Quick Pizza Recipe

Are you ready for something besides Christmas leftovers? This is a dressed up frozen pizza. Wait before you turn me off! My two grown sons would never eat frozen pizza until I sneaked this one in on them. It's really good - I promise.

I'm writing this in the middle of winter when fresh herbs are hard to find here in the mid-south. You may have to buy fresh ones at the grocery but dried ones work well too.

Here's all I do to make a quick, cheap pizza that tastes like gourmet:

Fresh Herbs

*One frozen pizza - flavor is up to you. I used a store brand 3 cheese because Bill's heart diet does not allow the sausages
*Fresh, frozen or dried Oregano, fennel, basil, chives,parsley and thyme - all chopped. A little extra garlic powder or better still - fresh garlic chopped.
*Extra graded Romano cheese and extra Mozzarella shredded.

Add the extra cheeses -we like ours REAL cheesy! Sprinkle the herbs on top and bake. I find it takes at least 15 minutes longer than the instructions on the box. Take it out when it is brown and bubbly like the one at the top of the page. Below is what it looks like when it is ready to go into oven.

Pizza ready to bake

A FEW GOOD GARDEN BLOGS I'VE FOUND

It as too cold for the greenhouse this morning so I spent a while on Twitter, Google and elsewhere to find garden blogs that I thought I might want to share. I struck gold! Below are some of the best ones I found:

This first one is a great gift idea but I want to make one so I can have Basil in the windowsill all winter!  Mason Jar Herb Garden

This nice bit of advice came from Twitter. You might want to follow @DailyHealthTips to read more.

Dotty Plants Greenhouse Journal and Secrets of a Seedscattererare both the property of Jean Campbell from Kansas. Both blogs are worth checking out.

Gardening know How is a very informative site with lots of tips and helpful articles. 

You might want to follow Herb Garden News @mituho_967 for good gardening advice.
Comment here to post a link to your blog or one of your favorite sites.

Companion Plants

Quite often we can use garden plantings to lessen the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Below is a chart I copied from Tennessee Magizine about Companion plants. Some plants attract good insects and other enhance the flavor of their companions. still more add good elements to the soil. Also beware of plants that arre not happy planted together!

Make a Natural Holiday Simmering Potpourri for Yourself or as a Gift

Do you remember making Cloved oranges as a kid? We poked cloves into fresh oranges  - usually in pretty designs but they are OK just where ever you want them as long as you put quite a few cloves. I did them and allowed the oranges to dry. They actually lasted quite a while in a pretty bowl. I arranged them above with pine cones and Fresh Rosemary.

Natural Potpourri Simmer

 Using the same idea, you can peel an orange (eat the orange or use it for juice), Dry the peel. I dried mine in the oven set on it's lowest setting. Check them often to be sure they don't burn. Break the orange peels in to small pieces, add  whole cloves, cinnamon stick pieces, whole allspice, dried apple slices and berries from a cedar tree. This last one is optional but it makes a really festive holiday fragrance. If you live near a woods where cedar grows the female trees are loaded with blue berries in the fall! . To make the house smell like Christmas simmer a couple tablespoons of the mix in a small pan of water on the stove Be sure to check often so it doesn't boil dry. I wonder if you can still find those potpourri simmering pots like I had several years ago. Not only does this smell delicious but will add humidity to the house and the essential oils are good to breath too. Package this up in little jelly jars or small bags for a nice little gift also.

Ceylon Cinnamon

A few months ago I was poking around the Internet and found a video about the different kinds of cinnamon. Who knew! For what I learned on this video about how Ceylon cinnamon is different from the kind we usually find in our grocery stores in the USA. Korintje cassia cinnamon comes from Indonesia, usually Sumatra (Cinnamomum burmannii). As “supermarket cinnamon,” it is the most familiar to us. Vietnamese cassia (Saigon cinnamon, Cinnamomum loureiroi) and Chinese cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum) are the sweetest and strongest varieties. Vietnamese cinnamon is considered by many to be the world’s finest cinnamon; it and the Chinese cassia are not only sweeter, but more aromatic and more powerful (“spicier”) than the Indonesian Korintje cassia commonly sold in supermarkets. (copied from http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/salts/cinnamon.asp)

After leaning about Ceylon cinnamon, I had to try it. I bought mine from from Savory Spice Shop. As you can see from the picture at the top it even looks different. It is much softer and very easy to grind in my spice grinder. I like it much better than the super market variety!

I'm a Tennessee tea sipper. I drink hot tea like other people drink coffee. My latest favorite wake up drink is hot organic white tea with honey, fresh ground Ceylon cinnamon, lemon and oranges wedge - oh so yummy! If you don't have a grinder you can break up the cinnamon and put pieces of the bark in your tea or tea pot and strain it out after it steeps or leave it in but be sure not to swallow it and get choked. If you have a hard time finding Organic White Tea, I use Prince of Peach White Tea from Vita Cost.

