Are You Eating Fake Honey?

Tests recently conducted for Food Safety News found that approximately 75% of honey sold in the U.S. has no pollen content, and therefore is not REAL honey, this according to FindLaw.com. 
Honey can have many medicinal properties, but ONLY if there is pollen content. These medicinal properties include antioxidants as well as anti-allergenic aspects, esp if you get honey produced in the region in which you live. However, with these new findings it appears that honey without this nurturing pollen is simply a sweetener, nothing more. Honey without pollen can even be harmful to you, as the pollen in honey is a major tool for identifying the geographic location of production. Recently, according to this article in FindLaw.com, India and China dumped contaminated honey into the North American and European markets, but because there was no pollen in the honey, it was impossible to identify the exact geographical location from whence the honey came until it was too late. 
So where do you find honey with pollen in order to ensure you and your family's safety as well as health? Well most natural food stores will carry honey with pollen content, including places like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, but also your local farmer's market will have LOCAL honey which is best for you anyway, and you will also be supporting you local small businesses if you buy at a farmer's market.  
Here is another great article about this issue that I found on Care2: http://www.care2.com/causes/what-passes-for-honey-on-u-s-shelves.html?page=1

A Simple Vegetarian Thanksgiving (Tofurky Day?)

Some of us Americans don't eat Turkey on Thanksgiving, I mean us vegetarian Americans. :) It's even a little frustrating when people call Thanksgiving Turkey Day, because how are we supposed to celebrate such a holiday, by freeing turkeys? Well some do, but that's illegal, so I won't be doing that this year. Instead I am celebrating my Thanksgiving by being grateful for friends and loved ones, and by eating a Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast en Croute, along with all the typical holiday trimmings with my mother and step father who will be eating a regular turkey (free range though!). A Field Roast is like a Tofurky (which, yes is indeed, a tofu turkey: 100% vegetarian). But the last time I had a Tofurkey I didn't like it very much, so this year I got a Field Roast Hazelnut Cranberry Roast en Croute, as well as a Celebration Roast!! They should be rather magnificent if they're anything like Field Roast's non meat sausage links, which come in Mexican Chipolte, Italian, and my favorite: Smoked Apple Sage! These sausages have apple and lots of savory spices in them, and they are made from grains, fruits and veggies (and herbs and spices); they are totally vegan. So yes, I actually got two Field Roasts I am so confident in their culinary arts. The first is made with apples and butternut squash among other things, that's the Celebration Roast. And the Hazelnut Cranberry Roast en Croute, is made with the regular stuff, as well as a hazelnut, ginger, cranberry and apple stuffing, as well as stuffed with their veggie sausage, and the whole thing is surrounded with a savory pastry. I'm only cooking the latter for Thanksgiving, the Celebration Roast will be for my Birthday which is coming up in December. The roasts are smaller than a Thanksgiving turkey. So if you like what you hear, but would like to feed a number of vegetarians, or maybe just some adventurous omnivores, I would suggest picking up more than one of these roasts, maybe one of each! Or perhaps you want to throw in a Tofurky for good measure. Heck, I was only 17 the last time I tasted a Tofurky, and my 28 year old tongue certainly does like the Tofurky brand deli slices, so maybe it's better than I remember after all. :) If you are looking for any of these items, they can all be found at Whole Foods, at least at all the ones in the Northern VA area.  I bought my two Field Roasts today for $12.50 for the Celebration Roast, and $20 for the Hazelnut Cranberry Roast en Croute. So if you are looking for a vegetarian main dish for the holidays, and want something with less cholesterol the the quiche recipe I listed earlier in this blog, here are three items worth giving a shot. And hey, if you are generally a make from scratch kinda chef, but tend to over do it during the holidays like myself, here are three main dishes that give you an option to take one thing off the list of dishes you have to make from scratch.

Here is a link to the Field Roast website, where you can find descriptions, and nutritional value of their holiday roasts, as well as the same plus recipes for their other scrumptious items:

http://www.fieldroast.com/products/retail/hazelnut-cranberry-roast-en-croute

 Here is a link for where to buy Field Roast items:

http://www.fieldroast.com/where-to-buy 

Here is a link to the Tofurky website that lists all their holiday products and their nutritional value: 

http://www.tofurky.com/tofurkyproducts/holiday_products.html 

You can also navigate around their page to find a list of stores in your state that carry Tofurky products, as well as find interesting facts about veganism and vegetarianism.

