Category Archives: Yourself, Do It
Container Gardening 101
FeaturedContainer gardening is a totally achievable way of creating a beautiful and varied organic garden of any size and scope. It all just depends on how much space you are working with and how creative you want to get!
5 Reasons Why You Should Start Growing Your Own Stevia At Home
FeaturedI’ve done posts on Stevia previously, but it’s been a while and, since various versions of the sweetener seem to be available just about everywhere, I thought I’d write a comprehensive post on why it’s best to grow your own. If you aren’t familiar with it, here’s a quick run-down: The Stevia plant (Stevia rebaudiana) produces sweet-tasting, calorie-free leaves which can be crushed or dried to sweeten foods and beverages naturally. Stevia can replace sugar in TONS of recipes and is perfect for consumption because it is not metabolized by the body.
Stevia grows best in warm conditions similar to those preferred by Basil. I live in Florida, so it’s an ideal climate for both Stevia and Basil to proliferate. Bonus for me, because I’m a fan of both:
Happy Earth Day
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Raw, Vegan Walnut Milk!
FeaturedToday I used up the last of my creamer for coffee, so I decided to get creative with what I had on hand. I am by no means skilled in the kitchen–I’m rather horrible actually. I’m neglectful in following recipes and usually just go off instinct.
This sometimes results in an accidentally nice-tasting result, but, more often, the results are pretty bleak.
I’d recently used my food processor to make homemade cashew butter sweetened with dates, and that somehow turned out really good. A day or so later, I wanted to find a savory use for my raw pumpkin seeds. I’d already tried a *sweet* attempt with Pepitas, Brazil Nuts and Raw Honey a while ago, with fairly decent results (below).
It turns out, pumpkin seeds, coarsely blended with salt and garlic, taste amazing mixed with pasta. I realized that I’d stumbled upon my own homemade vegan “Parmesan cheese” without actively looking for it. Whaaat? It was so good with plain pasta and a little pepper added. When tossed with the warm pasta, the pulverized pepitas became creamy. It tasted like Fettuccine Alfredo, but vegan! So, so surprisingly good.
Figgy Pudding 2.0
FeaturedI know it’s enormously lazy to recycle a post and, I normally wouldn’t do this, but I noticed a great deal of traffic on My Figgy Pudding Post from last year. For a moment, I thought to myself, “That’s bizarre. Why on earth is everyone looking at this boring old post?”.
Oh yeah. It’s Christmas Day in exactly five days.
For the love of–honestly, what is wrong with me?
Anyway, if you are interested in learning about what this highly mysterious seasonal treat actually is, you can click on this link or see the post below. I sincerely hope I don’t spoil its enigmatic appeal for you.
Oh, and if you are interested in reading more recent posts about my own Fig Tree Cultivation, you can find several posts within the Gardening Category in the column on the right. Continue reading
Protected: Property & Brothers
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Rain & Barrels
FeaturedOver the weekend, my second Rain Barrel, gifted by my Dad and Step-Mom, was installed!
This one was set up at the back of the house to provide water for the Backyard Gardening Project, a hybrid of container gardening. Continue reading
Science, Shoes & Sanity
FeaturedFor the past week, I have been exceptionally tired, both physically and mentally.
Days and nights have blended together.
I’ve slept between 14-16 hours at a clip, getting up only to use the bathroom, eat, check on my plants (when I remember them), exercise (on the days I have the will) and think obsess (when I can’t prevent the ruminations).
Having taken rest from any physical activity for three of the last four days, I assumed that my Depressive Downswing was the main culprit to my utter exhaustion. While my poor mental health is likely 99.999% to blame, I awoke today with an itchy, sore throat, congested nasal passages and an outstandingly painful sinus headache.
Which came first, the sadness or the sickness? Continue reading
