Updates, Updates, Updates!

Phew. It's been a busy couple of months and it's been a while since I've had the time to sit down and write. I'm still keeping up with environmentally friendly changes in my life (still letting it mellow!). I'm still keeping up with the indoor garden and harvesting the last of the peppers from my outdoor plants (which have produced amazingly throughout the summer!). The biggest bit of news, however, is that I'm beginning culinary school! I can't even really put into words how excited I am about it. I love to cook (and eat) and I can't wait to learn all about it. Since I'm about to be busy with school I decided to post this quick update. I probably won't be writing as often as I previously had.  With that I'll leave you with this quote that pretty much sums up the way that I feel about food...

"When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy, that is what cooking is all about." -Thomas Keller

Freezing Your Herbs

My chocolate mint is starting to take over the pot that it's growing in so I decided to cut some off, but I didn't have an immediate use for it. I recall reading in a gardening book that herbs can be frozen and stored for a few months. Throwing the herbs into a bag and tossing it into the freezer will result in a clump of frozen mint. To prevent the leaves from freezing together, first place them on a baking sheet. Then once they're frozen they can be put into a bag and stored in the freezer until needed.

Harvested Mini Bell Peppers & Stuffed Mini Bell Pepper Recipe

Last I wrote the mini bell peppers were beginning to turn yellow and in anticipation of a harvest I had discovered a recipe for stuffed mini bell peppers. I was able to harvest some peppers and try out the recipe and now I'd like to share! I found the recipe at this blog. It's delicious! First of all I love all of the ingredients. It could even be made without the bacon for a vegetarian version and would be just as tasty. The feta gives it a nice saltiness so I don't think there is any culinary reason for the bacon in there. In other words, it's just bacon for the sake of bacon! But most people don't mind that at all.

Harvested Serrano Chili Peppers and Mini Bell Pepper Update

I'm just popping in here to write a quick update on two of my plants. My serrano chili pepper plant had a nice amount of full grown peppers ready to be harvested so I picked some yesterday. I'm so excited to make some salsa with them! It's still flowering and producing peppers, but I'm not sure how long that will continue. I also still have the two outdoor serrano chili pepper plants (which are in my parent's backyard) that have their first peppers appearing. My two outdoor mini bell pepper plants are also starting to form little peppers. The indoor mini bell pepper plant is doing fantastic! The two biggest peppers are starting to turn yellow which means that they are just about ready to be harvested. 

The Indoor Garden Expands to The Outdoors

The last I updated about the indoor garden everything was moving along nicely. Since then, I've moved some things outdoors. The tomato plant was outgrowing the space that I had for it in my front window, I had some pepper plants transplanted into my parent's backyard and I also planted cucumber seeds in my parent's backyard. It's been an interesting experience to see the plants begin to flower and set fruit. The carrots were recently harvested and they tasted delicious. Although, they were smaller than I had expected (more on that later).

Sweet Beginnings Local Raw Honey

I first mentioned Sweet Beginnings honey in my post about the Green Festival. I had read about them previously, but until then I hadn't actually tasted the honey. Since I bought some of the honey at the Green Festival I have been using it everyday. The 12 oz jar that I had purchased is half gone! I figured that I should write a review about their company and their honey (for people who may not know what local raw honey is).

To Buy or Not to Buy Organic

I loved this book and learned so much that I didn't know about food and how it is grown! The book goes into details about how foods are grown, what type of pesticides/chemicals are generally used and why organic foods are healthier. It also covers 12 foods to only buy if they are organic aka  The Dirty Dozen, because of the amount of pesticides used on their conventionally grown counterparts. What interested me the most was the fact that the author mentions "going beyond organic" by choose local and sustainable foods. This wasn't something that I had given much thought to previously. 

Indoor Garden Update

The indoor garden is coming along just as planned with the exception of the stubborn mint and the addition of a few new plants. I got a strawberry plant for the boyfriend's sweet tooth and a lime basil plant for my Mojito tooth. I never heard of lime basil before, but when I saw the seed packet I had to have it! I immediately imagined it in various cocktails, teas and pasta sauces. Also, I had been waiting for my potato tubers to come and they finally arrived earlier this week. I will be planting them today and I'm so excited!

Environmental Enlightenment #13 (Natural Easter Egg Dye)

In addition to my magazine subscription to Fine Cooking, I also receive e-letters from them via e-mail. These e-letters usually include recipes related to the season. For example, the most current e-letter features how to plan your Easter menu. It also includes how to make the perfect hard-boiled egg and how to naturally dye your Easter eggs. That last part caught my attention. So I followed the link that they provided and found the recipe for naturally dyeing Easter eggs here. This recipe uses vegetables, fruits, coffee, tea and spices to dye the eggs a wide range of colors. I haven't dyed Easter eggs since I was a kid, but I might just try the recipe out this Easter.

Basil and Cilantro Planted

A couple days ago I planted the first two plants that will be a part of the indoor garden: basil and cilantro. I've grown basil before, but not cilantro so I'm pretty excited about that. I've also been reading up on how to save seeds from these plants so that I can possibly grow other plants from my own seeds. The main reason that I wanted to write about the basil and cilantro was to share a couple of crafty ideas on how to label your pots so you don't forget which plant is which before it sprouts. The first idea came from Gayla Trail's book Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces. She writes that an inexpensive way to make plant tags is to spray tongue depressors with chalkboard spray and then write in chalk which plant is in that pot and you can always erase the chalk and reuse them! At Christmas time I was given a chalkboard wall decal which I didn't have a purpose for, but I remembered Gayla's idea and came up with my own version. I cut up the wall decal into smaller pieces and stuck them to the pots (labeling what plant was in there and the date that it was planted).

Environmental Enlightenment #7 (Freecycle)

I've always been a fan of hunting through thrift stores. When I was little my mom used to take me on countless journeys to either thrift stores or antique stores. I always thoroughly enjoyed finding some treasure with the 25 cents that I had in my change purse (which I had also found at an antique store for 25 cents!) As I got older my love for second-hand clothing faded. I started wanting the "new" and "in-style" looks. That's when I became aware of Plato's Closet. It's like a thrift store, but they only take in labels and looks that match the current trends. I can't remember the last time that I bought new clothing or shoes, because every time I need something (say a new pair of jeans) I can find it at Plato's Closet.

The Beginning of the Indoor Garden

I determined that the best place for my plants would be near the front window. The next step was to find a table for the plants. My mom helped me out and found a sofa table that is the perfect height for the front window and that matches my current coffee table and side tables. (Yay mom!) The table arrived yesterday and I put it together today... all by myself!