Ceylon Cinnamon is a good substitute for cassia cinnamon in any recipe. Give it a try and I bet you will be hooked just like me.

My Backyard Nursery

Sale Yard at Mimi's 

I've talked about my greenhouses and little backyard nursery for quite some time. Today I want to show you some of the plants I will have for sale on the Internet by spring of 2014. I am really excited about selling and shipping plants to folks outside of my neighborhood!

 has been growing and selling plants from our middle Tennessee location for the last 3 years and in the past at our former location in Robertson County. By the spring of 2014 we will be ready to ship our herbs, perennials, Hosta and other plants to most USA locations. States we Cannot Ship to are Washington, California, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho.

Mimi's will be adding pictures, descriptions and pricing for spring sales soon. Following are a few that we know should be available to ship in late April of 2014.

Herbs:

Greek Oregano, Spicy Hot Oregano, Golden Oregano, Italian Basil, Spicy Basil, Rosemary,  Lavender, Garlic chives, more

PERENNIALS 

Hosta:

Blue Mouse Ears, Hush Puppy, Sweet Innocence, more

Hydrangea:

Blue Lacecap, Rainbow, Blue Mophead, French Mophead

Butterfly Bushes (Buddleia)

Attraction, Pink Profusion, Griffon Blue, Honey bells, White Profusion and some new surprises too

Oxalis

Purple leaves/hot pink flowers and Green leaves/pink flowers.

Moon Flower Plant

Night blooming yellow fragrant flowers open like time-lapse photography!  See it in action in this video

http://www.mimisgreenhouse.com/

Growing Your Own Garlic

I've tried a couple of times to grow my own garlic. I've not been very successful. Either the bulbs came up and died or I got leaves but no bulb. This morning I was reading one of my favorite garden blogs http://gardentherapy.ca/. Low and behold the post was about growing your own garlic. I discovered that my mistake was probably using bulbs I had purchased at the food store. Here's my puny attempt for this year!

Being the type of person who sees no need in duplicating an effort if not necessary (translate that as lazy) I thought I would give you the link to Garden Therapy's post and you can learn for yourself!
http://gardentherapy.ca/how-to-grow-garlic/?utm_source=Garden+Therapy+Newsletter&utm_campaign=22581d32c1-October_Newsletter10_26_2012&utm_medium=email

Now I'm on a quest for garlic seed blubs. The link on Garden Therapy site is all sold out for 2012!

Raised Herb Beds Update

The first season for my raised beds of herbs is almost done. The oak leaves are falling and will soon cover the beds with a warm blanket for winter protection.I wanted to give you an update on how the plants did and what I've learned.

I wanted these beds to be as maintenance free as possible. I only watered them once or twice all summer and we had some severe heat and dry weeks. I think the compost helped keep moisture in the beds. I also did not add any additional fertilizer - again the compost was all the plants needed. Herbs don't need much fertilizer anyway and they like dry and well drained.

Oregano growing under Lavender

The Oregano is the happiest plant in the gardens. It has almost covered the bed where I planted it under Spanish and Goodwin Creek Lavenders. I have dried lots of oregano and will use it in the gift baskets that I make for family and friends at Christmas. I'll post the pretty packaging I make when it is done, Maybe give you a printable label you can use yourself.

Coleus Suprise

I was happy with my little sage plant's progress too and I had this little surprise come up in one of my beds. I'm sure the seeds for this coleus were in my compost.

Sage

 

Some of the lavender plants have done well and some not. the Provence all died. Goodwin Creek is happy and Serenity too. The Spanish lavender is very healthy and full but I will be pleasantly surprised if it survives our winter temps.

Goodwin Creek

Spanish lavender growing around Goodwin Creek

 

The Thymes are holding their own. Honestly, the thyme I planted in large pots seem to do better than ones I planted in the ground. Elven and Wooly thyme are growing well but they are more ornamantal than culinary. I do like them in my rock gardens and they have added interest to my raised beds. I planted Purple Sage late in the season and it is doing well considering the short time it has been in the ground. It should make quite a show next year. To see how I started these beds see my post titled Raised Herb Beds Part 1  and Raised Beds Part 2. Are you growing any thing in raised beds? Post a comment and tell us about it.  



 

 

 



                                                                                                                                                                                       


 

Growing Basil in Water

It’s October already! What happened to summer? Here in the south, it’s time to think about what herbs to bring in and which ones will be OK outside. I have dried lots of my culinary herbs, including Basil. I have even frozen enough Basil to make all the Pesto I might want this winter but there is nothing like fresh Basil in a salad and to perk up those lame tomatoes that we buy in winter. I know it will grow in pots in a sunny window but it gets leggy and wants a lot of water.

