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Smoked Chiles en Adobo
It is easy, though a bit time-consuming to smoke your own chiles and make this adobo sauce--however the end product is well worth it--wicked good stuff!
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Smoking Chile Peppers
2 commentsChipotle peppers are smoke-dried jalapeno peppers. The latter are thick-walled and do not dry well, so they have been smoked-dried for centuries. Recently, I decided to try smoking an assortment of chile peppers in a smoker and make my own chiles en adobo.
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How to Decorate with Vegetables for Thanksgiving
We all know vegetables are an important part of the Thanksgiving feast, but they make gorgeous table decorations, too. Here are some special ways to use fruits and vegetables with plants and flowers to celebrate the harvest holiday.
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Botanical Notecards: Make your own holiday cards and gifts
It's not too late to press flowers and leaves of annuals and perennials to make your own botanical cards for holiday greetings or gift giving.
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6 Ways to Reuse Halloween Pumpkins
Instead of throwing that Halloween pumpkin away, put it to good use. There are plenty of ways for recycling that winter squash instead of letting it go to waste.
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End of Gardening Season: Celebrate the Harvest!
We have had our frost warning in my zone 7 Maryland area and I went out the day of the prediction and gathered all of the green tomatoes still on the vine and harvested a large number of chile peppers still hanging on the plants. The chiles still need to be processed; I will dry some of them, make salsa and hot sauce with some and of course eat them every day with every meal. I cut annual flowers and herbs and filled the house with bouquets of zinnias, nicotiana, marigolds and nasturtiums and basil—all of them will turn black with a frost.
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Cilantro Substitutes or Similars
1 commentThis year we are celebrating Cilantro & Coriander as Herb of the Year for 2017. This herb has a very distinct flavor—there are a number of plants that have many of the same chemical constituents as Coriandrum sativum and sort of mimic the flavor --these herbs are culantro, papaloquelite, pipicha and Vietnamese coriander.
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Herb Harvest Fall Festival Celebrates Central America, the Caribbean Basin and Mexico
1 commentEvery year at the Ozark Folk Center's HHFF, we celebrate different regions of the globe and see how they relate back to the Ozarks. This year we celebrated some of the tropical areas and had a Caribbean-Style Lavish Herbal Feast and two days of inspiring educational programs featuring Mexico, the countries on the Isthmus of Central America and the many islands in the Caribbean. Read about all of the fun that we had.
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Seeds Will Help Heal Hurricane Ravaged Areas
1 commentVegetable gardeners can put their hobby to good use by ordering seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds by October 6. All the proceeds from online seed sales will be used to help hurricane victims in Puerto Rico and beyond.
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Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek , Michigan
On a recent road trip to Michigan, we happened upon the Leila Arboretum--and what a find! If you are in the neighborhood--go check it out! Wonderful gardens and a great place for kids; this is one not to miss.
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Is it Welsh Rabbit or Rarebit?
3 commentsRarebit or Rabbit--it's basically a cheese sauce over toast. I made this for the Great Hops Cookoff (had just 10 minutes) at the IHA conference and of course, I added herbs and a good hoppy IPA for maximum flavor, along with a dead ripe summer tomato. This is a quick and easy dish to make when you don't know what to have for lunch or supper and you don't feel like another sandwich.
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International Herb Association Conference in Michigan featuring Hops, Herb of the Year 2018
Last week the IHA held their conference in Hickory Corners, Michigan at the Kellogg Biological Station, which is a great place to hold a conference and be in nature at the same time. There's walking trails along Gull Lake, an amazing number of beautiful old trees, a bird sanctuary, the Manor House and more.
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3 Easy Ways to Preserve the Herbs
Cooler nighttime temperatures mean the end is near to another vegetable gardening season. Instead of letting those beautiful culinary herbs go to seed, take a few minutes to snip and save them for winter.
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Summer Heights
Summer is near about peaking. Plants are reaching for the sun and growing fast in this heat, so there are many tall annuals and perennials in the garden. Pictured are a few that stand out.
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Garden Seeds, Fruits and Flowers to Watch for Now
Many garden plants are already setting seed, which come in infinite shapes, sizes and textures. Want to know when to harvest? What to leave and for how long? What to remove right away? Though there are many books written on the subject of seed saving, here are some seeds, as well as a few berries and flowers you might be seeing now in your garden that are ready to gather--or just admire.
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You Can Grow a Lot of Hot Weather Plants Down Here in the Ozarks
I'm still here in the Ozarks after teaching summer folk school classes last week. This gardening season, the gardeners planted lots of plants here with the upcoming Herb Harvest Fall Festival in mind. This year the featured countries are Central America, the Caribbean basin and Mexico, so plants from those regions are growing here. Those regions of the world are hot and tropical and those plants seem to be doing well here in the Ozarks where the hot temperatures have been extreme.
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Be a Blue Ribbon Vegetable Winner
It’s county fair time and your chance to get some recognition for a season of vegetable growing. Here's how you can win ribbons and prizes for your vegetable growing efforts.
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How to “Grow” Black Garlic
1 commentIf you saw a head of black garlic would you think it was garlic gone bad or would you eat it up?
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Botanical Waters (Aguas Frescas): Celebrate the Season with Flavorful Healthy Beverages
We are having hot weather, which means we should be hydrating a lot. I'm harvesting the mints and monardas and lemon balm and these herbs are wonderfully refreshing when infused in water. Add a little fresh seasonal fruit--and you have a fiesta in a glass--full of vitamins and minerals and delicious! I call these herb-and-fruit-infusions botanical waters or flavored waters.
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Visit Your Local Botanic Garden
Last weekend was the You Can Grow It! Festival at the U.S. Botanic Garden. There was a good turnout and visitors got to pot up an herb plant and a carnivorous plant, view a beehive and taste honey, observe insect activity in the Butterfly Garden, smell the roses in the Rose Garden, enjoy the native blooms in the Regional Garden and then cool of in the Conservatory while enjoying the many plant collections from tropicals and medicinals to rare & endangered. There is always something going on at your local Botanic Garden or Arboretum--and an everchanging seasonal landscape--so find one near you and go visit!
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