Got lavender? Then it's time to make lavender lemonade! Whether you have just one lavender plant or a hedge of lavender plants, lavender is a wonderful addition to every garden. The scented leaves and flowers of lavender have been used for centuries to keep bugs at bay, add a pleasant scent to bathing water or laundry water, and simply for the gentle scent it gives to the air. Lavender is also used in the kitchen to flavor cakes and other traditional recipes. Lavender is a Mediterranean herb that enjoys warm, dry weather and dislikes poorly drained soil. Most English Lavender (angustifolia) varieties are hardy to at least USDA Zone 5, and they are happy in containers as well as in the ground. There are two common varieties of English Lavender – Munstead and Hidcote, and both do well in the garden. Hidcote varieties have short flower stems and a stubby lavender flower while the Munstead has longer stems and a more elongated flower. The flower color is usually purple with … [Read more...] about How to Make Lavender Lemonade
Food & Drink
How to Make a Black Raspberry Bramble Cocktail
Cocktail historians tell us that the Bramble was invented in London in 1984. (Surely someone somewhere made one of these delicious cocktails sooner, don’t you think?) This delightful drink is typically composed of gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and blackberry liqueur. Sure, it’s a tasty adult beverage, but we can make it even better. As a forager, I’m obsessed with un-buyable flavors, and my favorite way to make this cocktail is with freshly harvested black raspberries, still warm from the sun. And yes, the fact that I’ve risked encountering a bear to gather my harvest makes me value it even more! But whether you pick your fruit in the wild, from your backyard, or at the farmers’ market, this is a delicious, quintessentially summer drink. Need more convincing? The Black Raspberry Bramble strikes the perfect balance between sweet berries and tart citrus. This is a lighter, more summery beverage than the original, with slightly less alcohol and a boost of bubbles from … [Read more...] about How to Make a Black Raspberry Bramble Cocktail
Oven Roasted Parmesan Potatoes
Delicious recipes don’t have to be difficult to prepare. In fact, great chefs will tell you some of their best dishes are the easiest ones to make. That’s certainly the case with Oven Roasted Parmesan Potatoes. This is a great side dish to complement virtually any meal, and it’s quite simple to make. Too often (especially in restaurants), potatoes are fried. The result is a greasy mess that doesn’t taste like potatoes at all. But roasting potatoes brings out their natural taste, and the roasting process gives potatoes just the right amount of oven crispness. This recipe is especially great for flavorful homegrown potatoes! Bonus: make your meal extra healthy by serving a tasty side of cooked lambsquarter and purslane along with the potatoes. Oven Roasted Parmesan Potatoes Recipe Ingredients 2 pounds of potatoes (There’s nothing wrong with using one variety of potato such as Yukon Gold. But to make this a fancier dish, use an assortment of different-colored fingerling … [Read more...] about Oven Roasted Parmesan Potatoes
Great Summer Zucchini Recipes (Part 1)
What do you do with all the zucchini ripening in your garden? That’s a good question for backyard gardeners every summer. So the editors at Home, Garden and Homestead are on a quest to find the greatest, tastiest, and easiest recipes that use those delectable green zucchini squash that keep coming and coming. Zucchini is a popular backyard vegetable for many reasons. It’s easy to grow—even for beginners. Most insect pests (except maybe squash bugs) leave the hardy plants alone. And once the plants get into full production mode, the dark green fruits grow quickly and prolifically. That’s why you have to be ready with some go-to recipes to put all the zucchini from your garden to good use. Here’s the first zucchini recipe in a continuing series. This hearty zucchini and pasta dinner has been a favorite in my family for years. Italian Zucchini Pasta Ingredients 4-5 fresh zucchini, sliced 1 can (15 ounces) stewed or diced tomatoes 1-2 fresh tomatoes, diced 1 pound, sweet Italian … [Read more...] about Great Summer Zucchini Recipes (Part 1)
