Pumpkin Pie Bites recipe

Pumpkin Pie Bites
2 refrigerated ready-to roll pie crusts
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter
Optional
1/2 cup chocolate morsels
vegetable oil
re-sealable plastic bags
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 
Use cookie cutter to cut 12 pumpkin shapes from each pie crust. You will need to roll the dough thinner than it comes out of the box.
Press dough shapes into a 24 cup mini muffin tray. (Make 12 at a time, alternating cups to make sure pie crusts don’t overlap each other.)
Apply egg whites from one egg to the top edges of each pie.
Mix cream cheese, sugar, canned pumpkin, remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice together until thoroughly combined.
Spoon mixture into each pumpkin-shaped pie crust.
Bake for 12-15 minutes.
Remove pies to cool and repeat with second pie crust. Place the muffin tray in the freezer to cool it quickly for re-use.
Makes 24 pies. Keep refrigerated.
To decorate, melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave on medium. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Add a little vegetable oil to make the chocolate more fluid. Transfer to a re-sealable plastic bag and cut the corner off. Drizzle or draw faces on pies. 

Note: The cutter I used was 3 3/4 inches wide, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry. Just use a round cutter around that size or slightly smaller to cut circle shapes out of the dough. Then make stems with the scraps. Press each stem over the edge and down the side of the dough before filling.

Pumpkin pie spice is a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.  Enjoy!  

Source:  Bakerella blog

Strawberry Apple Pie recipe

I like unusua; pies, something different.  Since Thanksgiving is coming i'll be posting pie recipes, not the usual, but interesting pies...

APPLE STRAWBERRY PIE

Prepared pastry for a deep dish double crust pie

4-5 apples

1/2 cup sugar

1 lemon, juiced and zested

1 quart strawberries, hulled and sliced 
1/4 cup flour

• Roll out half of pastry and put in bottom of deep dish pie pan.
• Combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix together well.  
• Mix in the strawberries, then carefully stir in the flour.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Spoon the filling into the pie shell.
• Roll out remaining pastry and place on top of pie and flute edges.  The strawberries make this a pretty pie for a lattice top.
• Bake pie for 30 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees then bake pie 30 minutes more, or until apples are tender and juices are bubbling.

Green Deviled Stinging Nettle Eggs

A great recipe using Stinging Nettles, a super-food, containing vitamins and minerals.  Nettles are so rich, they saved people near starvation after WWIII, who almost lived solely on nettles and potatoes.

Green Deviled Nettle Eggs:

1.  Prepare a dozen hard-boiled eggs. I always dread the egg peeling process and didn’t want to risk it with such a large number, so I finally learned how to do it the right way – and they peeled effortlessly.
2. Rinse and blanch the nettles.  I put young nettles in boiling (unsalted) water for 1 minute or even less, transfer them into a bowl of iced water (to preserve their emerald green color) and squeeze out the liquid (you can handle blanched nettles with bare hands).  That small basketful cooked down to 2 small handfuls. You may skip this step and just sautée the rinsed nettles — the color will be slightly less intense but the taste might be more earthy/herbaceous.
3. Sautée a handful of ramps (you can use chives or a small shallot/onion) in a little bit of olive oil until wilted (translucent if using shallot/onion).  I used a few young ramp leaves because they also just started growing.  Add the nettles to the pan and sauté for a few seconds before turning off the heat.
4. Halve the eggs.
5. Blend egg yolks, sautéed nettles & stuff, mayo, grated parmesan or pecorino cheese, lime juice, black pepper and salt in a food processor.  Taste and adjust for salt, cheesiness, creaminess, etc.
6. Spoon the mixture into the egg whites, arrange and decorate any way you please.  I used some chives and paprika. (Sorry, I am a lousy, lousy food decorator…)

I made them several hours ahead of time and refrigerated under saran wrap — their emerald brilliance did not fade a bit!

Ingredients: 

• 1 dozen eggs
• some young stinging nettles (probably about a large ziploc bag, if slightly packed)
• a handful of ramp leaves or chives (alternative: 1 small shallot or onion)
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese
• 2-3 Tbs mayo
• 1 Tbs lime or lemon juice
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt & black pepper to taste
• chives & paprika for garnish

Source:  The Feral Gardener blog

VARIATIONS:
You can use other green veggies like spinach, and avocado for example;

Spinach - Nettle Quiche recipe

Dark Leafy Green Veggies, why?

Dark green veggies and so healthy and stinging nettles pack a real punch to immune system.  Dark leafy greens are excellent sources of Vitamins A, C, and K. Dark green vegetables also contain important minerals like calcium, iron and folate. This makes them an excellent alternative to getting calcium from non-dairy sources. The folate can improve heart health and also prevent birth defects in pregnant women and women who want to become pregnant,  So here's your power-packed Quiche recipe:

 

Spinach -- Nettle Quiche
Recipe adapted from Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver.
 
