From the category archives:

Recipe

Post image for Creating a Cocktail Garden on Your Balcony

I had planned a post for today about ironic animal statuary. Alas, that post will have to wait for another day. Yesterday I saw a great idea for a garden mentioned on Twitter, and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share it. @FromFarmToTable tweeted that she’s reinstating cocktail hour come spring and invited people to share what they’d plant in a “cocktail garden.” To me, a cocktail garden should be two fold: contain plants to be used in cocktails, and be pleasant to spend time in during cocktail drinking hours.

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Basil Mashed Potatoes Recipe

by Fern on December 10, 2009

Post image for Basil Mashed Potatoes Recipe

This is a Basil variety called ‘Pistou.’ It worked really well in my strawberry pot. The plant stays nice and compact, perfect for tight spaces.

If you have a really bright window, or you live in a mild climate like mine, basil can be grown almost year round. Though there are limits. December-February in Southern California doesn’t get very warm (highs in the 60s on a good day), and basil seems to grow really slowly during that time, so I don’t bother. I recently harvested all of my plants from my strawberry pot and will replace them with a really beautiful variety of Spinach. I love edible plants that are as beautiful as ornamental plants.

Anyway, I was really excited to see a somewhat unusual recipe in House Beautiful magazine, basil mashed potatoes. It seemed like the perfect thing to try with some of my basil. Yummy comfort food for the winter with fresh herbs from my garden. And since it came from the Barefoot Contessa herself, you know it’s delish.

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Grow Rose Scented Geraniums Inside This Winter

November 29, 2009

It’s not really possible to grow roses indoors. I had a client that insisted on having a white tree rose indoors and even with bright light from a south-facing window, the rose was always stretched out and weak. Even worse, it was impossible to control the aphids, who loved the warm indoor air and lack [...]

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Recipe: Tomato Chutney

September 8, 2009

If you’re still swimming in tomatoes, you might really like this recipe. I made it last weekend and served it atop friend polenta rounds. It was delicious! I tweaked the recipe from something I found on Epicurious. Originally it was meant to be served with a curried pea fritatta, which also sounds delicious!

1 12-ounce container [...]

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Share Your Best Eggplant Recipes

August 13, 2009

I recently had the good fortune to eat several vine ripened tomatoes the size of softballs grown by my uncle. My dad mentioned that my uncle also grew eggplants and had plenty ready to harvest, but didn’t have any good recipes for eggplant. I thought since I enjoyed the bounty of his tomato growing prowess, [...]

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Calendula Herbal Salve-ation Recipe

August 3, 2009

Earlier I mentioned that I had rediscovered a great article in an old issue of Vegetarian Times about herbs that have healing properties. This salve couldn’t bea easier to make. And you’ll be glad you made it when winter brings chapped lips and dry skin…

Photo by Gertrude K.
Here’s How to Make the Salve:

When the flowers [...]

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Pickled Pepperoncinis

July 20, 2009

Yesterday I pickled something for the first time. Pretty exciting, eh? Okay, maybe it’s not that exciting. But it was fun and even challenging. If you grow your own vegetables, you should definitely give it a try.

I had a modest first harvest from my pepperoncini plants, so I selected smallish preserving jars (16 oz) that [...]

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Ode to Vegetables BBQ Menu: Black Bean Burger to End All Veggie Burgers

June 26, 2009

I’ve combined my favorite parts of Epicurious’s black bean burger with what I liked from the veggie burger in Veganomicon and a few ideas of my own to make a burger to end all veggie burgers. What I really love about this black bean burger is that it has great flavor and doesn’t feel like [...]

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Ode to Vegetables BBQ Menu: Grilled Vegetables with Mediterranean Marinade

June 26, 2009

Next up in the Ode to Vegetables BBQ Menu is this is a great recipe I recently discovered from Vegetarian Times Magazine and tweaked to suit my tastes. This is a great variety of eggplant suitable for container growing and there are several varieties of squash that you could grow in a pot.

Photo by woodleywonderworks

1/3 [...]

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Ode to Vegetables BBQ Menu: Grilled Corn

June 26, 2009

This is such an easy way to enjoy corn. A lot of times I’ll make it ahead of time and just throw it on the grill when its time. By the way, you can grow corn in a container!

Photo by gak
Makes 4 servings

4 ears of corn
4 tablespoons of butter at room temperature
4 teaspoons Italian seasoning [...]

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Ode to Vegetables BBQ Menu: Special Lentil Salad

June 26, 2009

Another easy make-ahead recipe. Here are some varieties of tomatoes you can still plant in June (in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere), and this is a great variety of cilantro to grow in the warmer months.

Photo by Shaun Chapman

2 cups green or brown lentils
3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 1/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 [...]

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Ode to Vegetables BBQ Menu: Totally Awesome Coleslaw

June 26, 2009

One of the best aspects of this recipe–other than the great taste–is that it can be made ahead of time, great for easing your stress when BBQing for a crowd. This recipe originally came from Epicurious, but over time I’ve taken out the stuff I didn’t like and added other things in to make it [...]

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