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In The Garden

February 23, 2021 by Cara Quinn 6 Comments

Planting season will be upon us very soon. More time spent in the garden, kneeling down and bending over in order to fill our little patches with colour come the summer. Cassia Beck has captured a scene from summer; the season that doesn’t seem to hang around Scotland for too long for a couple of weeks between the months of June to August.

And being able to be green-fingered, even when you don’t own a garden is possible by Creating a kitchen herb garden in a planter on the window sill. Most herbs are minimal effort plants and don’t require a lot of TLC.

“Annual” herbs (aka herbs that only last a season) are cilantro, basil and chervil and are probably some of the more high maintenance herbs – they will need to be re-planted every spring.

“Evergreen” herbs (aka herbs that won’t die back in the winter months) are the herbs that will remain green all year round; lavender, rosemary, sage and thyme are examples of evergreens – and they will make your home smell wonderful!

“Herbaceous” herbs (aka plants that will die back in the winter months but grow back strong and healthier than ever before) are the herbs like tarragon and chives and require the least effort – plus they are brilliant for seasoning and flavouring food!

These gorgeous and sturdy planters from Andrew’s Reclaimed Shop are crafted with care; made from mill end waste cut cedar and waterproof food grade glue.

If you’re planning on creating a herb garden make sure you put it into an area with good air circulation and light – most herbs require little effort but they still love the sunshine, good soil and pruning – depending on which variety of herbs you decide to add to your planters.

If you do have a garden spare a thought for your left-overs.

Vegetable peelings work as a great alternative to shop bought fertilizer; simply wash out a left-over ice cream tub and store veggie peelings in there, place the lid back and over time the peelings will break down into compost for your garden.

Milk cartons also work as multi-purpose/make-shift garden tools. Watering cans are created by piercing the milk tops several times, filling the milk carton with water and screwing the pierced lid back on. Or why not create a scoop for your fertilizer from a milk carton? Cut from below the handle, cutting diagonally until you achieve the scoop shape – and viola you have your very own little scoop instead of the carton going out to be trashed.

The daffodils usually spring up in April here; peeking their little yellow heads through the bulbs just in time for the UK Mothering Sunday. Currently we’re waiting for the Big Freeze to end and would be very welcoming to some sunshine, spring flowers and all the lovely things a garden in bloom brings.

Until then, I am tempted to fill my walls with home decor stickers like this:

It would save us hundreds in re-decoration costs – and we’d be able to un-stick these vinyl stickers and take them wherever we were instead of having an eternal mural we’d have to leave behind. Plus it would make my garden-less and bare walled household a cheerier place to be while everyone else enjoys their gardens in the upcoming months.

On Goat Milk and Making Cheese

February 22, 2021 by Diana Prichard 2 Comments

Months ago, near the end of a particularly long afternoon in the book store with my two daughters, I ran across a shiny, green, soft-backed book that would steal my heart forever. Or at least for a few months. Carleen Madigan’s The Backyard Homestead has informative, diagram-enhanced chapters on everything from raising chickens to brewing your own beer. Tucked within are two chapters I am particularly fond of; milking your dairy goat and making cheese.

Living with life-long cow’s milk allergies has spurred an insatiable fascination with real, raw goat’s milk and all of it’s products in me. Having recently spent more days than not in Chicago, the very epicentre of blankets and blankets of billowy cheesy goodness, cheese is one of those products that is of considerable interest at current.

Unfortunately, I haven’t the time for a goat right now and in Michigan (along with the better part of the United States) it is illegal to purchase raw milk.

Luckily, all is not lost. What we can purchase legally are goat shares. In Michigan, and in states who uphold similar statutes against the purchase of raw milk, it is legal for people to drink raw milk from animals they personally own. Goat shares – the purchase of a portion of a dairy animal to become a co-owner of that animal, a shareholder – allow families like ours, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to obtain the raw milk they want, to legally acquire it.

