Happy Merry Holiday

Holiday Greetings, and hopefully everyone had a wonderful holiday season.  It was a quiet Christmas for us here.  But this gave me the excuse to try and cook a Holiday Roast for Marc and I.  I have never really made much beyond skillet/wok meal.  So this was a big feat.  And I truly have my brother-in-law to thank for my success.  He coached me on how to make this amazing meal.  I am lucky enough to have to have a teacher from Johnson and Whales l and I truly appreciate all knowledge.  The best part was that our dinner tasted AMAZING!  Here's a little recap:

It started off as a mere piece of meat with garlic and onions, then began it's slow roast.

Mixed Green Salad with Goat Cheese and Homemade Balsamic dressing wet our palettes.

 The sides of Garlic Mashed Potatoes,  and Rosemary Carrots and Parsnips.

 

The the main course of a Holiday Roast with Sherry Mushroom Sauce.

It was magical!  I can't explain how amazing this all tasted and how enjoyable it was to cook for Marc and myself on our quiet Christmas.  Next time I will finish with a dessert of chocolate covered strawberries and a single malt.  The only thing I would change :)

Have a safe and wonderful Holiday!

Winter Solstice

Tonight marks the longest night of the year, with longer days of sunlight to follow.  This is something that we hardly think about nowadays, but the natural world is highly effected by this turn of events.  I know that for myself this fall, I have definitely felt the effect of the shortening days and the cold chill of the winter setting in.  Normally snowboarding is a good distraction from this time of year, but this year, I couldn't help but feel the darkness with the lack of a garden and sunlight.

Pepsi soaking up the last rays of the day, hoping they return tomorrow.

So tonight we celebrate the long night with the return of the sun and longer daylight in the morning.  The turn to lengthening days and the hope that things will bloom again.  Reflections of the past year, hopes for the new year, candles to light the long night and Solstice Bread to celebrate the night.

Happy Winter Solstice!

A Christmas Surprise

We got a special anonymous package today in the mail.  A miniature Christmas tree to give our bland apartment some Christmas cheer.  A beautiful little cypress tree that smells amazing and came with little decorations!  After some investigating I figured out who it was from... Thanks Mom and Dad for the great holiday surprise!

All Wrapped Up

AMAZING NEWS!  The BATTERY CHARGER has been located!  Shortly after posting that I had lost this vital piece of equipment, Marc went out to check the RV one last time and found it!  It has been in there since we got home from our road trip back in October!  I am pretty psyched, and now I can get back to posting.  What's new around here:

Snow and a frozen garden.

Christmas shopping and baking.  I attempted to do more of a "handmade" Christmas. 

     

However, for all the little kids in the family, I ended up buying some things.  I tried to make sure I was either supporting a good cause when buying the gift, or it was made of recycled materials.  This worked for almost all of the kids, but I will admit, some things were bought just because... Here are some links to great kids gifts from great companies (better late then never).

Stubby Pencil Studios 

World Wildlife Fund

Sprig Toys

Plant a Billion Trees

My goal for next year: not go overboard with the wrapping.  I bought a huge roll of wrapping paper that will definitely last us the next 5 years....should have thought that one through.  Recycled materials from here on out!

And lastly, what's growing around here...Wheat Grass.  A potent green that helps us through these dreary, cold days!

....it's nice to be back on the blogisphere!

Mission: Find My Camera Charger

Hello All, I am writing to say that, sadly, I have lost our camera charger...hence the lack of posts.  I am personally a fan of pictures rather then writing, so it's been s secret boycott of blogging.  I have tried using Marc's iPhone, but usually it's not around when I need it.  So I have come to buying one, and actually went to Staples to get one the other day.  Ironically, they were sold out!  The quest continues.  So hopefully soon I will be able to recharge the camera and get to blogging again, and I apologize for the lack of posts.

What's been happening here since the loss of the battery:
-Snow
-Lots of sewing projects.
-Put the garden to bed for the winter.
-Crafty holiday wrapping projects.
-Marc has brewed more beer.
-Some NEW amazing dinners with our winter veggies.

I will write again when we have a camera to post some pictures.  Enjoy your Holiday Season!

Giving Thanks

Well, Thanksgiving is upon us, and Marc and I hadn't had much time to even consider the holiday until Tuesday.  It occurred to me that not only was Thanksgiving in 2 days, but that also means that Christmas is right around the corner...YIKES!  I will admit, I am not a huge holiday person, but I do get excited to give people gifts.  So yesterday I did some canning projects, some of which I cannot mention because of the high probability of them becoming Christmas gifts.  But one thing I made was some Cranberry Sauce with Blueberries for the upcoming feasts (8 pints to be exact).  This recipe was super easy, and although it isn't jellied like the canned stuff, I believe if you refrigerate it prior to using it will be thick enough to enjoy with the various holiday fixings.

