One of my lifelong passions has been miniatures, and more recently, book nooks – glimpses of a tiny scene tucked into a bookcase. I built my second kit in February 2023. The Eternal Bookstore was my choice because the design is so appealing.
In winter we preserve our garlic supply before the cloves begin to grow. Lacto-fermentation is easy and brings a lot of benefits. The beloved health-giving elements of garlic remain intact. Fermented garlic is easier to digest and doesn’t cause bad breath.
Pâté is a savory peasant food gone elegant. You can have it on toast with your soup for lunch or serve it as a canapé at your next party. If you make it yourself, you will save a lot of money and control the ingredients so that it is health-giving too.
These sun scarce months give us time to dream and plan next year’s gardens. Do you have even a pocket of land you’d like to convert to growing food? To help you turn small spaces into food gardens, here is a shortlist of books I highly recommend.
For most of my gardening life, I’ve merrily gone along browsing instore seed racks and pouring over seed catalogs to plan my food growing. I never gave seed supply a second thought. But … what if one day there weren’t enough seeds to go around?
Superfoods are nutrient rich and good for us. They are healthy, right? I was surprised to find out that they might also be hard on our human bodies. Overconsumption of oxalates may lead to the formation of caustic crystals that can cause dis-ease.
A few years ago, as often happens at the garden, I was chatting with a stranger. When I told her I had no use for Swiss chard and didn’t grow it, she was shocked. “It makes the very best cabbage rolls,” she told me. Turns out she was right.
In my exploration of the realm of crafting miniatures, I encountered a niche called book nooks. These little dioramas fit into boxes not much taller and about twice as wide as a hardcover book. I was smitten. I’d love to share my first one with you.
In pain? Jittery? Anxious? Restless? Out of sorts? There’s a plant for that!
I have discovered many plants with known soothing properties that are easy to grow in a small space. This might be the time to consider creating a peace tea garden.
For gluten free eaters, a bean brownie recipe is an asset. But these brownies are much more than just the freedom to enjoy a treat without gluten. Unlike mixes made from overprocessed powders, bean brownies offer real food value.
At Earl’s I had a thin crust, gluten free pizza that amazed me. As a thin crust pizza fan, I replicated it at home. A cost comparison with our standard gluten free pizza showed that serendipity pizzas are definitely less expensive per person.
In 2018 a new building arrived in Clayburn Village. Turner House is the only surviving house from the first stage of European settlement on Matsqui Prairie and the oldest home in Abbotsford. Want to read more about this tiny chunk of BC history?
