Herb-O-Rama

Fresh herbs are some of my favorite things in the world. I love the way they look, I love the way they taste, and I love the way they smell.

If you're new to gardening, starting a small herb garden is a great way to get your feet wet and thumbs green. Many herbs are low maintenance, hardy to extreme conditions, and perennials (come back year after year).

We had a very successful herb garden last year, and this year, we're almost running out of space in the small beds as the herbs compete with each other for the spare room. We definitely have more fresh herbs than necessary for our family-of-two's weekly menu. So I've taken to finding other uses for our abundance of herbs.

Use numero uno: herbal arrangements.

Here's our dining room table centerpiece - a vase filled with rosemary. It's a beautiful splash of green at the table, gives off a wonderful aroma, and we can season our meals with fresh rosemary as desired.

Here is a decorated jar filled with lavender. I set this one in the bathroom instead of a chemical air freshener. You can pump up the scent of the fresh lavender by dipping a cotton ball in lavender essential oil and setting it in the bottom of the jar.

Use numero dos: dried herbs

Drying herbs preserves them indefinitely for uses in just about any dish. Here's the process, 1. Cut the fresh herbs 2. Tie a string around the stems of a bunch of herbs 3. Hang the bunch of herbs upsidedown in a dry, well-ventilated area 4. Let dry for several days 5. Remove dried leaves from the stems and store in air-tight containers

The Flowers of our Labors

It has been a HOT May in Middle Georgia, which is awesome for our heat-loving plants. What is not awesome is the horrible lack of rain - we haven't had one drop in over 3 weeks. We've tried our best to conserve water (and our utilities bill) by extending time between waterings. The compost, mulch, and leaves serve double duty by holding moisture in the soil and feeding the plants.

So far, it's been too hot (or I've been too lazy) to do any "official" fertilizing, pest or weed control. But I have been using some DIY mixtures which seem to do the trick for the most part.

For weed control:
1 part white vinegar to 1 part water. Shake it up in a spray bottle. Be careful you're only spraying weeds - it WILL kill your flowers and veggies. This works wonders!

For bug control:
1 tsp. dish washing liquid soap to 2 quarts water. Shake up in a spray bottle and spray both the top and underneath sides of the plant leaves. It works well for tomatoes, eggplant and peppers, but test on one leaf for more delicate plants. I recommend using this in the evening - it can scorch on leaves if it dries in direct sunlight.

For fertilizer:
1/2 Tb. Epsom salt to 2 quarts water. Shake up in a spray bottle or mix together in watering can. Pour at the base of young tomato plants. Spray on blooms of tomatoes and peppers.

With these simple management techniques, we have a heck of a garden this year!
Eggplant

Tomato (these are the ones I started from seed!)

Little Tomatoes

Big Tomato

Cayenne Pepper

Cucumber

Pole Beans

Zinnias (finally about to bloom!)

Strawberry Mania!

I really meant to blog about my strawberry experience last week, but alas. Better late than never! Anyway, here's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Last week, I decided to redeem my Groupon for a local orchard and strawberry patch. Don't get jealous, but get this: the Groupon was $13 for 10 pounds of u-pick strawberries. 10 POUNDS OF STRAWBERRIES! FOR THIRTEEN DOLLARS! And your grocery store is making you think you're getting a deal by paying $2.50 per pound. Anyway,

I think I set some sort of strawberry picking record, because I single-handedly picked 10 pounds of strawberries in under 45 minutes.

Here's what almost 10 pounds of strawberries looks like washed and laying out to dry (I say "almost" because at the point the photo was taken, I'd already started using some of the strawberries).


After washing the strawberries in batches and laying them out to dry on a bath towel on a card table, I set to work: freezing some, making some into jam, and leaving the rest for munching.

