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As I have mentioned before, when we bought our soil we got swindled. It is mostly clay, full of small rocks, and it turns into a brick when it gets wet.

The only way we can amend this is to get rid of some of it, and replace it with better soil.

Unfortunately, finances are currently impeding the process. Until we get new soil, we can’t plant our seeds or transfer our seedlings into the beds. We can’t plant our hops rhizomes, so we haven’t even picked them up yet. Since we’ve already spent $200 on soil it really hurts to have to spend even more.

Luckily, the deep parts of our beds won’t need to be altered. And really, plenty of people garden in 6 inch raised beds. That means we don’t have to do a whole lot to get them into shape. We’ll scrape off the top 3 inches or so, till up another 3 or 4 inches, then hopefully it won’t be difficult to mix the bad with the good.… Read the rest

2-3 pounds Flank Steak
¼ cups Soy Sauce
¼ cups Honey
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cloves Minced Garlic (optional)
Black Pepper
Kosher Salt

1. Place soy sauce, honey, vinegar, oil, optional garlic, and about a teaspoon of black pepper into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.

2. Cut some diagonal slits into both sides of your flank steak, about 1/4 inch deep and 1 inch apart. Place steak in Ziploc bag with marinade, and let sit overnight.

3. Heat a non-stick skillet on high, get it as hot as you can. No need to grease or oil the pan.

4. Remove flank steak from marinade. Set the marinade aside and save. Coat both sides of the steak in a good amount of kosher salt and black pepper, to help form a nice crust.

5. When you pan is as hot as it can be, drop the steak into the pan and DON’T TOUCH IT! It will be very smoky, so have a fan on, and some windows open. Take the batteries out of your smoke alarm. (No joke!)

6. After 5-7 minutes, slide a large turner under the steak, and flip it over. You can decide if … Read the rest

I’m seeing some grass growing, finally. It took 3 full applications of seed, but it’s starting to come in. I’ll be getting more seed, since it seems like it’s still pretty thin. I’m just happy to have a start. I hope by the end of summer to have an actual lawn.… Read the rest

6 chicken thighs or breasts, boneless and skinless
2 lemons
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried tarragon
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Rinse your chicken and place it in a gallon sized plastic bag. Zest your 2 lemons into the bag. Then juice the lemons, and add the juice to the bag. Next in is your spices. I used dried everything, but if you use fresh herbs and minced garlic, that would be even better I’m sure. Add plenty of ground black pepper! A teaspoon is just a guideline – if you love pepper use more. Seal the bag very well, then shake and roll around the bag until all of the ingredients are combined and the chicken is coated. Lay chicken flat on a plate or just in your fridge for at least 30 minutes, up to several hours.

Grill chicken for 5-8 minutes per side, or until fully cooked. The thighs I used were pretty small, and I laid them out flat so they were thin as well. I did 5 minutes per side and they were perfect.… Read the rest

It’s so simple! Simply look at the back of the seed pack. Ignore whatever it says about row spacing, and instead simply focus on the plant spacing. If it says “Plant 3 inches apart” then you simply have to plant your seeds/seedlings in a grid, where they are all 3 inches apart. If you followed their rows, you’d get 4 plants in a square foot (4 plants, 3 inches apart, in rows that are never less than a foot apart). If you do it this way, you’ll get 16 per square foot. Really!

If you’d like to learn more about square foot gardening, you should check out Mel Bartholomew’s books or Emily’s blog. She has all sort of useful things, including spacing for common plants and a really handy companion planting guide.

The image at the top of this post was taken from a google image result. That’s because I don’t have any pictures of my finished garden yet! If it’s your photo, and you’d like me to link it or remove it just let me know!… Read the rest

I was at a produce store with my dad last spring when he said, “Do you like brussels sprouts?”

I instinctively wrinkled my nose. Then I realized that I had never even tried them. This is huge for me, because I’m definitely the sort of girl who tries everything at least once. Besides that, I am consistently trying things that I have disliked in the past and finding that I like them. Like swiss cheese.

We bought the sack of what I thought looked like tiny cabbages. That’s even how my dad described them. Tiny cabbages. And that is always what I assumed they were.

I loved them, by the way. 2009 was the year of brussels sprouts for me. I bought them every time I went to a produce store, which is quite often. I steam them, and eat them plain, though my dad and husband both prefer to eat them with butter. I prefer to keep my veggies as healthy as possible. Okay, I add a bit of salt.

By mid-summer they were getting scarce. I’m not sure how, but at some point we ended up with pre-packaged frozen brussels sprouts. They were terrible. If that’s what … Read the rest