|
|
Subscribe to RSS feed
Winter Musings--the Year Ahead
Today is the full wolf moon as well as a penumbral lunar eclipse. We are into the cold winter months of January and February--although our days are now lengthening. Time for catching up and getting things done our days are now lengthening. Time for catching up and getting things done on our perennial to-do lists before the gardening season is upon us a again! Here, I share a few thoughts, musings and meanderings for our year ahead.
posted in view details
Season's Greenings: America's Gardens at USBG
As always, the winter holiday exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Garden is worth seeing. This year the theme was botanic gardens from Hawaii to Maine--which made me want to visit some of these public gardens that I have not seen. Besides this remarkable display, the conservatory is filled with thousands of flowers and other showy botanicals. It is a wonderful place to enter into from the cold.
view details
Welcoming the New Year
Take advantage of the nice weather and get out there and walk or gather kindling or get an outdoor chore done. Some benefits of being out in nature are increased energy and physical activity, rebooting of the mind as well as your entire being, which is calming, restorative and stimulating.
view details
Books for Gardeners, Foragers and Cooks
I am a confessed bibliophile; I love books. I enjoy reading and learning and try to spend time everyday with a book. Currently, I am reading/perusing at least six books. Here are a few ideas for gifts for your favorite gardeners, wild foods foragers and cooks for the holidays or to read in the new year ahead. Most are new--some just new to me.
view details
_sqs.JPG)
Winter Solstice Marks the Return of the Light
Although it seems like winter and cold weather has just begun, the winter solstice kicks of the Yuletide season and the return of the light with the shortest day and the longest night of the entire year.
view details
Gift Ideas for the Gardener
Why not give the gardeners in your life a useful gift that they will use and appreciate? here are a few ideas for gardeners who like to cook and cooks who like to to garden. These are items that I use often.
view details
Fonio is a New Grain for the Future
One of the top 10 food trends for 2020 is re-discovering ancient grains from West Africa. Fonio is a cereal grain that’s being hailed as a new gluten-free super grain from Senegal.
view details
Rosemary is Still Rosemary Despite Name Change
Rosemary by any other name is still rosemary, unless the Royal Horticultural Society decides to change its name. What will its scientific name change mean for vegetable and herb gardeners like us?
view details
What's Cooking? Preserving? Fermenting? Infusing?
2 commentsTis the season; Thanksgiving Day officially sets off the holiday season! Today is an over-hyped day referred to as "Black Friday"--something that I am totally not involved in--other than to be sure and stay home. I have been busy preserving, drying, fermenting and infusing for months now. I feel blessed to be able to grow a garden and lots of herbs, to harvest them and put them up for food and medicine during the months ahead and to share them as gifts. For me, it is rewarding and satisfying to give a homemade, heartfelt gift. It is also enjoyable to gather with kin or a few friends and have a session of creativity--it is easier and more fun to share in a productive group activity. Here are a few projects, I've been up to. How about you?
view details
Fire Cider for Health & Well Being
Recently, I got together with a group of like-minded women to make fire cider. This infusion will keep us and our loved ones healthy during the cold and flu season. And we had a blast herborizing together!
view details
Cabbage is Overlooked Vegetable at Holiday Time
Would you include cabbage as a side dish at Thanksgiving? The answer is yes! This good-for-you vegetable is perfect for adding some low-calorie healthy vitamins and minerals to holiday meals.
view details
_sqs.JPG)
Herbs for Thanksgiving
1 commentThe robust, perennial, woody-stemmed herbs are what I use most during fall and winter. They lend themselves to the seasonal foods. Read all about what herbs will complement our Thanksgiving feast; I know we will receive compliments for these traditional family favorites.
view details
Bake Bread with Homegrown Grains
With a little planning and a lot of gumption, vegetable gardeners could be breaking bread next Thanksgiving with the flour they grew from wheat seeds. A garden of grains is easy to plant right alongside the vegetable bed. Here’s how to get started.
view details
Seasonal Dish: Indian Pudding
Recently, at the Herb Harvest Fall Festival at the Ozark Folk Center State Park, we celebrated the northern United States. I decided to demonstrate how to make Indian Pudding since it is a popular dish in New England. Little did I know that there is a National Indian Pudding Day on November 13! So I figured I'd share my recipe here so you can gear up for this national celebration and it also is a lovely dish to share on Thanksgiving.
view details
October 31: All Hallows Eve, Samhain and Day of the Dead
Today is a day of multiple celebrations: All Hallows Eve, Samhain and Day of the Dead (and Mercury has gone into retrograde for the final time this year—until November 20).
view details
Autumnal Contentment
It's that time of year--fall-colored leaves are brilliant on the trees as well as covering the earth, the garden is winding down--days and nights are getting cooler. We are supposed to be relaxing a bit and turning inward, however it is challenging because we have so many projects and all of the garden bounty to do something with! Here's what's going on in my garden and kitchen...
view details
Elderberry and Fire Cider Elixir
After I posted the recent blog on fire cider, I received a request for this recipe--so here it is. Hopefully, you froze some elderberries when they were in season, if not, dried berries work well in this recipe. As soon as it frosts in your area, it is a good time to dig your horseradish and then you can make this healthy elixir.
view details
Fire Cider!
This book, Fire Cider!, is hot off the presses, published by Storey Books. There are 101 zesty recipes for health-boosting remedies made with apple cider vinegar by Rosemary Gladstar and friends.
view details
Use Green Tomatoes Instead of Tomatillos
When the weather forecast calls for an early-season hard freeze, most vegetable gardeners have to make a quick harvest. While some of the green tomatoes will ripen indoors, others need to be used creatively in the kitchen. Here are a few tasty ideas.
view details
Try Pumpkin Guts Scones for Halloween
Fruits and vegetables are the top throw-away foods in most American kitchens. But what if you could find ways to turn those valuable veggies into delicious meals instead? "Cooking with Scraps" is a great guide for frugal cooks who want to stop wasting food.
view details
|
|
|
|
_sqs.jpg)
_sqm.jpg)
_sqm.jpg)
_sqm.jpg)
|
|