How to preserve strawberries by freezing:
1. Wash and dry strawberries.
2. Remove hulls (the green part). I do this by using a paring knife to cut a straight line across the top of the strawberry
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
4. Place strawberries on the baking sheet, making sure they're not touching one another. If you remove the hulls with a paring knife, this makes a perfectly flat edge to set the strawberries.
5. Place in the freezer until frozen solid.
6. Remove strawberries from baking sheet and put in a freezer bag. They will keep up to 6 months.

Strawberry Jam
I'll spare you the recipe since most people are partial to their family's recipe. Having never made strawberry jam before, I used the recipe straight from "Put Em Up!" by Sherri Brooks Vinton. She recommends in her Quick Jam recipe using Pomona's Universal Pectin, which cuts down on the added sugar in the jam. After using this pectin, I will never go back to grocery store pectins. This was my first attempt and I think it turned out pretty well!

Prepping jars and cooking the jam


The finished product

DIY Aromatherapy Candles

Attention: No bees were harmed in the making of these candles

Come to think of it, I can't quite remember what inspired me to try candle-making. Being a beginner, I started about as simple and basic as one can get with the craft: container candles. And for the candles that turned out "okay", some lucky individuals received these as Christmas gifts.


Lavender Aromatherapy Candles
Mason jars
soy wax
wick
lavender essential oil
dried lavender flowers

Prepare jars using pencils to center wicks in the jars. Melt wax in a double boiler. Once melted, add essential oil. Gently pour wax into jars until desire fill. (*If you want to put a lid on the jar, I'd recommend filling about 3/4 full). Set on flat surface to dry. Once initial "crust" has formed on the surface of the candle, sprinkle lavender flowers over the wax. Once completely dry, trim wick.

DIY: Must be in the genes

People ask if I come from a creative family and I reply, "Well, I get my insanity from my mom. Does that count?"
Deny it as we may, we eventually turn into our parents.

Exhibit A.
Much like my mother in years past, I spent countless hours baking holiday cookies over the past several weeks. Why? To give away, of course! There's just something rewarding about being able to send cookies to work with your husband, bring to church or give to your coworkers. You didn't think I made them to eat myself, did you?

Exhibit B.
Mom used to recruit my assistance in hand-making ornaments to give away as gifts. What did I do this year? Oh right, hand-made gifts for family and friends.

The apple certainly didn't fall far from the tree. Granted, the craft may be different, but the sentiment is the same. Love you mom!

Below are some examples of my mom's DIY specialty: Christmas stockings. She's hand-made Christmas stockings for every human and canine in our household. Since I couldn't sew a straight line if my life depended on it, I'll continue to defer this craft to my mom.

Chocolate Peppermint Bark

I love flipping through Crate and Barrel's and Williams Sonoma's holiday catalogs, dreaming about one day owning an entire set of Christmas-themed dinnerware, cookware, and accessories. I also drool over all their seasonal treats. Last week, as I was drooling over chocolate and cookies in the catalogs I realized, "I can do that!" So here is my take on Chocolate Peppermint Bark.

Chocolate Peppermint Bark
1-12oz. bag white chocolate chips
1-12oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (can substitute dark or milk chocolate)
1/2 c. crushed candy canes (about 4 regular sized candy canes)

Line a 9X9 baking pan with parchment paper. In a double boiler, melt one bag of chocolate chips until smooth. Pour chocolate into pan and spread evenly with a spatula. In the double boiler, melt the other bag of chocolate chips. Pour over first layer of chocolate and spread gently with spatula. Crush candy canes in a small food processor, or put in a heavy-duty ziploc bag and crush with a heavy skillet. Sprinkle crushed candy canes evenly over the chocolate. Place pan in freezer until chocolate has hardened. Remove chocolate from pan, remove any stuck parchment paper. Break into small pieces for serving. Stores for several weeks in airtight containers or ziploc bags.

This bark is easy to make and beautiful to bag up to give as little gifts to co-workers or teachers.

DIY Bath Salts

Ever since I realized I can order essential oils on Amazon for cheap, I've been going nuts with DIY aromatherapy projects. Some of these items may or may not be Christmas gifts, so I'm keeping mum for the most part. But this particular bath soak is so lovely, I can't keep it to myself. Tis' the season for colds and congestion, and this particular bath soak is wonderfully soothing for airways and achy muscles.