You can even send a Tofurky Day e-card through the Tofurky website....aaaaaaannnnnddd, if you do that, the Tofurky Company will donate $5 to Farm Sanctuary. Farm Sanctuary is a farm animal sanctuary that I actually did a report on in 10th grade. :) They save abused farm animals from horrible conditions, and let them live out their days in peace on a beautiful no-kill, non-animal-exploitative farm. Here is the web address for the cute e-card:

http://www.tofurky.com/ecard/createcard1.asp?PostCardID=448

Trip to the Koshland Science Museum in DC

I've always been one for science museums, with all their interactive computer screens and vast amounts of information, I've found them intriguing since I was a little girl. Though when I was little and would go to museums there weren't touch screens, but rather demonstrations on centrifugal force using pennies and a funnel. :) While both are exciting in their own way, I like the advancements technology has made to the experience of going to science museums. Well last Wednesday, the 16th of November, my Environmental Concerns class took a field trip to the Koshland Science Museum in Washington DC, and the museum certainly did not disappoint! 

We acted as guinea pigs for their new exhibit on global warming, and it was very enlightening. First we learned about the carbon exchanging that happens between land and aquatic animals, plants, sediments and rocks, the atmosphere, and water. I got to play water in the fun little skit that we played out which demonstrated the exchanging of carbon, and where most of that carbon ends up (I won't ruin the ending for you in case you want to go and experience the game for yourself, but lets just say that it demonstrated how important it is to protect our air and water ;). 

Next we went on a treasure hunt of sorts to find information on global warming, including its causes and solutions to the problems it puts forth. Personally, I finally got to see what a coral core looks like, and found out that we have information on temperature fluctuations dating back 1,000,000 years! And according to that info, the earth has never been as warm as it is today. Take THAT disbelievers of global warming!!

There were many fun and educational activities that I engaged in while at the Koshland Museum. Because of my love for maps and globes my favorite was the Lights at Night exhibit, which was an interactive computer-generated globe that allowed you to see satellite images of the nighttime lights around the world from space. There were many variables from which you could choose to view different aspects of the lights at night, including different years, maps with and without roads and borders. It was, in a word, awesome! 

Another aspect of the global warming exhibit which was pretty cool, once I figured out how to use it, (yes, there are technical activities that even Gen Y'ers can't figure out without a little help! Esp this one!), was the Climate Change Mitigation Decision Game, which showed you how to reduce human impact to the environment by choosing different elements of environmental planning to develop. These included reducing dependency on oil, using more environmentally friendly building practices, increasing transportation efficiency, and many more. It was very enlightening, and demonstrated the positive impact these changes could have on our currently desperate situation with a diagram at the end, which showed how your personal plan will impact the world if put into use, which I thought was a very unique and fun touch. 

All in all, the trip was quite fabulous. I learned quite a few things, and came away with a stronger basis for my arguments against those folks who still don't believe in the severity of the problem of global warming, or rather, climate change. It's a great museum, and I highly recommend it. 

Here is their contact info:

 Museum Location
525 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001

 For General Inquiries
Phone: 202-334-1201
Toll-free 888-KOSHLAND (888-567-4526)

http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/index.jsp

A Green Halloween

I've often tried to think of a Greener way to create a fun Halloween experience at my house for the kids in my neighborhood other than simply handing out candy while dressed as the Autumn Fairy. First I began by growing my own pumpkins organically so that I knew I wasn't adding to the pesticide problem in the Chesapeake Bay, but then when we moved to a shady spot in a new neighborhood, I knew that was out of the question until we moved again. So then I began using beeswax tea lights in the pumpkins to create that eerie, lit-pumpkin effect without adding dangerous petrochemicals to the air and to the meat of the pumpkin. That brings me to my first Green Halloween Tip! (Though it's the second one really when you count the beeswax candles, ;) One way in which I began making my Halloweens greener, is that I started making sure to reuse the pumpkin. After using it for a Halloween decoration and for creative spooky fun, the day after Halloween I would save the inner meat of the pumpkin that wasn't charred from the candles, cook it up into a freezable form, and then use it year round in things like breads, cookies, pies, and soups!!! Here is how you go about it:

How to REUSE Your Halloween Pumpkin!!