A few weeks ago I cut back some of my Purple leaf Basil and put it in water on my kitchen windowsill. I was surprised to find that it had rooted about three days later! I tried the same thing with Genovese Basil and, yes, I got roots!  I already need to trim the roots on the plant in this picture.

No more dirt for me. I’m going hydroponic this winter with my Basil plants. I’ll keep the tops pruned and roots too. I’ll add a little liquid fertilizer as I go along. My kitchen faces southeast so the light is good for growing. Mint loves to grow in water too, so if you like mint in your tea, keep a vase of it in a sunny spot too. I am going to try placing Oregano, Rosemary and Thyme in the unheated greenhouse with a frost blanket over them. I’ll see if they stay green enough to cut during the cold months. I’ll report back on that later.

Foot Soak Recipe

I found this awsonme blog and recipe on Pinterest. I just had to share it here as well as my pinterest page! here's the Garden Therapy recipe blog link http://gardentherapy.ca/gardeners-herbal-foot-soak-recipe/

Keep Your Basil Deadheaded for longer Season

ready to deadhead

It's August and here in zone 6b and the basil is trying to bloom. If  I want my Pesto Sauce and my Basil and Tomato Salad not to mention lots to dry and freeze for winter, I have to keep those blooms from happening (deadhead). Basil gets leggy and tough if allowed to bloom. The ones at the top of this post have gone further than I would like but are still going to be OK.  The one to the right is just right to snip.

I use my little flower snips for this but plain scissors will do the job too. I look for a leaf node just under the bloom that has started to put out leaves on either side of the stem. This will force the plant to make new branches and leaves. See the picture below of before and after the "snip". By the way, that little bloom and leaves you cut off make a very nice garnish for soup, salad or almost any fresh veggie. My Grandma would say, "Waste not - want not."  :-)

snipping

after snip

I do let my basil bloom later in the fall. I wait until late fall and then I allow them all to bloom and make seeds before our first cold weather sets in. I don't want it to frost before they make seed heads. This way most of them will self-sow right in place for next year. You can also harvest the seeds to plant inside in early spring to get a jump on summer.



Best Herb Tips Ever

I have grown and sold herb plants, dried and fresh herbs for years. When I received this blog post in my email boxthis week, I knew I needed to share it with my blog readers. This is the best information on growing, using, preserving herbs I've read in a long time. It should be no surprise that it is from my Internet buddy Mike McGroarty from Freeplants.com written by his son, Dustin and no, I don't make any money from referrals!  I hope you learn a bunch from it!

http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2013/07/how-to-grow-herbs-at-home/

It's what to do with all that Basil time!

My work buddy, prayer partner and fellow plant addict, Beverly sent me this terrific recipe for mini caprese salad. I've made basil, tomato and garlic salad for ages but this takes it to a new level!

Here's her recipe:
Ingredients
1 lemon, juiced
1 small clove garlic, grated or minced
1 cup basil leaves, about 20 leaves, plus a few for garnish
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes, multi-colored if available, halved
1 cup bocconcini (bite-sized fresh mozzarella balls), drained, halved
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Combine lemon juice, garlic, basil in food processor or blender, process and stream in extra-virgin olive oil to form a smooth dressing. Combine tomatoes, cheese and dressing in a bowl and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Garnish with a few torn basil leaves.

To see a zillion different ways to serve this yummy concoction clink the Pinterest link below
 http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=mini%20caprese%20salad&rs=ac&len=18

Thanks, Beverly!

Make Your Own Mustard -- Who Knew!

This sounds so good and so easy! I'm going to try it myself! I bet you will like it to. Here is the link to a really good blog post from my friends over at DIYNatural  

How to Make Stevia Sweetener and Liquid

Of course this is assuming you are already growing Stevia. If not, it's an easy herb to grow. It is hardy in zones 9 and 10 and is grown as an annual otherwise. I grow mine in a big pot and winter it over in the cool greenhouse. It grows fast and likes moist soil and sunshine.

Harvest the leaves at any time but be sure to harvest them all in the fall before frost. I don't let mine bloom because it wants to go to seed after it blooms. Besides, cutting it makes it fuller with lots more leaves.

For Stevia liquid:

Cut the stems about 2/3 of the way down. This leaves room for the plant to grow more branches below where the cut.  I dry mine with the leaves still on the stems. you can dry them in the sun (cover with net to keep clean) or in a dehydrator. I put mine in my hot empty greenhouse. If you use a dehydrator, set it on 95 degrees and it will take about 24 hours to dry.

