Cinderella Pumpkin ‘Rouge Vif d’Etampes’

The Cinderella Pumpkin ‘Rouge Vif d’Etampes’ is a beautiful French heirloom pumpkin. It first became available in the U.S. in 1883. It is a deep orange pumpkin with pronounced ribs and is quite flat. I can see why Cinderella used it as a coach to get to the ball, it truly is a lovely pumpkin!

I bought this one at our local farmer’s market this past fall. The lady that runs the farm said they make the best pumpkin pies, and since Mr Chiots and I love pumpkin pies I bought it.

This pumpkin was so beautiful I was reluctant to cut it up. It graced our dining room for the past several month. This past Saturday I decided it was time; the momentous occasion was Mr Chiot’s birthday. So out came the butcher knife and that was the end of our beautiful pumpkin.

Carving a whole pumpkin is a bit of a task. It’s definitely much easier to use a can opener to get your pumpkin purée, but this is much tastier and it’s local!

So into the oven it went. After it was baked and cooled I got out the old Squeezothat my mom lent me. This food mill has been used for years in our family. As kids we always thought making applesauce was fun, just because of the Squeezo.

I ended up with a huge bowl of pumpkin purée, much more than I would have been able to purchase canned for $3. I only needed 30 oz for my recipe, so I’ll freeze the rest for soup or muffins or perhaps another pie (the pets are also enjoying some of it mixed with butter).

I settled on a recipe from Use Real Butter because it called for freshly ground spices and cream. I happened to have some cream I skimmed from our local milk and pastured eggs from the local farm, so besides the spices it’s almost an all local pie. It has a lighter more custard like consistency than most pumpkin pies, and the freshly ground spices just put it over the top. It’s been a big hit here at Chiot’s Run. I’ve used freshly roasted pumpkins in pies before, and I must say, this is by far the best tasting pumpkin purée I’ve ever had.

I also love that her recipe is crustless. I’ve always made my pumpkin pies sans crust, there’s just sometime about that soggy crust I don’t like. I would much rather have a few crushed gingersnaps on top of my pumpkin pie that a soggy crust underneath.

I made sure I saved the seeds from this pumpkin so I could try to grow a few in my gardens. How great would these be gracing my front hillside! I am in the habit of saving seeds from things I buy as long as they are heirloom open pollinated plants. I even made up my own seed packets to put them.

Anyone else saving seeds from things they buy to grow in their gardens?

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A Day at the West Side Market in Cleveland

Yesterday, Mr Chiots had a meeting in Cleveland, so I took advantage and tagged along so I could go to the West Side Market.

The WEST SIDE MARKET, Cleveland’s oldest publicly owned market, began in 1840 when JOSIAH BARBER and RICHARD LORD gave OHIO CITY (CITY OF OHIO) a tract of land at the corner of Pearl (W. 25th) and Lorain streets with the stipulation that it always be kept as a public market site. Additional gifts of land enabled the marketplace to expand, and in 1868 the wooden, 1-story Pearl St. Market was erected on the site. As the city’s population increased, the markethouse became inadequate. In 1902 the city purchased a site for a new market across the street from the old one. A new $680,000 markethouse designed by the firm of HUBBELL & BENES was dedicated in 1912–a massive yellow-brick building with an interior concourse providing room for 100 stalls, an outdoor arcade with 85 stands, and a large clock tower.

Going to a market like this is much different than going to a supermarket. People aren’t here to get the latest tasty boxed pre-made product made by company X. They’re here to get fresh ingredients to make delicious homemade meals.

The air is filled with respect and appreciation for good quality ingredients. The inspiration starts in the parking lot when you pull up to the beautiful old building with the big clock tower. It’s a beautiful building full of charm, just the way a market should be. No sale banners or carts in sight, just fresh food and a lot of reusable shopping bags.

It is also evidenced in the produce wing outside. All the fresh ingredients are lined up to show off their best qualities. Salesmen arrange their produce to look it’s very best, taking pride in their wares.


