Archive for the ‘local’ Category

Fall Harvest Squash Rice

September 28th, 2010

Happy Autumn everyone!!
I love this time of year for so many reasons. I love the crisp fall air and the surprise flashback to summer warm days. The leaves change their colors to magnificent reds, yellows, oranges and even purples. Even though I grew up in New England and have seen many fall seasons, the changes that come with fall never cease to amaze me.

Apples, pumpkins and winter squash, oh my!! The food, oh the food of fall is not to be underestimated. The bounty that comes with this season is so different than summer and yet just as abundant!

My boys and I went to a dear friends house last night to celebrate the arrival of fall. Cornhusk dolls were part of the festivities and they were so much fun to make. A friends daughter came over to sit by me and helped teach me how to put angel wings on my doll and then she made a crown for my doll. So sweet!! Her doll still came out way better than mine, of course.

After the crafts and outside celebrations, we all went inside to share a meal together. I brought one of favorite recipes that really celebrates the fall harvest from Ani Phyo’s Ani’s Raw Food Kithcen recipe book. She titles it Walnut Cranberry Squash “Rice”. It is really yummy, but I was blown away by how well received this dish was by everyone including some who have dabbled in raw foods before and some like the “bat fairie” from My Everyday Magic that are a little more wary of raw foods. A couple people made sure I knew, several times, they want the recipe, like pronto! So, here’s to you!!!

Fall Harvest Squash Rice

  • 1 small butternut squash, about 1 lb peeled, seeded and cut into 2 inch cubes
  • 1/2 small yellow onion
  • 1 TBS cumin seeds
  • 1TBS corriander powder
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup walnuts, crushed
  • 2 tsp salt
  1. Put small batches of cubed butternut squash in a food processor and process into small pieces
  2. Put procesed squash in a large bowl and add remaining ingredients
  3. mix well
  4. will keep in fridge for a couple days

Seriously, this recipe is so easy to make. I didn’t have cumin seeds on hand, so I just used poedered cumin. I also add a bit more cilantro as I just love it! This is definately a recipe to double! Also, it is the type of recipe that is very forgiving with measurements and lends well to adding in your own personal touch. Keep this one for your next harvest party or to liven up your Thanksgiving table. Enjoy!!

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Farmer’s Market Time

July 26th, 2010

It’s summer and I’m lovin’ it!

It seems that now is the time that there is so much raw goodness out there and available. Just in your own backyard there is enough to create lovely salads and add-ins to smoothies to make one smile.

A favorite activity of ours is going pickin’!! We love going berry and fruit picking to eat up the sun-kissed fresh fruit. I love seeing the kids explore the farms and see how the food grows. Is it a tree, a bush, low to the ground? What do the leaves of the plant look like?

The plan is always to pick enough to freeze. We haven’t quite been able to accomplish this because we eat every last little berry we pick. It is also a good lesson in what is in season and local to us.

Another high point for us is the local farmer’s markets. They are all so different from one another. A favorite used to be Coventry Farmer’s market when we lived closer to it. Lots of great vendors including our very close friend Hurricane Farm!! Coventry also has guest speakers and it is so fun filled.

Now we are in a different location and we have been checkin’ out the scene. My new favorite is Ashlawn Farm in Lyme, CT. They are open Fridays from 3-6pm and Saturday am 9-noon. There are two organic vendors with fantastic veggies and flowers.  Hidden Brook Gardens is a new favorite. They have lush greens and are passionate about what they do. I have gotten some great tips about growing and different ways to use the produce.  The Hay House has gorgeous flowers and extras of greens and veggies that have not gotten used for their CSA. Scott’s is not organically certified but uses organic sprays when possible and has a huge variety of fruits and veggies. They are happy to answer questions about their goods and their practices. There is yet another vendor that is not organic and does uses sprays I care not to partake of so be sure to ask. They also have fresh baked items as well as a fresh seafood vendor and meat vendor. Ashlawn farm is a beautiful farm that is super friendly and it is fun to sit on a chair or blanket after getting your goods to watch the animals or go into their little store to buy a fresh made smoothie.

Get into the swing and find your local farmer’s markets and go check them out. Be sure to visit all the local ones as they truly are each unique and offer different goods.

So, What is your favorite market?

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CT Herbfest

June 3rd, 2010

Just a quick post to let you know that this weekend is the CT Herbfest in Somers. Check out the website for a list of workshops (including an edible wild walk and a raw food talk) and activities. Admission is $10, under 12 or over 70 are free.

And if you’re looking for more events, don’t miss the CT NOFA (Northeast Organic Farming Association) website. They’ve got an upcoming tour of an urban community garden on June 21, and save the date for Taste! Organic September 19th, to mention a couple.

If you’re on facebook, you can do a search for The Essence of Being at Johnnycake Mountain. They lead wild weed walks, herbal talks and more, but their website doesn’t appear to be functioning yet. The Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center offers many interesting programs, including a wild edible feast this Saturday from 9-4, as well as a FREE Beekeeping for Beginners class at 2, also this Saturday.Other events at ANRC include Joseph Firecrow, Native American Flute Man, night hikes, solstice drumming circle and tunes from trash.

No time to post more, life calls.  Let us know about a cool event in your area!

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bonbons @ the cinema

May 20th, 2010

A few days ago, we had a family outing to the Parkade Cinemas in Manchester to see Avatar. Luke and I had gone to the Buckland Hills IMAX 3-D to watch this movie in all it’s cinematographic glory. All the other IMAX movies we’ve seen have been at museums with a true IMAX screen — the big, 5 story screen that covers your entire field of vision. The dinky screen at Buckland left us underwhelmed to say the least.

