First Seed Starts – Greenhouse or Basement?

Seed starts lettuces, chard, spinach, onions

In past years I’ve done all my seed starts from February through May in a small setup in my basement. Now with a new greenhouse, I have room to grow, quite literally. The question is, how early will I want to turn on the heat in the greenhouse? We live in Zone 5 Ontario and… Read more »

Gluten Free Banana Coconut Cookies

This is a simple and quick healthy snack made without flour, refined sugar or eggs. If you don’t like coconut try the simpler Banana Oatmeal Cookie recipe. You can make this recipe with a fork and hand mix, or use a mixer. Ingredients: 2 ripe bananas, mashed 2 cups unsweetened coconut  1/3 cup quick oats… Read more »

Gluten Free Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Banana oatmeal and banana coconut cookies

Simple ingredients, no flour, no eggs, no sugar.  Tasted like a banana muffin in cookie form.  If you like coconut, try the Banana Coconut Cookies. You can mash the bananas with a fork and mix this entirely by hand. I used my mixer just to make things faster and easier. Ingredients: 2 ripe bananas, mashed… Read more »

Heating the Greenhouse. My First Experiments.

Greenhouse heater

One of the decisions I had to make when building our Hartley greenhouse was how it would be heated. Ultimately I decided to go with electric heaters. While not as efficient as gas, I was way more comfortable with the idea of having two electric fan heaters than I was installing gas heaters. The setup… Read more »

What’s It Like To Get A Hartley Botanic Greenhouse?

Hartley installation complete

Let me start off by saying I love my new Hartley Greenhouse. It’s a dream to have something this beautiful and yet, for me, functional. I still have some finishing details – brickwork which could not be completed before winter arrived and landscaping – but the main structure is up and it’s lovely. So how… Read more »

Cranberry Sauce with Orange Zest

Not too sweet and the zest gives it a nice tang. Ingredients: 8-ounce package cranberries (225g) 1/2 cups sugar minus 1 tablespoon (100g) zest one orange, chop small, about 1 teaspoon minced juice of 1/2 orange plus enough water to bring to just under one half cup (about 100ml) Instructions: Put all together in small… Read more »

Basic Quiche Recipe – Add Your Favourite Fillings

Quiche is not complicated and I make mine based on one easy recipe then add whatever flavours, meats, vegetables, or cheeses I want (or have in the garden or refridgerator) for a filling. Ingredients: 3 eggs 1 cup cream (half and half or table cream) 1 cup grated cheese (your choice) 1 to 2 cups… Read more »

Creamy Caesar Salad Recipe – Great for Kale Caesar Salad

This is a mayonnaise-based caesar salad dressing that works great with thinly sliced black kale to make a Black Kale Caesar Salad but works equally as well with romaine.  The taste reminds me of Renée’s salad dressing. If you prefer an olive oil & egg-based dressing, try this traditional caesar salad dressing. Ingredients: 1/2 cup… Read more »

Turkey Tetrazzini

This is a traditional tetrazzini recipe I made with leftover Christmas turkey. It made a great boxing day dinner served with cranberry sauce, creamy caesar salad, stuffed mushrooms, and celery bread.  We paired it with an amarone which went well with the savoury flavour. Ingredients: 5 tablespoons butter (1 for pan, 1 for mushrooms, 3… Read more »

Raw Beet Salad

raw beet salad dressing recipe

I love beets. Boiled, roasted, Harvard beets – anything except pickled beets (sorry pickle lovers).  However, all the rain we’ve had this year has meant an abundance of big beets. So, I decided to branch out our beet repertoire and experiment by making a raw beet salad. We enjoyed it, although my younger son likes… Read more »