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.