Cranberry Sauce with Blueberries

6 cups whole cranberries, washed and picked over
1 cup blueberries
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup water
2 cups honey/maple syrup (whichever you have)

1) In a large sauce pan combine all ingredients.  Bring to a boil.
2) Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.  You should hear the cranberries popping.
3) Sterilize jars and prepare boiling water bath.
4) Ladle cranberry sauce into sterile jars, cap and boil water bath for 15 minutes (pints).

Pretty easy!

In other news, our dog has taken a liking to yoga...or it could just be our yoga mat.  But this is something that I am thankful for this holiday...she always makes me smile!

      

Happy Thanksgiving!

Blonde Oatmeal Cookie Bombs

Today I decided to chip away at our bulk oats and made some awesome cookies for Marc to enjoy while I am away.  This recipe was super easy and the cookies delicious.  I really like how different they look compared to the run-of-the-mill chocolate chip oatmeal cookies too.  I will be making these again soon.  The name however, could use some work.  If you have any ideas, please share!

Blonde Oatmeal Cookie Bombs

Makes approximately 3 dozen.

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease cookie sheets.

2) Combine first 5 ingredients and with an eggbeater, blend until creamy.

3) Add the flour, baking soda and salt and stir just until combined.

4) Add the remaining ingredients and blend.  Scoop onto cookie sheets 2 inches apart.  Cook approximately 10-12 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.

5) Let cool on cookie sheets 5 minutes, then remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Local Ingredients Used: honey, whole wheat flour, eggs

Eco-Conscious Backpacking Food

Well, I am off once again for another trip with the Outdoor Leadership Program.  This is their fall White Mountains trip and the first official "backpacking" trip of their year.  We will be carrying everything on our backs for the week in the beautiful national forest in NH.  I love this trip!

This year I have tried to make less of an impact on the earth by making most of my own food.  This means that I have been dehydrating things like a mad woman and hopefully they will be delicious and satisfying!  A couple great benefits of making my own chow is that I am throwing away much less plastic packaging and using way fewer Ziploc (my mortal enemy) and much of the produce I have dried has come right from our front yard!  That means the only carbon impact on the planet is the small amount of energy used for the dehydrator.  Whoo Hoo!  Now hopefully everything will be edible.  And on a side note, I impulsively bought a bulk bag of rolled oats at our Co-op.  Bulk bag being 50 lbs...might be the first time I regret buying bulk.  But our first attempt at granola was awesome and since we use oats a lot I am hoping it won't go to waste.  I will keep you posted.

Here's what I have made for the trip...

Breakfast: Oatmeal with homemade granola (putting that 50 lb bag to good use), earl grey tea.
Lunch: Instant soup (bulk), pepperoni, cheese and ciabatta bread.
Snacks: Dehydrated Cajun Sweet Potatoes, Beef Jerky from Hager's local cows, Salt and Vinegar Pumpkin Seeds, Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Power Bar and homemade Coconut Brownie Power Bar, honey roasted peanuts, vitamin chews.
Dinners: Tortellini with Village Veggies Tomato Sauce, Eggplant and ground beef (Hager's Cows of course).
Annies Whole Wheat Mac & Cheese with Spinach and Italian Sausage (Hager's own sausage).
Red Beans and Rice with Hager's Kielbasa and Chorizo sausage (kind of like a Jambalaya).
Asian Noodles with Teriyaki Tofu and Eggplant.
After Dinner Treats: Peirce Brothers Hot Cocoa (Greenfield MA company) with mint tea or decaf chai tea.  Dark chocolate squares.

It has been great experimenting with the dehydrator.  Who knew you could just make extra dinner and dehydrate the leftovers?  Pretty great!  I have saved a boat load of money by making my own and hopefully I can inspire some of the students to try the same in the future.

Peanut Butter Cup Alternative...Local Is Better!

Let me be clear: this recipe is not healthier for you, just better for the environment (and maybe a little big healthier).  Which in my book is a good excuse to have one of my favorite candies!  I came across this recipe a while back on another blog.  I thought it would have been more appropriate for Halloween, but lost track of time.  I have adapted the recipe to use local ingredients when possible (less petroleum used and more support for the community).  These are pretty delicious but rich, so make sure to use the mini muffin tins!

Sorry about the poor pictures.  I have lost my battery charger for our camera, thus the iPhone has been used.

Local Peanut Butter Cups
Makes approximately 24 mini-cups
*All links below are to the local company that provides this ingredient.

