Make Your Own Pumpkin Spice Latte from Scratch

What You'll Need: pumpkin puree, milk, coffee, pumpkin spice and honey or brown sugar 

Pumpkin Spice Latte​

I originally found this recipe on a blog, Love Veggies and Yoga, and have experimented with the recipe to find one I like best. Here it is! I used Hyde Park Spice + Herb Co. pumpkin pie spice stix, Fire Roasted Coffee and a local organic pumpkin from the organic delivery service. 

-Mix one part pumpkin puree with two parts milk ​ (or a little more pumpkin if you really like pumpkin). I made my puree from a pie pumpkin that was in the London organic deliveries. Just cut the top and bottom off the pumpkin, chop it in half, scoop out the guts, and brush the flesh with olive oil. Roast it cut side down in a baking dish at 350 for about 45min-1h 15min. You'll know its done when a fork goes right through it. Then just scoop out the flesh and puree it! If you want to buy pumpkin puree, I think that would work, too. 

-So you've mixed your milk and pumpkin puree. Add pumpkin spice to taste. If you'd like it to be sweet, then I would definitely suggest adding honey or sugar now. At this point I usually use an aerolatte or whisk to make it nice and foamy. ​

-Pour as much of this mixture as you like over about half a mug of hot coffee. You might want to microwave the whole thing if you like it hot. ​

-Voila. And as a side note, the total for 2 pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks (tall) is $8.93. ​One pumpkin gave me enough puree for about 8 drinks. That's $36 in Starbucks.  Check out the order page instead, and receive one local organic pie pumpkin, 1/2 lb bag of London's Fire Roasted Fair Trade Organic Coffee and Pre-Mixed Organic Pumpkin Spice delivered to your door for only $16.00

Visit http://www.ecoplaceorganicdelivery.com/ to order

Cooking with Local Food: Kale Chips

​I just discovered this super-easy quick snack when kale was included in the delivery! Kale chips take about 20 minutes total (including prep time!) and can be made to taste however you like them! 

First wash and dry your kale ​and preheat the oven to 350 (This kale was from Dolway Organic Garden)

Kale from organic deliveries ​

wash and dry​

Now just rip the kale off the stems into bite size pieces (I've learned it's better to make them a little bigger than what you think you need- they will shrink). ​Line a cookie sheet (or two) with tinfoil. Lay the kale out flat and drizzle with olive oil. At this point, you could add salt, pepper, chili powder, whatever! It's up to you. Bake them at 350 for 10-15 minutes. You'll want to see the edges get brown, but not burn. Keep an eye on them, as they do burn quickly! 

Kale Chips ​

Cooking with Local Food: Simple Cabbage and Beet Slaw/Salad

 My parents brought this recipe back from a trip to Cuba last year. It is so simple, and requires very few ingredients. There are plenty of cabbage and beets right now available at farms and markets in London, making it the perfect time to try this quick dish.

You Will Need:

1 cabbage

1 bunch of beets

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

I got the cabbage and beets both from a farmshare at Little Brown Farm, but you could also check with McSmith's at the Horton Farmer's Market for both,  or Dolway Organic Garden at the Covent Garden Market for the beets.

All you need to do is shred the cabbage as thin as you can. Grate the beets on the cheese grater.

For the dressing, I adapted the Canadian Living Classic Coleslaw dressing recipe. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, sugar, white vinegar and dry mustard. Mix with cabbage and beets in a large bowl and you're done! I cabbage and 1 bunch of beets makes quite a big bowl of this salad, which I have found keeps for a few days in the fridge.