Gardening That Grows With Me
For years, I’ve skipped the whole early spring planting ritual. You know the one—those cheerful little violas, pansies, daffodils, and primulas that brave the inconsistent temperatures of March and early April. My reasoning was based mostly on being practical: Our temperatures don’t reliably stay above freezing until mid-April I thought why go through all that… Read more »
Last year, I discovered the power of writing down my garden design objectives. What began as a simple bucket list for 2024 transformed into a valuable roadmap that kept me focused throughout the season. It’s not like I worked on one project at a time until completion – I did follow my usual habit of… Read more »
Like any gardener, I have a weakness for seeds (and yes, plants and tools too, but let’s focus on one obsession at a time). While I dutifully try to plan ahead each December, making detailed lists of what I need, the siren song of seed displays proves irresistible. Whether at garden centers, hardware stores, or… Read more »
Creating clean, defined borders in the garden has transformed both the look and maintenance of our outdoor space. While I’ve always appreciated the semi-formal aesthetic that crisp edging brings to garden beds, the decision to edge all our borders was equally driven by practicality. Our robotic lawn mower has become a much more efficient gardening… Read more »
Easy and very flavourful INGREDIENTS 1.1 kg deboned chicken thighs, clean off extra skin 1 cup maple syrup 1/2 cup Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon mirin 4 teaspoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 1 sprig rosemary chopped DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 450F Combine all sauce… Read more »
What happens when you mix sweet treats, signature cocktails, and five friends? A lot of fun! Recently, I hosted our neighborhood ladies for a Cookies & Cocktails afternoon. I thought it would be fun to combine my love of baking with some festive libations (which I’m new to). Here are the cocktail recipes that accompanied… Read more »
I adore the idea of making festive cutout cookies during the holidays – but traditional sugar cookies are just too sweet for me, and we don’t like icing on our cookies either. Since I’m a big fan of buttery shortbread, I figured – why not try shortbread cutouts instead? I asked Claude (my AI assistant… Read more »
I got this recipe from my mom, who got it from Claudette (whom I don’t even know!). It’s fun to see how recipes are passed around, even without the internet. I adjusted it slightly and added a few more instructions based off my test baking of the recipe. INGREDIENTS 1 pound butter, well-softened 1 cup… Read more »
An easy and quick dinner: For the squash (I roast ahead, then warm & toss with herbs when meat is ready): Cut in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds Drizzle cut sides with olive oil, salt, and pepper Place cut-side down on a baking sheet Roast at 400°F for about 30-40 minutes until tender but al… Read more »
It’s soup time. We enjoyed this with perogies and bacon. Ingredients: 1 quart (4 cups) chicken broth 4 cups fresh broccoli florets, chopped (see stems below) 1 cup diced onions, diced small 1 cup diced carrots, diced small 1 cup diced broccoli stems, diced small 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup whole… Read more »
