With only a few ingredients, only a few minutes and getting your creativity on, it's so easy to make mouth-watering dips sure to be winners at any gathering. When an invitation says "bring a plate to share" taking along a couple of dips is just the easiest solution ever.
Store bought dips from the supermarket chiller shelves don't taste anything like the homemades! The food industry produces food generally with so many additives to extend shelf life - the unpronouncables listed on the labels can attest to that. Fresh and more nutritious has to be best, so don't wait and give it a go the next time you have friends over or get a party invite.
Basil is plentiful just about year round but if you can't lay your hands on any, my other recipe replacing the fresh herb with spinach and adding a hint of culinary basil essential oil is a great alternative (make sure it's a culinary essential oil labelled for use in the kitchen),. Your friends will be asking for the recipe so before you ask, here's my favourite pesto recipe I make using our fresh basil when in plenteous supply in the garden during the summer months.
Basil Pesto
I garlic clove
40 gms basil leaves
a small handful of fresh parsley
160 gms unsalted cashews (or pine nuts, almond nuts)
80 gms olive oil
2 tablepoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Method: Place all ingredients into the blender. Pulse for 5 - 10 seconds. Add a garnish. Voila !
* note all essential oils are not the same - let me help if you're not sure about this.
I help heart-centred driven people like you think more about growing food and the idea that the gardens which surround us can be a place not only to grow food, beautiful blooms to feast our eyes on and a place to unwind from the sometimes crazy world which surrounds us. If we grow a little in the garden, we learn a lot and grow in ourselves ! If all this growing sounds like you, well hello ! How about signing up for my blog today?
Whether you have a garden, a patio or a balcony having an outdoor eating area is a wonderful extension of your home. It may not be the right time of year for being outside, but this isn't going to stop you doing some planning in terms of what you might like to plant in close proximity to your outdoor setting. Growing mosquito repelling plants is a great idea in close proximity to your outdoor setting,
Two major considerations are how sunny the area can be and of course the area available. Take a trip to your local nursery and seek out some help as you make the selection from seedlings available or the right time when the seedlings you want will be in stock for purchase. Herbs and flowers abound in our back garden - within a few short steps we are amongst the rosemary, parsley, thyme, sage and other aromatic herbs. Some herbs of course will have colourful blooms at certain of the year as well as being aromatic like this delightful sage salvia officianalis. Salad greens can be a great idea too. When it comes to growing your own greens, there are some wonderful ideas available such as vertical gardens which not only will delight your taste buds but be a talking point for you and your guests in the seasons to come.
I help heart-centred driven people like you think more about growing food and the idea that the gardens which surround us can be a place not only to grow food, beautiful blooms to feast our eyes on and a place to unwind from the sometimes crazy world which surrounds us. If we grow a little in the garden, we learn a lot and grow in ourselves ! If all this growing sounds like you, well hello ! How about signing up for my blog today?
Who loves Christmas in July? I do. It comes but once a year but with far less commotion than the other one.
No need for presents and all that craziness at the shopping centres or on the roads as there is in December. Orange and Clove waft through the home f setting that aroma of Christmas.. And the only list getting checked twice is simply the grocery list for your tasty menu. You have a whole month to schedule the celebration on a date or dates that suit you and any guests. ..Here's the bonus for those of us in the southern hemisphere, it comes during winter. The fires can be crackling, the winter gear keeps us snug and it's just like Christmas should be in a cold climate. How do you spend your Christmas in July?
I help heart-centred driven people like you think more about growing food and the idea that the gardens which surround us can be a place not only to grow food, beautiful blooms to feast our eyes on and a place to unwind from the sometimes crazy world which surrounds us. If we grow a little in the garden, we learn a lot and grow in ourselves ! If all this growing sounds like you, well hello ! How about signing up for my blog today?
Eating a rainbow every day is being advocated as a wonderful way to add not only variety but goodness into our diet. When I make my quirky smoothies I'm never sure what colour they're going to turn out! Nonetheless as the creator, I know the ingredient mix and there should be goodness in there. Even so, always fine tune to make sure they're always a delight to my taste buds.
Even for my all-green smoothies or those with little fruit I add an extra hint of flavour with herbs or spices or the slightest tinge of a culinary essential oil such as cardamon or black pepper. I've recently been adding cilantro which makes for a fantastically interesting morning starter smoothie.
I help heart-centred driven people like you think more about growing food and the idea that the gardens which surround us can be a place not only to grow food, beautiful blooms to feast our eyes on and a place to unwind from the sometimes crazy world which surrounds us. If we grow a little in the garden, we learn a lot and grow in ourselves ! If all this growing sounds like you, well hello ! How about signing up for my blog today?
Are you rushing all the time ? Think about it for a minute -you're a busy professional, working in the corporate office or an entrepreneur perhaps working from home these days Monday morning the day starts at the crack of dawn juggling the household priorities, yours and perhaps others in your home, the family, the dog. Hardly any time for thinking about yourself. Work life is chock-a-block with meetings, emails, texts, reports, presentations or some combination of those. Lunch on the run.
End of the working day and seems like more rushing. It's called the Rushing Woman syndrome - so many of us women are rushing women or have lived life at some stage this way in the past. When life is guided by never ending to-do lists as reminders, we may not be working at our productive best. Ticking off everything might tick off the little things yet we might lose sight of the big picture, or creative ideas that simply don't get a chance to surface. So wait, maybe taking time out for a relaxing essential oil infused bath, a massage, a visit to the spa (some open again now after the Covid-19 lockdown) could give us some calm and thinking time. How then to be kinder to self yet still keep up with the pace? Read my balancing up life tips as a start to calm some of the rushing.
I help heart-centred driven people like you think more about growing food and the idea that the gardens which surround us can be a place not only to grow food, beautiful blooms to feast our eyes on and a place to unwind from the sometimes crazy world which surrounds us. If we grow a little in the garden, we learn a lot and grow in ourselves ! If all this growing sounds like you, well hello ! How about signing up for my blog today?
