This looks rather yummy! I’m totally gonna try this!
theartoffood:
Pasta With Northern Italian Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
- 1.5 pints cherry tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 lb fresh lasagna or 1 lb linguine pasta
- Olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 4 oz Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil
- Salt and pepper
To Make:
- Cut tomatoes into halves.
- Peel and slice the garlic.
- Pick off the basil leaves and set aside.
- If using lasagna sheets, cut them into 3 or 4 long strips.
- Grate Parmesan cheese.
- Boil large pot of salted water for the pasta.
- In a large frying pan, heat up some olive oil and the butter. Add in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and stir. Add in a bit of chopped basil. Add the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
- Drop your pasta into the boiling water and cook until al dente. 3 minutes if using lasagna sheets or follow the package instructions for linguine. Drain when done and reserve a bit of cooking water.
- Add pasta to frying pan and give it a good toss. Add a splash of pasta water and half the Parmesan cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve in bowls with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and the basil leaves.
- Enjoy!
(via organicgardengeek)
Gorg ~
Living jewelry display w/ succulents.. it came out great — I’m very proud of this one :0}
DIY Plant Markers
You don’t need to be Martha to pull this off; it truly is a piece of cake!
So I bought these cheap-o white, “easy to write on”, plant markers from my local Home Depot. I had visions of a neatly marked container garden on my balcony but when I tried to write on them I found out (even with a sharpie) the ink of the pen would smear. Not a hwat look. After messing around with a couple possible solutions, this is what I came up with:
Paint!
I’m not sure if you tried this when you were a kid, but I did and it’s called “scratch boarding”. In school you’d cover a piece of drawing paper with different colored crayons. Then you colored over the entire paper again, this time with just black crayon. Then (and here’s where the fun begins) using a pointed wooden stick or a lollipop stick, you etched a drawing, scraping away the black crayon, exposing the bright colors underneath. NEAT!
In a nutshell, this is exactly what we’re doing except we’re using paint and allowing the white of the marker to come through.
What you’ll need:
- Colored paints in what ever colors you desire (if you have acrylics that works.)
- Weather resistant, clear coat paint made for plastics
- 1- wooden skewer
- 1- paint brush
Step 1:
Mix a very small amount of paint (depending on the number of markers that need to be in said color - if using multiple colors) with a single drop of water. You should achieve a very thin consistency of paint.
Note: don’t add too much water. We need to thin the paint. If it starts looking like watercolor paint simply add more paint to the mix. Work in tiny increments; a bit at a time until the desired consistency is achieved.
Step 2:
With clean plant markers, paint starting just above the hole on the marker toward the end that’s squared off or not pointed (see examples). Paint should go on thin but it should cover the marker evenly. If some of the marker comes through, apply a second coat. Allow the markers to dry (30 -60 mins depending on your paint instructions) before moving on to the next step.
Step 3:
With dry, painted markers take your wooden skewer and write (ie: scrape or scratch off) the paint. You could write out the name of the plant or draw an image… the choice is yours.
Step 4:
Once you’re done with all your markers, cover with clear coat to seal and protect. You don’t have to cover the entire marker, just the area with the paint. Allow the markers to dry for 24 hours before use.
Tips:
- Since all colors come from only a few, to save money, I bought white, black, red, blue, and yellow paint then simply mixed them to make the colors I needed.
- If you find that you make a mistake you can scratch off all the paint using a large coin.
- Paint clumping when you scratch? You might have too much paint on the marker. Scrape off all paint and start over making sure you thin the paint with more water.
Cheers!
Next up: DIY Plant Markers….
So easy to make, you’ll slap yourself…. or maybe you won’t slap yourself pre say but it will make you wish ~ “I thought of that”.
Progress: Re-grown Store Bought Celery
Week 3:
So a few days back, weeks rather, I started re-growing store bought celery…and here’s the progress; teeny, tiny stalks (not ready to be cut..yet).
They are thriving in my homemade self-watering containers (tutorial coming soon)…. next to the garlic I planted (also store bought).
More updates to come.
Tutorial: How To: Re-grow Store Bought Celery
DIY: Easy, Portable Seed Starter Tray
You see that black tray with all my little seedlings in it. It has a lot of space, but it was cumbersome to move (as it would buckle in the middle when lifted from the sides). Sick of this tray, I devised this very simple solution to make seed starter trays that were easy to transport and take care of. Here’s how I did it:
What you need:
- 1 - 16” Plastic Planter Tray (I purchased mine from Home Depot and they have a bevy of colors to choose from)
- 1 - 8” Plastic Planter Tray (I got these from the 99 cents only store)
- Clean, washed river rocks (it’s important that the rocks are relatively flat)
Step 1:
Drill holes in to both of your planter trays. Make sure you drill from both sides to make the holes smooth. This will improve drainage so that there is no standing water leftover in the tray. Standing water will allow mold to grow on your seedlings and once mold grows, the seedlings are trash.
Step 2:
Add the rocks and spread them out, evenly, onto the outer portion of the tray. Leave the inner section open and free from rocks (you won’t need them here. Besides adding a bit of visual interest, the rocks help with drainage and elevate the seedlings from the bottom of the tray, allowing them to dryout. They also help the pods stay in place; just incase you need to transport them.
Step 3:
Place the seedlings into the tray and onto the section with the rocks. Next add the smaller tray to the center and place the remaining seedlings. I added the smaller tray to stabilize the seedlings that are along the outer rim and it also keeps the seedlings in the middle from moving around. You can place the seedlings without it but do what works for you.
And that’s it! A simple solution that will hold 20 seedlings, allow you to display them nicely and transport them easily.
Cheers!
Great tips and ideas for starting your seedlings!
The Succulent Life
I turned my obsession with succulents into a blog all about succulents and the arrangements I make <3
thesucculentlife:
“Crying Over Spilled Flowers”
A gift for a friend. I got to play with it a bit (lucky me) by adding a mini sculpture (Mooshee) created by Melissa A. Contreras of Axelhoney.com.
Awesomesauce.. I’m gonna have to try this!
americastestkitchen:
How to Make Garlic-Dill Pickles
Briny, garlicky, and crisp, a full-sour dill pickle satiates wicked salt cravings. After all these years, I finally realized that if I just made my own, I could have a never-ending stash.
To see the full post you can visit its page on The Feed. For the recipe without the photos, take a look at the Recipe File.
(via organicgardengeek)
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