1 stick butter (1/2 cup) softened
3/4 cup all natural chunky peanut butter (obviously no one grows peanuts around Shelburne...)
3/4 cup whole wheat graham crackers (approximately 10 squares)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup dark chocolate chips (these are SUPER expensive, but worth the splurge for a treat, plus read about the benefits of cacao here)
1/4 cup milk

1) Line a mini-muffin tin with papers
2) In a food processor crush crackers (if you are super crafty you can try to make your own grahams with a recipe I found here.  I didn't try this yet, but the addition of local whole wheat flour would be amazing!).  Add butter, maple syrup and PB.  Process until smooth.
3) Using a cookie batter spooner (not sure what they are really called) scoop batter into muffin tins.
4) In a small sauce pan combine chocolate chips and milk.  Stir over medium low heat until completely melted.  It's important to keep stirring so it doesn't burn!
5) Spoon chocolate over peanut butter batter and spread to cover.  Place muffin tins in the freezer for 2-4 hours until set.
6) Remove from freezer 1/2 hour before eating.  Enjoy!  Be sure to keep the refridgerated when not being eaten because they become soft and gooey otherwise...not necessarily the worst thing, just not very clean.

Happy Halloween!

First of all, thanks for being patient with the ever changing blog designs and colors.  I think I have settled, and hopefully everything is readable.

I can't believe it is the end of October already!  Our garden isn't dead yet, but officially the tomatoes and eggplants are done.  Just picked the rest of the hot and bell peppers a couple days ago too.  Now, I need to get in gear to work the soil for next spring...but not now; now I have some baking fever!

There is something about the fall and cooler weather that always puts me in a mood to bake.  I truly enjoy finding new creative recipes to use, and then there are always the old stand-bys that I can't do without.  We have had some of these creations in the past week, but due to the date, and having some festive Halloween cheer, I have tried a new recipe today: Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies.  (Secretly, I made pumpkin puree this week and found mascarpone by the Vermont Creamery company that I was dying to try out...Halloween aside!)

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies
Brownie Batter 


3/4 cup butter melted or EVOO

1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 cup Sucanat sugar*
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon




Cheesecake Batter
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup Sucanat sugar*
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/2 cup pumpkin puree - directions on how to make your own at the bottom!
1/4 cup vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
pinch of cloves
*regular sugar can be used instead.

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x8 inch pan.
2) In a large bowl combine the first 3 ingredients in the brownie batter.  Beat in the 2 eggs until it has a light airy consistency.
3) Add remaining brownie batter ingredients and mix well.
4) In a separate bowl combine all the cheesecake batter ingredients.  Blend well.
5) In the greased pan, pour 2/3 of the brownie batter, spread evenly over pan.  Next spoon all of the cheesecake batter on top.  Finally dollop the remaining brownie batter over cheesecake batter.  With a butter knife, swirl the cheesecake and brownie batter by running the knife through the batters.
6) Bake for 40-50 minutes or until center is set.  Cool completely on a wire rack and chill before cutting and serving.
Using Local, organic ingredients WHENEVER possible makes a better recipe!  Not to mention it saves BARRELS of oil from shipping far off ingredients, doesn't destroy the soil and helps support your local farmers and community.  

Pumpkin Puree

1) Choose fresh local sugar pumpkins (these are usually smaller then regular pumpkins).  And since you are taking the time, you might as well do a few pumpkins to stock up.
2) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3) Cut off tops and remove seeds and stringy guts.  Don't forget to make roasted pumpkin seeds later.
4) Cut the entire pumpkin in half, and finish removing any other seeds etc.  Place on a cookie sheet gut-side-up and place in oven.  Cook for 45 minutes or until flesh is soft.
5) Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
6) Once cooled process through a food mill.  If you don't have a food mill, peel off pumpkin skin and run through a food processor.  Store in air tight containers in the freezer.
Two pumpkins made 2 pints of pumpkin puree for me.

More recipes coming like apple cheesecake bars, homemade granola, and maybe even some cookies!  Happy Halloween!

We're Back!

Hello again after a short hiatus!  Marc, Pepsi and I are back from our cross country road trip.  What started out as an idea, turned into an adventure!  We got to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on Waste Veggie Oil and then back again with a ton of amazing things in between!  Our goal was to have a vacation, but to have as little footprint on the earth as possible.  The biggest deal was using Veggie Oil as our fuel instead of a petroleum products.  Waste Veggie Oil (WVO), the stuff that makes your french fries, is considered a hazardous waste...why, I have no idea.  We use it to fuel our truck; the ultimate in recycling, and it is considered a carbon neutral fuel because the corn grown to make the oil offsets the carbon from driving.  Pretty cool.  We also composted, brought bulk grains and ate all our Village Veggies along the way which meant not going to the grocery stores for highly processed foods.  I am sure we could have done it better, but it was a small step in the right direction, and definitely a great vacation.  We saw the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountain National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, the Vermilion Cliffs, tons of state parks throughout the middle of the country and a TON of wildlife.  Couldn't have been better.