Strip the leaves from stems and grind in a coffee grinder or use a motor and pestle like I did.

To make the liquid stevia, dissolve 1/4 cup pure homegrown stevia powder with 1 cup hot filtered water.  Stir and leave out at room temperature for 24 hours.  After 24 hours strain the stevia out of the liquid and store the liquid stevia in the refrigerator. Tastes just like the expensive stuff you buy at the grocery! 

Some people use the leaves dried as a sweetener.  It works and is healthy (300 times sweeter than sugar). I personally don't care for the taste but you should try it for yourself. . 

1.                              

Summer is the time for Basil

There are several herbs I will not be without and Basil is one of them. The very best basil is fresh-cut straight from the garden. I grow it in containers near my backdoor so I can snip and use immediately. This year I planted Mammoth Basil and it may be my best yet. The leaves are huge! One leaf will cover a large tomato.

There is nothing quite like basil, tomatoes, fresh oregano and garlic, tossed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, Serve on a fresh picked leafy green lettuce for a beautiful and tasty salad. Add a little fresh dill and serve with grilled salmon.

Of course, we can't discuss basil without mentioning pesto. My favorite recipe for pesto is here on this older post.  You will find hints for drying and freezing basil there too.

I found a yummy recipe on Martha Stewart's site for Stuffed Tomatoes with Basil Garnish. Here is the link for that one.  

Basil is an annual so plant lots and dry or freeze it for winter. It loves the sun, well drained soil and not too much water. The more you pinch basil the fuller it will grow. Don't let it bloom or it will go to seed and get tough and leggy. Basil will sometimes re-seed and come back the second year - this is especially true if you plant it in a garden. Flower beds look nice with a patch of basil for color as well as texture. Purple Ruffles variety is very pretty for this use. I grow most of my basil in large containers of four or five plants each. I plant separate containers of several varieties. The one pictured is a mixed herb container with Ginger Basil and Mammoth planted together. You will see mint, creeping thyme and lemon thyme there too. This summer I am growing Mammoth, Ginger and Lemon basil in various places around my house.

Next post will be about another of my other "can't do without" herbs; Oregano!

Wonder Weed - Dandelion

A friend gave me a box of dandelion tea the other day. She can't drink it because she is nursing her baby and the tea box warned not to use if nursing. I read the label. It's good for your liver and a natural detox. It tasted pretty good too - I added honey and drank it hot.  

Funny thing was that when I opened my email today there was a post about the benefits of Dandelion. I think someone up there is trying to tell me something. 

I have been adding Dandelion leaves to our salads this spring and they are really good. Here are a few other things that I read about this often despised weed:

• The leaves and flowers contain Vitamin C

• The root contains potassium

• The leaves contain iron - helpful for anemia

• The entire plant is high in B complex

• The leaves contain more protein than spinach - who knew!

• The root can be made into a tea, which can help to inhibit 
• bacterial growth in the urinary tract

• All parts of the plant are rich in antioxidants and don't forget about that Dandelion wine!

So instead of trying to kill the Dandelions, eat them or make tea! My mom said she started picking off the flowers when she was walking around her yard - she has much fewer plants than before. makes sense - no flowers - no weeds! So eat a few and pick off the flowers.  

Herbal Culinary Mixtures

There are almost  as many culinary herb mixes as there are herbs. Following are a few of my favorites.

Fines Herbes
Equal parts dryed chives, parsley and chervil. I like to add thyme and oregano too.

Fresh Italian Seasoning
Fresh from the garden mediteran oregano, basil, garlic (this can be dried chips), parsley, sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Bouquet Garni (for soups and stews)
I place the dried or freah herbs in cheese cloth to make a tea bag type of package. I use parsley, sweet bay, thyme and celery - I like a pinch of garlic too.

Favorite Chicken Seasoning
Oregano, garlic, basil, rosemary, lemon pepper and a pinch of cinnamon.

Fish Seasoning
Dried or fresh dill or dill seeds, garlic, thyme, lemon pepper, and a pinch of rosemary and oregano.

Pork Seasoning
Rosemary (I like lots), sea salt, fresh ground pepper, sweet bay leaf, garlic. This is really good if all the herbs are fresh.

Share your favorites in my comment section.

Drink a Cup of Thyme Tea Instead of Coffee and Promote Good Health

Drink a Cup of Thyme Tea Instead of Coffee and Promote Good Health  This links to a very informative post about Thyme: what it's useful for, how to make tea, using it in cooking ... lot's more. I've sold all sorts of Thyme in my little back yard nursery. In fact, I started some cuttings of variegated lemon Thyme under the mist in the greenhouse yesterday.