Cold Season Bath Salts

2 c. Sea Salt
1 c. Epsom Salt
1 c. Baking Soda
1/4 tsp. Eucalyptus oil
1/4 tsp. Tea Tree Oil

Mix everything together and store in ziplocs or mason jars.

This can also be used as a soothing foot soak, too!

Holiday 4-R's

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Repurpose!

We haven't made much headway with holiday decorations...yet. I emphasize "yet" because my husband likes to protest premature holiday decorations and celebrations. Meaning, we probably won't get a tree put up until the second full week of December - and that's purposeful, not because we're procrastinators. Due to his Scrooge-like behavior (Bah-humbug!), I have to sneak decorations one at a time.

I started by repurposing the dining room centerpiece. This year, I'm trying to go for shabby-chic and used rusty jingle bells I picked up at an after-Christmas sale a few years ago.



I then moved on to redecorating my multiseasonal, multipurposeful pine cone wreath! I picked up cheapo ribbons from Target and went to town:

Go-To Bread

The thought of making bread usually intimidates people (unless they have a breadmaker machine, which I think is cheating anyway). Around the holidays, I hand-make (and hand knead) several loaves of bread. I think bread is one of the most versitile gifts you can give.
Last year, I gave loaves of bread as "thank-yous" to neighbors who had loaned us miscellaneous items when we first moved into our home.
This Thanksgiving, I brought a loaf of bread as a gift for our generous hosts. This is a long-standing tradition in my family. Every year, my mom makes the same loaf of bread to bring to Thanksgiving. This no-knead bread is both visually appealing and delicious.

Finnish Rieska
2 c. lukewarm water
1 1/2 tsp. crushed caraway seeds
1 package active dry yeast (not "quick rise")
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 c. pumpernickel rye, graham, or whole-wheat flour
3 c. bread flour

Glaze:
1 egg white beaten with 1 Tbsp. water
Fresh herbs: sage, chives

In large mixing bowl, stir together water, yeast, brown sugar, and salt. Let stand 5 minutes until yeast begins to foam. Stir in the dark flour, then bread flour and caraway seeds. Beat well. Cover with damp dish towel and allow dought to rise in warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit a large pizza pan. Coat parchment paper with dark flour. Turn dough out onto paper and flatten with your hands to make a circle about 12 inches in diameter. Cover and let rise until puffy. Preheat oven to 375. Brush top of loaf with beaten egg white and water. Arrange fresh herbs in decorative pattern on the top. Brush loaf again with egg white, making sure to coat the herbs. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the loaf spring back when touched. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

Here's about what it should look like:

Christmas DIY Update

I've begun my Christmas gift DIYs so I won't be posting those projects until after Christmas. Don't want to spoil it for the recipients, of course. But I am SO excited to make these gifts! I'm accquiring supplies and am itching to get going.

I also have a "Hearts, Hands, Pots and Pans" logo in the works to label gifts, and will share that ASAP.

DIY Pinecone Wreath

Now comes the time of year when I'm hesitant to make too many posts about DIY projects for fear I'll spoil Christmas presents. Thankfully the purpose of this project was to enhance the outdoor aesthetics of my house.

I've been collecting pinecones for almost a year with the intent of turning them into multiple craft projects. I was inspired to create a plain pincone wreath that I could decorate according to season.

For this project, you'll need:
30-50 pinecones, various sizes
Wire floral wreath frame
Floral wire, brown or green
Wire cutters
Hot glue gun
Hot glue sticks

I began by taking the larger pinecones and attaching them to the wreath frame with wire. I alternated cones facing in and out. Where there were large gaps with the frame showing, I took small pinecones and attached them with wire to the frame. I then began layering pinecones on top of the "base layer" and attaching them with hot glue. I then loosely fixed the autumnal touches to the wreath with wire - this is so I can easily swap these out for Christmas-y accents in a few months.

