished pear butter into clean mason jars and freeze or water bath can to store.
* Aluminum cookware will change the color, texture, and taste of this butter.

#fall #gardens #livinggreen #naturalfoods #noordinarychick #pears #preserving

Amazing Arugula

Arugula (Eruca sativa) *photo: this year’s self reseeded fall arugula

Also known as salad or garden rocket, arugula is one of the nutritious green-leafy vegetables of Mediterranean origin. It is a quick growing cool season crop, prefers well-drained fertile soil and full sunlight to flourish.

A member of Brassica family, similar to cauliflower, kale, and mustard greens, arugula is a rich source of certain phytochemicals that have been shown to combat cancer-causing elements in the body.

Arugula is also a great source of folic acid and vitamins A, C and K. As one of the best vegetable sources of vitamin K, arugula provides a boost for bone and brain health. It has many minerals including high levels of iron and copper, making it a good substitute for spinach if you’re paying attention to getting more vegetable based iron in your diet.

Centuries ago Romans discovered that those who ate it regularly were more sexually energized, and it became revered as a powerful aphrodisiac. It has since been used as a sensual enhancer throughout many regions of the world.

Don’t limit yourself to salads, try adding arugula to pastas, grains, sandwiches, wraps and soups, or blend it into a delicious spicy pesto. It has very few calories and tons of flavor so it’s a great green to help maintain a healthy weight without sacrificing great tasting foods.

No matter what your reasoning for eating it, arugula is a fantastic food to add to your diet any time of year, and especially while it’s young, tender and locally in season.

#arugula #gardens #healthygreens #herbs #livinggreen #naturalfoods #noordinarychick

Apple Season is Here!

Apple season is one of our favorite times of year; the weather is crisp, the leaves are beautiful, and the apples are delicious! A sure sign apple season is in full swing is Grandma's Apple Coffeecake starts to be a breakfast regular.

 



We visit as many local farm's as we can; share with our family, and laugh all winter long about which ones were our favorites, or maybe it's the cake! Here is an old Adam's apple chart to help you identify what to use in your favorite dish, or just the best picks to eat.

#apple #appleseason #coffeecake #gardens #livinggreen #naturalfoods #noordinarychick

Tips on Bug Spray

Hopefully you’re choosing a Natural Bug Spray these days as there’s no doubt most insect repellants out there are loaded with toxic chemicals including the pesticide DEET, which is so poisonous that the Environmental Protection Agency says you should wash it off your skin when you return indoors, avoid breathing it in, and not spray it directly on your face.

I started to read about the documented health effects caused by DEET exposure; found the following note, and felt I need not say more...
*DEET is an effective solvent, and may dissolve some plastics, rayon, spandex, other synthetic fabrics, and painted or varnished surfaces including nail polish.

So how do you know the bug spray you choose is safe?
As a Certified Aromatheropist the first rule is the FDA requires that all the ingredients be listed; not blended essential oils, but each essential oil and ingredient are listed, if they are not the product is not a safe choice.

There are a large group of essential oils, carrier, oils, and extracts that are efficient pest helpers, not to mention all the herbs! Some are safe for dogs and horses as well as people, and a few are safe for cats although they are the most sensitive.

A quality Geranium Essential Oil will kill ticks on contact; we use a q-tip to dab it directly on, wait a moment and then removing the dead tick is easily done with a tweezer. This is an ingredient you may want to look for if you’re going to be in the woods.

No Ordinary Chick makes an essential oil synergy ‘Don’t Bug Me Spray’ safe for use with dogs, horses, and people during regular outdoor activities, and the ingredients are listed. You can get yours online under the Living Green tab at http://noordinarychick.com

#aromatherapy #bugspray #essentialoil #insectrepellant #livinggreen #noordinarychick

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