Of course you need a berry bowl from etsy!

We live in a marvelous age where seasonal fruits, vegetables, and herbs are available to us year round.  Yes, there is nothing sweeter than picking your own freshly grown produce or buying locally, in season, to support your community.  Yet it is nice that when you crave strawberries or mangos and it is January, we can have it.

It is also nice to have a cute way to store your berries.

Egg drop soup. It’s fast, easy, and perfect.

As a kid, mom made egg drop soup often.  As a kid, I often wished she didn’t.  I blame it on the seventies. 

No offense, mom.

Apparently I am not the only family member who feels this way. My sister texted me the equivalent phrase of “ewh, gross” after I casually mentioned that I made dad egg drop soup for lunch. “No Stacey,” I told her, “this isn’t mom’s version of egg drop soup.  This one is rich and smooth. It’s like comfort in a cup.”  You see I’ve had time lately to experiment a bit to get the consistency just right.  My dad has requested this soup every single day for the past two weeks.  It has allowed me to play with the ingredients to get the right thickness, the right balance of crispness in an otherwise bland base, and the right feathery whisper of eggs blended in the broth. 

It’s time to order your seeds.

Gorgeous seed packets from Italy; I have no idea if they will work but at least I can frame the packets!

Planning your vegetable and herb garden layout now will ensure you get the exact seeds that you want in case they go out of stock.  Oh yes, it happens. Did you know there are die-hard gardeners out there who plan with gusto, swooping in to snag the choicest seeds? For example, I had my eye on a prolific flowering zucchini seed imported from Italy that is touted as “the best” for culinary zucchini blossoms.  Alas, it is currently sold out.

Wondering how to get started? 

The world’s best spicy slaw!

We interrupt winter with this important message.

You don’t need soup.

You need slaw.

Hellooo beautiful stainless steel compost pail.

Compost. Compost. Compost.

Beautiful, earthy, rich-smelling, crumbly, and gorgeous compost.

Do you compost?