Basil Wizard

8/24/2012

70 Comments

 
As some of you may have realized by now,
I LOVE BASIL!
I love the smell, the taste, the look!
I'm the woman in the grocery store with the basil pushed into
her nose while she shops.....

This year I planted purple basil in my very large planter outside and
although the influx of the dreaded Japanese beatle wasn't as bad as
 last year, my basil leaves were getting eaten.
I did my coffee remedy which I came across last year as an
organic discouragement to these beatles, but these little guys are
tough to beat this year for some strange reason.
My basil is quite holey and I was worried about not having
a lush crop of it for my Pesto!
About three weeks ago, I decided to pull the basil out of my nose
and bring it home to plant it.  Inside.  Where there were no bugs.
YES!!
See the Basil Wizard?  He's very wise and scary looking isn't he?
My friend Gail, who lives way up north here in Ontario, gifted me with him
a couple years ago.  He was made by a local artisan and he's very
unique don't you think?  I think maybe he casts spells on the basil
because it's now about a foot tall in the low parts!!
You can barely see the Basil Wizard surrounded by the lushness!
Basil is a magical herb, therefore it's only fitting to have a Wizard
watching over it!
xo
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Kudos to Kale!

8/21/2012

40 Comments

 
This is the first time I've ever grown Kale in my veggie garden and it's
absolutely perfect!  Amazingly, the beatles have not discovered this
particular leaf.  Maybe the marigolds I planted around my veggies helped
with that afterall?  Not even the bunnies chewed on any of our leafy vegetables.
Look how lush this kale looks.....
Wait for it.....
BEAUTIFUL!!

Awhile back I posted on baking your own kale chips.  Yesterday, I picked a
bucketful of this lush bounty and started getting ready to bake some kale!

I was out of parchment paper which lead to a crazy chase all over the village for
some more while my oven was heating up.  Nothing's ever easy is it?

This time when I made them, I made the raw chunks larger and it worked out much better because they shrink up soooo much after baking.

These may appear to be wilty looking dulse-like treats, however, are light and
crisp with just a touch of sea salt and extremely addictive!

To make your own kale chips.....

Wash your kale
Cut out the center stem
Tear into bite size chunks
Spin in salad spinner to dry
Toss in a bowl with drizzled olive oil.
Line a cookie sheet with Parchment Paper.
Sprinkle sea salt very lightly over kale
Bake in a 350F oven for 10-12 minutes til crispy.
Kale chips make a wonderful, healthy alternative to potato chips
for serving as a light snack to your company or just as
an extra special treat for yourself!
I love eating the food we grow ourselves!
xo
wendy
Sharing with:
Cottage Garden Party - Fishtail Cottage
40 Comments

Towel Rack or Chicken Perch...hmmm.

8/14/2012

117 Comments

 
I definitely have some catching up to do with my blogging and
really don't feel the need to explain other than "It's Summer"...
a time when your family & friends are socializing with you regularly for
BBQ's and campfires.  We've all been there right?

Enough said.

Quite some time ago, we were visiting our friends Lynne & Paul around the
corner in our wee village and she showed me her ingenious towel rack
Paul had made for their washroom.
If you look closer, you'll see the end brackets are none other than
wall mounted plant hangers!  Isn't this a fabulous idea?!
Dan & I were mulling over ideas to use as chicken perches in our coop and
it suddenly hit me....we could use Lynne & Paul's fantastic towel rack concept!
Although it's not as pretty as their towel rack, it works wonderfully.
Our chickens return to the coop each night at sundown and when I
enter the shed to close their pulley door, all four are lined up perching and cooing
on this particular perch...the longest of the three Dan made for them.

It just goes to show you, you can use your decorating skills in the chicken coop!
Or, perhaps you'll encorporate the towel shelf somewhere into your home.
Either way, this was an idea worth sharing!
xo
wendy
117 Comments