Need a quick and easy dinner this evening? Check out this yummy shrimp scampi that you can get on the table in just 30 minutes! Enjoy! Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Serves: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 16-oz. box spaghetti 2…
Over the last couple days we’ve been talking about how to create a specialized culinary garden or potager. You can see the first two entries in this series here: Picking the Perfect Spot for Your Potager and Picking the Perfect Plants for…
Yesterday, we talked about why you might want to create a secondary (or primary, if need be) culinary garden known as a potager. Today, let’s take a closer look at how to choose the right plants for this special garden. One of the main benefits of…
When we moved into our house, choosing the ideal spot for the main vegetable garden was pretty easy – mainly because so much of our available land had to be devoted to the horses. Still, it ended up in a nice sunny…
It’s hard to believe it was over 80 degrees just two short days ago. Today is blustery and cold… and a thin dusting of snow lies on the ground. The birds seem as confused by this sudden turnaround as I am….
Yesterday, we talked a little bit about designing a new vegetable garden and using succession planting principles to maximize your results. The garden image I shared in that article was from this past weekend (April 2014). To better illustrate the progress being made,…
Finally, a warm and sunny weekend here in NE Ohio! I’m heading outside in a minute to get back to work stripping horse stalls and working in the garden. We made tons of progress yesterday – and the vegetable garden design…
10 years ago, I interviewed Interior Designer Robin Brechbuler (pictured left) when one of her whole house design projects was featured on the cover of Welcome Home Magazine. During that interview, Robin shared the following 7 interior design tips. What I find…
In general, boneless, skinless chicken breasts are… not so good. They have an unfortunate tendency to taste a little dry and rubbery, which is why I almost always use the bone-in, skin-on variety whenever possible. This recipe is one exception… Herb…
Did you know there are at least 10,000 GREAT reasons to invite toads into your yard and garden this summer? That’s right! According to the USDA, just one adult toad will eat 10,000 pesky insects in a single summer. Not only that,…
Our lives have been all about home renovations over the last year or so. Having designed and built two houses from the ground up before venturing into this project… I can say first hand that remodeling an existing home (especially one…
The one piece of cookware I find myself reaching for over and over again is my heavy-duty 15″ cast iron skillet. (affiliate link) Without question, it meets my personal trifecta for the perfect kitchen tool: it’s durable, versatile and economical. However, I’ve definitely…
Crazy how time flies, isn’t it? I pulled today’s article out of my own archives – from the Spring 2004 issue of Welcome Home Magazine. (This was a quarterly glossy print magazine I used to publish). Enjoy! 😉 Bathroom Cleaning Tips…
Since I’m the only one in my house who would even think of eating seafood, the 2 pounds of shrimp this recipe calls for is overkill. Fortunately, this recipe is easy to scale up or down depending on how many you…
I almost wish I never started reading food labels. Back then, I didn’t realize Aunt Jemima isn’t really maple syrup and Ramen noodles aren’t actually a food group. Now, I sometimes wonder if there is some high-level conspiracy between big corporations…
There’s a reason I’m a much better cook than I am a baker: Cooking is an art, Baking is a science. Cooking allows you to be creative and is much more forgiving of the occasional misstep in measurement. Baking, on the other…
Short on space for your vegetable garden? No problem! Today we’ll talk about an easy way to grow more fruits, vegetables and herbs – even if you don’t think you have the room for it. The only requirement is that you…
I’m not like other girls when it comes to shopping. In fact, if I never stepped inside a mall again, I would be okay with that. Instead, you’re much more likely to find me happily digging through an antique/vintage/architectural salvage-type store…
Whenever I hear someone say they don’t like gnocchi, I wonder if it’s because they’ve only had the dense, chewy flavorless lumps that occur when the dough is overworked. That’s not how it should be. At its best, gnocchi is light…
Fresh Basil Pesto with Toasted Pine Nuts is a versatile recipe you can use in so many ways. Try tucking some under the skin when roasting bone-in chicken breasts – or simply toss your favorite pasta, gnocchi, noodles or roasted vegetables…