Why rustic chili? Because its hearty, filling, and wholesome. I feel like I could walk out my door and just gather the ingredients in the forest (if beans and tomato paste grew in the forest, that is). With superfoods like shiitake mushrooms, walnuts, and quinoa, its not only incredibly filling but its full of nutrition. […]
Cooking beans on the wood stove instead of the electric stove fulfills four of my heart’s desires: Cooking times Everyone’s wood stove is different and heats up at a different speed and produces different temperatures but I’ll share how long it took on my stove. Two types of dried beans, kidney and pinto, were soaked […]
Are you new to gardening? Do you want to grow your own fresh veggies and save money? There’s nothing like a fresh crunchy carrot or crisp green peas straight from the garden. Winter is a great time to start planning, dreaming, and salivating. Here are 6 steps for starting a vegetable garden from scratch. 1) […]
Give up the grass! Grow veggies instead. Or wildflowers. Or herbs. Or make a butterfly garden. Or plant fruit bushes. In the 10 years I worked as a Landscape Gardener I got plenty of experience manually digging out sod to make garden beds. Its not fun. Don’t do it unless the area you’re digging out […]
The bee lawn is a natural ecosystem that allows for the spread of bees. The grass and flowers create a safe environment for the bees to live and work, and the trees and bushes provide food and cover for the bees. The bee lawn is a great place to watch bees at work, and it’s […]
Mustard greens are the perfect plant for laissez-faire gardeners like me. They are durable and robust. I don’t believe in struggling to grow plants that require babying, fertilizing, or covering. If it won’t grow where I live without a lot of extra effort, I won’t plant it. My gardening methods primarily involve creating a humus […]
Mesclun greens is the name used for a mix of leafy salad greens. Depending on the seed mix it may include anywhere from 5 to 12 different varieties of lettuces and other leafy plants such as mustard greens, arugula, endive, radicchio, frisee, and dandelion greens. Colors range from green to red to purple (while they […]
I have to admit, the first year I grew arugula, I rejected it as a foul tasting weed, decided to ignore it and left it to go to seed. Good thing. Being a prolific self-seeder, it came back, year after year, until finally, my taste buds developed a liking for leafy greens and I gave […]
Kale makes me happy. It’s a veggie that does triple duty: Health benefits of kale According to doctors, kale is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. He developed a food ranking system based on nutrients per calorie. The higher the levels of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals) in a food, the […]
My house is located right next to the forest and I enjoy the benefit of it in many ways. It provides me with a peaceful place to walk, the sounds of wildlife, the fresh air it produces, cool shade in the summer, and a little bit of firewood to keep me warm in the winter. […]
