New foods to try out!

As we have a tiny chokeberry bush growing in front of our 'workshop', I wanted to see if you can eat the black berries - turns out, you can. They are full of anti-oxidants, however, they also contain oxalic acid. You can wash and eat the berries raw, in fruit salads or baked goods. The couscous salad was another new recipe we tried out on the weekend - nice to have a different grain. (not sure if the guys loved the tofu, however!)

Harvest Time!

Came across this quote and wanted to share:

"I did then what I knew how to do.
Now that I know better, I do better."
- Maya Angelou

How sweet is your Marshmallow?

I am quite happy with the colours of my first wild rose shrub and marshmallow plants. Yes, you heard right - Marshmallow or Althea officinalis - not the white puffy candy stuff used to roast at your campfire! You can use the leaves and roots for medicinal purposes, especially good for digestive/stomach issues.

Yummy flowers

I was fortunate enough to spend the whole day in the garden yesterday weeding, (if you can call working in 30+degrees celcius with humidity lucky) and saw plenty of beauty with butterflies enjoying the milkweed, goldenrod opening up their golden colour, and my first rosebush giving a hint of ballerina pink. My absolute favourite flower at the moment has to be the hollyhocks with colours ranging from black/maroon to salmon and pink. I don't think they will last much longer, however, as their huge stalks are starting to fall over...

Books and bugs

Inside, I'm reviewing library book titled 'Ginger and Ganesh' by Nani Power - "she takes the reader into a culture, a cuisine, and the female psyche, with recipes and stories from each chapter revealing the struggle of modern women, both American and of Indian descent". Isn't the cover photograph gorgeous? Outside, I'm noticing bug and butterfly visitors on my marshmallow, valerian, and St. John's wort plants. Now if we can only get rid of the mosquito's!

Feeling blue....

Feeling blue about this 'spring' we are experiencing - nothing but rain and mosquitos! Luckily, mom and I came across these gorgous blue lilacs in a farmer's field and we helped ourselves to a couple of arrangements. The fragrant blooms remind us that after a long cold winter, warm and bright days should arrive ...

Happy Mother's Day!

We have another mom in our workshop preparing her nest in time for Mother's Day... Wanted to share this quotation with you by Elizabeth Stone:

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."