You begin by being sure not to carve your pumpkin more than two days before Halloween. If you like to decorate your porch with pumpkins weeks in advance, you can always arrange them artfully with fake leaves and other autumn items and make a lovely scene without carving right away. So next, when the time is right, you will gut your pumpkin as you normally would, being sure to set aside the seeds for roasting later (YUM!). Be sure to get all those gooey guts out of the inside of the pumpkin, then after you've carved your creative faces, and are ready to place your pumpkin on the porch or stoop, be sure to use beeswax candles or LED lights to illuminate your pumpkin so as not to create toxic fumes with petroleum-based candles that could leach into your pumpkin meat. No more than one day after Halloween, it is time to remove your pumpkin from the porch, and do the salvaging. You begin by chopping the pumpkin into fourths, as you would an apple, this leaves the inside open for peering at to see what is salvageable. Obviously, if there is any mold be sure to compost the pumpkin. In the past, if there are only a few small spots of mold I have simply cut off those chunks and used the rest, but that is a judgement call. Once you have cut off any moldy or charred spots on the meat, it is time to chop that meat up into 4-5 inch by 4-5 inch squares that will be small enough to fit in the steamer you plan to use or large pot that will fit a steamer insert. Be sure to leave on the skin of the pumpkin, as this will help it hold together while steaming. Another piece of advice I have is to wash your pumpkin off before you begin chopping and steaming, this saves you from finding grit in your lovely pumpkin bread! Steaming pumpkin is very easy. You simply steam it like any other vegetable; fill a pot with about an inch of water, put in your steamer insert, plop in the chunks of pumpkin, and turn on the heat to about medium high. You will want to place the chunks of pumpkin meat-up in the steamer, that way things don't fall apart too easily before you want them to. Once the pumpkin is tender when pierced with a fork, it is time to turn off the heat and let the pumpkin cool a bit (handling piping hot pumpkin is tricky business). Once it is somewhat cooler but still warm, take the chunks of pumpkin out of the steamer, remove the skin, and plop the meat into your blender or food processor. Then you will blend until the meat is like a grainy shake, and place it into any water-tight, freezer-safe Tupperware or freezer-bag, and store it until you are ready to use it in breads, pies, cookies, soups, or whatever else you can think of!! 

Soon to follow: some recipes for using that lovely repurposed pumpkin!! 

For other ways in which to reuse your pumpkin, including body butter, casseroles, vegan recipes, and more, check out this site: 

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/11-ways-to-use-a-pumpkin-photos.html

Other Great Ways to Green Your Halloween!!

Instead of handing out processed candy, hand out cool trinkets like worry dolls or sea shells. Or, if you prefer to stay more traditional and stick with candy, try to find some organic prepackaged candy in bulk. A great resource for this is Green Halloween, here:

http://greenhalloween.org/index.php?page=home

If you're having trouble navigating the page, here is a direct link to their list of suggested alternative and earth-friendly items to hand out this Halloween. 

http://greenhalloween.org/content.php?page=treats#candy

Moth's Original Quiche

Well here it is, my very first blog post! I decided to post a mouth-watering, perfect-for-fall recipe that has been a treasured treat in my family since I was a young'un. It is Moth's Original Quiche!! It's original and unique because not only is it a truly delicious quiche that my mom invented (that's Moth), but it's made in a way that is lower in fat, higher in protein, and as low impact as a quiche can be.  Instead of cream we use low fat cottage cheese, which is lower in fat and higher in protein than cream. The crust is made with white whole wheat flour, but the truly special part is that we use King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, which because it is a Vermont product (go Vermont!), it must be shipped a distance, but the flour makes up for that fact by the company's philosophy. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/flours/commitment.html They never artificially bleach or enhance their products, they simply make sure that every bag of flour is naturally nutritious. Also, the company is 100% employee-owned, so you know the employees work under the best conditions and aren't being exploited. We also use two other Vermont products in the quiche, Cabot Cottage Cheese, and Cabot Cheddar Cheese. Cabot Dairy is a cooperative, it even says so in their web address:  http://www.cabotcheese.coop/pages/about_us/index.php
It is again, another product to be shipped a somewhat long distance, but I also believe they make up for it in quality of product and their philosophy. I also love to support my home state of Vermont because not only do I love my state, but they have a great working philosophy and wonderful products. And if all the companies and coops around the continent would simply ship their products by train or (if we shipped by this) light rail, then there would be hardly any environmental impact at all from enjoying products from around the country and continent. Anyway, hopefully that's in the future somewhere. Back to the recipe. We do use, however, locally produced eggs for the quiche, which are organic and cage free, as well as organic butter. The veggies are organic and can be locally grown as well.

Background

The background of the quiche is simple. My mom wanted a healthier version of old fashioned quiche, and needed a main dish to cook for holidays that was vegetarian for my family, all of whom at the time were lacto-ovo vegetarians (except for my sister), including me, my mom , and her boyfriend of that time, who was actually the person who introduced us all to vegetarianism. She also wanted a food that little kids could eat with their hands, and since this quiche is denser than most quiches, it works for that purpose as well. So since I was a wee one, the smell of my mom's quiche wafting through the air has always ushered in the holidays, and made me feel at home.  ....On to the recipe!!
 