There were potatoes of all shapes, colors and sizes; organic garlic and onions, shallots, lettuces, and exotic things from from afar. I saw kumquats, star fruit (carambola as we called them in Colombia), lemons, limes and every other kind of citrus; along with some delicious earthy mushrooms, shiitake, portabela and a few other kinds, just waiting to me make into the mushroom bourguignon I saw on Smitten Kitchen yesterday. You’ll be able to find pretty much any ingredient you need, whether you’re making humble comfort food or an exotic ethnic dish.


Once you head inside the building, you’ll be greeting by beautiful architecture that seems to silence the hustle and bustle of the crowds below. After you’re finished admiring the building, it’s on to the stalls to see what everyone has in stock today.

You can choose from all kinds of meat not available at your neighborhood grocery store, like rabbit, goat, buffalo, ostrich (and I’m sure there are a few more); there is also the usual beef, pork and chicken galore. Any kind of smoked, cured lunchmeat or sausage can be found at the various stalls. Some apple cured bacon and ham made it into my bag.


You can buy sea creatures big and small, from fresh water lakes to the depths of the oceans; all strange looking creatures to be sure. I was hoping to buy a few things to make bouillabaisse, but I’m too busy for the next few days, so I had to leave that for my next trip.


One side of the market is filled with cheeses of all types; smoked, aged, yellow, white, green and blue. Many had odd names, but a few familiar ones could be found. You can buy fresh local milks, from pastured happy cows, along with yogurts and butters from near and far. They even had goat milk cheeses and butter from a small goat farm on the outskirts of the Cleveland. Some delicious aged provolone was a perfect match to the apple cured ham.


The bakery stalls were brimming with crusty artisan breads, bagels, cookies, cakes (even a double stout Guinness chocolate cake) and every kind of sweet confection you’ve ever dreamed of. A few rustic country baguettes were the perfect accompanyment to our ham and cheese for our lunch on the go.


Since I love to cook and use local quality ingredients this place is right up my alley, but even for the non-foodie it’s a fascinating place to visit. If you’re ever in Cleveland head on down to the West Side Market, you’ll be in for a treat.

We always try to find the local fresh markets when we’re on vacation in other parts of the country or the world. Pike Place Market is Seattle is a wonderful place, as is North Place Market in Columbus, and Findlay Market in Cincinnati. Whenever you find the local market, you’ll be in for a big treat. You may even find something exciting like the cayenne or salty caramel ice cream you can find in Columbus at Jeni’s Ice Cream.


Mr Chiots and I took these photos of the Pike Place Market in Seattle on our honeymoon 11 years ago.

Is there a market like this close you your home? Do you visit it frequently? If I’m ever in your area I’ll be sure to check it out!

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Here’s to a Healthier 2009 for the Planet

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions, I set goals of things I want to get better at each year. I usually make financial, health and environmental goals each year (and usually my environmental and health ones are the same, what’s good for the planet is also good for me).

Last year my environmental & health goals were:
1. To eat more locally & sustainably.
2. Replace regular items with more environmentally friendly alternatives when they needed replaced.
3. Reduce the amount of toxic products used to cleaning our home.
4. Grow some of my own food.
5. Reduce the amount of garbage we produce.
6. Become more conscious of our water usage and find ways to use less in the home and in the garden.
7. Reduce the amount of electricity that we use and find ways to do without electric items.

I was able to make great steps on all of these goals. We started buying food from the local farmer’s at the farmer’s markets, we started drinking raw organic milk from a local farm, and we purchased our poultry from a local farm as well.


We also grew a good amount of our own food, which is as local and sustainable as it gets! We probably were able to grow about 10% of our own food this summer.

This year started replacing items in the house with environmentally friendly items as they needed replacing and we will continue to do that this year. We were able to reduce the amount of garbage we were producing to 2 bags a month (we’re hoping to get that down to 1 this year). We accomplished this by trying to buy items with less packaging and by recycling and composting much of our waste.

We also built a rain barrel system to collect rain water for our outdoor water used. We were able to reduce our city water usage in the garden to almost 0 with this system. We also line dried our clothes this summer in our efforts to reduce our energy usage. We were also able to not use our air conditioner as much since it was a cool summer. Overall we were able to reduce our water and electric consumption by about 20% (our natural gas usage was down as well).


