What to do when your Cilantro Bolts…

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Deborah

Other than pull your hair out, scream in frustration, angrily rip it out by its roots and burn it in a bonfire….ok, that may be extreme….but if you are fond of growing herbs (like me), than take heed to what I am about to tell you. Cilantro, Basil, Sage, etc. and often many lettuces have an annoyingly bad habit of doing something called ‘bolting’ when it gets too hot outside.

Bolting refers to the plant slowing down leaf production in favour of flowering and setting seed. The plants main focus (after leaf production for food/growth) is to generate flowers which … Read more...

What Was Your First……Kitchen Disaster?

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Deborah

I don’t mean burning toast in the toaster, or dropping an egg on the floor….Those are trivial nuisances that go hand in hand with learning your way around a Kitchen in your early Adult Years.

What I want to know is, what was your first full-blown, almost burned the house down or chopped your finger off with a Ginsu knife bad experience?

I want to hear your stories, cause someone out there has to have a story just as bad as mine and I would hate to feel alone in my embarrassments.

I actually have 2, the very first one … Read more...

PB & Banana Rollups ~ Not just for kids!

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Deborah

I must admit, ever since I was a wee tot, I have always loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches. There couldn’t be a better match made in the culinary world than these 2 plain ingredients in my opinion. With this slight spin on the traditional sammie, kids will be even more enamored by them, not to mention, they are easier and less messier for kids to eat without the banana slices falling out.

This is also where you can sneak in some good, whole-grain goodness into without them knowing.

Ingredients

1 ripe Banana
2 Tbsp Peanut Butter (any variety, whatever … Read more...

My Garden’s First Haircut…

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Deborah

Surprisingly, after only a mere couple weeks of warm weather, parts of my garden needed a good sheering off. Like sheep at the end of winter. My resident Sage plant below was totally over-crowding my newly planted Tomatillos and due to the instant 30C heat in our neck of the woods, promptly started flowering…something it usually saves itself for in July.

So I took a few of the flowers and put them in a vase in the living room – the leaves give off that nice ‘sage-y’ smell and they really do look good as a cut flower arrangement. I … Read more...

A Weekend of Firsts….

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Deborah

What are your momentous Firsts? I am not talking about the usual First Kiss, First Beer (and corresponding First Hangover), First Child or First Divorce…. Rather, what are the things you have never done or thought you would have never done in your life? But somehow ended up doing anyway, much to your own surprise.

So many things I had never had ANY inclination or urge to do….happened to me for the FIRST time this past weekend.

It all started with my dear husband, the love of my life, my best friend, whom I was ready to take and have … Read more...

How to Make Home~Made Vegetable Stock

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Deborah

It is actually a really simple procedure which results in having your own great tasting, NO sodium stock on hand in the freezer to be used in soups, stews, risottos, fish/seafood dishes, etc.

I like to make my home-made stock right before grocery day. I take all those odds and ends of veggies in the fridge that have been sitting around a day or two too long…you know, those carrots that look dried up, or the celery that is going limp, onions, radishes, even the peppers (any kind) that are now getting shriveled and wrinkly, or a smattering of broccoli, … Read more...

My Publishing Debut….

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Deborah

I know what you are thinking, she already ‘debuted’ a couple weeks ago…she must be losing it…But stick with me, this is different…this is for REAL publishing in a REAL magazine!

Being a Realtor® here in Canada, we have access to some pretty awesome publications that are available to us and one of my favourites is REM – Real Estate Magazine (Canada’s premier business publication for the real estate industry, and yes, I took that from their site).

It is published once a month and when it comes in, I grab my cuppa tea and head over to the comfy … Read more...

And the winner is….

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Deborah

Happy Tuesday folks! First, I want to thank all you great and kind people who entered for a chance to win either an Apron or a Clothespin Bag in my Site Launch/Giveaway Contest.

I have had some really positive feedback from so many people and I look forward to writing and updating this blog pretty much daily…and henceforth, that you all still appreciate my ramblings!

So without further delay, shall we get on with the draw for a winner?!

tap…tap…tap…..(those are your fingers on the desk right?)

And the WINNER IS:

Betty Bartusevicius!

Betty, you shall be receiving an … Read more...

Steamed at Your Garbanzos?

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Deborah

My usual method of preparing garbanzo beans (aka Chickpeas) is to re-hydrate them overnight in a bowl of water, and then cook the crud out of them the next day for hours on end…but this morning I was putting away my rice cooker/veggie steamer (I like to let it air-dry overnight after washing it) when I had a brain wave… (or a brain fart if it turned out badly)…I thought… why not cook the garbanzos in the steamer?!

Seemed logical enough to me.

This way, you don’t have to baby-sit the pot with stirring and have your stove running for

The History of Aprons…

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Deborah

I don’t think our kids know what an apron is…

The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in