Here's the finished product:


Front door fall display, complete with mums and pumpkin:

Autumnal touches

I haven't dug into any major projects since the holiday weekend, but I have been trying to touch-up the house with a little fall flair.

I picked up some fake fall foliage from Michael's (how'd ya like that alliteration?!)and have been using it sparingly around the house. Our dining room centerpiece was one place that needed a pick-me-up.


I've also been running out of ideas for ways to use our hot peppers from the garden. Then it came to me...a chili riesta. Here's the beginning of my riesta.

Canned Creations

My first attempts at canning have been a success in the sense that all of my jars have sealed (depressed or "innie" button). Being that it's kind of hard to stick your finger in to taste a boiling pot of syrupy water, I have yet to taste anything. So far I'm leaving it up to chance and the honesty of close friends and relatives (yes, I've already given some away as gifts).

My first canning creation was pickled jalepenos and pickled okra. I followed a simple, all-purpose-pickling recipe from "Joy of Cooking." I didn't have any pickling spice so I forged my own picling spice using what I had on hand.

Kate's Pickling Spice
1 cinammon stick
1 bay leaf
5 whole peppercorns
10 whole mustard seeds
3-5 whole cloves
5 whole corriander seeds
1 whole allspice

Place ingredients in a small swatch of cheesecloth. Tie ends together with kitchen twine. Use based on recipe.



My second canning creation was Hot Pepper Jelly. I combined concepts and ingredients from both "Joy of Cooking" and the recipe on the pectin package. Since I had an overabundance of hot peppers, I used a combination of cayenne, jalepeno, and serano peppers and did not include bell peppers. I have yet to try a sample of the finished product, but I'm sure it is HOT! My hot pepper jelly appears to have set properly, but I'm a little frustrated at its appearance nonetheless. I was hoping for more suspended solids.



I've been told I need to bottle-up my salsa recipes, and finally, I took it literally. Our tomatoes are done (as mentioned in the previous blog post), but the tomatillos keep on coming. Here's my recipe for salsa verde.

Salsa Verde
2 cups of chopped tomatillos
1 clove garlic
1 green bell pepper
2 serano peppers (seed and devein optional depending on how hot your like your salsa)
Juice from one lime
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
2 T. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine first 4 ingredients in a food processor. Pour mixture into a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add lime juice, sugar, salt, and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and gently stir in cilantro. Can according to your typical process.

DIY Faux Headboard

My apologies for the long hiatus. My first week back after vacation has really sapped me of any motivation for non work-related projects. Thankfully I have one in reserve!

The bed in our masterbedroom is without headboard. And I've never been happy with whatever picture we've tried hanging over the bed to fill that space. Recently I saw an idea on www.thenest.com - create a faux headboard by stretching fabric across a frame and hanging it over the bed. I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Originally I wasn't quite sure how I'd go about making the frame. I've never been great at carpentry-type projects involving 2x4s. But just as luck would have it I found two large canvases in the clearance pile at Michaels.
I decided to use the fabric from my favorite tapestry (I bought it several years ago at Urban Outfitters). First, I ironed the tapestry, then cut enough fabric to stretch over both canvases. I stretched the fabric over the canvas and stapled it to the wood frame using a heavy-duty staple gun.

Here's the finished product hanging over the bed. I think it still looks incomplete, so I'm contemplating my next step to make it look more polished. Suggestions are welcome!

Hey Mr. Postman!

This may perhaps be the ugliest mailbox I have ever seen. And guess whose house it stands in front of? That's right, mine. What were the previous owners thinking??
My husband and I had discussed for months about replacing the mailbox, but never got around to it. Finally, I'd had enough of this curbside eyesore. So I decided to repaint the darned thing.

Steps to the repaint:
1. Sand chipping paint and rust.
2. Spray with primer designed for rusty metals

3. Spray with rust-resistant, outdoor metal paint

4. Monogram

For the monogram, I went very low tech. I created a MS Word document, found a font I liked, printed it out, and cut out the letters to make a stencil. I placed the stencil on the mailbox and sprayed away.