This year my goals are very similar:

1. To eat more locally & sustainably, particularly learning to eat more seasonally.
2. Replace regular items with more environmentally friendly alternatives when they needed replacing, paying particular attention to personal care products.
3. Learn to make my own environmentally friendly cleaning products and to find even better green alternatives than the ones I’m using.
4. Grow even more of my own food, hopefully around 20%, use more heirloom plants in the gardens.
5. Reduce the amount of garbage we produce to 1 bag per month.
6. Reduce the amount of water and electricity that we use.

I’m already working on a few of these. I have been reading a few books about green beauty products and I am replacing our personal care items right away (more on that next week). I have been researching making my own cleaning products and I already have used a few (vinegar works even better then my non-toxic toilet bowl cleaner). We are replacing our toilet tissue with Seventh Generation Bathroom Tissue, 2-Ply Sheets, 500-Sheet Rolls (Pack of 48)and we are trying to use more rags and towels instead of paper towels.

This year we’re also hoping to plant a few fruit trees and vines and to build a few more raised beds so we can grow even more of our own food. We’re also going to focus on using more heirloom vegetables and plants in the gardens.

We’re also going to keep trying to reduce the amount of garbage we produce by continuing to buy things with less packaging, buying second hand, or not buying things at all. We are going to switch to World’s Best Cat Litter because it’s compostable (you can compost the litter itself and the cat urine, all other goodies go in the garbage). This will not only reduce the amount of garbage we produce but it is a much more environmentally friendly product than the cat litter we currently use.

So what about you? Do you make resolutions or goals for the coming year? (notice the new poll today)

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Christmas in Zoar

Mr Chiot’s and I are huge fans of little local festivals. We really prefer the ones of historic origin like the Algonquin Mill Festival. Each year we kick off our Christmas season with a day at Christmas in Zoar. It’s such a fun event.

Start your holiday season with a visit to Zoar Village during Christmas in Zoar December 6, and 7, 2008. The historic village recreates many of the Christmas customs of the German Separatists who settled in Zoar in 1817, and includes the Krist Kind, who will distribute candy and sweets to good boys and girls.

The aroma of ginger cookies will waft from the Zoar Bakery, where cider will be served along with the cookies, and German Stollen and Bread will be available to take home, all made from Zoar recipes.

Saturday at 5 p.m. a Christmas Concert will be presented in the Zoar United Church of Christ, followed by a candlelight procession to the Zoar Garden and the Lighting of the Christ Tree.

Hours are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission, good for both days of the festival, is $6 for adults and children under the age of 12 are free. All proceeds from this event are used to preserve historic Zoar Village. www.zca.org.

So if any of my local readers are looking for a great way to kick off their holiday season head down to Zoar for the festival. My only piece of advice is to skip the tree lighting (trust me it’s not what you think!).

Anyone else have any great local Christmas festivals of activities you like to take part in?

Update: here’s my post about our trip this year: Christmas in Zoar Holiday Decor

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The Last Farmer’s Market

Yesterday was the last day of the Carrollton Farmer’s Market. It was quite a frosty morning to be heading out to the outdoor market. It reminded me of Barbara Kingsolver’s (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle) description of their first farmer’s market of the season when they decided to eat locally. Our car said it was 23 on our way down – BRRRR that’s some cold shopping!

I was hoping there would be some vendors there. I knew for sure Mr Vincent would be there, he never misses a week. Sure enough, he was there with the bounty from his orchard.

I bought a peck of mutsu apples for $2 and a peck of Macintosh for $6 as well and four pears for $2 made it into my reusable shopping bags.

There was one other vendor there (Out on a Limb Farm) selling heirloom beans, dried sunflowers, gourds, garlic and sage. I bought all of her dried sage (that will sure come in handy for my stuffing this week), 3 jars of heirloom beans and a few sunflowers to put outside for our feathered friends.

When I got home I put the sunflowers in one of the trees for the birds or chipmunks to enjoy.

This marks the end of the 2008 Farmer’s Market season. When I got home I emptied my bags, “The Lady with the Green Bag” as I’m called at the market will be sad to see the market end.

I guess I’ll be shopping in my pantry this winter for all of our veggies. At least I was able to preserve so many wonderful things from the market this summer.

Every time I pop open a jar of applesauce or tomatoes I’ll think about all the people at the farmer’s market that spend their time growing healthy things for us to eat.

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