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Food Art Photos – Interesting Food Carving Gallery and Info
Carving of vegetables and fruits into sculptures has been practiced for many years. Some think it even dates back to early Chinese dynasties. These food art photos show just how delicate the pieces can be. Food art is the process in which beautiful models such as animals, Birds, Statues, Faces and other themes, are created […]
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Preparing Spring Flower Beds – Leaf Mulch – Soil Testing – Lasagna Garden Beds
These tips for preparing spring flower beds will make things much less hectic when the warm weather arrives in a few weeks (or months!) Spring is just around the corner and daylight savings on the horizon, we’ll soon be wanting to start planting for flowers and vegetable gardening. The weather is so cool now, and […]
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Silicone Baking Mat Uses – Tips for Using Silpat Baking Mats
A silicone baking mat can take high heat and replace parchment paper for baking & food preparation. I like to use them in lots of unusual ways in my kitchen. You can use them for cookies, of course, but there are lots of other creative Silpat baking mat uses, as well. With a silicone baking […]
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Daylily Earth Wind and Fire – Hemerocallis – Perennial Bulb
Today’s featured daylily is a real beauty. It is called Daylily Earth Wind and Fire. It is a gorgeous large daylily that blooms in mid summer. This daylily was first hybridized by Lovett in 2004. The plant is from the family hemerocallidaceae, genus Hemerocallis About a year ago, I spent the day talking to the owner […]
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Slow Cooker Mistakes – 15 Crock Pot Blunders and Solutions
Crock Pots are a huge help in the kitchen. They make meal prep a cinch and give a wonderful aroma as the meal cooks, almost by itself. But be sure to avoid these slow cooker mistakes. If you open the lid, fill pot too full or add ingredients in the wrong order, you may end […]
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Baked Italian Sausage and Peppers – Easy One Pot Recipe
This recipe for baked Italian sausage and peppers is oven baked in one dish for a really easy week night meal. Flavorful whole sausages are combined with tomatoes, Italian seasonings, sweet peppers and onions for a tasty dish that is really simple to prepare. It is one of my favorite 30 minute meals. Keep reading […]
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Purple Passion Plant (Gynura Aurantiaca) – Growing Purple Velvet Plants
Looking for a pretty indoor plant to brighten up a window sill or table? Try this purple passion plant – gynura aurantiaca. This distinctive plant has velvety leaves with slightly raised hairs on greenish purple stems. Gynura aurantiaca is native to Java and is fairly easy to grow if you have a brightly lit room. […]
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Harvesting Watermelons – When is a Watermelon Ready to Pick?
How do you know when your watermelon is ready? There are lots of tips that will help you with harvesting watermelons. Just remember that patience is a virtue with this summer favorite.Home grown watermelons are one of the real sweet treat pleasures of summer. Vegetable gardening is a love of mine and watermelons are one […]
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Planting in Compost – A Gardening Experiment (Updated)
Butternut pumpkin is one of my favorite types of squash. It is resistant to squash bugs and tastes wonderful when roasted. Instead of planting the crop in soil enriched with compost, I experimented this year by planting in compost to see what would happen. This type of planting works best in a rolling compost pile […]
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Hasselback Baked Apples – Tasty Gluten Free Sliced Apples Recipe
These hasselback baked apples are a fun take on the traditional baked apple recipe. Instead of hollowing out the apple and adding a filling, the apple is thinly sliced and then drizzled with a delicious buttery brown sugar topping. A crunchy gluten free flour and oat topping completes this delicious dessert recipe. When you are […]
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Attracting Butterflies – Tips to Attract Butterflies to your Yard Like a Magnet
One of the biggest pleasures that my garden gives me is its ability for attracting butterflies to it. With the right nectar plants, a garden can be swarming with these fluttering friends all season long. But it is not just the plants that attract butterflies. There are a few other things that you can do […]
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Growing Columbine – How to Grow Aquilegia for Unique Bell Shaped Flowers
Growing Columbine – aquilegia in your garden will reward you with delightful dangling bell shaped flowers that come in almost every color of the rainbow. This hardy perennial is easy to grow and much sought after by many gardeners. Since they self seed readily, you will never be without them once you have them planted. There is […]
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Baileys Mudslide Truffle Recipe – Irish Cream Truffles
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, this Baileys Mudslide Truffle recipe is the perfect way to end a romantic meal with a loved one. I love the taste of sweet treats that are mixed with alcohol. They add a touch of decadence to recipes and are perfect for celebrating. These Irish Cream Truffles are […]
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Growing Chervil – How to Grow Chervil Herb (And Some Substitutes!)