And for those in states where even shares aren’t available, either legally or because of logistics, family owned and operated goat dairies offer handmade cheeses to fulfill every craving, even if not made raw. Pure Luck Goat Dairy in Texas is one such farm, and their cheeses are available for purchase online.

Sold on the idea? To get started finding the laws that apply to the purchase and consumption of raw milk in your area, check out RealMilk.com. Or google goat shares + your state abbreviation to skip straight to shopping for a source of raw milk near you. (Even in states where raw milk purchase is legal, goat shares are often available for those not wanting or needing their own dairy herd.) And if you have the time for a goat and cheese making or just want to covet them the way I do, find an independent book store near you to buy your own copy of The Backyard Homestead.

Oh, my Guinness!

February 21, 2021 by Rebecca Hadfield Leave a Comment

If last week’s crop of clover-themed goodies didn’t tip you off to the fact that St Patrick’s Day is once again upon us, then we’d better try harder. I think it’s time to break out the Guinness and raise a glass to Ireland’s favourite patron saint. I’m sure that some of the four-and-a-half million residents of Ireland who have made it their country’s best-selling alcoholic beverage will join me…in exactly 119.53 seconds. I don’t mean to split hairs, but according to the company itself, that is the precise time that it takes to pour the “perfect pint”.

Guinness was started in Ireland by (not surprisingly) Arthur Guinness in 1759, although it was 10 years before he decided to share his beer with the rest of the world with a modest 6 barrel shipment to England. These days, in addition to its enduring success in Ireland, Guinness is one of the most-popular international brands and is brewed under license in 50 countries using unfermented Dublin-made wort. I was impressed to hear that over 1.8 billion pints of Guinness are sold annually in over 100 countries around the world. On St Patrick’s Day, however, everyone is Irish. Or, so it would seem.

In the 1920s, Guinness began to market their product with the tag-line “Guinness is good for you!” At the time, the claims were made based on testimonials from customers who felt better after having a pint or two. Eventually, the company dropped the health-claims, but recently there has been some research that suggests that the antioxidants in the almost-black brew can prevent arterial cholesterol deposits in the heart. Additionally, despite its hearty appearance and smooth, rich flavour, those of us watching what we eat will be happy to hear that a pint of Guinness contains around 150 calories. Sad news for Vegans and strict vegetarians, though; Guinness is technically a non-vegan product due to the use of fish finings in the filtering process.

The distinctive taste of Guinness, incidentally, comes from barley which is roasted in a method similar to coffee beans. The other ingredients are simply water, hops and yeast, with nitrogen added to the finished product to give the draught version its iconic creamy, white head. If you’re lucky, like I am when I visit my favourite pub, your bartender will carve a little shamrock in the dense foam capping-off your glass.

So, whether you are celebrating St Patrick’s Day with a pint of “the old plain” or a Black & Tan, don’t forget to check out this week’s featured finds. Pretzels and Pumpkin, rainpeople, Mann Made Designs, and Pamper & Preen have all created fun, handmade and upcycled goods that celebrate Arthur Guinness’ legacy. Be sure, as well, to visit 2boos to pick up some beautiful shots of Dublin and to join the St Patrick’s Day Treasure Hunt that the Etsy Ireland team is putting on.

(And please, if you choose to imbibe on the 17th, stay away from the cheap, dyed stuff at your local watering hole. This is one time when I will advise you to NOT “go green”.)

On Pleasures Made a Little Less Guilty

February 19, 2021 by Diana Prichard Leave a Comment

I’ve never met a person who was without a vice — or ten.

We like to believe we are good people. We like to think our choices — many so deliberately made — are righteous; that they serve a good greater than our own. I like to think even in seeking pleasure we can refrain from causing pain in its myriad forms.

I love chocolate. In bars, truffles, balls, chips, crumbles, shavings, drinks. In milk and dark — especially dark. Infused with pear, orange, apple, chili pepper. Chocolate is now and always has been my guilty pleasure. I like to top it with a dollop of freshly ground peanut butter, to coat a peppermint stick with it and stir it through my morning espresso.

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