Dante wanted to see it on the big screen, therefore so did Lucia, so we found the plain ole 2-D non-IMAX version playing at the Parkade Cinemas. I went along to cover Lulu’s eyes or give a cuddle during some of the more intense scenes. The kids loved the flora and fauna of Pandora, and are now distraught that they will never fly their own “bird dinosaurs” as the characters do in the film.

We  like this theater because the prices are reasonable ($6.75 adults, $4.75 children, seniors, and any show before 4pm every day), and since it’s a second-run theater we get a chance to catch things we missed.

We’ve seen a number of movies there, but haven’t had a chance to check out a small shop nearby that I’d read about online. This time, we arrived with a half hour to spare, so I drove on into the Stop n Shop plaza parking lot on West Middle Turnpike and cruised the strip mall til I found my target. We all piled out of the car and into a treat for the tastebuds — Divine Treasures chocolates. All of their chocolates are made right in the store, using no corn syrup, refined sugars, or trans-fats, while they do use organic Belgian chocolate and offer dairy-free and gluten-free treats.

divine treasures chocolatesThey have a case of sugar free chocolates that are made with whey, but since we’re avoiding dairy, we turned our gaze to the larger cases of vegan chocolates. We oohed and aahed over the huge selection, and learned that they sell ice cream too. Vegan ice cream. Made with cashews and almonds!  It’s rare to find a place that we can get ice cream out and about, so we split a sundae, opting for the chocolate instead of cherry ice cream, and had hot fudge and caramel sauce on top. We also ordered a few pieces of chocolate — Dante picked one that looked like a gift package that was filled with pomegranate jelly. Lucia went for a sea shell shape that was filled with chocolate ganache. I opted for the toffee bits embedded in a bar of chocolate, and Luke picked the Health Bar, which I think is supposed to be a healthier version of a heath bar and seemed like my choice with some finely shredded chocolate on top. I also got a Thai chocolate but can’t recall what it has in it — perhaps coconut, perhaps chilies, I forget and we haven’t eaten it yet.

So next time you’re in Manchester, indulge yourself! Head to the strip mall for some organic chocolate, and then head to Parkade for that movie you missed last month!

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Local Fun

May 5th, 2010

Sioux and I had a great time the other day at one of our favorite places. No, not Goodwill this time although you are right and that is one of our favorite spots. This time it was the local library. We attended a bookmaking workshop at her library that was incredible. We got to make two books that were both very different. One was a rectangular basic journal type and the other was an amazing accordion style book with a hard cover. The teacher had already cut the paper we used to size which I am sure takes most of the time when making these at home. She went step by step through the process of making the books as well as the tools used.

The rectangular book had a soft cover and ribbon closure. The teacher, who is out of Glastonbury, CT, had stamps from all over the world for decoration. We each recieved one to place on center on the front of our book. It reminded me of a garden jounal when it was done.

The accordion style book was a lot like doing origami. It was all in how you folded the paper to make the design. We covered foam core which is stiff, with decorative paper for the covers and attached ribbon to hold the book closed.

Both of us came away very satisfied and excited to try making more with the kiddos at home. The best part of the library program….. it was FREE!!

Closer to my home, the kids and I went to one of our local libraries for a program on weaving. The first one we attended, the kids practiced weaving with yarn on a cardboard loom. The teacher taught us how to do the whole process including making a loom, starting the weave, keeping it all straight and pretty and finishing the work off.

The next time we attended, we learned basket weaving. Gatlin and I worked on one together but River made his all on his own and it was quite impressive when it was done. I Loved all the natural materials being used and the feel of them is of course great. She also talked a little about natural dyes which would be fun to do to the reeds at home. The whole basket took River about 2 hours to make and would make a wonderful gift.

Listening to an author read their own book is quite a special opportunity in my opinion. We recently did just that at a library event. It was wonderful to be able to ask the author questions about the book and hear all the background details that went into the making of the book. With children’s authors, you can often expect a craft to go along with the program which is one more way for them to integrate the book into their experience.

Lobsters, crabs, starfish, frogs, turtles and snakes may not be the first thing you think of when I say library, but that is exactly what was in the touch tank that had visited our library at another library program offered to the community. Gatlin even made the front page of our local paper at that event. We learned about each of the animals, their habitat and their natural defenses.

There have been so many other programs that have been top notch and so much fun offered by our towns and surrounding area libraries. Some of these have been jewelry making, movie nights, decorate a cloth bag, paper beads, science experiments, raw foods, feng shui, gardening, saving money, break dancing, zumba, puppeteers, magicians, instrument zoo and book discussions.

So next time you are at the library check out their events coming up. If you go online, most have a calendar of events and you can often sign up right online. The best part is the programs are FREE!!!

Ooooo, one more thing. Check to see what passes your library and those nearby have for passes. They are often to museums in the state or neighboring states and other attractions offering FREE or discounted admission.

OOooo, ok, just one more thing. Remember to utilize the inter-library loan system as well. It is really easy to use and allows you to search and borrow books from tons of other libraries statewide. You get to pick the books up and return them to your library instead of driving across the state to each library. If you don’t know how to use the system, ask your librarian to show you. Once you do, I promise, you will be hooked. And yes, it is FREE, too!!!

See ya later, I am off to the library!!

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