If you like to cook French cuisine, growing chervil is a good idea, since the fresh herb is hard to find at local grocery stores and Farmer’s Markets. Chervil is a delicate herb that comes from the carrot family. Close cousins are dill, parsley and fennel. Chervil is a native of Southeastern Europe, southern Russia […]
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Oddities of Nature – Crooked Vegetables – Funny Fruits and Scary Shaped Trees
Plants, vegetables and trees can grow into the most amazing shapes. These oddities of nature show that twists, bends and outgrowths can turn an ordinary plant into something that looks totally different. This inspiration for this post came from a morning breakfast jaunt. After breakfast Richard and I were driving around and we came upon […]
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Vegetable Beef Barley Soup – (Slow Cooker) – Hearty Winter Meal
Are you looking for an easy slow cooker hearty winter meal? This flavorful vegetable beef barley soup is chock full of vegetables in a delightfully seasoned broth that will warm you to the bones. The soup cooks for hours so you can get on with your day, and makes the kitchen smell amazing, to boot. […]
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Uses for License Plates – Using Number Plates in DIY Projects
There are dozens of uses for license plates if you just think outside the box a bit. The colors and designs lend them selves to loads of home decor projects, both inside and outside the home. Have you ever thought about using number plates in DIY projects? Using recycled items saves money on the projects […]
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Growing Dracaena Fragrans – How to Grow Corn Plants
Large, showy indoor plants are a delight in the home. Growing dracaena fragrans gives the feeling of being in a corn field. The striped yellow and green leaves bring a lot of softness to any corner of a room. It is not too hard to figure out why Dracaena Fragrans is called The Corn Plant. The […]
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Flowering Houseplants – 15 Blooming Indoor Plants
When the weather outside is too cold for gardening, flowering houseplants bring a touch of the garden into your home. Blooming indoor plants add color and decor to any indoor setting and are cheerful year round. My first attempt at gardening started with houseplants. I remember coming home one day to the aroma of the […]
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Zebra plant – Tips for Growing Aphelandra Squarrosa
Aphelandra squarrosa, also known as zebra plant can be a real challenge to grow. But the spectacular flowers and showy striped leaves make it worth the effort. If you love to grow flowering houseplants, zebra plant can’t be beat The flowers come in late summer and autumn on a tall flower stem that is long […]
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Pruning Forsythia – How and When to Trim Forsythia Bushes
Pruning forsythia requires some basic knowledge of how the plant is meant to grow. Forsythia flowers give us one of the first splashes of color in early spring gardens. But to get that color and a well shaped shrub, it’s important to trim forsythia bushes correctly. Check out this article for more information on forsythia […]
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Scottish Shortbread Cookie – Making Shortbread Cookies
No holiday season would be complete without the buttery and crisp taste of a Scottish Shortbread cookie. Biting into crunchy shortbread cookies gives you a light as air texture and taste that just can’t be beat. The cookie is so popular that January 6 has been labeled as National Shortbread Day. Let’s learn how to […]
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Spaghetti Recipes – Easy Ideas for Spaghetti Sauce
Spaghetti recipes are always a big hit at our house. They are cold winter comfort food at their tastiest. There are literally dozens of ways to incorporate a tasty spaghetti sauce into a quick and easy weeknight dinner sensation. One of my earliest spaghetti recipes was a combination of both beef and pork that became a […]
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Cryptanthus Bivittatus – Growing Earth Star Bromeliad
Cryptanthus Bivittatus is a member of the Bromeliaceae family of tropical plants. It has many common names such as starfish plant, earth star and Red Star Bromeliad. The bromeliad is a plant commonly grown in terrariums. This pretty bromeliad is native to Brazil and has a lovely star like shape made of stemless rosettes of […]
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Healthy Kitchen Swaps – Food Swaps for Weight Loss Success
There are many healthy kitchen swaps that you can use all year round for weight loss success. Implementing these food swaps will make sure that those extra pounds won’t find themselves on your thighs and rear next year. For many of us, the start of the year means making a New Year’s resolution to lose […]
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DIY Candy Cane Vase – Easy Holiday Decor Project
This DIY candy cane vase makes an easy holiday decor project that is as much fun to put together as it is to display. Since it uses poinsettia flowers it goes right along with all your Christmas plants. All you need are some candy canes and a few inexpensive supplies. Grab some peppermint sticks and […]