This is our set-up in the Rocky Mountain National Park.

That big tank in the back of the truck is full of Veggie Oil and Marc is trying to get rid of the grease smell with some bleach water so we don't attract bears.

Dinner in Utah just outside of Bryce Canyon.

Hiking in Bryce Canyon National Park looking at the Hoodoos.

Once at a camp site we used our bikes to get around, here's mine with a bundle of wood (Marc thought this was funny).

The Grand Canyon, from the North Rim.

Picnic dinner at sunset in the Grand Canyon.

Pepsi making herself comfortable.

Well I have a TON of pictures so I won't post them all, these were just a glimpse of the awesomeness!  Can't wait to do it again!  And since we've been back home it is officially fall!  So we started cooking up some goodness once again.  And surprisingly my garden is not dead yet, so we are lucky to still have some eggplants and tomatoes.  

I was very proud of myself for the dinner we had the other night.  Thanks to this post from Fields and Fire, I made my first roasted chicken (with roasted garden veggies).  It was super easy and tasted AMAZING!

Veggies for the skillet: Kale, Brussel Sprouts, Butternut Squash, Parsnips, Potatoes, Carrots, Onions and Garlic.  Chop these garden fresh veggies and put them in the bottom of the skillet.  Place your chicken on top with some salt and roast.  Seriously, it was that easy.

And this was the end result!

We also got some sugar pumpkins and baked them for pumpkin puree and roasted pumpkin seeds.  It is nice to be home again.  I will be posting more soon about some fall baking and getting ready for my backpacking trip coming up.

Apple Squares

We have been getting things together for our trip the the Grand Canyon, and I realized I had a ton of apples that I needed to use up soon, so I made a double batch of these and they are AMAZING!  A perfect way to use apples and make a road-trip snack!  Enjoy!

Apple Squares
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sucanat sugar*
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup apples, chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped
Optional Topping
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
* If unable to find this natural sugar, you can substitute white sugar instead.

1) Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2) In a small bowl combine the first 4 ingredients and set aside.
3) In a large bowl combine brown sugar, sucanat sugar and oil.   Add the eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
4) Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until just combined, then stir in the apples and walnuts.
5) If using topping: in the bowl used for the flour, combine the 2 tbsp sugar with the 2 tsp of cinnamon and set aside.
6) Spread mixture evenly over greased pan.  Sprinkle topping over entire pan.
7) Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack and then cut into squares.

I made the bars with the topping, but next time I might try it without for a less sweet breakfast option.  But really, you can't go wrong either way.  It's like an apple brownie!

Back to the Garden and Out Again

I am finally back, and finally blogging after my 10 day backcountry trip on the Raquette River.  Although it was rainy the entire time on my trip, I guess it was beautiful here, and most of the plants in the garden are still thriving!  And all this sun has given the peppers and eggplant a second wind.  While I was gone, Marc managed to freeze 4 gallons of tomatoes, roast eggplants, and consume an INSANE amount of summer squash, what a guy!

But, even though the summer is going strong, Marc, Pepsi and I are headed on a road trip to the grand canyon next week.  So things have been a little crazy here getting things ready.

Question: How do you go on an eco-friendly road trip to the grand canyon?

Answer: In a Waste Veggie Truck and a used camper loaded with supplies from our garden! 

We have over 250 gallons of grease to get our little mobile home out the the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (and hopefully back again).  And, in order to make sure we don't produce a ton of waste along the way, we are bringing bulk food supplies to maintain our low-impact life style while on the road.  What that means is that in the midst of my unpacking from the Adirondack trip, we are making tofu, beer, bread, hummus etc like crazy people.  Our house is a little scary at the moment.
More posts about our trip plans and preps are soon to come.

 

Beer making and tofu being pressed.

And news from the garden:  Japanese turnips are ready and delicious.  Tomatoes are still going strong and we have started sun-drying some and freezing the rest.  Planted spinach in some of the empty beds which should be ready when we get back in the beginning of November.  I actually attacked the compost madness, so we will have a ton of it ready to spread when we get back.  Another mad dash to preserve whatever we can because it will be done by the time we get home from AZ.

Sun Dried Tomatoes in oil and tomatoes freezing.

Brussel Sprouts

And another fun thing: Village Veggies is participating in the 350 Challenge, aka 350 pounds of carbon emissions have been offset thanks to our blog (the equivalent of turning off 100 light bulbs for a day or not driving for 2 days).  For more info check out the widget in the side bar.

Some much needed comfort food.  When things get a little out of hand, a smoothie with some fresh greens makes everything better!