Social Distancing 101: Save The Scraps
Social Distancing 101: Making Your Celery Work Harder
I’m going to start posting a daily tip on making the most of your food, since going to the grocery store right now has turned into the worst kind of contact sport. Today’s tip – celery leaves! Pull them off your fresh celery and toss them in the toaster oven on 200 degrees, with the toaster door cracked open. WATCH THEM, they dry and toast much faster than you think they will. When they are dry, crumble them, pull out any still-juicy bits that might remain (throw those in your soup stock scraps container) and store it in a jar. Now you have celery seasoning, and it was free. I do this all the time, and just keep topping off my jar. It’s great seasoning for soups and chili, and even cream-soup based casseroles. Here’s more info about making full use of your celery. She recommends dehydrating your celery, but not everyone has a dehydrator, and I happen to like the slightly toasty taste the toaster oven gives the leaves.
Brussels Slaw
So, I invented a slaw! While I love traditional cabbage-based coleslaw, it sometimes lacks a depth of flavors. Not so with a Brussells sprouts based slaw. I’m not going to list exact measurements, because I haven’t made this the same way twice, but it’s been great every time.
Continue reading “Brussels Slaw”Dandelion Bread
Dandelion bread isn’t what most people think it’s going to be like. It’s a dense bread, like banana or zucchini bread – but with a light, slightly sweet flavor that’s almost like a standard white bread. I think its the best of both worlds. Ken loved it, too! Other than the actual gathering of the dandelion petals, the recipe is very easy to make. If you’re awash in a sea of yellow outside, turn those weeds into treats!
Continue reading “Dandelion Bread”It’s Dandelion Day!
The dandelions have achieved full bloom in the back yard. Each year, I set aside one day in early spring to wallow in them. This year’s goal – enough petals to brew the annual batch of dandelion wine, with extras to try making dandelion bread. First, I spent a couple of hours crawling around the lawn with a large, clean bucket, picking as many as I could. Next, I set up camp on the back deck with plenty of beverages, and my iPad logged in to Amazon Prime to keep me company. Time to clean those flowers.
99th AEther Salon: Foraging! with Ceejay Writer
Easy Gardening Project: Growing Garlic
Growing garlic isn’t difficult. I live in mid-Michigan in gardening zone 5B, where we plant garlic cloves in late fall, just around the time the first freezes hit. This way they can winter over, and we will see their green shoots come up in the spring. By late summer next year, they will be ready to harvest. The only care they will need during their life cycle is occasional watering in dry weather, and keeping the weeds at bay.
What to Do With Rose the Hippy
I have overachieving roses in my backyard, and have been looking for ways to use those big, round, beautiful rose hips. I didn’t expect to find this while exploring, but I did! I’ll try it later this year, when the hips are ready. You should try it, too!
Homegrown Swedes: Pickled Rosehips from Homegrown Swedes on Vimeo.