Halloween 2015 Oh, I had fun making this! She's now five years old. It has been one of my favorite projects. I have a huge display this year and she still holds her own, even with our 12 foot ghost and witch circle (you can get those instructions here)! I saw this "packing tape ghost" … Continue reading Easy Packing Tape Ghost
I'm always looking for new ways to use my garden. After years of growing sweet potatoes I came across a recipe that called for the leaves. Sweet potato leaves are edible? Yes. Yes, they are.The sweet potatoes slips I got this year were supposed to be a bush variety. While they haven't thrown vines out … Continue reading The Greatest Green You’ve Never Eaten: Sweet Potato Leaves
One of my favorite plants to grow down here is hibiscus. It is truly a beautiful plant and the flowers are breathtaking. I am not the only one who appreciates hibiscus. We frequently have hummingbirds in the garden sipping hibiscus nectar. My favorite part about the plant though, is that it's edible. Hibiscus is high … Continue reading Ever Had Spiced Hibiscus Flower Tea?
This soup makes use of spring garden ingredients: peas, lettuce, spring onions and tarragon. If you have ever grown peas you know shelling peas is a pain. It's a whole lot of work for very little reward. Apparently, I am not learning my lesson from the previous experiences, because I rush out and plant them … Continue reading Cooking With Lettuce?!?! Yes! And It’s Delicious!!!
Sweet potatoes, beet roots (These are chiogga beets. White, yellow or striped beets have a milder flavor than solid red beets), beet greens and spring onions This is my recipe for using up spring veggies before the heat of summer ends their season. I grew all the veggies except the sweet potatoes (which are not … Continue reading Moroccan Sweet Potato Fritters with Ras El Hanout Yogurt Sauce
This is a great time of year to plan and build raised beds. This is how I built my raised beds and I have given them no supplemental watering in the last two years of San Antonio heat. I've had bumper crops with almost no input outside of planting and occasional weeding! This has been … Continue reading Mother’s Day Raised Hugelkultur Bed!
This is the third part of a four part online course. It’s free and if you would like to know more go to the top of this page and click on the Gardening Basics tab. Or you can get the first and second parts of this course here: Beginning Gardener (part 1) and Beginning Gardener … Continue reading Beginning Gardener: Class 3-Walking You Through What You Need To Know
Learning to garden takes time. It's also helpful to have a seasoned gardener show you how to garden in your area. If you don't have someone on hand: you now have me! I may not live where you do (and it makes a huge difference if you are growing in a different area) but I … Continue reading Beginning Gardener: Class 2-Walking You Through What You Need To Know
This is an old recipe for me. I stumbled onto the base of this recipe back when my kids were infants and only my husband and I were eating "real food" for dinner, it was always a romantic table for two! I love healthy food and I love this recipe. I've adjusted it to feed … Continue reading Swiss Chard With Pasta And Feta
Update: It's now 7 years after I wrote this article and all of the pieces I've included in this post are things I'm still using! It works! I'm sick. This has been a bad year for colds in our home. My youngest boy started school and he loves to germ up while he's there and … Continue reading Decadent Herbal Cold Remedy: Turmeric Milk
I tend to write posts for problems I come across that I can’t find an answer to out there…anywhere! This year I wanted to make gingerbread cookies for my kid’s teachers. I knew exactly what I wanted to accomplish (a yummy gingerbread cookie dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes.) It sounded … Continue reading Drool Worthy Gingerbread Cookies From A Molasses Cookie Mix
I always have these great ideas about making everyone gifts. Then it gets down to the last minute and I end up having picked ideas that are way too complex to complete in the time I have left. Luckily: These cookies can be done in one day. I just finished them and they are beautiful! … Continue reading Stained Glass Cookies!
During the holiday season I reflect on the things I am grateful for. At the top of the list is my family, and more specifically: my two young sons. The following article is my love letter to my boys. From the beginning through the end of every day, they are always in my thoughts. I … Continue reading A love letter to my boys
I love growing exotic fruit. With some of them: I'm totally flying blind until I get to taste the first harvest, which can take years, and if I don't like it I've wasted time and space on it. (I'm looking at you astringent persimmon: with the texture of snot and a taste like pumpkin after … Continue reading Growing Pomegranates
Here is a great idea for fall gardens! Kohlrabi is awesome! This year has started off with a whole mess load of stress. We have had to gratefully step through doors (so that we could close them) while trying to remain open to new adventures. It's been rough, but gratitude is an incredibly stabilizing force … Continue reading Kohlrabi Ham Bake!
Halloween 2015 Oh, I had fun making this! She's now four years old. It has been one of my favorite projects. I have a huge display this year and she still holds her own, even with our 12 foot ghost and witch circle (you can get those instructions here)! I saw this "packing tape ghost" … Continue reading Easy Packing Tape Ghost
Garden huckleberry: Every serious fruit gardener should grow this at least once. Everyone who loves a good science experiment should cook with it at least once!!! What am I talking about? Well, this is a crazy plant. It is a nightshade (as are: tomatoes, potatoes, tomatillo, eggplants, peppers and maybe, most famously belladonna, aka deadly … Continue reading Garden Huckleberry: A Completely Nutty Science Experiment!!!
While we had plenty of rain this year for my vegetables it was a poor year for fruit. We got so much rain this year that the peaches all aborted and the limbs oozed sap trying to find a way to compensate for the deluge. My persimmon also dropped most of its fruit in response … Continue reading Shrub-A-Dub-Dub What To Do With Imperfect Fruit
This month is heavy on the picking and light on the work. Why? Because I worked hard in the spring to create this exact scenario. Water-wise, deep beds have yielded incredible amounts of produce. See how we built them here: Hugelkultur, Keyhole Gardens: Bridging Ideas and here: Mother’s Day Raised Hugelkultur Bed! Instructions for creating … Continue reading Reaping The Rewards Of Spring Planning
This is a great time of year to plan and build raised beds. This is how I built my raised beds and I have given them no supplemental watering in the last two years of San Antonio heat. I've had bumper crops with almost no input outside of planting and occasional weeding! This has been … Continue reading Mother’s Day Raised Hugelkultur Bed!
Crazy Green Thumbs 