It may not be the nicest looking mailbox in the world, but it's a whole heck of a lot better than what we had. Hopefully this will last us until we break down and buy a fancy mailbox.

DIY Night Stands

About a week and a half ago, I went a little crazy with DIY design projects around the house. I moved furniture, hung artwork, and created new pieces. It was honestly difficult to stop myself short of painting every room in the house.

When I moved furniture around, I swapped out the nightstands in the master bedroom, but had nothing to swap back in. The remedy? I found cheapo little nightstands/end tables at Ross with potential. And by "potential", I mean they were hideous, but I knew I could summon my inner artist and revamp them.

I gave myself a clean palate by spray painting the entire thing black. Inspired by the many Russian and Kazakh folk art pieces already in my house, I painted a new design using acrylic paint.

Here are the before and after pictures, respectively:

Like Two Peas in a Pot

Sometimes it's hard to wrap my head around the extremely long growing season here in Middle Georgia. Last weekend, I started planting for fall/winter veggies. I had two large planters and two trellises left over from our wedding that I was finally able to put to good use. In one, I planted English peas, in the other, pole beans. After only a few days, I have germinating seeds! I haven't been this excited about germinating seeds since my 8th grade science fair project! (Which, by the way, was about how bacteria affects seed germination). Here are some photos of this little gardening project:

DIY Potpourri

And I mean "potpourri" in the literal sense, not as a synonym for "miscellaneous".

Anyway, our herb garden has gotten a bit out of control. Trust me, I love (and I mean really, really love) fresh herbs, but our plants have become a viscious mass overgrowing the bounds of their raised beds. I don't even bat an eye when I run over them with the lawn mower. They just keep growing! I've been challenged to use them on a daily basis, but there are only so many ways you can get creative with pesto and only so many times you can make it.

So I finally decided to start drying them. Perfect! I'll never have to buy a dried herb ever again.

But I got a little distracted. The herbs looked so pretty hang-drying in my kitchen window. And the smell was so lovely, I just wanted to bottle it up! So I did. And voila: Potpourri!

Steps to simple DIY potpourri:
1. Pick fresh herbs (I used mint, lavendar, and rosemary)
2. Hang-dry herbs
3. Once dry, hand-crush and mix herbs together in a jar
4. Beautify the jar

DIY Dog Treats: Update

So my mother, who is the author of many great and creative ideas inspired me to take my dog treats to another (i.e. more cute and convenient) level.

Instead of putting the yogurt-banana mixture on a baking sheet and freezing them, she suggested freezing the mixture in ice cube trays. Brilliant! I was all about finding traditional ice cube trays, but stumbled across these at Walmart and thought they were too cute to pass up:



And because I think I can't have too many pictures of my dogs, here's another picture of the happy customers:

DIY Dog Treats

Since going vegan, I have an overabundance of unconsumed yogurt in my refridgerator and I've been trying to come up with ways to get rid of it without feeling like it's been wasted. My yogurt-loving dogs would gladly take it off my hands, but I'm afraid of what "too much of a good thing" might do to their precious digestive systems (and consequently my hardwood floors). In the spirit of "everything in moderation", I decided to make little yogurt snacks for my dogs.
I decided to combine plain yogurt with one of the only other things in this world that make my dogs salivate uncontrollably: bananas. (Cheez Whiz also makes them salivate uncontrollably, but it seemed a little overkill to include that too)

Frozen Yogurt Puppy Pops
(it was the first thing that came to mind - feel free to suggest alternate names)
1 whole banana, peeled
1/2 c. plain yogurt (I used what I had on hand - fat free - but any plain will work)

Blend banana and yogurt in a food processor until smooth. On a parchment lined baking sheet, drop half dollar sized dollops of "smoothie" onto sheet. Freeze for about 1-2 hours. Serve cold to your furry children.

The finished product



The happy customers