What you will need:

• 10 inch spring-form pan
• large-extra large mixing bowl
• blender
• two table knives or a pastry cutter
• small, wide bowl for ice water
• measuring spoons
• measuring cups
• oven

Ingredients:

For Crust:

• 1- 1 1/2 sticks of organic butter
• 2 tbsp shredded Cabot cheddar
• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp juice of organic lemon
• 3-5 tbsp ice water

For Filling:

• 6-8 organic, local, cage-free eggs
• 1 lb. Cabot cottage cheese
• 1 clove organic garlic (large or small to taste)
• 1-2 pinches dried Thyme
• 1-2 pinches dried Chives OR 2 tsp chopped fresh chives

Other:

• 1- 1 1/2 cup cubed Cabot Cheddar
• 1 cup chopped fresh or frozen organic broccoli
• 3/4 - 1 cup frozen organic peas
• freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Veggies:
 First you should prepare the veggies and have them waiting for you.  Take your chopped and washed broccoli, and put it in a microwave-safe bowl with a couple tbsp of water, and pop it in the microwave for approximately 3 min or until it is somewhat tender, but not all the way cooked. If you prefer, you can instead cook your veggies in a steamer, either one is appropriate, just make sure that the broccoli is somewhat tender. Once the broccoli is done, and while it is still hot, put the frozen peas on top of the broccoli in the same bowl so that the heat from the broccoli can warm the peas to just the right temp.  Believe me, it will do the trick. Put veggies to the side for later use.

Making Your Crust:

For this you will use your large bowl, two table knives (Or pastry cutter), bowl of ice water, and measuring devices. First, take your flour and mix it in with the Parmesan cheese in the large bowl, then add your butter, I usually like to cube it up somewhat first to make this next process easier, but that is up to you. Once you have those three ingredients together in the bowl, start cutting the butter into the flour mixture with the two knives. Look in a comprehensive cookbook or online for instructions on how to do this, or here: http://www.instructables.com/id/jam-tarts/step2/Cut-butter-into-flour/
You will want to slice the knives across each other to catch all the butter under them, cutting until the butter and flour look like small white peas. You will then add the shredded cheddar. After that you will add the lemon juice, and upon completing that task you will start to gradually add tbsps of ice water, one at a time stirring after each addition, until the dough holds together but is not sticky. Once this is completed, it is time to fill the spring form pan with the dough. You will take pieces of the dough very small handfuls at a time, and press them into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, until the whole interior of the pan is filled. DO NOT SMUSH DOUGH :) You want to gently press the dough into the pan until it is approximately 1/8 of an inch thick all around. Once you are done with that, it is time to make your filling.

Making Your Filling:
 Making the filling is probably the easiest part of the whole process, esp if you know how to use a blender :).  Before you begin this stage, this is probably a good time to set your oven to 400 degrees and let it preheat while you finish the prep-work. Now, add your 8 eggs into the blender, (cracking them first into a small bowl to make sure that you dont get any shell in the filling, that is if you choose to take this precaution, which I always do), then spoon in your container (1lb.), of cottage cheese, add a peeled clove of garlic, and herbs. Turn on your blender and blend until the ingredients are smooth and blended together well. You are now done with your filling.

Last Bits and Bobs and Pulling it all Together:
First you will cube your cheddar. Make the cubes about half and inch in size, but the size is really up to you, however that size works particularly well, but you don't have to be a cheese-Nazi about it. :) Now it is time bring it all together. First you take the veggies you set aside and spread them out evenly around the bottom of the crust-filled pan. Once that is done, you will sprinkle the pepper on the veggies. Then spread the cubed cheese evenly on top of the veggies. When that is completed carefully pour the filling on top of the cheese and veggies in the crust until it reaches the top of the crust, trying to cover most of the veggies and cheese. Though it does add a nice effect to have some of the broccoli poking their pretty little green florets out of the golden top of the quiche. You shouldn't have any filling left when this is done, but if you do it's no biggie, just make a mini quiche inside a small baking dish if you so choose, so that you don't waste any food. I would not suggest feeding it to the cat or dog as chives and garlic are terrible for pets, esp cats. Finally, add a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese to the top of of the quiche, and now you are ready to add it to the oven! Make sure that the oven has reached 400 degrees, then pop it in the oven and set the timer for 15 min, this is just to set the crust, once the 15 min are up, turn the oven down to 350 degrees and cook the quiche for 45-50 min or until golden brown on top and set through out. You can test this by tapping the top of the quiche, if it's pretty springy and firm and not wobbly, then its all done and you are ready to take it out of the oven.  You will want to let it cool for about 10 min once you take it out, but after that slice into it and ENJOY!! 

***TIP!*** This recipe is perfect for those Ovo-Lacto Vegetarians looking for a tasty vegetarian main dish for the holidays! Perfect accompaniments include baked Butternut Squash with organic butter and whipped potatoes with organic butter, organic light sour cream, and salt.