Note: If you can't find stinging nettle, use more spinach.
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 large red onions, sliced
1 bunch spinach, stemmed, leaves torn
1 bunch stinging nettle, stemmed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram plus 1 tablespoon leaves
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
herbed crust, recipe follows
3 large eggs
16 ounces crème fraîche (2 cups)
5 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated, plus more for sprinkling
freshly grated nutmeg
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Warm oil in a saute pan set over medium heat. Add onions and saute until very soft, about 10 minutes. Raise heat and add spinach and nettle in batches, tossing until wilted. Add chopped marjoram. Season with salt and pepper.

Layer baked herbed crust with sauteed vegetable mixture.

In a large bowl or measuring cup, whisk together eggs, crème fraîche, and cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Pour over filled quiche. Sprinkle top with extra cheese and marjoram leaves and drizzle with a little oil. Bake until custard is set and puffed, about 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before slicing. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.



Herbed Crust

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
1/4 to 1/3 cup ice water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper, and herbs. Add butter and work with a pastry blender until mixture resembles course meal. Add ice water a little at a time and mix until dough comes together. Form the dough into a flat rectangle and wrap in plastic. Chill for at least 1 hour before rolling.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out dough on a well floured work surface to fit a 10-by-15-inch sheet pan. Carefully lay dough over pan. Trim any large overhang. Fold extra dough under and crimp edges using your thumb and forefingers. Using a fork, prick the bottom of the pan all over. Freeze shell for 30 minutes. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.

Folk Medicine in the Civil War -- the South

Much of the suffering in the war was because of a rapidly declining supply of medicine in the South as blockades restricted importation of all essentials.

When enemy camps were overrun, speculators raided the medical stores capturing morphine, quinine and chloroform to resell at 50 times their original value. It was such a problem that General Lee called upon the secretary of war to put an end to the practice.

In anticipation of this supply problem, surgeon Maj. Francis Perye Porcher set about creating a manual on indigenous botanical substitutes titled “Resources of the Southern Fields and Forests, Medical, Economic and Agricultural.”

Published in 1863, the 600-page book was distributed to medical officers to help aid the sick and wounded. It is said to have helped so many that Confederates were able to hold off the Union Army for two additional years.

Malaria was a major problem in the South.  Eupatorium, known as boneset, was a substitute for quinine and also used to treat typhus.

Malaria became a constant problem where insects swarmed like a plague in swamps, marshes and bayous. 

Porcher prescribes “Boneset tea used hot, in the cold stages of malarial fever, and cold in the hot stages.

It is also known to be used by slaves of the southern plantations to treat typhus and is so noted as a useful application by Porcher.

Read Porcher's book Online: 

article source:  TimeRecord News, Wichita  Falls, Texas

Pumpkin Pancakes recipe

These would be great for a Halloween or Thanksgiving brunch.  Or just for regular breakfasts.  Something different and full of autumn taste and color.  Pecans on top.  You could also add whipped cream.  Yum....

 PUMPKIN PANCAKE RECIPE

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp vinegar

Directions

• In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar.
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, spice and salt.
• Combine dry and wet ingredients just enough to combine.
• Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake.
• Brown on both sides. Serve hot with whipped cream and pecans.
•  

Variation:  top with apples:

 

Source: Being Suzy Homemaker blog 

Pumpkin Art - Ray Villafane

Pumpkin carving as art form:

 

Visit artist Ray Villafane website:

Pumpkin Curry Soup Recipe

Halloween is my favorite holiday.  It is so autumny.  

This soup can be made more easily by using canned pumpkin puree but fresh pumpkins are better.  Why waste the inner pumpkin from your Jack o' Lantern?

Recipe
Grab a 3 pound pie pumpkin.  Clean and carve it into any design you like but then use it as food instead of putting it on display.
 
After the soup is made, garnish each bowl with a sprinkling of roasted pumpkin seeds and a small dollop of sour cream or tofu sour cream. This thick soup will keep in the fridge and it freezes well too.

Ingredients

* 1 (3 pound) pumpkin, cut & cleaned or 2 cups canned pumpkin puree
* 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
* 2 tablespoons Soy Milk
* 1 diced Onion
* 2 Ripe Pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
* 3 cloves of minced Garlic
* 1 tablespoon Curry Powder
* 1/2 cup Apple Juice
* 6 cups Vegetable Broth
* 1/3 cup Thick Coconut Cream (NOT sweetened)
* Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
Toppings:
* Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
* Cilantro and a sprinkle of curry or
* Tofu Sour Cream

1. Place the pumpkin pieces (best just halved), cut side down, on a baking sheet and pour a half cup of water onto the baking sheet. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350° F for about 1 hour, or until the pumpkin flesh is tender when pierced with a knife. When cool enough to handle, scrape the pumpkin flesh from the skins.

