Growing aromatic herbs indoors is a wonderful practice, but people often fail at it not because they have a black thumb but because they simply do not create the necessary growing environment. For example, even your sunniest window during the winter is insufficient for proper growth. Read how to produce summer-like herbs indoors at The Passionate Gardener by Shane VanOosterhout.
Oh yeah, it's time. If you plan on gardening this year, better get your seeds early. I ordered my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds last night. Find out why this isn't your average seed catalog.
Join me as I cook my way around the word's 193(ish) countries in alphabetical order. First stop Afghanistan, last stop Zimbabwe.
At the heart of this project is my goal to prepare authentic meals using fresh, homemade ingredients that reflect the culture, geography, history, beliefs and values of each country I visit. And I will eat and try ANYTHING once. I have yet cook in a country whose food I didn't appreciate and enjoy. Along the way, I toss in a few off-the-map surprises I hope you'll check out!
Hello! It's that time of the week again! This week's herb is also a well-known one, although it is mainly known for its scent, it is one of the most versatile herbs in the world: Lavender.
This year, I promised myself that I would can tomatoes and pickles. Yesterday, I canned my first batch of kosher dill pickles, and I will share with you how easy it is to can your own food.
The benefits and risks of reusing containers for cleaners and food. What can be reused. Links to buying food in bulk. The costs of single use containers and the toll on the environment. What companies are doing to reduce packaging.
This post is about our first foray into backyard gardening (with kids). We built a bed, planned out our "crops" and planted some seeds! Honestly, we could use all the advice we can get.
Here is a summary of my husband and my mission to find affordable, humaine, grass fed beef for our family. We ended up finding a wonderful ranch and my kids had a blast visiting!
Do you know where your food comes from? Do you know how the food you eat is farmed, housed, treated, shipped? I am talking about more than just the meat on your plate. I am also talking about the fruits, the vegetables, the grains.
Here are a few links to get you involved with your own most basic needs, one of which is the need to eat, the need to feed your family.
My daughter had a terrible cough with her last virus. I don't like giving my children over the counter cough syrup and read recently that theobromine in chocolate helps suppress a cough better than codine. So I thought, it's worth a try. I already give them elderberry syrup at the first sign of a cold or virus and it helps to reduce the severity and length of their illness and avoid infection. Here's my homemade recipe.
Since I have already tackled the easy task of making my own granola, I decided to make my own granola bars. They are so tasty and healthy, but so expensive at the store. Making granola bars isn't too hard. I'm not thrilled about the original recipe, but like with anything, I can tweak it and change it up however I like.
As my housemate very kindly offer to cook me tea the other night I decided to repay the favour by making a big old chocolate sponge for us all to have after. The recipe is really simple and takes minutes but the results are fantastic although they do come with the warning that this is a really filling chocolate pudding, not a light ‘posh’ dessert.
I discuss some of the local farmer's markets in my town and the benefit of buying directly from the farmers that grow your food. I also share my week's CSA share.
Baking granola bars into the shape of a cupcake is not only fun, it makes a super portable- not too crumbly snack that can by easily transported. Granola bars have always been a huge hit at my house so I just used the same recipe and started making making them into the shape of a cupcake! Feel free to make changes to the recipe. Granola is all about what you like, so try adding sunflower seeds, other kinds of flour, butterscotch chips, pumpkin pie spice, etc. Try these once and I'm sure you'll be hooked.
I come from a family who sits down and shares a meal together every night. No TV, no balancing plates on your lap, and no shovelling grub in to your face. We all sit around the table together and no one starts until everyone is seated. We don’t say Grace, but we do always thank the cook for their hard work. As we eat, we chat together and discuss our day. We talk about school and work and what we want to do on the weekend...
What does it mean to be a vegetarian? If you're not one, then you likely have been misinformed exactly the different types of vegetarians. There are 6 features of being a vegetarian that distinguishes vegetarians from non-vegetarians. And it's not just all about eating your vegetables!
When does an aspiration to be humane to animals actually disguise an inset belief that animals are human? Being a life long lover of animals of all kinds, I was given pause by a number of events that caused me to ponder this exact question.
A number of questions are raised at the end of the post about how we eat, how we should treat our pets and animal "emotions", in general.
I had the opportunity to see Joel Salatin speak about sustainable farming. Mr. Salatin is the owner of Polyface Farms, “a family owned, multi-generational, pasture-based, beyond organic, local-market farm.” If you saw the film Food, Inc, you would also remember Joel as the fast-talking farmer with suspenders and straw hat. This post is a recap of his talk, which provided examples of how our country's food regulations systems are ruining our food.
Dear Diary, This morning after a blustery and perfectly pleasing walk through my neighborhood, stomping into puddles of surviving snow in my new rain boots, I returned home windswept in the here and now and drank in the intoxicating smell of hazelnut coffee waiting in the kitchen. I love my home so immensely. Not because it is anything to boast about, but because it is a receptacle for all things I hold dearest. I welcome friends talking with freedom of time and mind -
Updated posts every week for the month of December. Recipes for the holidays are mostly sweets.
December's holiday recipes include (but not limited to as more are added weekly): Eggnog truffles, spiced nuts, Pumpkin Rolls, Christmas cookies, and different sizes and styles of gingerbread houses.
Complete with pictures.
Recipe links are updated whenever a new recipe is posted.
Anthony Bourdain recently remarked in his new best seller, MEDIUM RAW, that children should, quite frankly, learn to cook and it should be more of a requirement rather than an option. What are your thoughts?
do you craft? scrapbook? cook or bake? if you do then you should come check out my blog! i post something daily! as a stay at home mom to 3 little ones i have lots to post about!!!
looking for a sketch to get your creative juices flowing? every sunday i'll share my version of the sunday sketch from the everday scrapper!
every wednesday i'll share a new poject or tutorial with you!
look out for monthly kit giveaways posted, courtesy of queen*scraps!
be inspired by pages and projects done with kits from top shelf memories!
I am looking for feed back on the topic of Reality Blogging. I currently produce a blog that has several writers submitting to. We blog about our restaurant, recipes, personal interests, co-worker dramas, struggles we are experiencing in the industry. We seem to have a good following with a wide variety of readers. Some go for the recipes, others return for the drama.
I was just wondering what other peoples thoughts on this type of blogging and whether they are aware of other blogging sites similar.
One of the things that really surprised me when I began to focus on making better food choices was a word that you never hear in a diet book: Acceptance.
This is not your typical how-to-lose diet tip, other bloggers could take this in several directions.