2. Heat the oil and soy milk in a large stockpot. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the pears, garlic and curry powder to the pot and cook 2 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Add the juice and deglaze, scraping up any caramelized bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the roasted pumpkin and the vegetable broth and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 45 minutes.

3. Puree the soup with an immersion blender until smooth right in the pot. Heat thoroughly then stir in the coconut cream and adjust the seasoning. Do not boil.

4. Serve the soup in warm bowls garnished with a dollop of Tofu sour cream and a few pumpkin seeds.

Source: 

Stinging Nettle Soup Recipe

Stinging nettle is a powerful herb for our health.  Often seen simply as a weed.

It is rich not only in vitamins A, B and C, but also helps your beauty and has a positive effect on losing weight.  It also lowers blood sugar, so this herb is recommended to those who have diabetes.
 
Because of chlorophyll, vitamins and iron it contains, stinging nettle is used as food or drink against anaemia.  It relaxes respiratory tract when you have a terrible cold.  Nettles also make a taasty soup:

Nettles Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp yogurt
• ½ tbsp flour
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp bulgur
• 2 tbsp boiled chickpeas
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ bunch of stinging nettle
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Boil stinging nettle, strain and mash it.
2. You will have 2 tbsp stinging nettle when mashed.
3. Mix yogurt and flour, pour water and olive oil and mix.
4. Pour it into a pot.
5. Add bulgur and boil, stirring continually.
6. Add salt, mashed stinging nettle and boiled chickpeas into this as a final step and it’s done!
7. Serve hot.

Nettles Broccoli Quiche gluten-free

 


Nettles are one of nature's most nutritious plants.  It's often overlooked as a week growing the the roadside.  It is much more.  

This great recipe uses the Quinoia grain for a crust.

Recipe: Gluten-free Broccoli Nettle Quiche
Preheat oven: 375 F
“Crust”: one cup or so of cooked quinoa (you can also use brown rice or not use a crust.) Spread quinoa over the bottom of pie pan.
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 large bunch stinging nettles
1 small tomato, chopped (optional)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 large eggs
1/4 c milk (or water or soy milk, etc.)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

• Steam broccoli and nettles in a little water (covered) for about 5 minutes until nettles have completely wilted.  When cooled, chop into smaller pieces.

• Saute onion in oil (can add some salt) until onion is translucent. Add nettles and broccoli. Turn off heat and mix in chopped tomatoes.

• In bowl: mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper.

• Spread grated cheese on top of quinoa, add the veggies next, pour the egg mixture over top (pour slowly, allowing egg to sink in.)

• Use fork to poke quiche to bottom of pie pan so that egg mixture can run all the way down, this will hold crust together. Poke all around quiche.

• Bake until top is browned and egg no longer jiggles, about 45 minutes.

Delicious!

Source:  Foodunderfoot Blog

Winter immunity colds flu --Try Garlic

During the bubonic plague in Europe which killed almost half of the population, grave diggers (and grave robbers) drank wine containing garlic cloves.  

This concoction kept them immune from the plague.  

Garlic makes your blood flow, is anti-bacterial, prevents hardening of the arteries, and has even killed cancer cells in labatory test tubes.  (source:  Univ of Maryland)

Garlic has been used for thousands of years as a medicine.  Research has also shown to prevent colds.  Garlic is a member of the onion family.  Onions are another immune booster.

EAT GARLIC:  Eating a few raw garlic cloves every day, or even cooked garlic will help you immensely. 

Another anti-bacterial herbal aid is lavender and stinging nettles (read excerpts on left margin). 

Stinging Nettles Ravioli recipe

Often an overlooked weed, stinging nettles are filled with vitamins;  one of nature's richest plants.  An ancient treatment for arthritis, nettles strengthen the immune system. 

Stinging Nettles Ravioli
Make home-made pasta dough or purchase pre-made dough..

Ingredients:
4 cups nettle tops
8 ounces ricotta, any liquid poured off
2 ounces Parmesan, grated
Salt and pepper to taste

Filling
Before they are cooked, fresh nettles can sting, so use gloves.  Blanch the nettles, in boiling water.  Drain and chop the nettles. Mix ricotta, parmesan and nettles together.

Roll out the first piece of dough

Beat 1 egg with a little water to make an egg wash. If you have a ravioli mold, drape the fresh pasta and gently depress the dough into mold.  . Fill each depression aint the seams with egg wash.  Then press another piece of pasta for the top.

You can simply cut out the ravioli by hand or use pasta machine.

Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. Drop the ravioli into the water and let it return to the boil. Cook briefly, 4 or 5 minutes, or just until the ravioli float to the top. Drain and serve with butter and Parmesan to taste.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 
 READ BOOK EXCERPT:
"Stinging Nettles, Queen of Herbs: Alchemical Healing of Plant Allies"  explores nettles' history,  its role as a super-food, immune booster, how to use nettles, tonics, food recipes.  Available as Kindle or paperback: 

Questions?  send email to safeinthewoods@gmail.com